Last year, WhistlePig made headlines with the launch of a 21 year old single malt sourced from Canada, arguably the oldest single malt whiskey that the Americas has ever seen produced. The Beholden wasn’t my favorite WhistlePig product, and in preparation for this review I cracked it open for the first time in months to see if there was something I missed the first time around. My thoughts remained exactly the same: This is to be sure a fancy single malt but one that just doesn’t have much that is all that special about it, an exploration of over-sweet maple, overripe fruit, and a bold sugary ..read more

Casey Jones Distillery in Hopkinsville, Kentucky is a relatively new distillery on the scene, but they put the whiskey community on notice when taking home Best in Show from the 2023 American Craft Spirits Association. The history of Casey Jones is that of illicit distilling near Golden Pond, but now very licit. Casey Jones refers to their 4-grain wheater as Mashbill 3 and consists of 26.5% Bloody Butcher corn, 26.5% yellow dent corn, 35% soft red winter wheat, and 12% malted barley with a 4:1 ratio of Pilsner to caramel. Casey Jones runs around a 72-hour sweet mash fermentation and ages in b ..read more

Codigo 1530 is back with another tequila release, and it’s what you’d expect: A cristalino, albeit one made from a reposado base, not an anejo. As as refresher, the reposado is aged in cabernet sauvignon wine barrels made from French white oak. This cristalino is blended with some 6 year old Codigo 1530 Origin extra anejo, which is finished in Cognac casks — all filtered to clear. Let’s give it a try. The nose certainly evokes a solid Lowlands reposado — Codigo’s is probably the best of its core expressions — with light herbal notes that let the agave speak plenty. Grassy and lemony with touc ..read more

Napa’s Gamble Family Vineyards is the proprietor of acreage in some of the valley’s most venerable AVAs including Rutherford, Mt. Veeder, Yountville and Oakville. We’ve had the pleasure of enjoying a few of their wines over the years and, somewhat surprisingly, it has been a few years since we’ve reviewed anything from Gamble. Today, we return to enjoy a Sauvignon Blanc from its Yountville vineyards. This fresh and highly approachable wine opens with layers of lemon meringue and honeysuckle melding with a note of white peach, all alongside a background of faint minerality. Things take a sligh ..read more

The latest rum from the Hemingway-inspired Papa’s Pilar Rum brand is another luxe bottling that not only honors the company’s namesake but also another man, surfing legend Greg Noll. This is the third Legacy Edition and the second we’ve reviewed. Some background: Papa’s Pilar Rum was created alongside the Hemingway family to celebrate Hemingway’s life. Each Legacy Edition release pays homage to the iconic novelist along with other legends who live out his ‘Never A Spectator’ mantra and live life to the fullest. This year’s offering celebrates Noll, who, like Hemingway, was known for constant ..read more

In the last three years, we have managed to tour almost the entire portfolio of offerings from Argentina’s Domaine Bousquet. Still, somehow, we have not had the pleasure to enjoy the vineyard’s Cameleon label. What differentiates Cameleon from any of the other lines? As best as I can determine: the sandy soils in this particular vineyard in the Uco Valley, the constant breezes from the Andes help mitigate heat stress, and groundwater from Andes snow melts. In other words: terroir. As always, Bousquet places a premium on being square in the center of quality and affordability, and these are no ..read more

Heaven’s Door has become a juggernaut of whiskeydom, to the point where we’ve lost count of the number of expressions the outfit has cranked out to date. The good news is they are almost uniformly excellent, so we aren’t complaining about the arrival of yet another series from Heaven’s Door: The Exploration Series. Heaven’s Door will unveil two unique expressions under The Exploration Series banner annually, each standing as a testament to the brand’s dedication to pioneering the frontier of the whiskey category. Fueled by the restless and uncompromising spirit of co-founder Bob Dylan, the t ..read more

La Prenda Wines was founded in 2008 by Ned and Erika Hill, who named the winery after the street where Ned’s father grew up. They are proud of their Sonoma terroir and make wines that highlight the region’s strengths. Today we are trying their Cabernet Sauvignon, Brut Rose, and Pet-Nat Sparkling Rose but under a second label, Fifth Hill. Let’s pour some wine. 2021 La Prenda Wines 95476 Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 2% Cab Franc. The number in the name refers to Sonoma’s zip code. On the nose and palate, this wine shows juicy plum, gentle pepper, and a ..read more

Heaven Hill’s first 2024 release of the Old Fitzgerald bottled in bond series has arrived with extra-special vibes attached: This release commemorates the 25th anniversary of Heaven Hill acquiring the historic Bernheim Distillery (DSP-KY-1) in Louisville — and along with it the Old Fitzgerald brand. This isn’t the spring release of Old Fitz — we figure that will show up by the end of summer — but rather a special “VVS” edition, which features a maroon label. Since 2018, there have only ever been two other VVS releases, including VVS 2018 14-year-old and VVS 2020 16-year-old — neither of which ..read more

Napa’s Eleven Eleven Winery is back with a new Cabernet called XI: An “estate melange” of 11:11 and Destin Vineyards fruit: 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 6% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. While bold and fully loaded with purple fruit — a mix of red and black berry notes — this Bordeaux style blend never feels overblown, despite overtones of chocolate syrup, vanilla, and cola. A layer of tannin nestles in to what could otherwise have been something of a monster in the fruit department, adding a little bitterness and some much-needed acidity to temper the blackberry and bl ..read more