Review: Ole Smoky Pumpkin Spice Cream Whiskey
Ole Smoky Pumpkin Spice Cream Whiskey is now available as a Limited Time seasonal release. This is another sign we have entered fall. Living in the Midwest the temperature has dropped and leaves have fallen. The football season has begun and the baseball season is nearing completion. Halloween Trick or Treat candy displays arrived a month ago, and Costco has transitioned from Key Lime Pie to Pumpkin Pie. There is no food product that signifies fall more than pumpkin. Turkey has a day. Pumpkin has a season. But lets be honest while Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Muffins and some Pumpkin Beers are made with real pumpkin, pumpkin spice is the real flavor of fall. It’s Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Spice Cheerios, Pumpkin Spice Twinkies, Pumpkin Spice Oreo’s, and believe it or not Pumpkin Spice Spam. Some even feed their best friends Pumpkin Spice Milk Bone Dog Biscuits. None of these products have any real pumpkin. Fall is also Prime Time for cream liqueurs as more cream liqueur will be consumed in the next few months than the rest of the year. Ole Smoky Pumpkin Spice Cream Whiskey, is both pumpkin spice flavored and a cream liqueur. Ole Smoky is best known for its Moonshine, they currently produce 32 different varieties. They also craft 17 different flavors of whiskey. Ole Smoky Pumpkin Spice Cream Whiskey is made from a 100% corn whiskey base that is barrel aged for 2 years. Milk, cream, soy, natural and artificial flavors are blended before bottling at 35 proof. Read more 
Review: Truly Vodka Seltzer
The Truly Vodka Seltzer four flavor 8 pack was just released. 2022 has been quite a busy year for Truly as they introduced several variety packs including Truly Margarita Style, and Truly Poolside. They revamped all three of their original hard seltzer variety packs to now include real fruit juice. Truly also partnered with Beam Suntory to create three flavored vodka’s. Truly Vodka Seltzer is made with premium six-times distilled vodka, real fruit juice from concentrate, and natural flavors. The four flavor varieties include Blackberry & Lemon, Cherry & Lime, Pineapple & Cranberry, and Peach & Tangerine. Each 12 oz. slim can weighs in with 110 calories and 5% alcohol. Read more
Review: Codigo 1530 Reposado Tequila
Codigo 1530 Reposado is named for the year the town of Amatitan received their official charter from Spain. Codigo was founded by Ron Snyder, the former CEO of Crocs Footwear and Federico Vaughan, who has long been the custodian of the brand that has only been available to close friends and family. Investors include Country Music Star George Strait and Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull. Codigo is crafted from 7-10 year old agave grown in the Lowland region. The agave is slow cooked in stainless steel ovens and shredded to extract the juice without the bitter pulp. It is fermented for 4 days with organic bakers yeast, and double distilled in a still built by the distilling family. The tequila then rests for 6 months in the finest Napa Valley Cabernet French White Oak Wine Barrels. It is then bottled with no additives. Read more
Review: Blue Chair Bay Mocha Rum Cream
Blue Chair Bay Mocha Rum Cream was introduced September 2022. Kenny Chesney launched the Blue Chair Bay brand of rum in 2013. Mocha Rum Cream is one of six rum creams including Banana, Pineapple, Key Lime, Mango, and Coconut Spiced. They also produce a white, spiced, coconut, banana, and vanilla rum. The rum base is distilled in Barbados from molasses and aged for 1 year in white oak barrels. In crafting Mocha Cream, the Caribbean rum is blended with real cream, chocolate, coconut, coffee, and other natural flavors. Read more
Review: Santo Fino Reposado Tequila
Santo Fino Reposado Tequila was released March 2021. It was crafted by Sammy Hagar, Guy Fieri, and Juan Eduardo Nunez, the Master Distiller at El Viejito. Years ago Sammy worked with Juan in creating the Cabo Wabo brand. Sammy later sold Cabo Wabo to Campari for $80 million. Santo Reposado starts with the Santo Blanco Tequila base made from 100% Weber Blue Agave grown in the Highland region. Once hand selected and trimmed the agave is steamed in traditional stone ovens for 17 hours. The agave pinas rest for 4 hours and are then steamed for another 12 hours. The extracted juice is fermented for 4 days and double distilled in copper stills. The tequila then rests for 4-5 months in lightly charred used American oak bourbon barrels. Read more
Review: R6 Blue Corn Vodka
R6 Blue Corn Vodka is made from a blend of 100% organic California Blue and Yellow corn mash. It is distilled 20 times in a German Kothe still and reduced to proof with reverse osmosis water and carbon filtered prior to bottling. The R6 Distillery was founded by their Head Distiller Rob Rubens. Rob fell in love with the art of distilling after an unplanned visit to a New Orleans Rum Distillery. He currently also crafts bourbon, whiskey, rye, and caramel flavored whiskey. Read more
Review: Truly Tropical With Real Fruit Juice Mix Pack
The Truly Tropical mix pack is now made with real fruit juice. While real fruit juice always tastes better than natural flavors, real fruit in hard seltzer often translates to an over sweet hard seltzer. So while I’m excited Truly has added real fruit juice to their line of hard seltzers, tasting, like seeing, is believing. Truly is made with filtered water, alcohol from cane sugar, natural flavors, and flavor specific fruit juice from concentrate. Read more
Review: Persian Reed Vodka
Persian Reed Vodka is crafted by Stillwagon Distillery in Coos Bay Oregon with molasses and sugar from sugar cane grown in Louisiana and Texas. Stillwagon Distillery is best known for their craft rums which they make over a dozen varieties but they also craft distill gin, whiskey, falernum and vodka. Persian Reed takes its name from a historical reference to sugarcane from the Romans who found sugarcane cultivated by the ancient Persians around 300 BC. The Persians called sugarcane “the reed that produces honey without bees”. Persian Reed Vodka is small batch distilled three times and reduced to proof with pure spring water. Read more
Review: Bud Light Seltzer Classic Variety Pack
Bud Light Seltzer recently introduced their Classic Variety Pack. If you didn’t notice it may be because the six other Bud Light Seltzer Variety packs and the dozens of other hard seltzer variety packs now found at your local liquor store distracted you. AB introduced the world to their hard seltzer January 2020 and while they were a little late to the hard seltzer party they have done their best to make up for lost time. After launched two standard hard seltzer mix packs they created a higher alcohol hard seltzer variety pack, a couple of canned cocktail hard seltzer packs, Lemonade seltzer, seasonal seltzers, hard soda seltzer, and most recently an apple flavored hard seltzer variety pack. The Bud Light Seltzer Classic Variety Pack brings them back to the future. All of the Bud Light Seltzer’s are made with water, cold fermented cane sugar, natural flavors, cane sugar, and malted rice weighing in with 100 calories, 5% alcohol, 1 gram of sugar and 2 carbs. Read more
Review: High Noon Tropical Variety Pack
High Noon Tropical is one of three 4 flavor 8 can mix packs produced by High Noon. The four flavors include Watermelon, Pineapple, Mango, and Passion Fruit. Unlike most hard seltzers High Noon is made from a vodka base. Real fruit juice, sparkling water and natural flavors are blended with the corn vodka base. Each 12 ounce slim can weighs in with 100 calories, and 4.5% alcohol. Read more