Review: Van Der Haute Eggnog Wine Based
Van Der Haute Eggnog Wine Based is the companion to the spirit based Van Der Haute Eggnog, our top rated adult eggnog. While it’s a little past the peak of Eggnog Season, Mid-January is a great time to pick up a bottle of eggnog at a reduced price. I picked up this bottle at a 75% discount. VDH Eggnog Wine Formula is made with an orange wine alcohol base with real dairy cream, eggs, and holiday spices. The Original Van Der Haute Eggnog is made with spiced rum, and brandy. Both are produce in Mira Loma California by La Vecke Corporation, one of the worlds largest spirit producers. Van Der Haute is sold at Albertsons and Safeway grocery stores. Read more 
Review: Black Irish Salted Caramel Irish Cream
Black Irish Salted Caramel Irish Cream is one of three premium Irish Cream liqueurs in Mariah Careys new spirit line. Two years in the making Mariah Carey was involved from product development, to the package design that includes three butterfly images. A not so subtle nod to her Butterfly album. The other flavors include Black Irish Original Irish Cream and Black Irish White Chocolate Irish Cream. Credit for creating the first salted caramel product goes to Frenchman Henri Le Roux. He was a chocolatier who opened a store in Quibron Brittani. He wanted to develop a unique product that would help him stand out. In 1980 it was named to best confectionery in France. I’d say mission accomplished. Starbucks receives most of the credit for extending the popularity of salted caramel to the masses when they introduced their salted caramel hot chocolate in 2008. Try finding an unsalted caramel product now. With a retail price of $29.99 Black Irish was not created to be as good as the market leader at a lower price. Black Irish was crafted to be better than the market leader, and the premium price reflects the Songbird Supreme’s confidence it is. Read more
Review: Lockwood Distilling Bourbon Cream Liqueur
Lockwood Distilling Bourbon Cream Liqueur is one of nine spirits currently crafted at Lockwood Distilling Company in Richardson Texas. The other spirits include Lockwood Straight Bourbon, Straight Rye, Texas Style Gin, Vodka, Hibiscus Vodka, Silver Rum, Pineapple Rum, and Vanilla Rum. The distillery and the adjoining restaurant opened October 2019 by co-owners Evan and Sally Batt. Evan also co-founded Western Son Distillery in 2012. All of the spirits are created inhouse using a 100 gallon still. Lockwood Distilling Bourbon Cream starts with their bourbon base made from a high corn mash with Oklahoma rye. Real Wisconsin dairy cream, vanilla, almond, and Texas pecan are blended before hand bottling at 34 proof. The same alcohol content as Baileys Irish Cream. Read more
Review: Licor 43 Horchata
Licor 43 Horchata is one of two products made from a Licor 43 base. The other is Licor 43 Baristo which blends Licor 43 with Arabica coffee from the Canary Islands. Licor 43 is named for the 43 natural ingredients used in crafting it. Licor 43 was inspired by an ancient recipe dating back to 209 BC, and was a favorite drink of the Carthaginians. The Zamora family purchased a distillery in Cartagena Spain in 1946 and began production. Today Licor 43 is the best selling liqueur in Spain. In creating Licor 43, 43 natural ingredients are macerated in a blend of alcohol and water. The liqueur rests for 6-9 months in stainless steel tanks. The spirit is micro filtered at subzero temperatures prior to bottling at 62 proof. A creamy fusion of traditional horchata from Valencia Spain is blended with the Licor 43 base before bottling at 32 proof. Horchata from Spain is made from tiger nuts, blended with sugar and is sometimes flavored with cinnamon and lemon. Read more
Review: Snowball Coconut Cream Liqueur
Snowball Coconut Cream Liqueur is one of three Snowball brand cream liqueurs recently released. The other two flavors are Peach and Mango. The inspiration for Snowball Cream Liqueur dates back to 1923 in a small town in Northern Europe where a family started a small ice cream shop following their grandmothers homemade recipes. This family passion and dedication for making the finest premium quality ice cream has transcended through three generations and led to the creation of Snowball Cream Liqueur. Snowball is made by Creamy Creation in New Jersey and bottled at Mango Bottling in Cocoa Florida. Snowball Coconut Cream Liqueur is made with ultra premium vodka, cream, and natural flavors. It is bottled at 33 proof. By comparison Bailey’s Irish Cream weighs in at 34 proof. Read more
Review: Declans Irish Cream Wine Cocktail
Declans Irish Cream Wine Cocktail is made with grape wine, cream, natural flavors, and caramel color. It is bottled by Brookstone Distilling Company in Lewiston Maine. To use the Irish Cream name the cream must come from Ireland. True Irish Cream is also made with Irish Whiskey. In Ireland, Irish Country Cream is the designation given Irish Creams made with wine. It is not quite clear as to what part, if any of Declans Irish Cream Wine Cocktail is actually sourced from Ireland. Read more
Review: Disaronno Velvet Cream Liqueur
Disaronna Velvet Cream Liqueur was just released. This is the second line extension for Disaronno. The first, Disaronno Riserva was launched in 2015. It was a blend of scotch sourced from the Highland and Speyside Region and Disaronno. After blending together it was aged in Marsala wine barrels. Disaronno was first commercially bottled in 1900 but it is based on a recipe said to date back to 1525. Until 2001 it was named Amaretto di Saronno. While the exact recipe is a secret, it is made from a pure alcohol base made from sugar beet or sugar cane. Vanilla and bitter almond are the only two named ingredients. Bitter almonds are actually apricot pits. The pits are crushed to extract the oil. In crafting Disaronna Velvet, Disaronna Originale is blended with real dairy cream before bottling at 34 proof. That is the same alcohol content as Bailey’s Irish Cream. Read more
Review: Quinns Irish Cream
Quinns Irish Cream was recently released. It appears to be Target’s new house brand. Also new to their shelves are several other Target only spirits including a vodka. No product information is available on the bottles label or the Target website. The fact that they have labeled this an Irish Cream Liqueur tells me this is made from Irish Whiskey, fresh dairy cream, and natural flavors. Most Irish Cream liqueurs also include neutral spirits. Quinns is imported by Universal Brands, Princeton Minnesota. Princeton Minnesota is the import location of over a dozen private label Irish cream liqueurs. Read more
Review: JF Haden’s Mango Liqueur
JF Haden’s Mango Liqueur was recently released. It is produced in 3000 bottle batches in Jacksonville Florida. I was lucky enough to receive bottle number 2117 of their first batch. The inspiration for JF Haden’s Mango Liqueur is the Haden Mango, with a history dating back to 1902 when the Haden family brought back four dozen Mulgoba fruit trees to plant on their property. The Mulgoba mango is native to South India. While the initial plating did not go well, by 1910 their mango trees were producing juicy blushed orange colored fruit. Most mango varieties ripen from green to yellow. The Haden mango is said to be a hybrid of a Mulgoba and Turpentine mango. Mango is an increasingly popular adult beverage flavor, and once opened a bottle of mango puree has a limited shelf life. CEO Buzzy Sklar teamed up with COO Andrew Siegel, to build Tropical Distillers and create JF Haden’s Mango Liqueur. It has a 2 year shelf life with no refrigeration needed. JF Haden’s Mango Liqueur is made from home grown Florida mangoes, grain neutral spirits, natural flavors, and Florida cane sugar. No preservatives, artificial colors, or flavors are added before bottling at 40 proof. Read more
Review: Café Granita Cold Brew Coffee & Cream
Café Granita Cold Brew Coffee & Cream is a blend of coffee, and cream liqueur. It is produced in Princeton Minnesota and sold at Total Wine and More stores throughout the US. They also produce Café Granita, a straight coffee liqueur produced in Mexico with lightly roasted coffee beans fermented with sugar. It is currently available in a 750ml bottle, a four pack of 200ml bottles, or a 50ml sample size. Although Kahlua is made from a rum base, the ingredient list of Café Granita Cold Brew Coffee & Cream brings back memories of the classic Kahlua and cream cocktail. Read more