Review: 1220 Encrypted Vodka
1220 Encrypted Vodka was released 12-20-18 by 1220 Artisan Spirits. 1220 Artisan Spirits is a distillery based in the Lasalle Park neighborhood of St. Louis Missouri and is owned by the team at 4 Hands Brewing Company. 4 Hands joins a growing list of craft brewers who have also started distilling spirits. A quick look at the 4 Hands web site shows a growing list of 43 beers they craft at different times throughout the year, including 7 that are offered year round. The distillery also produces several gins, Amaro, and a line of canned cocktails. 1220 Encrypted Vodka is made from Missouri grown corn that is 6 times distilled. It is blended with a small portion of California wine country’s finest grape neutral spirit. Read more 
Review: Tolly’s Peanut Butter Cup
Tolly’s Peanut Butter Cup is produced by Temperance Brands in Temperance Michigan. Temperance Brands is a private label bottler who has developed, and manufactured over 100 unique beverages. Temperance Brands also produces some of their own brands, including 6th Element Vodka, Davenport Whiskey, Liquor Whipped, and Silk Wine. Tolly’s Peanut Butter Cup is one of three cream liqueurs they produce for their owned brand. Ohio Buckeye Candy, and Vanilla Spice are the other two varieties. Tolly’s Peanut Butter Cup is made with their 6th Element Peanut Butter flavored vodka, other than standard orange wine, cream, natural and artificial flavors, with caramel color added. It is bottled at 40 proof Read more
Review: Big Spring Spirits Coconut Rum
Big Spring Spirits Coconut Rum was released December 2014, along with a Spiced Rum, and Seven Governors Gin. Big Spring Spirits is named for Bellefonte’s Big Spring. This spring was awarded the Best Tasting Water in the State by the Pennsylvania Rural Water Association. The distillery also received a Gold rating from LEED, considered the leading benchmark in green buildings. Big Springs was conceived by friends, and Penn State alumni, Paula Cipar and Kevin Lloyd, and is located in the old Bellefonte Match Factory. This factory opened in 1900 and was one of the leading producers of wooden matches. The factory closed in 1947 due to competition from book matches and cigarette lighters. Big Spring Spirits Coconut Rum is made from 100% Caribbean Fancy Molasses, and is distilled in a pot still. Water sourced from the before mentioned Big Spring is blended to reduce to proof. Natural flavor is added before bottling at 70 proof. Read more
Review: Steel Dust Vodka
Steel Dust Vodka is named for a horse who was born in Kentucky in 1843, and brought to Texas as a yearling. The 16 hand tall champion quarter miler match horse was so fast his jockey reportedly coated the stallions back with molasses in order to stay aboard the entire ride. Steel Dust is made from locally grown corn and is distilled six times. The first five times in small batches in a copper pot still. The spirit is finished in a custom column still. If a vodka made from locally grown Texas corn distilled six times in a copper pot still sounds familiar, the bottle design including the plastic top closure will remind you even more of another Texas born vodka. Steel Dust Vodka touts a farm to bottle experience but no farm or distillery information is provided. Steel Dust is bottled by Ocean State Distillers, Woonsocket Rhode Island. Read more
Review: Manifest Citrus Vodka
Manifest Citrus Vodka is the result of a mistake. While experimenting with the production of their gin they created individual botanical distillations, some of which were different types of citrus peels. During a fractional blending, different citrus distillates were mixed. The tasty result was the light bulb moment for Manifest Citrus Vodka. Manifest Citrus starts with a high proof potato neutral spirit made from non GMO Russet potatoes sourced from a craft distillery in Idaho. Valencia and Parson Brown oranges, Meyer Lemon and Pink Grapefruit sourced from C&S Groves in San Mateo Florida are washed, cut and pressed to remove the juice. The fruit is then macerated for two days and redistilled with the high proof distillate in a pot still. Deionized water is blended to reduce to proof. I am reviewing bottle 1204 from batch 2 Read more
Review: Sunset Reef Coconut Rum
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nset Reef Coconut Rum is produced by Toorank Distilleries in Zevenaar, The Netherlands. and is imported by Saranty Imports. Bottled at 42 proof, Sunset Reef weighs in with the same alcohol content as Malibu. The bottle describes Sunset Reef as a liqueur with the flavor of coconut and rum. No additional product information is available. I found my bottle at Total Wine and More. Read more
Review: Old Fourth Distillery Vodka
Old Fourth Distillery Vodka is made from minimally refined non GMO turbinado cane sugar sourced from a small Louisiana farm. The distillery was started by Jeff and Craig Moore, two brothers who located the distillery in the fourth ward district of Atlanta. Turbinado cane sugar was selected because the distillery is located in an urban area, and they were looking for something they could convert to alcohol with zero waste. The only by-product is pure distilled water. The distillery was Atlanta’s first legal distillery since 1906, when it opened in 2014, the same year the vodka was released. Old Fourth Distillery Vodka is distilled three times on a Carl still. Carl has been building custom stills since 1869 in Stuttgart Germany. The Old Fourth Distillery also currently produces a gin, straight bourbon whiskey, and Lawn Dart. Lawn Dart is made from their vodka base and is vapor infused with fresh lemon peel, fresh organic cold-pressed ginger juice and a hint of the same cane used to craft their vodka. Read more
Review: Puntagave Rustico Tequila Blanco
Puntagave Rustico Tequila Blanco is one of five expressions in Puntagave’s, Rustico line of spirits. The others include a Mezcal, Raicilla, Sotol, and Bacanora. Puntagave was founded in 2015 by Guillermo Barroso Arnaud and Juan Pablo Garciabueno. Guillermo became the second certified Maestro Tequilero in the world. He has developed four unique agave brands including El Pintor and Fat Ass. Juan is the mastermind behind Tequila Specialist founded in 1997. He is responsible for the introduction of hundreds of brands of tequila into US and European markets. Some of those brands include Casa Noble, Tres Agaves, Clase Azul, 30-30, and Oro Azul. He is also the Co-Founder of Tequila Don Fulano. Puntagave Rustio Tequila is made from 100% Highland grown Tequilana Weber agave. The agave is baked in an autoclave oven and double distilled in copper stills by Guillermo Barroso Arnaud at Compania Tequilera Hacienda La Capilla. Read more
Review: SomruS Mango Cream Liqueur
SomruS Mango Cream Liqueur was released in 2017. It is produced by SomPriya Fine Spirits in Pewaukee Wisconsin, and is sold as The Original Mango Cream Liqueur outside the US. The husband and wife team at SomPriya also produce the previously reviewed SomruS Chai Cream Liqueur, (also known as The Original Indian Cream Liqueur outside the US). SomruS Mango is described as an artisanal blend of lush Alphonso mangos, real Wisconsin dairy cream, and finest Caribbean rum. The Alphonso mango originated in India 4000 years ago and is considered the King of Mangos for its sweetness and flavor. Read more
Review: Absolut Juice Apple Edition
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bsolut Juice Apple Edition was recently released along with the previously reviewed Strawberry Edition. Both are real fruit juice infused vodka’s. After years of ridiculous flavored vodka, the industry is focused on three flavoring trends. Zero Sugar, Real Fruit, and Real Fruit Juice Infused. Absolut Apple starts with the Original Absolut vodka base, which is made from Swedish winter wheat sourced from 450 local farms. Once the spirit is distilled, it is filtered through a mesh filter, and reduced to proof with pure deep well water. 5% real apple juice and natural flavors are infused with the vodka base before bottling at 70 proof. Read more