Review: Chase Orange Marmalade Vodka
Chase Orange Marmalade Vodka was initially a limited edition release. The response was so strong it was made one of their flagship flavors. It is made from a vodka base crafted with King Edward, and Lady Claire potatoes, estate grown on the family farm. 16 tonnes of potatoes are needed to make 1000 liters of alcohol. Once harvested the potatoes are fermented with brewers yeast for one week. The spirit is distilled four times in a Bespoke copper batch still and then twice more in a rectification column still. The column is the tallest of its kind on the world. At 70 feet it raises through the roof of the barn. Water drawn from an onsite aquifer filtered through reverse osmosis and deionized is blended to reduce to proof. The vodka base is marinated with thick cut orange marmalade and ribbons of peel from Seville Oranges. The spirit is distilled again with orange peel from Valencia. A final maceration with rough cut marmalade is followed by a chill filtration. The vodka is bottling onsite at 80 proof in Herefordsshire England Wisconsin. Read more 
Review: Portland Potato Vodka
Portland Potato Vodka is one of several spirits crafted at the Eastside Distilling Company located in Southeast Portland’s Distillery Row since 2008. Currently eight independent distillers make their home there. Eastside also produces several rums, bourbons, whiskeys, and liqueurs. Portland Hot Potato Vodka, a habanero infused vodka made in collaboration with Secret Aardvark Hot Sauce was just released. Portland Potato Vodka is made from potatoes and pristine water from Mt. Hood. The vodka is distilled four times by Master Distiller Mel Heim. Read more
Review: Trails End Bourbon
Trails End Bourbon is an ultra premium Kentucky straight bourbon aged for 8 years. The bourbon travels to Hood River Distillers in Hood River Oregon, where it is steeped with Oregon oak staves in stainless steel vats. Pure glacier fed spring water from Mt. Hood is blended to reduce to 90 proof. Hood River Distillers produces several brands including Pendleton Whisky, 44 North Vodka and Lucid Absinthe. Trails End is named for the final destination of the famous Oregon Trail which is located near Hood River Distillers. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to map a path from the Missouri River in Missouri to Oregon. The two traveled to Oregon and back between 1804-1806 mapping the return journey which they found more direct. Read more
Review: Blue Nectar Silver Tequila
Blue Nectar Silver Tequila was introduced October 2011 in Colorado and Michigan. Since then distribution has expanded. Blue Nectar is the result of a father and son with a shared love for tequila. It started with a birthday ritual of gifting exceptional tequilas, and resulted in the creation of their own brand. Blue Nectar is made from 100% blue agave, estate grown for 8-10 years in the volcanic soils of a 1700 hectares field, adjacent to the distillery, at an elevation of 4139 feet. The pinas are slow cooked and cooled for 24 hours in an autoclave. Once the juice is extracted it is fermented for 3-5 days in stainless steel tanks and then triple distilled. Read more
Review: D’usse VSOP Cognac
D’usse VSOP Cognac, pronounced dew-say was launched by Bacardi in NYC May 2012. Jay-Z is their celebrity endorser. D’usse was created by Cellar Master Michel Casavecchia who has spent over 20 years creating cognac for Chateau de Cognac. Chateau de Cognac is where Baron Otard Cognac is made. The Chateau was originally built as a fortress to resist the Viking and English invasions at the end of the 11th century. In the 15th century Jean de Valois rebuilt the Chateau. Baron Otard established his cognac house in 1795 when he acquire the chateau. The eaux de vie selected for D’usse VSOP Cognac are aged in a combination of dry and humid cellars. The blends of eaux de vie come from four crus including Grande Champaign, Petite Champaign, Borderies, and Fin Bois. Each is aged a minimum 4 1/2 years. The unique D’usee VSOP Cognac bottle includes a gold Cross of Lorraine, Frances fabled emblem of courage, honor, and perseverance. The Chateau de Cognac also produces D’usse XO Cognac. Read more
Review: Rock Town Grapefruit Vodka
Rock Town Grapefruit Vodka is one of three flavored vodka’s produced at the first legal distillery in Arkansas since prohibition. The other flavors include Mandarin Orange, and Basil. The distillery was founded by Phil Brandon in 2010. Each flavored vodka starts with the Original Rock Town Vodka base, made from corn grown in Arkansas within 125 miles of their downtown Little Rock distillery. Little Rock Arkansas was originally named La Petite Rock by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Bernard de La Harpe because of the rock formation along the Arkansas River in now downtown Little Rock. The vodka base is distilled 6 times and filtered to be ultra smooth. Natural flavors are infused before bottling at 70 proof. The Rock Town Distillery also produces moonshine, bourbon, whiskey, and rye. Read more
Review: Camus Borderies VSOP Cognac
Camus Borderies VSOP Cognac is a Limited Edition cognac crafted in 2014 by Cellar Master Patrick Leger. Camus can trace its history back to 1863 when Jean-Baptiste Camus organized a consortium of cognac producers under the name La Grande Marque. For five generations the Camus family has worked with boundless passion and patience to craft remarkable cognac. The wine used to create Camus Borderies VSOP comes from a blend of white grapes, primarily Ugni Blanc Grapes, predominantly grown on the Camus family’s own Borderies vineyards. Borderies cru is the smallest of the six winegrowing regions of Cognac. The Camus family is the largest land owner in the Borderies appellation, where le Plessis, their family home lies. To achieve a delicate balance between scientific precision and artistic flair the master distiller crafted a subtle blend of wines, some with and some without lees. The eaux-de-vie is aged for a minimum of 4 years in Limousin oak barrels prior to blending. Read more
Review: Wyborowa Wodka
Wyborowa Wodka is made by Polmos Poznan at a distillery dating back to 1823. Wyborowa translates in English to Excellent. Wyborowa Wodka was launched in 1927. It is made from rye grain grown in Western Poland and water sourced from a 200 meter well. Three kilograms of rye are needed to produce one liter of vodka. The pure rye is mashed and distilled once at 40 small individually owned agricultural distilleries. The spirit is then distilled in a copper pot still. After arriving at the Wyborowa Distillery the raw spirit is rectified in a three column continuous still. The spirit is then filtered through natural cellulose plates and mesh filters. Read more
Review: Els Iced Coffee
Els Iced Coffee was recently released. It is one of three Els Iced spirits recently released. The other flavors include Els Iced Chocolate, and Els Iced Chocolate Mint. Els Iced Coffee is named for Golfer Ernie Els, who Founder Cayce Kerr first met on the golf range at Royal Birkdale in 1989. They have been friends every since. While Cayce is a caddie by trade, it was not until the Spring of 2016 that he became Ernie Els caddie. Els Iced Coffee is made with orange wine, fresh cream from a dairy in Wisconsin, a blend of natural coffee flavors, and caramel color. Read more
Review: Remy Martin VSOP Cognac
Remy Martin VSOP Cognac was created in 1927 by Remy Martin Cellar Master Andre Renaud. It was the first VSOP Fine Champaign. Remy Martin was founded in 1724 by Remy Martin. Only grapes grown in The Grande Champaign and Petite Champaign regions of Cognac are used in crafting Remy Martin Cognac. The grape blend is predominately Ugni Blanc grapes, with a touch of Colombard and Folle Blanche grapes. Remy Martin owns four domains in Grande Champagne totaling 240 hectacres. This accounts for 4% of the eaux-de-vie needed. The balance comes from an alliance of roughly 1000 winemakers. The grapes are gently pressed and the juice is left to ferment for 5-7 days. It is distilled in small copper stills. Each batch is distilled twice. After each distillation the heads and tails are discarded. Each year over 1000 winegrowers submit their eaux-de-vie for selection. The Remy Martin tasting committee selects from over 2000 samples. Those selected eaux-de-vie are stored in the cellars for aging in oak casks sourced from trees over 100 years old grown in the Limousin forest. The Remy Martin cellars in Merpins store 140,000 casks. Each cellar has a slightly different temperature and humidity, fine tuning the aging environment. The Cellar Master then blends the casks of varying age so there wont be any difference between a bottle of Remy Martin VSOP purchased in 2007 and 2017. Read more