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As a born and raised Portlander and a Gin fan, this new milestone release from Ecliptic Brewing is doubly up my alley.
This is Batch 5000 and it will be a golden BarleyWine ale aged in Old Tom Gin barrels and will reach 13% ABV. Maybe we will see this in L.A.
Not but a week into 2022 and a gin barrel-aged beer is on the radar….
Firestone Walker has another cocktail styled beer, this time an imperial blonde ale.
Thumbing through a copy of Whiskey Advocate, I came across the above article about beers being made into whiskey including notable breweries with a distillery like Rogue but also the Craft Brewers Whiskey Project. Which has and will be partnering with different breweries to create unique whiskies. Captain Lawrence, Jack’s Abbey and Spencer Trappist are on the list. Add to your ISO list.
Death & Co. the popular bi-coastal cocktail spot is in the canned cocktail game and I tried a couple of them recently.
I was kind of suspicious since both that I grabbed have quite a few ingredients listed but the D&C name drew me past that. And I was glad that I did. Both were really good. They are possibly over sweet to some but I liked the big taste of passion fruit in the Moonsail Fizz and the mint / brandy combo in the Aurora Highball. Because of the combo in the latter, I rank it a bit higher. I did see a third cocktail, that I will have to re-find.
A local canned cocktail option is on the horizon from Long Beach’s Portuguese Bend Distilling.
The Rum Punch sounds good at first glance of the labels.
Each alcoholic beverage has its own rabbit holes that you can plunge into. What if you combined two of them together?
The world of cocktail bitters and the aromas of hops maybe…
That is what the Canadian company the Bittered Sling has done with one of their aromatic bitters…
I received a lovely little classic gin sample from Spirit Hound Distillers in Lyon, Colorado.
Here is my review….
Straight up, this is very bright and clean. I get a touch of spice and later citrus but this is almost smooth, no burn at all and easy to drink without a cocktail. Proper British is the best description.
In G&T form, it doesn’t try to steal the show. Maybe it should just a touch more as the balance is a little tilted towards the quinine. But it does really bring a big orange citrus note forward which I quite enjoy.
The “Hounds” also produce a straight malt whisky, a cask strength malt whisky, a Colorado honey whisky, a rum and two other types of gin.
Set those alerts on your device, Benny Boy Brewing + Cider too is moving closer to their opening date so the updates will be coming fast and furious.
In the meantime, check this short apple video out…
I am much more finicky with spirits than I am with beer. Tequila will be off limits due to the headaches I get the day after and Irish whisky or Scotch is just too peaty for my taste.
I have found better success with Rye and Tennessee whiskey and so far Uncle Nearest is at the top of my small list. And that is saying a lot because my expectations were high. This brand has had deserved press. It is women owned and women distilled and it honors the mentor to Jack Daniel.
The 1884 is a blessed combo of smooth vanilla notes with a cantankerous ABV hit. I get a little bit of wood character but it is a side player here. I have had it straight twice in two days and look forward to it again. Usually a bottle will sit a bit between visits.
I wish I could find small bottles of the different variants to do a taste test.
Thanks to a tip from the ever vigilant Josh Lurie, I can now pass on to you the news that a Non-Alcoholic only beverage shop is opening here in Los Angeles.
Actually, Soft Spirits opened on October 9th. So think up some Halloween cocktails that won’t leave you reeling into November. I will visit their Sunset Blvd. storefront and report back as to what beer they have.