Review: Delantero Tequila Blanco
Delantero Tequila is inspired by brand Founder Ilia Lerner’s love of soccer. Los Delanteros, are the forward players on a soccer team. The dynamic catalysts responsible for injecting creativity on the soccer field. It is crafted at Feliciano Vivanco Y Asociados a 5th generation agave growing and distilling family’s distillery. This distillery currently creates tequila for 40 brands including Los Dos, Lost Lore, Yeyo, Tau, Siempre, and Viva Mexico. Delantero is made from single estate 100% agave azul grown in the Highlands on the Vivanco estate. Master Distiller Sergio Cruz slow cooks the agave in a stone oven for 30 hours. A roller mill extracts the juice which is fermented with champagne in an yeast open air stainless steel tank, while classical music plays. After a double distillation in copper pot stills it rests for 3 months in stainless tanks and is oxygenated and bottled with no additives. Read more 
Review: Crop Circle Vodka
Crop Circle Vodka is crafted at Coulter and Payne Farm Distillery in Union Missouri from 100% Non-GMO corn grown on Shawnee Bend Farm. Chris Burnette and his wife Elise Coulter Burnette own both the distillery and the farm. The distillery was originally named Mad Buffalo Distillery. The 100% estate grown corn is grown milled mashed fermented and distilled on property by family members. Crop Circle Vodka is distilled multiple times proofed with pure water from a spring on their farm and lightly charcoal filtered. Read more
Review: Tau Tequila Blanco
Tau Tequila was inspired by Wixarika art and culture. Tau Tequila was registered as a brand in 2017 by CEO and Founder Martin Lopez Alvarez, and it went to market in 2019. It is made at Felicaino Vivanco Y Asociados from 100% agave grown in agave fields owned by the distillery in Arandas and Jesus Maria. The agave is slow cooked in masonry ovens and the extracted juice is fermented in open air stainless steel tanks while classical music plays. The spirit is double distilled in copper stills and bottle additive free. Read more
Review: Vermont Gold Vodka
Vermont Gold Vodka is crafted at Vermont Spirits Distilling Co. They also produce Gin and Bourbon. At one time they made Vermont White Vodka, a vodka distilled from pure milk sugar. Vermont Gold Vodka is distilled from 100% the sap of maple trees. The sap is concentrated then fermented and triple distilled in a glass still. The spirit is proofed with pure Vermont distilled water before hand bottling. The distillery opened in Barnet Vermont in 1999 and launched its first product Vermont Gold Vodka in 2004. In 2011 they relocated to Quechee Vermont next to an Amish furniture store. That furniture store building known as the Plank House was originally built in the 1700’s and was known as Lyman Trading Post. 200 years later the building was deconstructed then transported piece by piece and rebuilt in Quechee. In 2022 Hary Gorman Master Distiller began renovating the building and in 2024 it re-opened as Harry’s Cocktail Lounge featuring craft spirits, local beer, and wine. Read more
Review: Volcan de Mi Tierra BT
Volcan de Mi Tierra BT is small batch distilled at Agrotequilera de Jalisco at the foot of the Tequila Volcano in Huaxtla Jalisco. Volcan de Mi Tierra is co-owned by Moet Hennessy and the Gallardo family, who settled at Hacienda La Gavilana in Jalisco in 1774. This is one of five tequila brands who own their own distillery and produce their liquid exclusively. Unlike Volcan de Mi Tierra Blanco which is made from a blend of highland and lowland agave, Volcan de Mi Tierra BT is made from 100% Lowland agave. 100% of the agave is cooked in brick clay ovens. 100% of the pinas are crushed with a tahona mill. The extracted juice is 100% natural fermented open air in wood tanks with the fibers. Finally, the spirit is 100% copper pot distilled and proofed with spring water and bottled in a beautiful tall white bottle. Priced in the $150 price range this is one of the world’s most expensive blanco tequilas. Read more
Review: Kirkland Cognac VS
Kirkland Cognac VS as the name would suggest is a private label cognac sold exclusively at Costco. It was just released, and joins Kirkland Cognac XO just in time for the holiday season. The XO is sold in 750ml bottles while the VS is sold in a 1.75 liter bottle. Through the years I’ve learned the low price is not a reflection of the quality of Kirkland brands. They strive to only put the Kirkland name on premium products. That said Kirkland Cognac VS appears to be crafted at Maison Louis Royer, a fifth generation family cognac producer that has been crafting cognac for over 170 years. Their cellars are located near the Charente river. The damp conditions help give their cognac its round, smooth, and unique character. Kirkland Cognac VS is made from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes harvested in September and October. The eaux-de-vie comes from up to 5 different wine growing regions. These crus including Bois Ordinaires, Bon Bois, Fins Bois, Petite Champagne, and Grand Champagne. Different proportions are used depending on the Lot. After a double distillation in Charentais copper stills the wine spirit is aged in French oak barrels for a minimum 2 years. The spirit is blended in oak casks before bottling. Read more
Review: Divertido Tequila Blanco
Divertido Tequila is produced by the owners of 4 Copas Tequila. Like 4 Copas, Divertido Tequila is crafted at Hacienda de Oro. They tasked The Rooster Factory with developing a unique concept, packaging and brand. Divertido is made from 100% agave grown in the lowland region. The agave is cooked in an autoclave. Once extracted the juice is open air fermented in stainless steel with a spontaneous fermentation process then double distilled. Read more
Review: 28 Mile Vodka
28 Mile Vodka is small batch distilled in Highwood IL 28 miles north of Chicago. Eric and Gregg Falberg built 28 Mile Distilling Company in a former linen company building, and opened in 2019. They currently produce 28 Mile Vodka, gin, bourbon, and Elf Butterscotch Bourbon Whiskey. The inspiration for the distillery was Rose Miller who was born in Beloit Wisconsin in 1893. By the time Rose was a teenager her father had already taught her how to distill vodka. Rose moved to Chicago after high school and after working in jazz clubs on the south side of Chicago she moved to Highwood IL where she produced her bootleg spirits out of the Moraine Hotel. Her liquor named 28 Special was highly regarded and said to be found on the top shelf of Al Capones bars. Widely known as The Debonair, Rose joined the Women’s Temperance Union of Evanston to help hide her identity. An estate sale 60 years after her death in the 1942 Cocoanut Grove Nightclub fire in Boston revealed the extent of the operation and Rose Miller to be “The Debonair”. 28 Mile Vodka is made from malted wheat, barley, and rye. Read more
Review: Tequila Campo Azul 1940 Blanco
Campo Azul 1940 is named for the year their founder Don Ricardo Lopez was born. In the 1960’s the first generation of agave producers in the Casa Campo Azul family began planting blue agave in Jesus Maria Jalisco. In 1986 the second generation build the Casa Campo Azul Distillery, Productos Finos de Agave, at 6850 feet above sea level. The 100% Highland grown blue agave is cooked in masonry ovens for 30 hours of direct steam followed by 24 hours of rest and 18 hours of cooling. The extracted juice is slow open air fermented in a stainless steel tank with a proprietary yeast, then double distilled. Read more
Review: Bache Gabrielsen Cognac VS Tre Kors
The Bache Gabrielsen Cognac story starts in 1877 when Josef Alexander Gabrielsen and Kamilla Bache open their own shop in Norway to sell spirits. In 1903 their son Thomas Bache-Gabrielsen at the age of 20 is sent to Cognac France to build the family business. While there he meets and marries Odette a young Charentaise girl whose parents are wine growers. In 1905 with the help of a friend they buy Maison A. Edmond Dupuy, a cognac house that was originally founded in1852. That house now known as Maison Bache Gabrielsen is run by the family’s 4th generation Herve Bache-Gabrielsen. Bache Gabrielsen Cognac VS Tre Kors is made from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes. 75% grown in the Fins Bois and 25% in Petite Champagne region. The cognac is aged for a minimum 2 years in French Limousin oak casks. Read more