Category: Spirits, Wine & Cider

Posted on

Two New Caskmates

Jameson Whiskey is going “hyperlocal” with two new editions of Irish Whiskey. Here is the quick summary, ” The Jameson Caskmates Hyperlocal Limited Editions were conceived when Bale Breaker Brewing and Revolution Brewing traveled to Ireland earlier this year to brew their signature beers and season Jameson casks. Jameson then reused these casks for their whiskey, resulting in two different and distinct Jameson Caskmates Editions that have been patiently finished in local craft beer-seasoned barrels.”

Considering the hops that Bale Breaker may have used from their own farm, makes me pick that one first but Revolution Brewing is no slouch either.

Posted on

Bourbon Re:Found

Usually, I am a gin guy or in a Rye Whiskey mood but when you see that Re:Find has already sold out their first two batches of bourbon, it makes you think they may have something there. Personally, I would like to get a set of 1/2 size bottles of the Rye and the Bourbon as a set.

Posted on

Rogue Spirits Canned

Just catching up to the fact that Rogue has taken its Spirits to the next logical extension and canned cocktails. For me, the green cucumber lime is the first choice since I am a gin man with the ginger lime mule being my second choice. I am wondering where the whiskey drinks are though.

Posted on

FWIBF – From Napa

When I was at the Venice locale of Firestone Walker, I noticed this poster…

I was immediately drawn to the bottle on the left, seeing as how not to many Saisons come our way from Firestone Walker. I am sure that many more are drooling over the Parabola with aging on wine barrels.

Posted on

Neat


One of the benefits of having streaming services so hungry for content is that you can see documentaries that cover the spectrum of topics. Competitive baristas or a quick history of, say, Bourbon.

Neat – A History of Bourbon is beautifully shot. Stuffed to almost the breaking point with images of Bourbon being splashed into glasses. The film covers major points in Bourbon history such as the Bonded Act and Congress enshrining the drink as only Made in America followed by the creation of single barrel and small batch bourbons. Summarized a bit too much but still clearly expressed.

But the true heart of the story are two people who needed much more screen time, Freddie Johnson and Marianne Barnes. Johnson who is a third generation employee as a tour guide tour guide for Buffalo Trace speaks very eloquently especially about his father and relationships. Very touching stuff. Barnes is the master distiller for a new (as of filming) distillery, Castle & Key—a new Kentucky distillery. She is the first female master distiller in Kentucky since Prohibition and I would love to have heard more about her journey in Bourbon.

Beware, you will want some Bourbon on hand and you may want to make an Old Fashioned at the end.

Posted on

Hops Meet Wine

I have had a few hopped ciders. None of which lit my world on fire. I have also had beers aged in wine barrels, some of which have been really good.

Now, thanks to Buttonwood Winery, I can taste how hops fit with a Sauvignon Blanc. Meet Hop On…

Not much in the way of hops here. Makes it kind of hard to review. It might be a good white wine but without the bitterness or aroma or any presence of hops, there just isn’t much to say. If you have friends or family that like wine and beer, it might be a fun gift but it will probably puzzle people more than be interesting.

Posted on

Crafty and Wild

Looks like L.A. is getting more cider…

…and on the 10th, if you are near Southland Beer in Koreatown you can taste the following:

Wild Mirabelle Plum – cider blended with plum wine
Elderberry Perry – oak-aged with pears and elderberries
Flagship Cider – funky and dry apple cider
Pioner Perry – a classic perry
Wild Rose – aromatic rose-infused cider

Posted on

Re-Used Hops


Some may view the Jamesons Caskmates program as mere marketing but I think it is cool to go meta at times. And I like the idea of putting that super popular IPA style into a Jameson cask and then turning back around and putting Jameson back in once the IPA has been emptied.

The only question I have is, when will they do A hazy IPA cask?

Posted on

Greenbar – Hop ’til You Drop

IMG_6569
Over last weekend, I made a return visit to Greenbar Distillery to test out two new hops infused liquers that will be coming out on the market. Both will fly under the FruitLab banner with the first ready to buy now and the second named Grand Hops coming later.

The first has been dosed with Bravo and Citra hops and was wicked, sickly sweet. To me it was more simple syrup or candy, than hops. I can see how it could add to a cocktail, in fact the Hop Drop cocktail that was being poured was quite nice, though I could have used a bit more fizz to it.

The cloudy and unfiltered, Grand Hops version dials down the sweet and ramps up the bitterness which is very earthy and tree bark-y. More ABV heat shows up here since the sugar isn’t there to smooth that over. The bitter aftertaste was a bit much in conjunction with the sweet. And the California Love cocktail played up the liquer to a detrimental effect to me.
grandhops
To compare and contrast, Greenbar also had a Simcoe ice tea and Citra sparkling soda to try. And to be frank, I would have bought either of them before the alcoholic cousins. Both the tea and the soda added a balancing note to the hops used and were very refreshing and very aromatic. A little spritz of gin and I would have had a quick and easy cocktail that would have worked wonders for me.

Maybe a cocktail pro would find standout uses for these new products separately, but, for me, I would blend the two together to tone down the sweet and create a more balanced bottle for mixing.
HopDrop