liquor review

  • Russell’s Reserve 10-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon

    Named for Jimmy Russell, the master distiller of Wild Turkey, the Russell’s Reserve is a small-batch bourbon aged for 10 years.

    Russell’s Reserve 10 Year is light brown in color with orange highlights with a nose of corn, vanilla, caramel, raisin and pecans. On the palate, the Russell’s Reserve is smooth with almost eucalyptus notes with further flavors of orange peel, vanilla, caramel, raisins and pecans.

    Russell’s Reserve 10 Year is a nice sipping bourbon. … Read more

  • Canada Club Reserve Whisky (Aged 10 Years)

    Interesting enough, the famed Canada Club (or C.C. as its known) started its life in Detroit. When Michigan went dry, the distillery was moved across the Detroit River to Windsor, Ontario, Canada where he continued to import his Whisky into the United States (first legally and then illegally during Prohibition when Al Capone was a major customer). The distillery was forced to add Canadian to his label after the Whisky became extremely popular, prompting complaints … Read more

  • Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine

    Moonshine is pretty trendy right now. I’ve seen a number of spirits producers introduce Southern-themed “moonshines” lately, and it’s making me curious: I know liquor companies aren’t actually making distilled spirits without a license and running them under cover of night, so what do they mean when they say “moonshine”?

    Piedmont Distillers in North Carolina, makers of Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine, say this spirit earns the name moonshine because of the corn base, copper-pot stills and … Read more

  • Love Potion #9 Creamy Strawberry Tart

    CMSC Spirits is releasing a new spirit in May — Love Potion #9. They sent over a little sample, which inspired me to create a new dessert. The tropical-fruit-flavored liqueur is made with sugar cane alcohol (instead of grain alcohol), which made me think strawberry tart!

    It’s a light and refreshing dessert, with the mascarpone adding creaminess without turning the dish into something heavy or sticky-sweet. Oh, and it’s super easy!

     
    Ingredients

    8 oz mascarpone … Read more

  • TRU2 Organic Gin Review

    I cannot rave enough about TRU2 organic gin. Of all the organic spirits making their way to market lately, this one is the most impressive and unique.

    Just looking at it you can tell it’s different. Most gins are clear because they are distilled twice — once before the herbs are added and once after. TRU2 is made with 14 botanicals and only goes through one distillation, which is why it has a … Read more

  • Black Vodka for Halloween Cocktails

    Mixing a Halloween cocktail that looks dark and sinister without the aid of sweet additives like grape gelatin is a challenge. Enter black vodka.

    You won’t find American black vodka, because US government regulations say domestic distillers can’t call a spirit vodka unless it is “without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color.”

    Other countries aren’t as strict in their definitions. Among the international black vodka offerings are Russia’s Eristoff wild berry vodka and Znapps black … Read more