Review: Stoli Lime Vodka
Stoli Lime Vodka was just released. After shortening their flavored vodka lineup, Stoli is now rebuilding. They recently added Stoli Crushed Strawberry, the fourth member of their Crushed, real fruit juice infused vodka brand they launched in 2016. Stoli Lime joins a lineup that includes Stoli Cucumber, introduced last year. Stoli Lime starts with a vodka base made from estate grown winter wheat from fields in the Tambov region surrounding their distillery. The spirit is triple distilled. The spirit travels to the historic Latvijas Balzarns in Riga Latvia, where pure artesian well water is blended to reduce to proof. The vodka is quadruple filtered through a series that includes quartz, Siberian birch, and tightly woven cloth. Natural lime flavor is infused before bottling at 75 proof. Read more 
Review: Arcadia Grapefruit Vodka
Arcadia Grapefruit Vodka is one of eight flavored vodka’s distilled and infused at the OHSO Brewery and Distillery in Scottsdale Arizona. The other seven flavors include Meyer Lemon, Orange, Coffee, Horseradish, Jalapeno, Cucumber, and Rosemary. I have enjoyed OHSO beers for years while vacationing in Arizona. Arcadia Grapefruit starts with a vodka base distilled from sugarcane. Dried grapefruit peel is soaked in vodka. The infused vodka is then redistilled and the distillate is mixed with real grapefruit peel extract and the natural sugars and acids found in real grapefruit: sucrose, glucose, fructose, citric acid, and malic acid. Read more
Review: Black Box Silver Tequila
Black Box Premium Tequila is one of three premium bagged and boxed spirits produced by Constellation Brands. Vodka and Whiskey are the other two. Constellation has been selling boxed alcohol since 2003 when they acquired Black Box Premium Wine. Black Box now has twelve unique award winning varietals. With a suggested retail price of $24.99 for 1.75 liters of 100% blue agave tequila, Constellation hopes to prove they can do for spirits what they have already accomplished with wine. Black Box is produced at La Cofradia Distillery, and very little additional information about this tequila is available. La Cofradia creates over a dozen brands of tequila including Casa Noble, Mi Campo, Grand Mayan, and Luna Sueno. Read more
Review: Puerto Angel Blanco Rum
Puerto Angel Blanco Rum was launched in the US the summer of 2015. It is crafted at a distillery founded in 1938 by the Krassel family. The family also grows their own sugarcane in the Oaxaca Mountains of Mexico. The hand harvested cane sugar is delivered by donkey down the mountain side to the distillery. The cane is immediately pressed. Fermentation with wild yeast begins within 24 hours of harvest. The spirit is small batch double distilled in copper pot stills, and aged for six months in oak casks. Read more
Review: Two Brothers Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
Two Brothers Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur is made from Two Brothers Coffee Roasters Cold Brew of Central and South American coffees, and Two Brothers Artisan Vodka. Two Brothers roasts their coffee beans in a 77 pound eco-friendly roaster in Warrenville Illinois at Two Brothers Brewing Company. The signature cold brew is brewed separately for 24 hours before blending with their vodka. Extensive experimentation went into crafting a cold brew that would compliment their spirits. They created a dozen cold brews before selecting this one. Read more
Review: Barr Hill Vodka
Barr Hill Vodka was introduced in 2012. Todd Hardie, Caledonia Spirits Founder spent over 40 years as a beekeeper before deciding to craft spirits from his raw organic Vermont honey. The Caledonia Spirits Distillery is located on the banks of the Lamoille River in Hardwick Vermont. In late summer each year the distillery takes delivery of hundreds of barrels of pure raw honey. It takes 4-5 pounds of raw honey to craft one bottle of vodka. The honey is cold fermented for over 3 weeks and small batch distilled, first in a pot still and then in a custom column still. Their recipe depends on two simple principles, they never heat the honey prior to distillation, and they never distill more than twice. Read more
Review: Cantinero Blanco Tequila
Cantinero Blanco Tequila was released in the US in 2018. It has been available for some time in Mexico. Cantinero is produced at Tequila Orendain de Jalisco, and named for the distilleries founder, Don Eduardo Orendain’s beloved bull. An image of the bull is embossed on the bottle. It is made from 100% Weber Blue Tequilana agave, estate grown and hand harvested and trimmed at its flavor peak. The agave is split in half and cooked for 18 hours at temperatures up to 105C. The pina’s are shredded to extract the juice and then fermented with yeast for 72 hours before a double distillation. Read more
Review: Blood Sweat and Tears Vodka
Blood Sweat and Tears vodka was recently released. The name represents origin, blood; work ethic, sweat; and the struggle of all triumphs and tribulations, tears. Brand creator Umberto Luchini, is a former Campari America Marketing VP who previously worked on Espolon Tequila. Blood Sweat and Tears Vodka is triple distilled in Eugene Oregon by Ben Green from locally grown Pacific Northwest winter wheat and pure Cascade water. They mash, ferment, distill, freeze filter, and hand bottle everything out of a repurposed old laundromat. The matte black glass bottle features artwork depicting Oregon landmarks including Benson Footbridge and Lost Lake. Benson Footbridge traverses Multnomah Creek between the cascades of Multnomah Falls. Lost Lake is a lake in Sisters Oregon that disappears down a hole every spring. Read more
Review: Sobieski Cytron Vodka
Sobieski Cytron Vodka was released in the US in 2009. Sobieski is the number one selling vodka in Poland. The brand is named for King Jan III Sobieski. At one time Sobieski produced eleven flavored vodka’s for the US market. They now have four, including Orange, Vanilla, and Raspberry. Each flavored vodka is crafted with Dankowski rye and crystalline water from Oligocene springs. The vodka is distilled in a continuous column still. Natural flavors are then infused before bottling at 70 proof. Read more
Review: The Quiet Man Traditional Irish Whiskey
The Quiet Man Traditional Irish Whiskey was launched June 2015 along with The Quiet Man 8 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey. The Quiet Man, or An Fear Ciuin in Gaelic, is named to honor brand founder Ciaran Mulgrew’s father, who spent 50 years as a barman in the pubs of Belfast. A bartender sees a lot and hears a lot of stories but his father told no tales. It was The Barman’s Code. The whiskey is currently sourced, and said to have a high malt component, while their own distilled whiskey matures. It is triple distilled and matured in first fill American oak bourbon casks for 4 years. The Quiet Man is blended and bottled in Derry Ireland. Read more