Review: Los Dos Blanco Tequila
Los Dos Blanco Tequila is crafted from 100% blue agave estate grown on La Poblada Ranch in Arandas Jalisco. Sergio Vivanco and his brothers have been growing agaves and distilling at El Ranchito for five generations. Master Distiller Sergio Cruz spent 2 years developing Los Dos. The trimmed agave is slow cooked in brick ovens for 36 hours and then rested for 24 hours. The juice is extracted in a roller mill and fermented in stainless steel tanks with Champaign yeast. The spirit is small batch double distilled in copper pot stills and brought to proof with pure water drawn from a 120 meter deep well. Los Dos is bottled on site, then signed and batch numbered, with no additives. Many tequilas are made with sugary syrups, coloring, and glycerin. We are reviewing Batch 2. Read more 
Review: Maui Hard Seltzer Mix Pack
Maui Hard Seltzer was first released January 2020 by Maui Brewing Company, the largest craft brewery in Hawaii. The Maui Brewing Company was opened by Founder and CEO Garrett Marrero January 2005. They produce over a dozen beers including 8 year round beers. That list includes Bikini Blonde Lager, Big Swell IPA, Pineapple Mana Wheat, Coconut Hiwa Porter, and Pau Hana Pilsner. Maui Hard Seltzer was exclusively made in Hawaii until recently, when to meet demand they partnered with Sleeping Giant Brewing Company in Denver Colorado to produce and can the same recipe Maui Hard Seltzer sold in the mainland. Maui Hard Seltzer is still produced in Hawaii to meet demand in Hawaii. Maui Hard Seltzer is sold in individual flavor packs and a 4 flavor 12 can mix pack. Read more
Review: Ciroc Passion Vodka
Diageo and Sean Diddy Combs have just released Ciroc Passion vodka. My first thought was this is a passion fruit flavored vodka but since the bottle reads, “an exotic blend of the tropics” it may be a blend of flavors including passion fruit. Several passion fruit flavored vodka’s have been released. Only a couple remain on the market today. We have reviewed passion fruit flavored vodkas made by Smirnoff, 42 Below, Skyy, Opulent and New Amsterdam. Absolut released a Passion Fruit vodka but I have never seen it in the US. Only Smirnoff, New Amsterdam, and Seacrets, a small distillery in Ocean City Maryland currently produce a passion fruit flavored vodka. Like all of the Ciroc flavored vodkas, Passion is made from the original Ciroc vodka base. This base is crafted from a blend of Ugni Blanc and Mauzac Blanc grapes. The juice is made into a wine. It actually takes 4 bottles of wine to make 1 bottle of Ciroc. The wine is distilled four times in a stainless column still. A fifth distillation follows in a traditional custom copper pot still at Maison Villevert Distillery by Master Distiller Jean-Sebastien Robicquet, at his family owned 500 year old distillery in the South of France. Natural flavors are blended before bottling at 60 proof. Read more
Review: Ashland Seltzer Rainbow Sherbet
Ashland Seltzer Rainbow Sherbet is a Limited Release seltzer introduced in May 2022. It is the Official Hard Seltzer of San Diego Pride. Ashland seltzer’s are currently sold in Arizona and California and through several online sources. Like the other Ashland flavors, Rainbow Sherbet is made from an alcohol base of fermented dextrose, with carbonated water from alkaline water, yeast, and organic natural flavors. It is sold in individual flavor six packs. The flavor profile hints at raspberry, lime, and orange sherbet flavor with the color palate of the can. Read more
Review: JJ Pfister Vodka
JJ Pfister Vodka is crafted by Master Distiller Brian Keck at JJ Pfister Distilling Company in Sacramento California. The distillery is named for the family patriarch JJ Pfister who emigrated to the US from Switzerland at the age of 25. He settled in San Francisco, and in 1876 he launched his first business, a one man knitting company. By 1889 the business was successful enough to build his first factory in San Francisco. The factory was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and was rebuilt in Berkeley California. JJ Distilling Company is a family owned business run by Kevin Keck the Great Grandson of JJ Pfister and the father of master distiller Brain Keck. Their first crafted spirit was a vodka distilled from potatoes they released in 2017. They currently craft about a dozen spirits including vodka, gin, whiskey, rum, eau de vie, brandy, and Drakus Honey Spirit. In 2020 they released their current JJ Pfister Vodka, distilled from organic rye locally farmed in the Sacramento Valley using sustainable practices. This vodka was originally produced as a base for JJ Pfister Gin and because it tasted so good they released it as a vodka. All of their spirits are crafted on custom stills built in Italy. Read more
Review: Simply Spiked Lemonade Variety Pack
Simply Spiked Lemonade was just released and it is available in a four flavor, 12 can variety pack. Coca-Cola and Molson Coors have once again partnered in creating the brand. They also collaborated on Topo Chico Hard Seltzer. Coca-Cola acquired the Minute Maid brand in 1960. It was their first non soft drink acquisition. In 2001 Minute Maid launched Simply Orange made from 100% never frozen never from concentrate orange juice. Simply is now Coca-Cola’s second largest brand generating over $1 billion in revenue. Simply Orange is the second best selling orange juice brand in the US only trailing the Pepsi-Cola Company owned Tropicana brand in orange juice sales. In 2006 they launched Simply Lemonade made from pure filtered water, non-GMO lemon juice, cane sugar, and natural flavors. They have since added Simply Light Lemonade which is made with a blend of sugar and stevia. Simply Spiked Lemonade is made from a fermented cane sugar base with natural flavors and 5% real fruit juice including lemon juice from concentrate and flavor specific fruit juice concentrates. Like Simply Lemonade Light it is made with a blend of sugar and stevia extract. The main challenge I see with the brand is that each 12 ounce can weighs in with 170 calories and 18 sugar grams. The leading hard seltzer lemonade brands produced by Truly, Bud Light, White Claw, and Vizzy all tip the scale with only 100 calories, and no more than 1 sugar gram. On paper Simply Spiked Lemonade aligns more with Mikes Hard Lemonade and the 220 calories and 32 sugar grams found in each bottle of Mikes. Read more
Review: Smirnoff Seltzer Neon Lemonade Variety Pack
The Smirnoff Seltzer Neon Lemonade Variety Pack was released last month. Smirnoff has been making hard seltzer since they introduced their Spiked and Sparkling Seltzer in three flavors November 2016. Those flavors were Cranberry Lime, Watermelon, and Orange Mango. They have continued to tweak their recipes over the years, but they continue to produce their seltzer with a premium malt base. This is the same alcohol base they use in their Smirnoff Ice brand. Mikes Hard Lemonade also is made from a premium malt base. Most of the hard seltzers on the market today start with a fermented sugar or dextrose alcohol base. Smirnoff Seltzer Neon Lemonade is sold in a 4 flavor 12 can variety pack. Each 12 ounce slim can weighs in with 4.5% alcohol, 99 calories, and 2% juice concentrate. Read more
Review: The Bellinger Bomb Hard Seltzer
Ashland Hard Seltzer released The Bellinger Bomb the summer of 2021. It is one of 8 Limited Release Hard Seltzers they craft in San Diego California from alkaline water, yeast, dextrose, and organic natural flavors. The Bellinger Bomb was created in collaboration with Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Cody Bellinger. Besides being a former National League MVP, Cody is a co-owner of Ashland Hard Seltzer. The Bomb Pop Popsicle a red white and blue three flavor frozen treat with Cherry, Lime, and Blue Raspberry flavors, is the inspiration for The Bellinger Bomb. It is currently sold in individual flavor 6 packs. Read more
Review: Dented Brick Disco-Nut Coconut Rum
Dented Brick Disco-Nut Coconut Rum was released July 2020. It is made in collaboration with the Utah Pride Center and the Pride Center at Equality Park in Florida. 10% of sales are donated to support these organizations. Disco-Nut Coconut is made from a 81 proof light rum base distilled from sugar cane molasses in the US Virgin Islands. The rum is then proofed down with artesian well water filtered through multiple charcoal filters. Coconut syrup made with real coconut, and edible glitter are blended before bottling at 50 proof. Dented Brick also crafts a Mango, Pineapple, and Passion Fruit flavored glitter rum. Read more
Review: Sundays Tequila Seltzer Variety Pack
Sundays Tequila Seltzer is crafted from their award winning tequila made from 100% sustainably farmed Blue Weber agave sourced from both the Highland and Lowland agave fields. Mitchell Hayes founded Los Sundays in 2016 and released their first tequila September 2017. The tequila is distilled in a family owned female founded distillery. Each 12 ounce slim can of Sundays Tequila Seltzer is made with real tequila, real, juice, sparkling water, and natural flavors. Read more