The district of Rottal-Inn in Lower Bavaria is an unquestionably attractive region for the inclined spirits enthusiast. That’s where you’ll find the Engel Naturbrennerei (natural distillery), which is run by Austrian-born Manuel Engel. In addition to eau-de-vies (in Germany these are differentiated in Brände and Geiste) liqueurs and gin, non-alcoholic aperitifs are also produced there and offered for purchase. Manuel Engel relies as far as possible on the regional card and produces his products from fruit and vegetables from the region, although raw materials from Austria, Italy and southern France are also used. In my article today, I would also like to approach one of his products – and a very exciting one to be honest. Read More →

Recently, I had the honor of participating in an online launch event for a single malt whisky. However, this was not simply a presentation of a spirit, but the event also offered the opportunity to exchange ideas with David “Dave” Vitale, the founder of the Australian Starward Distillery, about his new product, the Starward Left-Field Single Malt Whisky, and to listen to his thoughts on the product. However, that was not everything. Read More →

Anyone who has been reading this blog for years will have noticed that I have repeatedly spoken out in favor of the diverse possibilities and great potential of fruit eau-de-vies (in German: Brände & Geiste) behind the bar. And I’m not just saying that, I really mean it, because the most widespread branch of the distiller’s craft in Germany often has a lot of innovation to offer (in addition to tradition, of course). Moreover, their products are usually of high quality. And indeed, my personal first “spirits tasting” was one that was closely linked to fruit eau-de-vie. Read More →

It’s been a long time since I wrote about a gin here on the blog whose botanicals included hops. And until today, hops are not really a common ingredient in the production of a gin, although I have quite positive memories of my first experience of this kind. Today again, I have a gin in front of me that states already unmistakable on the bottle itself: I am a hop gin! A German hop gin which is made with Bitburger Siegelhopfen to be precise.

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Long ago – back then this blog was still very young – I wrote about a rum infused with pineapple and thus introduced the category of flavoured rums as a topic here early on. Since then, some spiced rums have been reviewed, various Falernums (or Falerna, whatever) and some sweet rums, where one may well argue about the extent to which they are not actually spiced or flavoured rums as well. What I have not yet discussed here, however, is a flavoured rum specifically flavoured with coconut. And that’s exactly what I’d like to finally do. Read More →

Today I am pleased to be able to once again taste a rum from the Plantation series and use it in a drink. It is the Plantation Barbados 2011, which comes as a One-Time Limited Edition and there are only 24 casks from which this rum was filled into bottles. Since I have written about Plantation Rums very often in the past and have already gone into the background of the brand several times, I want to go directly into medias res today. Read More →

I simply can’t deny a certain, personal pleasant anticipation with some types of spirits. Of course, I know what I like. Nevertheless, I always try to pursue a review approach striving for objectivity, which I will also not give up today. That said, I really do like Rhum Agricole downright, I’ve tried a few products from the manufacturer that today’s Rhum Agricole comes from so far – and I’ve liked them. It would be really surprising now if it would be a flop. But well, you never know. Read More →

And again, today it will be about Cachaça. In my last article, I already referred to the differences between the Cachaça Espírito de Minas and the Magnífica de Faria Cachaça (which I reviewed before this one), but if you missed all that, I recommend you take a look at the two articles here. Because when I will dedicate myself in the following to the Cachaça Santo Grau, cross-references will appear there again, which will show a comparison to the other two Cachaças. But one after the other! Read More →

Who is familiar with this blog will probably also know the name Coquerel. Because in the distillery Coquerel some really excellent Calvados are made, which I have reviewed not so long ago and also tested for their bar potential. Now I have but again two bottles from the distillery Coquerel in front of me, however you won’t find this name prominently on the label. Instead, there is the title Normindia. Read More →

I have to start this article with a confession: I’m a big fan of mate lemonade – more precisely the classic, Club Mate, which is very famous here in Germany (most other manufacturers are simply too sweet for me). And of course I know about the evolution from the so called “hacker’s soda” to “hipster’s soda” and what other epithets there might be for this very polarizing drink. I am convinced that part of the polarization is simply caused by the slightly bitter, earthy taste, which one would not expect in a lemonade. However, for anyone who has tried real mate tea, the note in a bottle of Club Mate can at best be described as a nuance. Anyway, today I tried again to use mate flavor as a cocktail component. Read More →

It is not without reason that Saint Lucia Distillers is always written in the plural. Even if the phrase “Saint Lucia Distillery” can also be found throughout the web, it is actually the Distillers, because it is a distillery merged of the two former distilleries Dennery Factory and Geest. The merging took place in 1972. Both distilleries had been in existence since the 1800s, or even before in the case of Geest Distillery. And if the name should sound familiar to readers of this blog, it may be because the Admiral Rodney Rum is also made there. Read More →

It’s not so long ago that I wrote about a coffee liqueur here. And today the focus is again on one, but this time not from the other side of the world, but from the capital Berlin. It is created by Finn and Jan, two chefs who felt obliged to create their own coffee liqueur based on natural ingredients, which should not only act as ingredient for mixed drinks, but also be a flavorful wake-up call as a neat liqueur. The result is CO’PS Kaffee-Kolanuss-Likör (Coffee Cola Nut Liqueur). Read More →

A few weeks ago, I received a package with 18 small samples of spirits in a very attractive presentation. Behind this marketing offensive is the American spirits umbrella organization DISCUS (Distilled Spirits Council of the United States), which wants to promote various spirits from small American craft distillers on the European market. And since I like the idea and am in principle a friend of maximum diversity, I would like to write a small article about it here, too. Read More →

In the Swiss distillery Distillerie Mount Rigi of the 30,000-inhabitant city of Zug in the canton of the same name, no big words are spared. On the website it says: “Finest Swiss Alpine aromas, boldly and freshly embellished with pure Kirsch. Mount Rigi goes wonderfully with tonic water, together with beer, spritzed on rosé wine, as a cocktail mixer or simply pure on the rocks. Always different in taste and aroma, the Flavor of the Alps is an enrichment to the purist Kirsch – Mount Rigi is the new Swiss aperitif”. That’s what I’d call a self-confident announcement. Read More →

I have to admit: it has been a really long time since I wrote my last article about beer here. But instead of justifying this time span, I’d rather do something about it and publish another beer article. The journey leads me to a beach in Düsseldorf. The Stadtstrand (city beach) Düsseldorf, to be precise. Because there you can buy the Strandhase Pale Ale and the Strandhase Lager (Strandhase means as much as beach bunny), which are the names of today’s bottles. Read More →

It’s been quite a while (almost 4 years) since I mentioned a Tequila & Tonic highball in my article about the Spiced TNT Cocktail (the Spiced TNT is basically nothing else but an upgraded version of this highball or long drink). At that time, Tequila and Mezcal was discussed everywhere as the new thing in the (European). And indeed Tequila and Mezcal have become more popular and even better known. Even if they did not become as popular as some expected, above all, the quality awareness has increased a lot. Read More →

In a recent article I wrote about a really remarkable coffee liqueur from Australia. The fact that this liqueur comes from Australia didn’t make me sit up and take notice – I just accepted it. Now that the bottle I want to review today also comes from Down Under is simply a coincidence. Although perhaps one that shows: You’d better have Australian spirits on your future lists. Read More →

Just recently, I started an article about a bottle of gin with some thoughts about bottle designs. And actually this seemed quite natural considering the really nice outward appearance of the Lind & Lime Gin. However, also today I could start my article with very similar words, because once again I have a gin bottle in front of me that stands out without any doubt. In view of the really large and competitive gin market, which is entered by new bottlings on an almost daily basis, the design, which has always been not insignificant from a salesman’s point of view, seems to gain even more importance. Read More →