Review: Abita Bayou Bootlegger Hard Root Beer
Abita Bayou Bootlegger Hard Root Beer was just released. The name is inspired by New Orleans original Bayou Bootlegger Jean Lafitte, a French Pirate. This is the first product in a line of Bayou Bootlegger Hard Soda. The recipe is based on the same root beer formula Abita has been craft brewing for over 20 years. Abita currently produces more than 14,000 barrels of root beer each year in its state of the art brewing facility. The root beer is made with Abita Springs natural spring water, herbs, vanilla, yucca, and pure Louisiana cane sugar. The Hard Root Beer is bottled at 5.9% alcohol and sold in 6 packs of 12 ounce bottles. Read more 
Review: Luna Suena Blanco Tequila
Luna Suena Blanco Tequila translates in English to Moon Dream. The tequila is made with 100% Weber blue agave harvested by hand under the moonlit skies. The pinas are slow cooked for 3 days in traditional stone ovens and then crushed. The juice is fermented for three days and then quadruple distilled in an Alembic still. The tequila is then filtered for 24 hours and after a precision oxygenation period it is bottled at 80 proof in a hand blown bottle. Read more
Review: Captain Morgan Private Stock Rum
Captain Morgan Private Stock Rum is made from the finest Captain Morgan Reserves. Those reserves are made with Caribbean sugar cane molasses and the rum is distilled in a continuous still. It is aged for 2 years in barrels formerly used to age bourbon. Captain Morgan Original is aged for 1 year. A proprietary blend of Caribbean spice is added before bottling at 80 proof. Captain Morgan Original is bottled at 70 proof. Captain Morgan has been distilling their rum in St. Croix since 2012, prior to that it was distilled in Puerto Rico. Read more
Review: Ozone White Peach Vodka
Ozone White Peach vodka is one of five flavored vodkas made in Kaunas Lithuania at the AB Stumbras Distillery. The others include Lime, Blood Orange, Sweet Melon, and Hemp. Ozone Vodka is made from whole grains and crystal clear water that is filtered through softening filters. The vodka is distilled five times and then purified through a silver and platinum filtration. Natural flavors are infused before bottling at 76 proof. Read more
Review: Burnetts Mango Pineapple Vodka
Burnetts Mango Pineapple Vodka was introduced April 2014 along with a Ruby Red Grapefruit, and Red Berry flavor. This was the second Mango Pineapple flavored vodka introduced in 2014. Svedka Mango Pineapple was the first. It is one of 36 flavored vodkas produced in Bardstown Kentucky by Heaven Hill under the Burnetts label. Like the other Burnett vodka flavors it is made with 100% grain that is quadruple distilled and triple charcoal filtered. Natural flavors are then added before bottling at 70 proof. Read more
Review: Jeds Hard Black Cherry Cream
Jeds Hard Black Cherry Cream soda was introduced in October 2015. It is one of three hard sodas currently crafted by the Matt Brewing Company in Utica New York. The others include the previously reviewed Hard Root Beer, and Hard Orange Cream. They also brew 4 Year Round, 4 Seasonal, and 7 High Peaks beers under the Saranac label. Like many breweries they survived Prohibition by producing soda. Today Matt still produces 6 soda’s under the Saranac label, including a Black Cherry Cream Soda. This soda is the main flavor ingredient in Jeds Hard Black Cherry Cream soda. Read more
Review: Xellent Vodka
Xellent Vodka is crafted by Andreas Affentrager a third generation distiller whose Grandfather Hans Affentrager built the distillery in 1918. Xellent is made with Picasso and Matador Rye grown by only 18 farmers in small fields in Central Switzerland in the Alpine foreland at heights of 500-800 meters above sea level. It is triple distilled starting in a traditional small copper alembic still. A second distillation follows in a copper column still with 45 bubble cap trays. A third distillation completes the process. The vodka then rests for several months before pure Titlis glacier water from the Swiss Alps is blended with the vodka to reduce to 80 proof. Read more
Review: Jeds Hard Orange Cream
Jeds Hard Orange Cream was introduced in October 2015. It is one of three hard sodas they currently craft at the Matt Brewing Company in Utica New York. The others include Hard Root Beer, and Hard Black Cherry. The Matt Brewing Company had previously released the worlds first hard lemonade when they introduced Jed’s Hard Lemonade nearly 20 years ago. They currently also produce six soft drinks under the Saranac label including an orange cream flavor. No one can argue the fact that hard soda sales have exploded over the last twelve months. Most believe this growth will continue for the foreseeable future. With nearly a dozen hard root beers already on the market today, its great to see another flavor option. Read more
Review: Cruzan Estate Diamond Light Rum
Cruzan Estate Diamond Light Rum is one of three rums in their Distillers Collection. It is named after the original sugar mill that began crushing cane in 1760 at the current site of the Cruzan Rum Distillery. The rum is triple distilled in a five column continuous still and is a blend of rum that has been aged in American Oak Barrels for between 5-12 years. The rum is then charcoal filtered for a smoother cleaner finish, and to strip away the color. Read more
Review: Jeds Hard Root Beer
Jeds Hard Root Beer was introduced in October. It is one of three hard soda’s they currently craft at the Matt Brewing Company in Utica New York. The others include Hard Black Cherry and Hard Orange Cream. The Matt Brewing Company is the fourth oldest family operated brewery in the US. The brewery was originally the Charles Bierbauer Brewery where Francis Xavier Matt was the lead salesmen and brew master after immigrating to the US in 1880 from Germany. By 1888 he reorganized and renamed the brewery the West End Brewing Company. Today the third and forth generation of the Matt family run the brewery now named the Matt Brewing Company where they produce the Saranac line of beer. During prohibition the brewery stayed afloat producing soft drinks under the Utica Club label. Today they still produce a line of soft drinks under the Saranac label. The brew masters at Matt created 43 recipes of hard root beer in the lab, before perfecting the current formula. Jeds Hard Root Beer is made with vanilla extract, birch oil, and anise, and is sold in six pack in several states in the Eastern US. Read more