Review: D’usse VSOP Cognac
D’usse VSOP Cognac, pronounced dew-say was launched by Bacardi in NYC May 2012. Jay-Z is their celebrity endorser. D’usse was created by Cellar Master Michel Casavecchia who has spent over 20 years creating cognac for Chateau de Cognac. Chateau de Cognac is where Baron Otard Cognac is made. The Chateau was originally built as a fortress to resist the Viking and English invasions at the end of the 11th century. In the 15th century Jean de Valois rebuilt the Chateau. Baron Otard established his cognac house in 1795 when he acquire the chateau. The eaux de vie selected for D’usse VSOP Cognac are aged in a combination of dry and humid cellars. The blends of eaux de vie come from four crus including Grande Champaign, Petite Champaign, Borderies, and Fin Bois. Each is aged a minimum 4 1/2 years. The unique D’usee VSOP Cognac bottle includes a gold Cross of Lorraine, Frances fabled emblem of courage, honor, and perseverance. The Chateau de Cognac also produces D’usse XO Cognac. Read more 
Review: Rock Town Grapefruit Vodka
Rock Town Grapefruit Vodka is one of three flavored vodka’s produced at the first legal distillery in Arkansas since prohibition. The other flavors include Mandarin Orange, and Basil. The distillery was founded by Phil Brandon in 2010. Each flavored vodka starts with the Original Rock Town Vodka base, made from corn grown in Arkansas within 125 miles of their downtown Little Rock distillery. Little Rock Arkansas was originally named La Petite Rock by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Bernard de La Harpe because of the rock formation along the Arkansas River in now downtown Little Rock. The vodka base is distilled 6 times and filtered to be ultra smooth. Natural flavors are infused before bottling at 70 proof. The Rock Town Distillery also produces moonshine, bourbon, whiskey, and rye. Read more
Review: Camus Borderies VSOP Cognac
Camus Borderies VSOP Cognac is a Limited Edition cognac crafted in 2014 by Cellar Master Patrick Leger. Camus can trace its history back to 1863 when Jean-Baptiste Camus organized a consortium of cognac producers under the name La Grande Marque. For five generations the Camus family has worked with boundless passion and patience to craft remarkable cognac. The wine used to create Camus Borderies VSOP comes from a blend of white grapes, primarily Ugni Blanc Grapes, predominantly grown on the Camus family’s own Borderies vineyards. Borderies cru is the smallest of the six winegrowing regions of Cognac. The Camus family is the largest land owner in the Borderies appellation, where le Plessis, their family home lies. To achieve a delicate balance between scientific precision and artistic flair the master distiller crafted a subtle blend of wines, some with and some without lees. The eaux-de-vie is aged for a minimum of 4 years in Limousin oak barrels prior to blending. Read more
Review: Wyborowa Wodka
Wyborowa Wodka is made by Polmos Poznan at a distillery dating back to 1823. Wyborowa translates in English to Excellent. Wyborowa Wodka was launched in 1927. It is made from rye grain grown in Western Poland and water sourced from a 200 meter well. Three kilograms of rye are needed to produce one liter of vodka. The pure rye is mashed and distilled once at 40 small individually owned agricultural distilleries. The spirit is then distilled in a copper pot still. After arriving at the Wyborowa Distillery the raw spirit is rectified in a three column continuous still. The spirit is then filtered through natural cellulose plates and mesh filters. Read more
Review: Els Iced Coffee
Els Iced Coffee was recently released. It is one of three Els Iced spirits recently released. The other flavors include Els Iced Chocolate, and Els Iced Chocolate Mint. Els Iced Coffee is named for Golfer Ernie Els, who Founder Cayce Kerr first met on the golf range at Royal Birkdale in 1989. They have been friends every since. While Cayce is a caddie by trade, it was not until the Spring of 2016 that he became Ernie Els caddie. Els Iced Coffee is made with orange wine, fresh cream from a dairy in Wisconsin, a blend of natural coffee flavors, and caramel color. Read more
Review: Remy Martin VSOP Cognac
Remy Martin VSOP Cognac was created in 1927 by Remy Martin Cellar Master Andre Renaud. It was the first VSOP Fine Champaign. Remy Martin was founded in 1724 by Remy Martin. Only grapes grown in The Grande Champaign and Petite Champaign regions of Cognac are used in crafting Remy Martin Cognac. The grape blend is predominately Ugni Blanc grapes, with a touch of Colombard and Folle Blanche grapes. Remy Martin owns four domains in Grande Champagne totaling 240 hectacres. This accounts for 4% of the eaux-de-vie needed. The balance comes from an alliance of roughly 1000 winemakers. The grapes are gently pressed and the juice is left to ferment for 5-7 days. It is distilled in small copper stills. Each batch is distilled twice. After each distillation the heads and tails are discarded. Each year over 1000 winegrowers submit their eaux-de-vie for selection. The Remy Martin tasting committee selects from over 2000 samples. Those selected eaux-de-vie are stored in the cellars for aging in oak casks sourced from trees over 100 years old grown in the Limousin forest. The Remy Martin cellars in Merpins store 140,000 casks. Each cellar has a slightly different temperature and humidity, fine tuning the aging environment. The Cellar Master then blends the casks of varying age so there wont be any difference between a bottle of Remy Martin VSOP purchased in 2007 and 2017. Read more
Review: Ballotin Original Chocolate Whiskey
Ballotin Original Chocolate Whiskey is one of four flavored whiskeys launched October 2015 by Saloon Spirits. Ballotin is named for the stylish specialty box Belgian chocolatiers made to protect their fine chocolates. The other flavors include Caramel Turtle, Bourbon Ball, and Chocolate Mint. Saloon Spirits Founder Paul Tuell is a former Brand Manager for Brown Forman. The light whiskey base is made from a traditional bourbon mash of 51% or more corn, with wheat and barley making up the balance. The whiskey is aged for two years in used oak barrels. This light whiskey base allows the taste of the natural flavors infused with the whiskey to shine through. Bourbon must be aged in New American white oak barrels that have been charred. The char and new oak from those bourbon barrels would have created a flavor barrier. Natural flavor and caramel color are infused before bottling at 60 proof in Louisville Kentucky. Read more
Review: Bainbridge Legacy Organic Vodka
Bainbridge Legacy Organic Vodka is named for the Washington State Island the vodka is crafted on. Bainbridge Organic Distillers was Washington States first distillery producing USDA certified organic spirits when it was founded as a family business by Keith Barnes and his son Patrick in 2009. Since the beginning, every task in the making of distilled spirits has been done onsite with their own hands. From the selection of grain varieties and lots, to grinding, mashing, fermenting, and distilling. They also produce 2 gins, 2 whiskeys and an Organic Vanilla Vodka. Bainbridge Legacy Organic Vodka is made from soft organic white wheat grown on family farms, and pristine water from the islands deep aquifers. It is small batch distilled four times in a 300 gallon Vendome copper pot still. Read more
Review: Beach Whiskey Bonfire Cinnamon
Beach Whiskey Bonfire Cinnamon is one of two flavored whiskeys distilled from corn mash, then filtered at the old Seagrams Distillery in Lawrenceburg Indiana. The other flavor is Island Coconut. The unaged whiskey base is blended with natural flavor including capsicum spice and cinnamon, and bottled in Houston Texas in a red custom sea glass bottle. Thanks in no small part to the success of Fireball Whisky, cinnamon is by far the most popular flavored whiskey. Beach Whiskey Bonfire Cinnamon is made with 1/3 less sugar than the market leader. Read more
Review: Crown Valley Pink Lemonade Vodka
Crown Valley Pink Lemonade Vodka is one of four vodkas crafted in small batches from grapes grown on the 8000 acre Joe Scott Sr. owned estate that includes a vineyard and winery, a big cat sanctuary, a bison farm and the Crown Valley Brewing and Distilling estate. The other vodka flavors include Blackberry, Pumpkin Cheesecake, and their original unflavored. The brewery and distillery are housed in the old Coffman School House in Ste. Genevieve Missouri. It was revitalized in 2008, and the distillery opened May 2009. Beside Beer, Hard Cider, and Vodka they distill Moonshine and Gin. The vodka is distilled in a custom stainless steel still and then cold filtered. Natural flavors and certified color are blended before bottling at 70 proof. Read more