Review: Deschutes Brewery Black Butte XXV 25th Birthday Reserve
We haven’t encountered Deschutes’ Black Butte since its XXI release in 2009. It’s time for a fresh look at this annual, limited-edition aged porter from one of Oregon’s premiere breweries. This experimental release is a bit different every year. For 2013 it’s brewed with dates, figs, and cocoa nibs, and half is aged in bourbon…
Review: Los Amantes Mezcal Joven
Los Amantes, “the lovers,” is a Oaxacan mezcal made via traditional methods, using an underground pit to smoke 100% Tobala and Espadin agave pinas for three days, then triple distilling the juice pressed from them. This Joven mezcal has a faint color. Although joven mezcals can be lightly aged for up to 2 months in…
Review: A. Smith Bowman Virginia Bourbons – Bowman Brothers Small Batch and John J. Bowman Single Barrel
Yes Virginia, they do make whiskey in, uh, Virginia. A. Smith Bowman is a boutique bottling now owned by Buffalo Trace parent company Sazerac. It was previously sold with very limited regional availability, but now this unique whiskey, made in Fredericksburg, Virginia, is getting broader distribution that currently totals 17 states (sorry Mississippi!). We were…
Review: Mama Walker’s “Breakfast” Liqueurs
Breakfast at the real Mama Walker’s house (presuming there is one), must have been quite an affair. Donuts, blueberry pancakes, bacon… all that’s missing is the scrambled eggs and OJ. Presumably a scrambled egg liqueur is forthcoming from this brand, which exists exclusively to sell these “breakfast” themed liqueurs. At 70 proof, I’m not sure…
Review: 2010 Charter Oak Zinfandel Sonoma Valley Monte Rosso Vineyard
This winery specializes in Zinfandel, including some single vineyard bottlings like this one from the Monte Rosso Vineyard in Sonoma. The wine is a dense and heady (15.0% abv) Zin, loaded with fresh plums, blackberries, and menthol on the nose. The palate is similar, with a touch of liquified milk chocolate, some cedar notes, and…
Review: 2011 HandCraft Cabernet Sauvignon California
Cheryl Indelicato is the curernt queen of the long-running Indelicato empire, best known for its Delicato wine brand — one which was recently retired and relaunched as Domino. Among a dozen or so wines the family produces is this new bottling, HandCraft, another value project with Indelicato’s personal stamp all over it. A range of…
Recipes for National Punch Day
September 20th marks National Punch Day. Soon calendars will be filled with so many different alcohol-based, marketing-invented holidays that everyone will be celebrating a different drink every day. That alone could be a utopian ideal for some drinkers. But for now? We have punch. Here are a few recipes from mixologist/author David Wondrich to celebrate…
Review: Hornitos Lime Shot Tequila
I was surprised to see Hornitos — one of the most respected names in mainstream tequila — releasing a flavored product like this, clearly aimed at the party-crowd shot market. At the same time, I was intrigued. If anyone was going to do a good job with a “lime shot” tequila, it ought to be…
