Review: New Amsterdam Grapefruit Vodka
New Amsterdam Grapefruit Vodka was just released. This is their tenth flavored vodka. At one time they also made a Citron Flavored Vodka. Grapefruit is a very popular flavored vodka in fact this is the 24th Grapefruit Flavored vodka I’ve reviewed. Only Raspberry 25, Peach 25, and Orange 30 have been reviewed more. Launched in 2011 the New Amsterdam Vodka brand has seen meteoric growth with last years sales surpassing 5.36 million cases. New Amsterdam is now the third best selling brand of vodka sold in the US. Only Tito’s and Smirnoff sell more. New Amsterdam Grapefruit Vodka is 5-times distilled from the finest grains , then filtered three times. Natural ruby red grapefruit and other natural flavors are infused before bottling at 70 proof. Read more 
Review: Volcan De Mi Tierra Blanco Tequila
Volcan De Mi Tierra Blanco Tequila was created in a 50/50 partnership between Moet Hennessy and the Gallardo Family. Moet Hennessy is the parent company of several of the worlds most popular wine and spirits brands including Dom Perignon, Moet and Chandon, Hennessy, Glenmorange, and Belvedere. Maestra de Tequila Anna Maria Romero Mena was recruited to create the tequila. While they certainly had the resources to acquire their choice of any existing tequila brand, Moet Hennessy decided to build their own brand. After 2 1/2 years, 177 batches, and 27 different bottle designs, Volcan De Mi Blanco Tequila was ready for sale. The final product is made from a blend of 75% slow roasted Lowland agave cooked for 44 hours, and 25% Highland agave baked for 12 hours. Each agave takes 3250 days to ripen before it is ready for harvest. After cooling, the agave is crushed and fermented in wooden tanks with Champaign and Rum yeast. The spirit is first distilled in a copper still and again in a stainless steel still. The tequila rests for 30 days prior to bottling. Read more
Review: Kirkland Irish Country Cream
Kirkland Irish Country Cream is sold at Costco Wholesale stores in 1.5 liter plastic bottles, in states that do not allow the sale of spirits. I picked up this bottle on a recent trip to North Carolina. It is produced and bottled by Patrick Piper and Sons in Pewaukee Wisconsin. This is the same location RumChata is produced. The Irish Country Cream designation instead of Irish Cream, is given to Irish cream liqueurs produced with wine instead of Irish Whisky. Kirkland Irish Country Cream is made with dessert wine, dairy cream, natural, and artificial flavors, and caramel color.
Review: Absolut Grapefruit Vodka
Absolut Grapefruit Vodka was just released. If you thought Absolut already had a grapefruit flavored vodka, you would be correct. Absolut Ruby Red was one of the first grapefruit flavored vodka’s when in was launched in 2006. Absolut Ruby Red is still shown as available on the Absolut Vodka website. Absolut Grapefruit is crafted from a vodka base made from Swedish winter wheat sourced from 450 local farms. One Kilo of wheat is needed to create one liter of vodka. The wheat is milled onsite and blended with water and a proprietary yeast, and fermented for 2 days. A continuous distillation process is used with steel column stills and copper plates. The vodka is filtered once through a mesh filter. Pure deep well water that comes from naturally filtered aquifers is softened through reverse osmosis and then blended with the vodka to reduce to proof. All natural flavors are infused with the vodka. No sugar is added before bottling at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Captain Morgan Apple Smash
Captain Morgan Apple Smash was just released. This is their fifth cannon ball shaped bottle of flavored rum designed to be served chilled in a shot glass. The other flavors include Cannon Blast, Jack-O’Blast, Watermelon Smash, and LoCoconut. Each is made with Caribbean rum that is shipped to the US where natural flavors and certified colors are blended before bottling at 60 proof. Read more
Review: Nooku Bourbon Cream
Nooku Bourbon Cream was introduced in Colorado, December 2016. It is now available in 14 states, with more to follow. Nooku is inspired by a Native American name for the white snowshoe rabbit. Nooku Bourbon Cream is crafted using two ingredients, Old Elks Bourbon and real dairy cream from Creamy Creations in Batavia New York. Old Elks Bourbon is produced in Fort Collins Colorado at Old Elk Distillery with malted barley, rye, and corn. Four times more malted barley is used than conventional bourbon recipes call for. The Old Elk Distillery was launched by Curt and Nancy Richardson, the founders of Otterbox and Blue Ocean Enterprises. The bourbon is aged two years in new charred white oak barrels. Traditional proofing takes 24-48 hours. The slow cutting technique used to produce Old Elk Bourbon occurs over several periods, and takes significantly longer. Read more
Review: Chamucos Blanco Tequila
Chamucos Blanco Tequila was introduced in 2009. Chamucos Tequila was originally conceived in 1992 by two friends, Mexican film director Antonio Urrutia and hand blown glass bottle artist/producer Cesar Hernandez. It was launched in Mexico and the US in 1994 as a Reposado only. Chamucos are believed to be dark shadowy creatures who appear in dreams and play bothersome, frightening and mischievous acts. Chamucos Blanco Tequila is made from organic blue agave grown for 8-10 years, with a brix sugar content of 27-30 in the Highlands of Los Altos. The pinas are slow cooked in masonry brick ovens. Once cooled and crushed the agave nectar is naturally fermented with proprietary yeast in open vat tanks and double distilled in specially designed stainless steel alambique stills. Micro filtration, polishing filtration, oxygenation, and cold filtration follow before bottling. Read more
Review: Cold River Blueberry Vodka
Cold River Blueberry Vodka is crafted at Maine Distilleries in Freeport Maine. They start with their whole potato vodka base. Many distilleries use potato starch to create their potato vodka. The Yukon Gold, Russet, and White Potatoes used are grown at Green Thumb Farms which is owned by Donnie Thibodeau a Founder/Partner of Maine Distilleries. The potatoes are steamed and cooked in filtered water and fermented with yeast. A triple distillation in a 1000 liter copper pot still follows. Wyman Maine blueberries are steeped for days in alcohol. The alcohol is filtered out before pure filtered water from the Cold River aquifer and 1% sugar are blended with the blueberry and vodka base. Some flavored vodkas add 12%-14% sugar. Each bottle is hand filled at 80 proof and numbered. This is a true ground to glass experience. Read more
Review: Till American Wheat Vodka
Till
American Wheat Vodka was released for sale April 2016 in Kansas and Missouri. Since then several states have been added. As each month passes, they expand their footprint, with the goal someday soon of National distribution. Till American Wheat Vodka is produced by MGP, a leading supplier of premium distilled spirits who first opened their doors in 1941 as a small distillery in Atchison Kansas. In 2011 they acquired a second distillery in Lawrenceburg Indiana once owned by Seagram’s. Many of today’s best known spirits start as a grain neutral spirit distilled by MGP. Their Indiana distillery produces whiskey for about 130 brands. Till is made from red wheat grown in Kansas and distilled using a 75 year old proprietary process. Till American Wheat Vodka was MGP’s first attempt at creating their own brand. Since launching Till, MGP has introduced the Master Crafted line of whiskey. Read more
Review: Blue Chair Bay Pineapple Rum Cream
Blue Chair Bay Pineapple Rum Cream was recently released. This is the 9th Blue Chair Bay variety in Country Music star Kenny Chesney’s line of Caribbean rum. Each variety starts with a white rum base distilled and aged up to 15 months in oak barrels at the West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados. After shipping to Rochester New York real cream, pineapple and coconut flavors are blended before bottling at 30 proof. Read more