Drink

Around the time of The Whisky Show last year we were rather pleased to have scored some whisky from a brand new distiller on the single malt scene – Goa’s John Distilleries, makers of Paul John Single Malt Whisky . … Continue reading >>

Remiss of me. This was stuffed into my hand on exiting one of the wine shows in Canberra, by one of the trio of Canberran wine dudes – Travis Cutler, Nick Barton and James Duffell – who put this wine together in their spare time with Nick O’Leary. All are forging a path in Canberra’s [...]

From McLaren Vale, from 2011, from the Silver Hammer. Or not from the Silver Hammer. But referencing Silver Hammer. Meanwhile, this sees American oak, for a change. Can be good with MVale shiraz.

Here are the winning tasting notes submitted as part of The Whisky Shop Dufftown’s Challenge for Independent Bottlers.  Congratulations to Graeme Anderson for these fabulous tasting notes.  His prize is a bottle of his favourite whisky from the challenge which was the Linkwood. The runner up was Adam Irvine so well done to him. Sample 1 – Carn Mor Aberlour 1994 13 Years Old (46%) Distilled 1994 bottled 2013 – ex-Bourbon Hogshead Nose: Pineapple and Cola Cubes fresh of the shelf or crushed under the rolling pin.  Bourbon Bomb! Taste: More tropical fruits dropped through a Barbados barbecue – smokie sweets, Finish: Fairly short and dry – burnt coconut husks. Sample 2 – Adelphi Longmorn 1985 27 Years Old (53.2%) Distilled 1985 bottled 2013 – ex-Bourbon Hogshead Nose: Classy smooth taffy.  Some vanilla latte smooths the big punch. Taste: Strong and bold like Old Spice.  Even water can’t keep this big dog down.  Like a Collie of its leash. Finish: No surprises here.  The Collie keeps racing and chasing sheep until out of view, over the hill. Sample 3 – G&M Cask Linkwood 1991 (53.4%) Distilled 1991 bottled 2007 – first fill ex-sherry butts Nose: Wax polished libraries & leather armchairs but in a lively tang vibrant sense -  through a child’s eyes. Taste: Crystallised oranges, tangy mango like attack in a light toffee shell. Finish: Zing, zang, zooosh – goes this firework humbug, Sample 4 – Director’s Cut Dufftown 1982 30 Years Old (51.7%) Distilled 1982 bottled 2012 – ex-Sherry butt Nose: Dutch caramel wafer biscuits with a touch of medicinal Jagermeister. Taste: A heavy hitter in a velvet glove.  The sherry is bold but well balanced.  Top class.  This is my nominated embalming fluid. Finish: Quite short and dry but again not aggressively so.  I fine epilogue to this Jackanory. Sample 5 – BBR Glen Grant 1974 37 Years Old (47.8%) Distilled 1991 bottled 2012 – ex-sherry butts Nose: Soft toffee cuddled by a giant caramel teddy. Taste: An Autumn whisky.  A well preserved classic sports car gently bimbles along a summer glen. Finish: Dry well-worn leather, need another sip to refresh my palate.

You're reading Groovy Red Rock Colada Cocktail Recipe, originally posted on The Intoxicologist and copyrighted by Cheri Loughlin, The Intoxicologist. Visit The Intoxicologist so you don't miss a thing! The Intoxicologist - Dabbling in the world of cocktails one spirit at a time...Cocktails aren’t just about Pre-prohibition Era style drinks, molecular mixology, making our own signature bitters and who has bragging rights to the most expensive cocktail on the planet served with the largest sparkling gem in the well of the glass. … Continue reading →The post Groovy Red Rock Colada Cocktail Recipe appeared first on The Intoxicologist. Related Posts National Pina Colada Day Recipe Card Cachaca Colada Kiwi Colada

I've always been a huge fan of cartoons and from my uncle who learnt his English by reading Donald Duck comics first in Norwegian and then again in English, through to my older brothers who always had copies of The Beano lying around, it's been a consistent family trait.Starting with the aforementioned Dundee-based comic (which has been the subject of a post before) I graduated to the excellent Tintin series of works, but that's where my interest waned in favour of books with less illustrations and more words.However, I've still maintained a love for graphic art and, of course the odd relaxing cartoon on the telly from time-to-time.One of my guilty pleasures in life is to set the Sky+ box to series link for The Simpsons and, once the working day is over, to sit back with a nice dram and an episode or two of this now iconic American show. So, imagine my surprise when I heard that in the latest season (season 24) one episode, called Whiskey Business, was to feature the down-at-heel local bar owner, Moe Sizlack landing venture capital investment to sell his own bourbon, Maker's Moe.Amid the growing craft distillation movement in the US, we shouldn’t forget those staple bourbons which populate our backbars and supermarket shelves, so this gives us a nice chance to have another look at Maker's Mark whisky.Maker's Mark – Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky – 45% abv – 70cl £22.95 hereNose: a bourbon which doesn’t shout but gets its point across well with few words. Vanilla pods and oak spices are backed with some subtle honey and red apple, all wrapped in parma ham.Palate: soft brown sugars are mixed again with vanilla pods and some red cherries. There is a hint of ginger and a mixed dried fruits. Oaky drieness kicks in, but this is, overall, soft and subtle on the palate.Finish: Some spices, but not over powering. Softness again.Overall: A really great whisky for mixing or pouring, this is a classic example of a great American bourbon which has established itself as a go-to brand for all the right reasons.It's no secret that craft distilling is in a boom-time in the US and it has reached such a height that even The Simpsons is featuring it. Quite the accolade for those already set-up and distilling.Of those making interesting spirits, Chip Tate at Blacones in Texas has to be right at the top of the tree. From his crazy creations such as Rumble (a distillation of figs, honey and sugar) through to his Baby Blue and the 2012 Best In Glass award-winning Texan Single Malt, Chip has now delved into the world of bourbon, making something which we would describe simply as ‘extraordinary’. We tried a sample at this year’s Whisky Live...Blacones – Straight Bourbon Whisky – Single Cask – 64.2% abv - 100 bottles approx. worldwideNose: A classic “yee-haa” of a bourbon nose with rich toffee apple, light wood varnish (Pledge?), rich vanilla pods, some freshly laid garden wood chippings and that wonderful delicate drying note provided by the corn.Palate: As is becoming traditional with Chip’s offerings, this is stout, strong and robust, with elements of charred meats, heavy oak and red cherries, yet there is a complexity on the back of the palate where spices dance around hand-in-hand with those vanilla pods from the nose, with hearty red berries and cinnamon spices providing a velvety backdrop.Finish: Cigar box and leather with those red berries finishing off and a drying tone of menthol to end the experience.Overall: Another great whisky from Chip Tate. I hope, unlike Moe Sizlack, that Chip maintains his independence and can play around with ideas and flavours at will. It’s a great bedrock on which to build a business.How unusual be reviewing two American offerings and not have to put an ‘e’ in my whisky. However, when you pour yourself a dram of the Balcones Straight Bourbon, you’ll certainly be putting the ‘you’ into flavour...

Here are my top wine picks from the May 25 Vintages Release. I’ll be posting more of my Best Value Wines and Top Rated Wines this week. You can add my wine picks to your shopping list by clicking on the little shopping cart icon. You can also create a custom list just for this release that will be saved in your account. Print a text-only version of the reviews. Here are my tasting notes and scores that were published in the May 25 LCBO Vintages Catalogue, the most quoted Canadian source of wine reviews: Posted with permission of the LCBO. Get access to all wine reviews:

It's nice to see that your coffee parents aren't getting divorced, and it looks like Starbucks and Green Mountain are going the distance with their single serve coffee business relationship. Starbucks hopes to triple the number of SKUs they have with single serve coffee packs - including K-Cups and VUE packs. So far the two of them have shipped 850 million Starbucks K-Cups, and they hope to do this for a minimum of another 5 years. Congrats Mom and Dad coffee and we hope you two continue to rock out the hits for all of us in the single serve coffee world. Full release after the jump. Starbucks and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Enter Into Expanded, Long-Term Strategic Partnership Starbucks to Support Expansion of GMCR's Keurig Brewer Platform Beyond North America and Triple the Number of Starbucks Single Serve Pack SKUs for Keurig Brewers Over Time SEATTLE & WATERBURY, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX), the world's largest coffee retailer, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee and coffeemakers, have signed an agreement that provides for the expansion of their successful partnership for the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and sale of Starbucks- and Tazo-branded single serve packs for use in GMCR's Keurig® single serve brewing systems globally. Starbucks and GMCR first entered into partnership in March 2011. Following a very successful product launch, Starbucks has shipped more than 850 million Starbucks® coffee K-Cup® packs. Today's announcement recognizes the tremendous success of the Starbucks and GMCR strategic relationship, and both companies' desire to broaden, deepen and significantly extend their partnership. The new, minimum five-year agreement announced today is a global single-serve coffee industry game changer. Under the new agreement, Starbucks will add brands and varietals to the already robust Starbucks® K-Cup® and Vue® pack portfolio of offerings for Keurig® single cup brewers, ultimately tripling the number of Starbucks® products and adding brands offered on the Keurig® platform. New brands will include Seattle's Best Coffee®, Torrefazione Italia® coffee, Teavana® Teas, and Starbucks® Cocoa. The new agreement reinforces Starbucks position as the exclusive licensed super premium coffee brand on the Keurig® K-Cup® and Vue® platforms, and further extends the Keurig® system's position as the exclusive low-pressure single cup brewing system for fresh-brewed Starbucks® coffee, Tazo® tea and the aforementioned Starbucks brands. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. "Starbucks new agreement with GMCR strengthens our leadership position in the premium single cup category, the segment of our industry that has grown nine times faster than the overall coffee category during the past year and a category that now accounts for more than 25 percent of total coffee sales in grocery," said Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman, president and ceo. "The new agreement also affords us the opportunity to expand our successful K-Cup® and Vue® pack portfolio of products and brands beyond North America and to market them on a truly global scale over time. It's a win-win-win agreement for both companies and for premium coffee consumers around the world. Going forward, not only will Starbucks continue to leverage GMCR's growing installed Keurig® brewer base totaling millions of North American households, but GMCR will directly benefit from the many Starbucks brand assets we bring to bear on the coffee marketplace as it pursues global expansion of its business and platform." "With steady, strong consumer adoption, our innovative Keurig® brewing system has proven to be a disruptive technology for the hot beverage category, providing consumers the benefits of convenience, consistent great taste and -- importantly -- beverage variety, while providing our partner brands a valuable channel for growth. This agreement further streng

Why don’t more people seek out David Franz’s wines? Hard to find I guess. But so worthy. Such an interesting range of wines. Selected across bits of South Australia, this from the Adelaide Hills. A third of this ferment was whole bunch which was left under the two thirds de-stemmed, which was hand plunged so [...]

Always find the Haven wine of Kooyong the most austere of the premium trio, austere, but sexy in that way. Gotta unwrap it a bit. Peel it down real slow. Throw on the Barry White. Dim the lights. Set your voice to purrrrr.