Review: Lalo Tequila Blanco
Lalo Tequila Blanco is named after Founder Eduardo “Lalo” Gonzalez. Lalo is the nickname given to him by his Grandfather, Don Julio Gonzalez. Don Julio Gonzalez purchased his first tequila distillery when he was 17 in 1942. When he retired in 1987 after 45 years of making tequila his son, also named Eduardo created a special edition tequila to commemorate the occasion. That tequila is now known as Don Julio. Most experts agree it was the industries first luxury tequila brand. Don Julio 1942 is perhaps the industries most iconic tequila. After working for several years in the tequila industry, friends Lalo Gonzalez and David Carballido sought to create a truly pure blanco tequila. They began by producing small batches for their family and friends in Guadalajara. They soon joined with Co-Founder Jim McDermott and launched Lalo in Austin Texas September 2019. Initially the focus of Lalo was on premise sales, but with Covid squeezing the entertainment sector, they expanded their focus to include retail sales. Lalo is crafted from 7 year old blue agave grown in the mineral rich soil of the Jalisco Highlands. Once trimmed the agave is cooked in stone steam ovens for 20-32 hours. The agave rests for 18 hours before the juice is extracted with a roller press and fermented for 3-4 days with a proprietary yeast found in Champaign. The spirit is double distilled and oxygenated to achieve the final stabilization prior to bottling. Read more 
Review: SeekOut Seltzer Lemonade
SeekOut Seltzer Lemonade is one of two new 12 can variety packs released June 2021 by 2 Towns Ciderhouse. The other variety pack, Tropical, replaced the Original SeekOut Seltzer variety pack. They brought back SeekOut Pineapple and Passion Fruit, and they reformulated and renamed SeekOut Key Lime + Mint to SeekOut Key Lime Mojito. They replaced two of my favorite hard seltzers, SeekOut Raspberry and Meyer Lemon, and SeekOut Clementine + Grapefruit with Apricot Mango and Kiwi Blackberry. The good news is SeekOut Raspberry and Meyer Lemon has been rebranded to Raspberry Lemonade and moved to their Lemonade variety pack. Each 12 oz. can of SeekOut Lemonade Seltzer weighs in with 5% alcohol, and 100 calories. They are crafted with water, apple wine, Meyer Lemon juice, natural flavors and flavor specific fruit juice. Absent from the ingredient list is Stevia which is used in most of the other hard seltzer lemonades on the market today. Read more
Review: El Padrino Chocolate Tequila Cream
El Padrino Chocolate Tequila Cream is one of three new tequila creams produced at Casa Maestri. The others include Lime and Original Tequila Cream. El Padrino may offer more tequilas variants than any other brand. Their lineup also includes El Padrino Blanco, Reposado, Anejo, Extra Anejo, Cristalino, Tropical Mango, Spicy Cucumber, and Clementine. They also produce 4 different El Padrino Mezcals. The El Padrino tequila base is made from 100% blue agave grown on their hacienda in San Julian Jalisco Mexico. Once trimmed the hearts are cut in half and steam roasted in centuries old traditional thick stone walled brick ovens for 36-54 hours. Once cooled the pina’s are shredded releasing the sweet juice which is then fermented in wood vats. A double distillation follows. Natural flavors, cream liqueur, and caramel color is blended with the tequila base before bottling at 30 proof. Read more
Review: South Fork Vodka
South Fork Vodka was launched September 2018 by Co-Founders Johnathan Dorfman and Dan Kennerson in Grass Valley California. The two worked previously together as ethanol researchers for the US Department of Defense. South Fork is named after one of Northern California’s iconic bodies of water, The South Fork of the Yuba River. South Fork is distilled six times from GMO-Free American Corn and Nevada Mountain Spring water. The spirit is further refined through a small batch finishing method. South Fork has been been awarded Best Craft Vodka Distillery by USA Today in 2021. They also were included on Wine Enthusiasts list of Ten Best Vodka’s of 2020. Read more
Review: George Dickel X Leopold Bros, Collaboration Rye Whiskey
George Dickel X Leopold Bros. Collaboration Rye Whiskey was recently released. It is a collaboration of two of the most creative and dynamic Master Distillers in the industry today. Todd Leopold and Nicole Austin of Cascade Hollow Distilling. Here is what we know about this whiskey. It is made with George Dickel never before released traditional column still rye. Previous Dickel rye releases have been sourced from MGP of Indiana. In the US rye whiskey is by law made from a mash of at least 51% rye, and that is what several ryes including Knob Creek Rye, Rittenhouse, and Jim Beam Rye are made from. This George Dickel Rye is made from a 95% rye 5% malt mash bill. It is blended with Leopold Bros. Three Chamber Rye. For over a hundred years American rye whiskey was commonly produced in a three chamber still to extract not only distillate but also oils and aromas hidden in the grain. Production of this style ended after World War II. Leopold Bros. painstakingly re-engineered a three chamber still from old manuscripts. It was built by Vendome Copper Brass Works. Their rye is crafted from 80% Abruzzi rye grown on rye fields 25 mile north of the distillery and 20% malt, and not just any malt. Leopold floor malts their own Colorado grown grains on-site at their distillery. The spirit is barrel aged for 4 years. Read more
Review: LIV Vodka
LIV Vodka is crafted in Baiting Hollow New York in a beautifully restored twin cupola barn by Founder and Master Distiller Rich Stabile. Prior to WWII Long Island had over 200,000 acres of potatoes. Today the distillery is surrounded by 5000 acres of potato farms. Long Island Spirits was founded January 5, 2007 and was the first craft distillery on Long Island since the 1800’s. They were the 100th distillery in the US when they were founded. There are now over 2000, with 145 in New York state alone. LIV Vodka was their first spirit. It is made from 100% locally grown Long Island potatoes. It takes 20 pounds of potatoes to make one bottle of LIV Vodka. The distillery practices sustainable production methods including composting it’s by-products, and smart hydro thermal reclamation. LIV Vodka is small batch triple distilled on 650 liter custom made copper pot stills equipped with 30 foot tall rectification distillation columns. The vodka is non chill filtered. Read more
Review: Michelob Ultra Black Cherry Organic Seltzer
Black Cherry recently joined Citrus, Mixed Berry, and Mango Apricot in the Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer Classic Collection. This 12 can variety pack was launched March 2021 and followed up the January 2021 Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer Signature Collection. In addition to offering different flavor varieties the Classic Collection flavors are made with real organic fruit juice. All four varieties are made with organic white grape juice and a flavor specific organic fruit juice. Black Cherry includes organic dark sweet cherry juice from concentrate. Black Cherry is not sold in an individual flavor pack so I will update my previous Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer Classic Collection review to now include Black Cherry. Read more
Review: Terralta Tequila Blanco
Terralta Tequila Blanco was introduced in 2011. It is crafted by Third Generation Master Distiller Felipe Camarena at Destileria el Pandillo. His Grandfather created Tequila Tapatio, and Tesoro de Don Felipe. His brother the Ocho brand. His cousin founded Camarena Tequila. I guess you can say tequila is in their family DNA. Terralta is made from 100% blue Weber agave, Highland grown for 8-10 years. The trimmed pinas are cooked and steamed in a custom stone oven with steam jets placed at top and bottom. This allows the agave to cook evenly. Once cooled a 19,000 pound steam roller made from junk parts and named Frankenstein, crushes the agave without breaking the fibers that cause bitterness. The juice is fermented in stainless steel vats with the same natural yeast his grandfather used 80 years ago. The spirit is double distilled in custom copper stills that are cleaned with distilled water and steam before every new batch. Pure water sourced from a 459 foot deep well is blended to reduce to proof. Read more
Review: Big Grove Squeeze Hard Seltzer
Squeeze Hard Seltzer is crafted at Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City Iowa. Big Grove Brewery first opened in Solon Iowa in 2013. Founders Matt Swift, Faye Swift, and Doug Goettsch opened a second location in Iowa City in 2017. This 28,000 square foot location is where Squeeze Hard Seltzer is produced. The 2021 Big Ten Championship Football game between the Michigan Wolverines and Iowa Hawkeyes is played on Saturday so we thought it would be a good time to check out the University of Iowa’s home town favorite hard seltzer, Big Grove Squeeze Hard Seltzer. This should not be confused with Squeeze hard seltzer, produced by Sumerian Brewing in Woodinville Washington. Big Grove Squeeze Hard Seltzer is made from filtered carbonated water, a sugar alcohol base, natural flavors, and citric acid. Read more
Review: Corbin Cash Sour Mash Bourbon
Corbin Cash Sour Mash Bourbon is crafted by David John Souza on a family farm in the San Joaquin Valley that his family has owned for nearly 100 years. He named the distillery after his son Corbin Cash Souza. Corbin Cash Sour Mash was awarded Best Bourbon at the Los Angeles Spirts competition. Three years ago I reviewed Corbin Sweet Potato Vodka, now named Corbin Cash California Estate Grown Sweet Potato Vodka, so I’m not surprised by their most recent award. The bourbon is crafted from a 70% corn, 25%, rye, and 5% malt mash bill. The corn comes from good friends at the neighboring Scoto Brothers Farm. The barley used is grown in California and malted at Admiral Malting in Alameda, and the rye is grown on their own farm. It’s a true California Bourbon. The wood in the barrels is a combination of Missouri and Minnesota grown American White Oak. The wood is seasoned for 36 months before becoming a barrel. After construction the barrel in Fresno California it is charred to Corbin Cash specifications. The whiskey is mashed fermented, and distilled on an Arnold Holstein copper still at Corbin Cash Distillery in Atwater California. They add some of the spend mash into subsequent batches to create a sour mash. It is then laid down at 110 proof for a minimum of 4 years, and bottled at barrel proof of 106. Read more