In this follow-up article from the recent WSWA Access Live I have three bottles for review all made stateside: a bourbon, an infused whiskey and a gin. I sampled all three at the show – enjoying them all – and was gifted the bottles to take home for further study and a review on this…
Aged in first-fill American oak ex-bourbon casks, the new permanent expression brings a sweetness derived from oak and malt forward, in balance with Lagavulin’s unmistakable smoky character ISLAY, Scotland, /PRNewswire/ — Few places in the whisky world match the intrigue of Islay, an island in the Western Hebrides of Scotland, where whisky-making is in the fabric of…
Very pleased to be trying four new-to-me wines from the Santa Maria Valley and Santa Ynez: a Blanc de Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon all with the same winemaker and farmer though different vineyards. When I received the samples I also asked the owner who happens to be the farmer, James Ontiveros, for…
Ranks No. 4 in Drinks International Brands Report New York, New York, — Radico Khaitan Limited (NSE: RADICO), a leading IMFL company and the parent of Rampur Distillery, announced that the Rampur Indian Single Malt Whisky has secured No. 4 among the World’s Top Trending Whiskies for 2026 in the Drinks International Brands Report, a…
Some years, but not all, I do a yearend roundup article listing some of my favorite wines or spirits. This year, as I just got back from wine tasting in Napa and Healdsburg, and writing all about it, I thought I’d do my article on the different spirits and cocktails I discovered this year. So,…
We spent Thanksgiving week wine tasting in Napa again this year, also adding in some time in Healdsburg in Sonoma County. It had been over ten years since I was in Sonoma, as Napa is my husband’s preference, but that has actually changed with this long-overdue visit for more than one reason. For one, the…
Ken and Diane Wilson began acquiring land and planting vines in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley in the 1980s. They started making wine when they bought the historic Fredson Winery in 1993 with its century-old tin barn. It is now known as Wilson Winery of Dry Creek. The redwood vats were replaced by modern tanks…
After tasting some delicious white wines, we were ready for what the Dry Valley AVA is best known for – Zinfandel! Tasting room manager Eddie presented these tastes in a side-by-side format. We started with the 2023 Briar Zinfandel and the 2023 Sullivan Zinfandel, also from the Dry Creek Valley. The Briar has 9% Petite…
This past summer I was in Portugal for the second time. During both visits I searched out wines from the Alentejo DOC to drink as they are always winners for me. Fancy my thrill at being offered two wines from the area to review when we got home. I ran a news release from the…
TWSC Says Their Top ‘Best of the Best’ Award Has Never Been Awarded to Two Whiskies Before TAIPEI, /PRNewswire/ — In the final round of the 2025 Tokyo Whisky and Spirits Competition (TWSC), Taiwan’s premier whisky distillery achieved the impossible, scooping not just one “Best of the Best Single Malt”, but two of the same award. Organisers said: “Due to a…