When it comes to American whiskey brands, few are as famous as Jack Daniel’s. And despite seeing it everywhere, I somehow managed to never actually try it. But since I’ve been searching for potential go-to cocktail spirits this summer, I thought it was the perfect time to finally pick up a bottle of Jack Daniel’s No. 7. Jack Daniel’s has had a significant influence on American whiskey for over a century. The distillery was first established by Jasper Newton Daniel, better known as Jack, in 1864 and pioneered the technique of charcoal filtering whiskey. Although there are questions about the true originator of this technique (Jack […]
I often find the rum section to be a bit overwhelming. There are so many different styles from so may different countries at so many different price points, and it can be difficult to narrow down all the choices. But since I’ve been focusing on spirits for cocktail mixing, I was on the look out for a reasonably priced rum from a brand that’s likely widely available. And, I thought Mount Gay Eclipse would be a perfect rum to try, since I tend to see the brand everywhere. Mount Gay has a long history in the Barbados rum industry. The distillery was inherited by John Sober in 1703 and was originally named for the mountain on which […]
With the overwhelming number of other spirits available on the market, I’m not usually interested in any produced by grocery stores. But while browsing for some new cocktail mixers, I found Trader Joe’s Small Batch Vodka hard to pass up because of the surprising low price. I’m also always a sucker for a simple bottle design. So, let’s see if I would come to regret my first experience with a grocery store branded spirit. Trader Joe’s Small Batch is a corn-based neutral spirit that, as the name suggests, is distilled in small batches. In fact, it’s distilled 10 times before being charcoal filtered and bottled at 44% ABV. I couldn’t find […]
When I think about the states in America that produce bourbon, Colorado definitely isn’t top of mind. But, Mile High Spirits have been producing bourbon, alongside with a whole bunch of other spirits, in their Denver-based distillery since 2011. And they were generous enough to send us a bottle of their flagship Fireside Bourbon Whiskey along with their Fireside Old Fashioned. Mile High Spirits primarily uses local ingredients, including locally grown corn, barley, and rye, when producing Fireside Bourbon. After the spirit is distilled in copper stills and aged for a minimum of 2 years, the whiskey is diluted to 40% ABV with filtered […]
After recently reviewing Espolon’s Tequila Blanco, I was interested in exploring more of their tequila products. Fortunately, I ended up with this bottle of Espolon Tequila Añejo from a recent work gift exchange party. This was one of my first experiences with Añejo tequila, and I was excited to see how it would differ from blanco and reposado. If you want general information about Espolon, you can read my recent review of Espolon Tequila Blanco. Espolon Tequila Anejo is produced in the same facility and using the same base ingredients. The main difference is the Añejo is aged for a minimum of 11 months in American Oak barrels, followed […]