Vestal Vodka and the P&P Cobbler

Yes, today it is actually once again about vodka. This might surprise some readers of my blog because whenever I did vodka reviews here in the past – despite some quite positive surprises in the taste profiles – my overall impression remained rather subdued. Of course: there are qualitative differences, but these are mostly so subtle that only those who highly concentrate and pay attention to even the most volatile nuances will find them. And here, of course, the critical question is allowed: who does that in “everyday life”? Exactly: almost nobody. Read More

Thompson Bros. Organic Highland Gin, Vermouth Del Professore & Olio e Lamponi

Gin and whisky are of course two very different animals. However, in the eyes of many whisky manufacturers, a real love affair seems to have developed when it comes to the classic juniper distillate. The reasons are certainly quite simple: Gin can be produced much faster than whisky and is a good guarantor of income – especially for young distilleries whose whiskies have to mature for some time before they can be sold under this name. Read More

Clairin Communal & Cup Haïtien

Whoever is doing some research about the production of rum will more or less immediately read about the Caribbean. Most likely, you will find a lot of information about the production of sugar cane, the historical roots of rum as a waste product, the distinction between molasses rum and rhum agricole made from sugar cane juice and so on. In recent times, the focus has increasingly been on special yeast strains, some of which have been used consistently for centuries to trigger the fermentation process of sugar cane juice or molasses. Another subject in many books about rum are various filtration techniques. Well, today it’s once again about Clairin from the island state of Haiti in addition to classic rum and rhum. Read More

G. Rozelieures Subtil Collection & Pear Group Member

Almost exactly one and a half years ago I’ve written a few articles about the G. Rozelieures Whiskys from the distillery Grallet Dupic located in the French village of Rozelieures in Lorraine. To be honest, I was quite positively surprised by the quality of these smoky continental whiskies at that time, since they didn’t have that certain resemblance to fruit eau de vies a lot of continental whiskys bring with them (which you don’t really want that much in a single malt whisky). And that was not only the case due to their peated character. Read More

Herr der Frösche Absinth & Choc Frog

It’s been quite a while since I specifically wrote about Absinthe in this blog. There is actually no special reason for this break, except maybe that Absinthe is more of a niche product and in cocktails it is rarely the main actor in a drink. Nevertheless, hardly anyone would dare not recognizing absinthe as what it is: one of the most traditional and elementary ingredients in any bar assortment. Read More