Review: True North Rye Vodka
True North Rye Vodka is mashed, distilled, and bottled at Grand Traverse Distillery in Traverse City Michigan. GTD also crafts a vodka made from wheat and 3 flavored vodka’s made from that wheat vodka base. Ken Rabish grew up on a small family farm in Pinconning Michigan. He opened Grand Traverse Distillery in 2005. His son Landis is the Master Distiller. Besides vodka they produce 2 gins, 9 whiskey’s, and 2 rums. All are made with local ingredients. True North Rye is a 100% straight Polish style rye vodka. It is made from rye grown on the Send Brothers farm in nearby Williamsburg Michigan. The milled rye is fermented for 3-5 days and small batch distilled on a 1200 liter copper reflux still custom made in Germany by Arnold Holstein. The 16 plate still evaporates and condenses 1600 times. The spirit is gently filtered and brought to proof with glacial water from the Great Lakes, and bottled onsite. Read more 
Review: Stillhouse Peanut Butter Smores Whiskey
Stillhouse Peanut Butter Smores Whiskey was recently released. It joins a flavored whiskey lineup that includes Peach Tea, Apple Crisp, and Spiced Cherry. Stillhouse had previously produced a Red Hot, Coconut, and Mint Chip flavored whiskey. Stillhouse Moonshine was Co-Founded by Brad Beckermann in 2010. In 2014 Bacardi made a minority investment before acquiring the brand in 2019. All of the Stillhouse flavored whiskeys are made from the Stillhouse Original Whiskey base made from a 100% corn whiskey base traditionally distilled in copper pot stills. This one is infused with peanut butter s’mores liqueur. Stillhouse also produces Stillhouse Black Bourbon and Stillhouse Classic Vodka. Read more
Review: Topo Chico Spirited
Topo Chico Spirited was just released. It is currently available in 3 varieties and sold in individual flavor four packs. Each 12 ounce can is made with real ingredients including tequila, vodka and real fruit juice. Inspired by Topo Chico Cocktails and weighing in with 5.9% alcohol these cocktails include Ranch Water, Tequila & Lime, Paloma, Tequila & Grapefruit, and a Chilton cocktail, Vodka & Lemon. Read more
Review: Onda Tequila Seltzer Tropical Collection
Onda Tequila Seltzer Tropical Collection is the third, four flavor 8 can mix pack of tequila seltzers produced by Onda. The others include their Paradise and Classic Collection. Onda was launched July 2020 by Noah Gray, Max Dworin, Kelli Adams, and Shay Mitchell. Onda translates to wave or good bye. June 2022 they received a $12.5 million growth investment from a group of heavyweights including Aria Growth Partners, 25Madison, Revolve, and Clayton Christopher the Founder of Sweet Leaf tea, and Co-Founder of Deep Eddy Vodka. Along the way the formula has also changed. The alcohol content has been reduced from 5% to 4.5%, and Onda has moved their canning line from Mexico to Pennsylvania. Onda is made from a blanco tequila base with carbonated water, natural flavors, and real juice. The previous flavors all included lime juice and flavor specific juice. These new flavors appear to follow the same formula. Read more
Review: Walton’s Vodka
Walton’s Vodka is crafted at Pennington Distilling Company in Nashville Tennessee. It was awarded a Double Gold Medal at the prestigeous San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2020. Husband and wife Jeff and Jenny Pennington established Pennington Distilling Company in 2011. It was originally called Speakeasy Spirits. They currently produce 5 varieties of Davidson Reserve Tennessee Whiskey, 4 Pickers Vodka’s, 4 Whisper Creek Tennessee Sipping Creams, Pickers canned Crafted Cocktails, and Pickers Unplugged Vodka Soda. Walton’s Vodka was named for Jenny Pickers father who built his own motorboat at the age of thirteen. It is made from red winter wheat, first pot distilled in a 550 gallon Vendome Copper & Brass Works Hybrid pot still and then a 24 foot column still. The spirit is slow drip filtered 4 times and cut with Tennessee limestone water before bottling. Read more
Review: Quirk Whip Mix Pack
Quirk Whip Mix Pack was recently released. It joins the Quirk Berry Botanical, Tropical Breeze, and Splash of Citrus Mix packs. Quirk also sells Quirk Rocket Pop and Quirk Cranberry Apple Cinnamon hard seltzers in individual flavor packs. Quirk is produced by Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City Missouri. John McDonald an art school graduate and former carpenter Founded Boulevard and started brewing beer in an old brick building that once housed the laundry for the Sante Fe Railroad. In November of 1989 the first keg of Boulevard Pale Ale was ready. Today Boulevard Brewing Company is the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest. Each 12 ounce can of Quirk is made from a sugar alcohol base, with carbonated water, real fruit juice, natural flavors, and citric acid. Absent from the list is stevia. Read more
Review: Bayfront Vodka
Bayfront Vodka is crafted at Rogue Ales and Spirits just steps from Yaquina Bay in Oregon. Rogue Ale was founded in 1988 by three Nike Executives Jack Joyce, Rob Strasser, and Bob Woodell along with Jeff Schultz an accountant and avid brewer. They currently brew 15 varieties of beer including Dead Guy, Batsquatch, and Gumberoo. In 2003 Rogue began distilling spirits. They currently produce 4 whiskeys, 2 Gins, and Bayfront Vodka. Bayfront is small batch distilled 6 times from 100% corn on a Vendome Copper & Brass still. For every bottle sold 10% is given to their non-profit partners to keep beaches and waterways clean. Read more
Review: 4 Hands Fresh Produce Seltzer
4 Hands Fresh Produce is a hard seltzer crafted in collaboration with Fresh Produce. Fresh Produce was established in 2010. They produce a monthly Beat Battle hosted at Sophie’s Artist Lounge in St Louis. Producers are invited to showcase their freshest beats and hottest tracks while competing for fame and fortune. A quick glance at the 4 Hands website shows their lineup includes 10 core beers, 17 seasonal beers, 5 limited release beers and 17 hard seltzers. 3 of the hard seltzers are available year round, the others are seasonal or collaborative. Fresh Produce is described as a blend of white grape and kiwi. 4 Hands seltzers are sold in 4 packs of 16 ounce cans. Read more
Review: Simply Spiked Peach
Simply Spiked Peach was just released. It is sold in a 4 flavor 12 can variety pack and also in individual 24 ounce cans. Last year Molson Coors and Coca-Cola partnered to release Simply Spiked Lemonade. The history of the Simply Orange brand dates back to 2001 when Minute Maid launched Simply Orange made from 100% orange juice not from concentrate. Minute Maid had been acquired by Coca-Cola in 1980. Simply Orange is currently the second best selling brand of orange juice in the US. In 2006 they launch Simply Lemonade and in 2017 Simply Peach. Each 12 ounce slim can is made with 5% real juice, first squeezed then concentrated and weights in with 5% alcohol and 170 calories. Simply Spiked Signature Peach is made with carbonated water, alcohol, cane sugar, peach juice from concentrate, apple juice from concentrate, natural flavor, and stevia. The other three flavors are made the same way with the addition of either Mango, Strawberry, or Kiwi juice from concentrate. Read more
Review: Elvis Midnight Snack
Elvis Midnight Snack is a Peanut Butter, Banana, and Bacon flavored whiskey. It is produced in partnerships with Grain & Barrel Spirits and Elvis Presley Enterprise. Grain & Barrel produces several brands including Chicken Cock Whiskey, Dixie Vodka, Virgil Kane Low Country Whiskey, High Goal Luxury Gin, and Tequila Eterno Verano. Midnight Snack joins Elvis Tiger Man Whiskey, and Elvis The King Straight Rye Whiskey. While the brand claims Elvis’ longtime cook was the first to serve Elvis a Peanut Butter Banana and Bacon sandwich, the story I’ve always heard and research supports is that on February 1 1976 Elvis Presley took his private jet from Graceland to Denver and back in one night because he was craving the 8000 calorie Fools Gold sandwich made by The Colorado Mine Company. The original recipe includes a loaf of French bread, 1 pound of bacon, one jar of creamy peanut butter, and 1 jar of grape jelly. The Colorado Mine Company has since closed, but one can still enjoy The Kings favorite snack at Nicks Cafe in Golden Colorado. Read more