Review: Corgi Saddlecoat Vodka
Corgi Saddlecoat Vodka is crafted at Corgi Spirits in Jersey City New Jersey. Jersey City is recognized as the most diverse midsize city in the United States. Corgi Spirits was founded in 2017 by Bob Hagemann who owns the distillery with his parents Bob and Nancy Hagemann. They currently craft 7 gins including their award winning Earl Grey Gin, Whiskey, and Corgi Saddlecoat Vodka. Corgi Vodka is small batch distilled from potatoes in a Vendome Copper & Brass Works still. The potato distilled spirit serves as the base for all 7 of their gins. The Corgi name is inspired by the owners fascination with all things British and the love of the family pet. A portion of profits is donated to local animal rescue groups, and Hudson Pride Center. Read more 
Review: Tequila Cabal Blanco
Tequila Cabal Blanco is crafted from organic agave grown for 6-7 years at Campo Cabal in Los Valles of Amatitan. Agave has been grown and tequila crafted at the family owned Campo Cabal for over 100 years. The practice of crop rotation is utilized to maintain the nutrients harvest after harvest. The agave is slow cooked for 42 hours in a 32 ton mason oven built in 1911. Once extracted the juice is fermented for 72 hours with natural yeast. The spirit is distilled over 5 tanks and twice distilled. Read more
Review: Copperworks Vodka
Copperworks Vodka is crafted at Copperworks Distilling Company in Seattle Washington. Co-Founder Jason Parker started brewing beer for Pike Place Brewery in 1989. He also brewed beer at Redhook, and later became the Brew Master at Pyramid Breweries. In 2013 he partnered with Micah Nutt to open Copperworks. Micah is the Co-founder and the Distiller. They currently also craft whiskey and gin. Copperworks Vodka is made with malted barley, locally grown in Washington. 80% of the malted barley is sourced from small local independent growers. The spirit is fermented with a pure strain of brewers yeast and fermented in a hand hammered 25 plate copper column still built in Scotland, then bottled unfiltered. Vodka distilled from malted barley is significantly more expensive than corn, wheat, or potatoes. The $38 a bottle price reflects this cost. Is Copperworks worth the premium price? Read on. Read more
Review: High Noon Tequila Seltzer
High Noon Tequila Seltzer was just launched. It is made with Real Fruit Juice, Real Blanco Tequila, sparkling water, and natural flavors. The tequila is sourced from Destileria Leyros. This distillery crafts tequila for 28 brands including one of my favorites, Casa Dragones. High Noon Tequila Seltzer is available in a 4 flavor 8 can mix pack. The four featured flavors are Lime, Strawberry, Grapefruit, and Passion Fruit. After selling 500,000 cases of the vodka based High Noon in 2019, they sold 16.4 million cases in 2022, including an 85% increase last year alone. With hard seltzer brand leaders White Claw and Truly both launching vodka seltzers it will be hard for High Noon to continue growing at this pace. That is unless they introduce a Tequila Seltzer. Read more
Review: Fennellys Raspberry Cheesecake Irish Cream Liqueur
Fennellys Raspberry Cheesecake Irish Cream Liqueur is produced by Robert A Merry & Co, in Tipperary County Clonmel Ireland. While Irish Cream liqueurs are primarily consumed from Halloween through New Years, they do enjoy a spike around March 17th, AKA St Patrick’s Day. Raspberry Cheesecake appears to have replaced Tropical Colada in the Fennellys family of Irish Cream liqueurs. Even without Tropical Colada, Fennellys is produced in 10 different flavor varieties. Only Baileys, with 13 flavors available in the US market produce more flavor options. Fennellys is sold primarily at Total Wine & More stores throughout the US. No ingredient list is available, but previous Fennellys Irish Cream liqueurs were made with Irish Cream, Irish Whiskey, Irish spirits, and natural flavors. Read more
Review: LA Vodka
LA Vodka was launched September 2022 in California. Co-Founder and CEO Yasar Chaudhary worked with the most experienced and knowledgeable Master Distillers handcrafting LA Vodka. It is made in California from 100% winter wheat and double distilled on a custom copper pot still made in France. The spirit is minimally carbon filtered before bottling. While a specific distillery is not mentioned I know one in Ukiah California that has been crafting spirits since 1983 with a custom copper pot still made in France. Read more
Review: Nueveuno Tequila Blanco
Nueveuno Tequila Blanco is traditionally crafted with select organic agave from the Amatitan Valley Jalisco, by Master Distiller Nohemi Partida at Agaveros Unidos De Amatitan. Nueveuno was created as an homage to the family’s head, their late grandfather who instilled his love of growing agave and making tequila the historical way to the entire family. Agaveros Unidos De Amatitan is a small distillery that only produces 5 tequila brands. Azunia is probably the best known. Cabo Wabo was previously produced here. The agave is slow cooked in brick ovens, fermented in open air stainless steel tanks and double distilled in stainless pot stills. Read more
Review: White Claw Vodka + Soda
White Claw Vodka + Soda was just released. White Claw still dominates the hard seltzer market, but the hard seltzer market shrunk 17% in 2022. Vodka seltzer brand leader High Noon doubled their sales in 2022, selling over 16 million cases. Truly got the message, and Truly Vodka Seltzer was introduced October 2022. Now its White Claw’s turn. Mark Anthony Brands launched White Claw Vodka last month and the vodka, made from 100% American Corn, is distilled 5 times and filtered 3 times using pressure equal to a 30 foot wave. This is the vodka base for White Claw Vodka + Soda. Real Fruit Juice, natural flavors and sparkling water are blended with the vodka. Each 12 ounce slim can weighs in with 4.5% alcohol, 100 calories, and 2 carbs. White Claw Vodka + Soda is sold in individual flavor 4 packs and a 4 flavor 8 can variety pack. Read more
Review: Black Band Vodka
Black Band Vodka is crafted at Black Band Distillery in Peoria Illinois. They also produce a Gin, Bourbon, Rye, Whiskey and Coffee Liqueur. Peoria was once hailed the whiskey capital of the world. Prohibition ended that. Peoria native and principal distiller Chris Ober began studying Peoria’s history of distilling and researching different distillation and fermentation processes in 2006. He acquired a century old building in the historic warehouse district of Peoria in 2017. Construction began in 2018. In 2020 whiskey production began. Black Band Distillery opened their doors the Spring of 2021 and now includes a farm to table restaurant and cocktail bar. Along the way Chris attended courses on distillation at Kothe Distillationstechnik, and Siebel Institute of Technology for Craft Distilling. He also worked a one on one apprenticeship with Master Distiller Robert Birnecker at Kovel Distillery in Chicago. Black Band Vodka is crafted from 100% Warthog wheat on a 5000L Kothe Hybrid Still. Read more
Review: Truly Wonderworld Hard Seltzer
Truly Wonderworld was just released. It has been 4 months since Truly has released a new mix pack. In hard seltzer years that’s equal to about one year. A quick glance at the Truly web page shows this is one of nine Truly brand, 4 flavor Mix Packs. The others include Truly Berry, Citrus, Tropical, Lemonade, Iced Tea, Punch, Margarita, and Vodka Seltzer. Each of the four new flavors are a two fruit blend made with filtered water, alcohol from cane sugar, less than 2% real fruit juice from concentrate, and natural flavors. Truly and White Claw continue to dominate the hard seltzer market but sales have slowed and they have both introduced flavored vodka’s. Truly also released Truly Vodka Seltzer. Truly Wonderworld shows Truly has not forgotten that hard seltzer helped carry Boston Beer Company for several years as sales of some of their other brands including Sam Adams slowed. Read more