Review: O’Connery’s Irish Cream Liqueur
O’Connery’s Irish Cream Liqueur was just released by Sazerac. It is produced by First Ireland Spirits in Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland. This is the same company that crafts the previously reviewed Feeney’s, O’Mara’s, Delaney’s, and McCormick’s Irish Cream Liqueurs. Sazerac already has several Irish Cream Liqueurs in their product portfolio including Feeney’s. They also have two Irish Style Irish Cream Liqueurs, Ryan’s and Blarney. Irish Style means the cream is not from Ireland. O’Connery’s Irish Cream is a true Irish Cream, but little product information is available at this time. Read more 
Review: Shipyard Melonhead Ale
Shipyard Melonhead Ale was introduced March 2013. It is a seasonal beer produced March-July each year. All right I agree I’m a little late on this review but watermelon flavored beers have been growing in popularity so I wanted to review a couple before October. Melonhead is one of 21 varieties of beer they brew each year at the Shipyard Brewery. They also brew a Pumpkinhead and Applehead Beer. Shipyard has been brewing beer in Portland Maine since 1994. Melonhead is brewed as an ale with natural flavors added after brewing. Read more
Review: Burnetts Cucumber Lime Vodka
Burnetts Cucumber Lime Vodka was introduced April 2016. It is one of 37 flavored vodkas currently produced by Heaven Hill Brands under the Burnetts label. This is the third brand of vodka to create a Cucumber Lime Vodka flavor. The other two are Rain, and Svedka. Burnetts Cucumber Lime Vodka is made from 100% grain in Bardstown Kentucky. The vodka is quadruple distilled and triple charcoal filtered. Natural Cucumber Lime flavors are infused before bottling at 70 proof. Read more
Review: Schlafly Pumpkin Ale
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale was introduced in 2006 by the Schlafly Brewing Company. Schlafly has been brewing beer in St Louis since 1991. Their Pumpkin Ale is a beer that has a long history of appearing on Best Tasting Pumpkin Beer lists, including being named the best pumpkin beer by Paste Magazine in 2014. It is brewed with pumpkin and butternut squash with a blend of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Schlafly Pumpkin beer is sold in six packs and on draft from August-October. Read more
Review: Wicked Dolphin Coconut Rum
Wicked Dolphin Coconut Rum was released November 2014. It was originally only available at the Wicked Dolphin Distillery in Cape Coral Florida, but after quickly selling all 250 cases they knew they were on to something. It is one of three rums they currently craft with 100% Florida sugar grown 35 minutes from the distillery. While Florida may be best known for their orange groves, over half of the sugar cane produced in the US is grown in Florida. The rum is small batch distilled in an American built Copper Pot Still. Real coconut water and natural ingredients are then blended before bottling at 60 proof. Read more
Review: OFallon Peach Pumpkin Beer
OFallon Peach Pumpkin Beer is one of four new pumpkin beers available in a 12 pack pumpkin variety pack. Thirteen years ago the OFallon Brewery was the first to brew a pumpkin beer in St Louis. OFallon Peach Pumpkin is a light all malt beer made with real pumpkin and a house blend of pumpkin spiced tea in the mash. Natural flavors are added after brewing. Read more
Review: Skyy Infusions Bartlett Pear Vodka
Skyy Infusions Bartlett Pear Vodka was just released. It is the 17th flavored vodka in their Infusions line of vodka. The Bartlett Pear’s origin dates back to the 1760’s in England and was first named a Williams Pear. Seeds from this pear were first brought to the US around 1800. They were planted in Massachusetts on an estate later acquired by Enoch Bartlett. Hence the Bartlett name. Today nearly 50% of the pears harvested in the US are Bartlett Pears. This is actually down from the 80% market share they enjoyed 30 years ago. Bartlett Pears are eaten fresh and they are used for canning, puree and pear juice. Pear is not a common vodka flavor and two of the pear flavored vodkas currently in my bar, one made by Smirnoff, and the other by Hangar One, are no longer available. Skyy Infusions Bartlett Pear is made from a vodka base of Midwestern grown wheat that is quadruple distilled in Pekin Illinois. Upon arriving in San Jose California the vodka is blended with water filtered through reverse osmosis and then filtered through California Limestone. The vodka is then infused with Bartlett Pear and other natural flavors before bottling at 70 proof. Read more
Review: Dulce Vida Grapefruit Tequila
Dulce Vida Grapefruit Tequila is one of two new fruit infused 100% agave tequilas recently released by Milestone Brands. They join an 80 proof Blanco, Reposado, and Anejo tequila also recently introduced. Dulce Vida was launched in Austin Texas in 2009 with a 100 proof organic tequila. In the same town one year later Deep Eddy’s Sweet Tea Vodka was released by Clayton Christopher who created and later sold the Sweet Tea Brand, and Chad Auler the founder of Savvy Vodka. In 2013 Eric Dopkins was hired as Deep Eddy’s CEO. After selling Deep Eddy Vodka for around $400 million dollars in September 2015, Chad and Eric formed Milestone Brands. Since than they have acquired both the Dulce Vida tequila brand and the American Born Moonshine Brand. Dulce Vida Grapefruit Tequila is crafted with a tequila base made from 100% organic agave grown in the Highlands. It is triple distilled in copper pot stills. Real grapefruit and natural flavors are infused before bottling at 70 proof. Read more
Review: Saranac Pumpkin Ale
Saranac Pumpkin Ale was first released in 2010. Pumpkin Beer recipes are often tinkered with from year to year and Saranac is no exception, as previous years reviews show a 5.4 ABV. This years version weighs in at 5.3 ABV. Saranac also changed the bottles label, and this year Saranac Pumpkin Ale is also available in 12 oz. cans. Saranac Pumpkin like all of their beers are brewed at the Matts Brewing Company, a fourth generation family brewery in Utica New York. It is brewed with real pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, clove and ginger. The real pumpkin makes up 10% of the weight of the mash. Natural flavors are added after brewing. Read more
Review: Thunderstruck Silver Tequila
Thunderstruck Silver Tequila was recently released. The brand is owned by the HOF rock band AC/DC, who already own a line of beer and wine. Thunderstruck is named for the lead single from AC/DC’s 1990, Razor’s Edge Album. The song has been used as walk up music for baseball closers John Smoltz and Mark Melancon, boxer Manny Pacquiao, and player introductions for the LA Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning. AC/DC and Van Halen may be the only two rock bands that enjoyed equal success with two different lead singers. Now both bands also have a tequila associated with the them. Van Halen lead singer Sammy Hagar launched and later sold Cabo Wabo Tequila. Thunderstruck is crafted with lowland grown agave at Fabrica de Tequilas Finos. This is the same distillery that produces the KAH, Don Manos, and Kirkland Signature line of tequila. Read more