I was hoping to take a break from blended whisky, but fate, and a sale that was too good to pass up at my local Japanese grocery, had other ideas. But, I’ve enjoyed other products from this brand, so I was happy for an excuse to finally try Toki Whisky. Suntory, the legendary Japanese spirit brand, have been making whisky for almost a century. And while they’ve continued to expand their catalogue to include a variety of spirits, like Roku Gin, a majority of their offerings are whisky. Toki Whisky is one of Suntory’s cheaper whiskies, and is produced by blending whiskies from three different Suntory distilleries: Hakushu, Yamazaki, and […]
Madre Mezcal Artesanal Ensamble Flask is the smaller bottle version of Madre Ensamble – an artisanal mezcal produced by the brand Madre Mezcal. Founded by U.S.-based duo Tony Farfalla and Stefan Wigand, Madre partners with local families in Oaxaca with generations of Mezcal experience. According to the founders, Madre was first brought to the U.S. as a bootleg version in plastic bottles. Now a fully fledged company, Madre works with three main families based in Matlatan, Miahuatlan, and San Dionisio to produce the different expressions of handmade mezcal. This particular expression of Mezcal Ensamble is a blend using Espadin and Cuishe […]
There aren’t many scotch whisky brands more famous than Johnnie Walker. And despite seeing it in every grocery store and bar, I’ve never actually tried it myself. But thankfully, I was gifted this bottle of Johnnie Walker Green Label by a family member, so I can finally experience the brand and see how it measures up to other blended scotches. Johnnie Walker was first established in 1820, when John Walker opened up a grocer’s shop in Kilmarnock, Scotland. At the time, these shops were known to stock different spirits, and eventually Walker would start selling blends of single malt scotches using the Johnnie Walker label. The whisky […]
Citadelle Gin is produced by Maison Ferrand, a Cognac, France based spirits company that produces a variety of spirits including gin, cognac, and rum. With wild Juniper growing near the property of the production facilities, Château de Bonbonnet, this sparked the idea for Citadelle Gin, which launched in 1996. The brand now grows and harvests their juniper berries on site, which are eventually included in the gin with 19 other botanicals. These botanicals are added one at a time in a patented technique called “progressive infusion”. It is then distilled in naked flame copper pot stills. This particular bottle of Original gin is not aged […]
With such a wide variety of bold spirit bottles out there, sometimes a simple design can be striking. And, the simple white label of Leopold’s American Small Batch caught my eye the last time I was browsing for new bottles at my local store. The independently owned and operated Leopold Bros. was founded by brothers Todd and Scott Leapold in the 2000’s. They first established the brand in Michigan, but soon moved near Denver in their home state of Colorado to build their current distilling facilities on four acres of land. They use sustainable methods such as water recycling and composting to help produce a range of spirits, including: […]