Pure Spirits: Ron Cihuatán Solera 8 & Old Bill

The world of rum is a dazzling, chaotic and of course fascinating section of the international spirits market. It’s hard to tell you exactly the year when I first became really interested in rum, but I was one of those people who finally found their way to rum by originally having been a whisky drinker. And since then a lot has happened on the rum market. Both in terms of offer and demand. Read More

Pure Spirits: Prototyp 2.0 London Dry Gin & Thomas Henry Coffee Tonic

Against all doubts, Gin remains the trendy spirit of these days. Hardly any other spirit enjoys such a popularity at tasting seminars, hardly any other type of spirit generates new brands on an almost daily basis. And against this background, even some bizarre trends arise that lead to even more bizarre products. Read More

Pure Spirits: Choya Umeshu Gold Edition & The Chrysanthemum Prince

First I’d like to say sorry to all of you who have been waiting for a new article here on the blog during the last days. I was simply not able to continue writing new articles because I was sick. But shortly before Christmas it is getting a little festive here, at least if it comes to the visual appearance of a product. I would once again like to write a post on the topic of Japanese Umeshu, which is about a very special Umeshu indeed. And even if it may remember a bit of a notorious European herbal liqueur, it has very little in common with this one. Read More

From the Brew Kettle: Rodenbach Alexander

Unfortunately it tends to happens again and again during the Advent time of the year: there is an increased danger to fall sick and be bed-stricken. And that’s exactly what happened to me these days, which of course is annoying in many ways (and of course I’m not drinking alcohol). However, one of the few bright spots is that since I cannot do lots of things, I finally have some time to continue writing on some long-planned articles. Read More

Pure Spirits: Pierre Ferrand Ambré, “Between the Sheets” & “The Amber Flip”

Cognac went a little short here in the blog so far, but to be honest there is really no good reason for that since I really like this spirit type very much and also the range of classic, cognac-containing drinks is not small at all. So it’s time to once again write about the French white wine distillate. Read More

Green & White Negroni and The Green Fairy

Absinthe – Hardly any other spirit has such a fabled reputation as the famous, usually green wormwood spirit. Many people first think of Van Gogh’s ear (though the exact circumstances of the famous self-mutilation are not really clear), hallucinogenic effects or perhaps of the famous painting “The Absinthe Drinker” by Viktor Oliva which can be seen in the Café Slavia in Prague and on which the “green fairy” appears to an Absinthe drinker. Read More

Pure Spirits: The Balvenie Doublewood Aged 12 Years & Speyside Ambrosia

After a long time passed I want to devote today’s article to a single malt whisky. That makes me particularly happy since single malt whiskys are still something very special for me and ultimately my original “home” when it comes to spirits. Although it was actually gin that I first started to “study” intensively, the enthusiasm for Scotch caught me shortly after that. And there is probably no spirit in the world that comes close to the aromatic range of this genre (and there is also no spirit that I have tasted more intensely or widespread). Read More