Review: Schlafly Coconut Crème Ale
Schlafly Coconut Crème Ale was introduced in April 2017. It is crafted in St Louis Missouri at the St Louis Brewery. The St Louis Brewery was built in the former Swift Printing Company Building in 1991. Coconut Creme Ale is one of eight Seasonal Beers they create. They also bottle 6 year round and 7 special release beers. All told they brew over 50 beer styles each year. About half of them are only available on draft. Schlafly Coconut Crème Ale is made with Europils Malt, Unmalted Wheat, Flaked Corn, Flaked Oats, and Magnum PL Hops. It is fermented with coconut puree and pineapples and aged on lightly toasted coconut flakes. Read more 
Review: SpikedSeltzer Cape Cod Cranberry
SpikedSeltzer Cape Cod Cranberry is one of four hard seltzer flavors first created in 2012 by Nick Shields who began formulating five gallon batches out of his garage in Westport Ct. When SpikedSeltzer was released in 2013 the Hard Seltzer category was launched. Since then at least five other brands have followed with their own hard seltzer. While SpikedSeltzer was the worlds first hard seltzer, distribution has been limited. That is about to end. September 2016 Anheuser Busch took a break from acquiring craft breweries, and acquired Boathouse Beverages, the parent company of SpikedSeltzer. SpikedSeltzer is made exclusively from purified water and natural ingredients. The fresh flavors infused are derived from cold pressed citrus essence from a variety of flavors. Read more
Review: Marble Moonlight Expresso
Marble Moonlight Expresso is crafted at the Marble Distillery in Carbondale Colorado. Did I mention this is also home to The Distillery Inn? The Distillery Inn is the worlds only inn housed within a working distillery. Opened in 2015 the distillery is the result of three couples shared interest of craft distilling, and sustainable business. This is the first distillery in the US to recycle 100% of process water, and capture and reuse the energy from the distilling process. Moonlight Expresso is made from a 60% ABV corn based distillate and is re-distilled in Hazel, their 250 gallon Vendome copper pot still. Vapor is transferred through a botanical basket filled with whole coffee beans and Ugandan vanilla beans. This results in a 82 ABV coffee infused vodka. Locally roasted coffee is cold brewed in a mash tun for a minimum of 18 hours, heated and mixed with pure cane sugar to create a coffee based simple syrup which is then combined with the coffee/vanilla infused vodka. The Marble Distillery works with Bonfire Coffee Company located just down the road from the distillery. They have a roasting division and roast the Guatemalan beans used to craft Marble Moonlight Expresso. Read more
Review: Ke Ke Key Lime Pie Cream Liqueur
Ke Ke Key Lime Pie Cream Liqueur was introduced several years ago and was called Ke Ke Beach Key Lime Liqueur at launch. At that time it was produced at 30 proof and came in a white bottle. The name has changed, and the packaging has changed. It is bottled in Weston Missouri at the McCormick Distillery. This is the sale distillery that produces 360 Vodka. No ingredient list or product information is available on their website or bottle. I’m a big fan of key lime pie and I would have liked to see an ingredient list that included fresh dairy cream, and key lime juice. If those were the actual ingredients in Ke Ke, I think they would have been listed. Read more
Review: Don Abraham Organic Blanco Tequila
Don Abraham Organic Blanco Tequila is produced and bottled by Tequilas Las Americas and imported by Pacific Edge Imports. This is the same distillery that produces El Viejo and Celestial tequila. Today is May 5th, you didn’t think I would be reviewing a scotch today did you? Don Abraham is a tequila I have followed for some time and this is the third different bottle I’ve seen it packaged in. Don Abraham is crafted from 100% blue agave organically grown on a single estate. The agave is hand selected and slow cooked in traditional stone ovens. After a double distillation the tequila is rested for 4 months before bottling. Read more
Review: Stoli Crushed Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka
Stoli Crushed Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka is one of two new vodka varieties Stoli just released in their new Crushed line of flavored vodka. The other flavor is Crushed Pineapple. These are the first new flavored vodkas Stoli has launched since 2012. This follows Absolut introducing Absolut Lime, their first new flavor in four years. Three Olives will be releasing a Watermelon and a Cucumber Lime flavor later this summer. There is no doubt there are far fewer flavored vodka’s varieties on the market today, but distillers are focusing on new flavors in 2017 to drive growth. Stoli has completely redesigned their flavored vodka with the Crushed line. Corn and buckwheat replace the winter wheat used for the vodka base, and real juice and color have been added. The bottles shape and labeling have been updated and the vodka has been reduced to 60 proof. Why? Real juice seems to be the new buzz word in flavored vodka, replacing natural flavor. Much of the credit for this goes to Deep Eddy and their release of Deep Eddy Ruby Red in 2013. For the record Charbay and Belvedere both used real grapefruit in flavoring their grapefruit vodka prior to the release of Deep Eddy Ruby Red, but Deep Eddy got the real juice ball rolling. Color is also growing in popularity in flavored vodka’s. Once reserved for the bargain basement vodka brands, color is now seen as more natural looking, even though certified color is added to most colored vodka’s. Stoli Crushed Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka starts with a vodka base made from 88% corn and 12% buckwheat. The vodka is triple distilled and quadruple filtered. Pure artesian spring water is blended to reduce to 80 proof. Real juice, natural flavor, and certified color are blended before bottling at 60 proof. Read more
Review: Stoli Crushed Pineapple Vodka
Stoli Crushed Pineapple Vodka was just released along with Stoli Crushed Grapefruit. Unlike their other flavored vodkas, that are made from a winter wheat vodka base, Stoli Crushed is made with a blend of 88 percent corn and 12 percent buckwheat harvested from the fertile farm fields of the Tambov region of Russia. The vodka is triple distilled and filtered four times through quartz, sand, and birchwood charcoal. Pure natural spring water from the Latvijas Balzams artesian well in Riva Latvia is blended with the vodka to reduce to 80 proof. Real juice, natural flavors, certified color and FD&C Yellow No. 5 are added before bottling at 60 proof. While this is Stoli’s first Pineapple flavored vodka, Dole Pineapple has been infused with Stoli Vodka for years and sold as a Doli Stoli at one of my favorite steakhouses, The Capital Grill. Read more
Review: Two James 28 Island Vodka
Two James 28 Island Vodka is crafted at the first licensed distillery in Detroit since prohibition. The Two James Distillery was founded in 2012 by David Landrum and Peter Bailey in Corktown, Detroit’s oldest neighborhood. The distillery is built in what was originally a turn of the century donut manufacturing plant. Two James is named for the founder’s fathers, James Bailey and James Landrum. The vodka is named for the 28 islands on the Detroit River. These islands were used as hideouts for bootleggers during prohibition. 28 Island Vodka is made from a blend of 70 percent corn and 30 percent soft winter wheat. Two James is small batch distilled in a 500 gallon copper pot still. Read more
Review: Coney Island Hard Lemon Lime Twist
Coney Island Hard Lemon Lime Twist is one of four hard soda flavors this division of Boston Beer Company currently produces. The other flavors include a Hard Root Beer, Cherry Cream Ale, and Orange Cream Ale. At one time they also made a hard Ginger Ale. I was sorry to see Ginger Ale is no longer featured on the Coney Island website. It scored very high and actually tasted like Ginger Ale, instead of Ginger Beer. Coney Island is also rolling out a new look with their line of hard soda. Gone is the old school bottle label design. In it’s place is the bright colorful label shown here. Hard Lemon Lime Twist is brewed as an ale with natural flavor and caramel color added. Read more
Review: Rock N Roll Cristalino Anejo Tequila
Rock N Roll Cristalino Anejo Tequila is one of three tequila expressions recently released. The others include Platinum Silver, and Mango. Like their Platinum Silver Tequila, Cristalino Anejo is bottled in a glass Gibson Flying V shaped guitar. The patented bottle top known as a roadie contains 50ml of their Platinum tequila. Cristalino Anejo is hand crafted by Master Distiller Jose Aceves and is double distilled, filtered to perfection, and barrel aged for 12 months. Read more