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6/2008 THE TYRCONNELL SINGLE MALT IRISH WHISKEY What's in a name? Well, in this instance, plenty. Most obviously, THE TYRCONNELL refers to an area in the northwest of Ireland, an area now partially comprised of County Donegal. THE TYRCONNELL also refers to the former familial kingdom located in this same area that was ruled by the famed O'Donnell clan, who took battle to the much despised

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6/2008 OLD FORESTER KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKY (86 proof) Booze trivia du jour: Why is Old Forester spelt "whisky" instead of whiskey"? Answer: Well, it might have something to with the fact that George Garvin Brown, the creator of OLD FORESTER, was descended from a Scotsman, and we know how the Scotch distillers prefer "whisky" to "whiskey." Anyhoo, OLD FORESTER has been around in one

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06/2008 FEVER-TREE PREMIUM MIXERS We've all seen the Capital One credit card commercials where one character or another will ask, "What's in yer wallet?" Well, we at AlcoholReviews.com don't much care what's in your wallet, but we do think it's worth asking, "What's in your high ball?" The simple fact that inferior mixers should be shunned seems so self evident; yet, how often have we been

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06/2008 WIDMER HEFEWEIZEN "Uncompromised and unfiltered," announces the label of this WIDMER wheat beer. Well, we're all for that; we like honest hefeweizens. As readers may recall, we are rabid fans of SCHNEIDER WEISSE and its doppel-brother, AVENTINUS. This brew was a disappointment. It looks good in the glass -- pretty color, fat head. ... But it delivers nearly nothing to the nose or

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06/2008 DAVID DAICHES, SCOTCH WHISKY: ITS PAST AND PRESENT (LONDON: ANDRE DEUTSCH, 1969) Usually, we review only new books. Here, though, we have reason for an exception. Daiches (1912-2005) was an interesting character --- a Jewish Scotsman who was, as the New York Times described, a "prolific literary biographer, historian, essayist, critic and poet, he was a former director of the Institute

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6/2008 JOHNNIE WALKER BLACK LABEL BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY Johnnie Walker Black Label (40 proof) is a very impressive whisky. Especially astounding is that so much of it is produced each year (about 7 million liters), yet, the quality remains very high. This is a very nice scotch that seems likely to appeal to a wide range of scotch drinkers. Newbies can take it with an ice cube in it,

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06/2008 SPIEGELAU BEER CLASSIC GLASSES We were thrilled when these handsome beer glasses arrived at our front door. So many of our drinking vessels are worn, or mismatched. These three crystalline glasses are designed to hold the most popular beers: wheats (the super tall one), lagers (the cylindrical one), and pilseners (the tulip one). You can buy them from here and, soon, from here. We

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6/2008 WOLF BLASS GOLD LABEL RIESLING 2004 A nice white for about $12-$14 a bottle retail that is slightly perfumey and shows nice citrus flavors. A hat tip to Mr. Wilkerson and BURKA'S WINE AND LIQUOR STORE for bringing this to our attention. (Rating ***3/4) To see if our retailer can sell you a bottle of WOLF BLASS GOLD LABEL, click here. and search for "WOLF BLASS". Otherwise, check

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6/2008 REUNION 08 RED RYE ALE This is a very tasty beer. It's made by Bison Brewing Company and is USDA organic certified. REUNION 08 nicely balances the sweet and bitter. Red rye --- we can't recall the last time we had beer made from it, let alone an ale brewed with Caraway seed. Wow. (Rating ****1/2) This is a good beer for a good cause. Get this: "Reunion Beer is the inspiration and

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6/2008 STOCKYARD OATMEAL STOUT So, as best we can tell, there is no "STOCKYARD BREWING CO" of Chicago, Illinois. We searched Google.com, Dogpile.com, etc. We got, as Kurt Vonnegut used to say, doodly squat. Perhaps, and we're just guessing, this is a corporation organized under Illinois state law that exists mostly on paper, i.e., it contract brews via Goose Island. Who knows. Suffice to say,

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5/2008 LAPHROAIG ISLAY SINGLE MALT WHISKY 10 YEARS Ah, what was it --- five years ago? --- that we found ourselves at the LAPHROAIG distillery in Islay, peering over the water at Ireland in the misty distance. Ian Henderson, then the distillery manager, poured samples freely for a few of us, and entertained us with good chat. It was quite an experience. We are where we are now, a very

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5/2008 JOHNNIE WALKER RED LABEL BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY As best we can tell, JOHNNIE WALKER RED LABEL has improved over the past ten years. It used to be a bit gassy. Now it is gentler, though we still recommended adding a few drops of water to open it up. It starts with a fat choclate or toffee note, then shows grainand a little smoke. Add a couple ice cubes and it becomes dangerously easy to

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5/2008 W.L. WELLER SPECIAL RESERVE KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKEY Wow- we really love this 90 proof bourbon. It has a great mouthfeel, and it offers up some luscious notes: butterscotch, spearmint, orange peel, and more. Serve it straight or add just a few drops of water. Delicious. (Rating ****1/2) To see if our retailer can sell you a bottle of W.L. WELLER, click here. Otherwise,

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5/2008 MAKER'S MARK KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKY A few weeks back, we got a grumpy e-mail from a reader about a review we wrote about eight years ago. He groused that our 3.75 star rating was too high, that MAKER'S MARK tasted like "kerosene" and so forth. The complaints were made so obstreperously that they were hard to take seriously. None the less, we acquired a sample of MAKER'S MARK

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5/2008 KILBEGGAN FINEST IRISH WHISKEY Kilbeggan is produced by the Cooley Distillery, which began operations in 1989. Cooley, as you probably know, also produces CONNEMARA, GRENORE, THE TYRCONNELL, and other Irish whiskeys. We reviewed Kilbeggan back in 2002, and we were fond of it. Times have changed, and our fondness for it has grown. Kilbeggan is a lovely blended whiskey; you get great

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5/2008 JEFFERSON'S VERY SMALL BATCH STRAIGHT KENTUCKY BOURBON WHISKY We enjoyed this 82.3 proof bourbon with a little water added to it, which seemed to release both corn and butterscotch notes. A good bourbon, and you can use the pretty bottle to store beans or what have you. (Rating ***1/4) To see if our retailer can sell you a bottle, click here. Otherwise, check with the folks at http://

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5/2008 EVAN WILLIAMS KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKEY Often, we have deemed one wine or another a "great house wine," meaning that the product so deemed offers great quality for a great price, so much so that one can stock up and serve said item regularly. Well, after much consideration, we must declare EVAN WILLIAMS a "great house bourbon." We've enjoyed this whiskey for more than a few

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4/2008 VOUVRAY DOMAINE DU CLOS DE L'EPINAY (BRUT) A friend gave this to us some months back. Wow, what a great gift. This is a really tasty sparkling wine-- very bubbly, with a biscuit note and a gentle close. A sticker on the back of the bottle says that DIONYSOS IMPORTS INC of Lorton, Virginia is its U.S. importer, but our check of DIONYSOS's website found no mention of it. Bummer, seeing as

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4/2008 SAM HOUSTON KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKY Well, the word is out-- AlcoholReviews.com's head honcho, Kevin R. Kosar, is writing a book on whiskey. So, surprise, surprise, waves of samples have been hitting our front door. Happy news, for certain, as so many of these products are quite good. Take SAM HOUSTON BOURBON (85.6 proof), for example. A bottle can be had for $40 or less, and

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4/2008 ARDBEG 10 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY Put one glass of dark colored spirit and one of light colored spirit in front of 10 individuals and ask them, "Which has the most robust flavor?" and the majority of folks will likely pick the darker drink. ARDBEG 10 YEAR is a whisky that puts the lie to the notion that darker color means bigger flavor. This 92 proof, Islay whisky is

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4/2008 KILO KAI HANDCRAFTED SPICED RUM Yo, ho, ho! We're always pleased to see new products from exotic places come over our transom. KILO KAI rum is produced in Curacao, one of the islands of the Netherlands Antilles. We one saw Curacao... from a distance. We were whooping it up in Aruba, and one day took a boat tour, and... Well, anyhoo, KILO KAI is a unique smelling and tasting rum.

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4/2008 APPLETON RESERVE RUM Boy, do we like this rum. We tried it first on a jaunt to the Bahamas, maybe 15 years ago, and we've had it occasionally since then. The bottle is handsome, the rum's color is seductive, and the flavor is quite good-- slightly sweet, a touch of vanilla, a little smoky on the finish. It's a touch gassy, especially for 80 proof hooch, but otherwise, we have nothing

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3/2008 GERSTEL CLASSIC MILD NON-ALCOHOLIC BEER Here's the wind up, and the pitch... Swing and a miss. This brew disappointed. It's thin and flat. GERSTEL starts syrupy sweet and finishes with a dull bitterness. A yawner. (Rating ***3/4) Think we're being too tough on this brew? Feel free to eyeball the less than ecstatic consumer reviews of GERSTEL at BeerAdvocate.com.

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3/2008 ORANJEBOOM LAGER This was a funky find. There we were, staggering down the aisle of a Trader Joe's grocery store in Virginia when to our right appeared a heap of unrecognizable 16 ounce cans. ORANJEBOOM? What the Hell, it was $5.99 for a six pack of tallboys, so we went for it. We're glad we did. This is a nice lager-- clean, biscuity, with a dry close. Good stuff. You can read a

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2/2008 PETER LEHMANN SHIRAZ BAROSSA 2005 We found this wine at Costco and paid around $13 retail for a bottle. It's a solid Shiraz-- berry-plum flavor followed by a mild mocha note. Big, fruity- this wine is made for robust fare, such as roasted vegetables, steak, etc. (Rating ***3/4) To see if our retailer can sell you a bottle, click here. Otherwise, surf to http://

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