Review: Tapatio Blanco Tequila
Tapatio Blanco Tequila is crafted at La Altena Distillery in the mountainous region of Jalisco. This distillery was built by Don Felipe Camarena in 1937. Tapatio is a Mexican word referring to a man from Guadalajara Mexico. Today Tapatio tequila is made by Master Distiller Carlos Camarena, the grandson of Don Felipe. While Tapatio tequila had been very popular in Mexico for 75 years, it was not released in the US until 2012. Since then, Tapatio Blanco has won several awards and was selected as one of the top 18 tequilas by Men’s Journal. Tapatio is made from 100% Arandas estate grown agave. After slow roasting for four days, the agave is crushed with a traditional large stone Tahona wheel, fermented with a wild yeast culture dating back 80 years, double distilled in a small copper pot still, and then rested for 2 months in stainless steel tanks before it is bottled. Read more 
Review: Strongbow Orange Blossom Hard Cider
Strongbow Orange Blossom Hard Cider was introduced in six packs of 11.2 ounce bottles and four packs of mini 4 ounce cans in March. Orange Blossom is also available in the Strongbow 12 bottle variety pack. It replaced Strongbow Ginger. The other flavors in the variety pack include Honey, Cherry Blossom, and Gold Apple. The Strongbow brand was launched in England in 1962 and was acquired by Heineken in 2008. The apples used to create Strongbow cider are grown to produce cider and nothing else. Once harvested the apples are washed and crushed. The pure juice is extracted, fermented, and filtered. Natural flavor and color is blended with the cider. Read more
Review: Tap 357 Maple Rye Whisky
Tap 357 Maple Rye Whisky was introduced February 2012. Tap 357 is named for the blend of 3, 5, and 7 year old rye whiskies and the natural Canadian maple tapped at the first hint of spring in Quebec, used in crafting it. Each of the blended rye whiskies are produced in small batches in the oldest distillery in Western Canada. The whisky is distilled four times before maturing in a combination of new, second and third use bourbon barrels. Master Distiller Michel Marcil blends the whisky and then blends pure local grade 1 light Canadian maple syrup sourced from Quebec. In a proprietary finishing process the maple flavored rye whisky is left to rest until the blend is ready for release. As someone who has visited New England dozens of times and has several friends and business associates who don’t leave New England without a bottle of 100% maple syrup, I’m very familiar with how serious people in New England and Quebec take their maple syrup. Harvesting maple, commonly called maple sugaring depends on weather conditions each year, but in Quebec it generally occurs between February and April. Mild days with temperatures falling below freezing at night are ideal. Read more
Review: 123 Organic Blanco Tequila
123 Organic Blanco Tequila was released in 2011. The brand was created by David Ravandi. David also co-founded Casa Noble Tequila. 1 2 3 is crafted with 100% estate grown organic agave grown for 10 years in the Lowland region of the Amatitan valley. The agave is hand harvested and the hearts are slowly cooked in stone ovens for nearly 2 days. After the juice is extracted it is naturally fermented and then double distilled in small batches in a stainless steel pot still. The tequila is hand bottled in recycled glass bottles with labels made from recycled paper and natural soy ink. Read more
Review: Lost Coast Watermelon Wheat Ale
Lost Coast Watermelon Wheat Ale is one of 11 year round and seasonal beers currently crafted in Eureka California at the Lost Coast Brewery. The Lost Coast Brewery was founded by Barbara Groom in 1990, and was first produced in a 100 year old building purchased from the Fraternal Order of the Knights of Pythias in downtown Eureka. Their beers are now brewed in a state of the art brewery they opened August 20, 2014 just south of Eureka. No longer a small brewer, this facility bottles up to 135,000 bottles and 1000 kegs each day. Lost Coast Watermelon Wheat is an unfiltered wheat beer brewed with wheat and crystal malts with natural watermelon essence. Read more
Review: Not Your Moms Iced Tea
Not Your Moms Iced Tea was released in February along with a Strawberry Rhubarb and Apple Pie flavored ale. After creating three Hard root beers, a hard Ginger Ale, and a hard Cream Soda under the Not Your Fathers label, Small Town Brewery has moved on to hardening deserts, and iced tea. You know, thing a mom might make. Not Your Moms Iced tea is brewed as an ale with lemon juice and tea leaves from India. This is by no means the first hard iced tea as Twisted Tea has been creating several hard iced teas since 2001. Miller Coors also introduced their Easy Tea line of hard iced tea last fall. Read more
Review: Blackmask Island Coconut Spiced Pacific Rum
Blackmask Island Coconut Spiced Pacific Rum is one of 4 rum varieties produced by United Winery and Distillery in Nakhon Pathom Thailand. The other varieties include Original Spiced, Black Premo, and Tropical Chai. Each starts with a cask aged pacific rum base. Island spices and coconut are infused with that rum base in creating Blackmask Island Coconut. Coconut rum may be synonyms with the Caribbean, but the coconut is native to Asia, so it’s only natural a distillery in Thailand would make a coconut rum of their own. Read more
Review: Woodchuck Summer Time Pear Ginger Cider
Woodchuck Summer Time Pear Ginger Cider was recently released. As the name would imply, this is Woodchucks summer seasonal hard cider. This replaces the blueberry flavored Summer Time cider they made the past two summers. While it may seem a little early to release a summer seasonal cider, Woodchuck did not release a Spring seasonal cider this year, and who wants to drink a winter seasonal cider when its 70 degrees outside. This is not Woodchucks first ginger flavored hard cider. They previously produced Ginger Lovin, a spicy ginger apple cider in their Out on a Limb series of ciders, and Private Reserve Ginger in their Private Reserve line of ciders. Read more
Review: Rock N Roll Mango Tequila
Rock N Roll Mango Tequila was recently released. It comes in a Les Paul Guitar shaped bottle. Some of the best guitar players of all time including Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Slash, Joe Perry and Jerry Garcia have all performed with a Les Paul guitar. Flavored tequilas are still in their infancy in the US. They are much more popular in Mexico. Mango, Lime and Cinnamon are the most popular flavored tequilas sold in the US. Rock N Roll Tequila is made from a double distilled 100% pure Highland grown agave base. Mango flavor, with no sugar is infused. Artificial flavor and certified color are added before bottling at 64 proof. Read more
Review: Skyy Infusions California Apricot Vodka
Skyy Infusions California Apricot Vodka was released in March. It is finally arriving on store shelves in the Midwest. With 94% of the apricots grown in the USA coming from California, it’s no surprise the apricots used to produce this vodka are grown there. This is Skyy’s 18th flavored vodka in their Infusions product line. Several years ago I was asked to predict the next three new flavors of vodka. The three I selected were Apricot, Cantaloupe, and Banana Cream Pie. This was at the height of the popularity of Pinnacle Whipped Vodka. Since then Grey Goose introduced Le Melon, their Cavaillon melon flavored vodka. In February 2016 Belvedere launched Peach Nectar Vodka, a vodka infused with American Peaches and Polish Apricots. This was followed by Western Son Apricot and Seagrams Apricot Vodka. I’m still waiting on that Banana Cream Pie flavored vodka, and I’m a little surprised no one has released a Celery flavored vodka. Skyy Apricot starts with a vodka base made from 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. The vodka is then triple filtered through California limestone. The vodka is infused with California grown apricot and other natural flavors before bottling at 70 proof. Read more