Ireland and whiskey obviously belong together. Although Ireland has one of the highest alcohol taxes in Europe, there’s hardly anything so closely associated with the island in the west of England, apart from Guinness, butter, the color green and the four-leafed clover. But the history of Irish whiskey is a very changeable one and among many whiskey connoisseurs the reputation of the Irish “water of life” is not as good as you might think. Read More
Monthly Archives: November 2018
Conde de Cuba Rum
Cuban rum enjoys an excellent reputation. Not only in the USA, where in particular the Havana Club brand sums up the limited availability of rum from the socialist Caribbean island. Among the Spanish-speaking rum nations, Cuba is regarded as an exemplary, solid and classic producing country. Reliable and strict rum legislation therefore guarantees quality and explicitly prevents the addition of any artificial flavourings. And even if the addition of sugar is not explicitly excluded, it is not the rule. Read More
Dr. Sours Bitters
Among the many new releases in the bar segment, it is sometimes really not easy to keep track of things. Although I regularly read print magazines and other blogs, browse through forums and groups in the social networks, have conversations in bars and at trade fairs and so on ad nauseam, I also occasionally happen to make one or two discoveries. When and how I first came upon the product series to be reviewed here today, I unfortunately forgot. But I do remember that it really stood out. Read More
Ming River Sichuan Baijiu & “Crossing the Silk Road”
Today I have a tough row to hoe – in several respects. Because today I’m writing about a product that belongs to a category which I have not dealt with here until now, which is still relatively unknown in Europe and, on top of that, represents a real challenge to me. And the topic “Baijiu” is gigantic (while my first contact with Baijiu was gigantically bad). Read More
Sierra Milenario Reposado & Clinton Street Pub’s Jalisco Egg Cream
And today we are once again talking about a Tequila. A Sierra Tequila, to be precise. Anyone getting a shock now while nervously starting to look around for traces of salt and lemon can calm down and have a look on my article about the Sierra Milenario Fumado Tequila, which I published two weeks ago. In contrast to the slightly smoky Fumado, which reminds more than just a little bit of a Mezcal, today we are dealing with a mature quality. Read More
Plantation Single Cask Trinidad 2009 & Nectar d’Or
People think in stereotypes. This is perhaps a somewhat sweeping way to put it (and therefore may even seem like a self-fulfilling prophecy), but a certain tendency towards pigeonholing certainly cannot be completely denied. And of course this does not stop when it comes to spirits. Read More