Review: Coors Seltzer
Coors Seltzer has been released just in time for the traditional end of summer, Labor Day. With each 12 pack of Coors Seltzer purchased, Molson Coors is committing to restore 500 gallons of clean water to Americas rivers. They are doing this by donating $1 per case to Change the Course and their river initiatives. They project in one year they will restore 1 billion gallons of river water. That is 192 times the size of the Mississippi River. Coors Seltzer is available in a four flavor variety pack including three cans each of Grapefruit, Mango, Lemon Lime, and Black Cherry. I’ll be honest, with most products I hate variety packs. There always seems to be at least one flavor I hate. With Hard Seltzer, count be as a big fan of the variety pack. I wish Bubly and Lacroix would also offer variety packs. Each slim 12 ounce can of Coors Seltzer weighs in with 90 calories, 4.5% alcohol and 2 Carbs. It is made from a traditional cane sugar alcohol base with natural flavors added. Read more 
Review: Skeptic Vodka
Skeptic Vodka is crafted in Melrose Park Illinois at Skeptic Distillery Company. They also make Skeptic Gin and Skeptic Ginquila. Skeptic Whiskey is currently barrel aging. Karl Loepke the Founder and Head Distiller of Skeptic Distillery was an avid home brewer and craft beer enthusiast with a dream of opening a brewery one day. Years later Karl was introduced to vacuum distillation through his former gig as a part owner of a specialty cleaning solvent company. One day he imagined what a spirit would taste like if it was distilled in such a manner. Skeptic Vodka is distilled from corn at cold temperatures using a cold vacuum still. This unique custom designed still allow them to distill continuously at 50 degrees which preserves delicate flavors. The spirit is carbon filtered four times in a proprietary blend of ultrapure carbon developed from exhaustive research and development. Each label contains the hand written batch and bottle number. Read more
Review: Sparkle Glacier Spiked Hard Seltzer
Sparkle Glacier Spiked Hard Seltzer was released February 2020 by Avery Brewing Company. Avery Brewing Company was founded September 1993 by Adam Avery and his father Larry in Boulder Colorado. Avery is probably best known for their White Rascal Belgian Style White Ale but they have crafted dozens of beers including several IPA’s. Avery is now 70% owned by the Mahou-San Miguel Group. This is the same company that also owns 90% of Founders Brewing Company, another craft brewery out of Grand Rapids Michigan. Sparkle Hard Seltzer is made by fermenting brewing sugar (dextrose) into alcohol. They finish Sparkle as dry as possible so no sugars remain when fermentation is complete. The complete ingredients list on a can of Sparkle Cherry Lime reads Glacier- Spiked Sparkling Water, Dextrose, Morello Cherry and Key Lime. The water is sourced from the Arapaho Glacier. Over one year was spent developing Sparkle and over 60 flavors were created before selecting Cherry Lime, Grapefruit, and CranRaz. Each can weighs in at 100 calories 5% Alcohol and 1.5 Carbs. Read more
Review: Pristine Vodka
Pristine Vodka was introduced into the US in 2009. In 1989 Alex Bratslavsky left Ukraine to share a piece of the American dream with his family. While he was able to realize his dream of making a living and raising a family in the US he was disappointed in the lackluster premium vodka available in the US. Alex spent years organizing a dream team of Agriculturalists and Master Distillers to craft Pristine. Pristine Vodka is made in Ukraine from Ukrainian wheat and pure icy cold Carpathian Mountain spring water. It is distilled five times and gravity charcoal filtered from three stories high a total of five times before bottling at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Prairie Organic Watermelon Cucumber & Lime Vodka
Prairie Organic Watermelon Cucumber & Lime Vodka was just introduced. It is one of three organic botanical infused vodka’s released by Prairie Organic Spirits. Prairie Organic Spirits was founded 2008 by Phillips Distilling Company. Phillips creates dozens of spirits including UV Vodka, Revel Stoke Whiskey, Centinela Tequila and, La Hechicera Rum. Prairie Organic Spirits are farm crafted and made using single sourced vintage corn grown on family owned organic farms in the Midwest. Each batch is distilled to taste in small batches. Organic Watermelon, Cucumber, & Lime are infused in the vodka base before bottling at 60 proof. Prairie Organic Spirits recently partnered with 1% for the planet, a non-profit that’s pioneering a global movement for providing environmental solutions. Read more
Review: Prairie Organic Grapefruit Hibiscus & Chamomile Vodka
Prairie Organic Grapefruit Hibiscus & Chamomile Vodka is one of three organic zero sugar, flavor infused vodkas in Prairie Organics new Sustainable Seasons line of spirits. The other two flavors are the previously reviewed Apple Pear & Ginger, and Watermelon Cucumber & Lime. Prairie Organic Spirits was founded in 2008 and they currently also craft Prairie Organic Vodka, Prairie Organic Cucumber Vodka, Prairie Organic Gin, Prairie Organic Navy Strength Gin, and Prairie Organic Sparkling Craft Cocktails. Everything is produced using 100% renewable energy. Launched in 2019 The Spirit of Change Fund champions the next generation of organic farmers by helping more farmers go organic. Prairie Organic donates 1% of sales to support this fund. Prairie Organic Grapefruit Hibiscus & Chamomile is made from a single sourced vintage corn grown on family owned organic Midwest farms. The harvested organic corn is brought to a farmer owned co-op where it is ground up and put into a mash where it ferments before being transported to Princeton Minnesota where it is distilled to taste. Organic grapefruit hibiscus and chamomile are infused before bottling at 60 proof. Read more
Review: Prairie Organic Apple Pear & Ginger Vodka
Prairie Organic Spirits , The #1 USDA Certified Organic spirits brand is expanding its portfolio of farm crafted spirits with the launch of its new Sustainable Seasons line of organic botanical infused vodka. There are currently three flavor varieties including Prairie Organic Apple, Pear, & Ginger, Grapefruit, Hibiscus, and Chamomile, and Watermelon, Cucumber, & Lime. Prairie Organic Apple, Pear & Ginger is made from single sourced vintage corn grown on family owned organic Midwest farms. The harvested organic corn is brought to a farmer owned co-op where it is ground up and put into a mash where it ferments. It is then delivered to Prairie Organic Spirits where it is distilled to taste in a copper still. Organic apple, pear, and ginger are infused with the vodka. No sugar or artificial sweeteners are added before bottling at 60 proof. FYI: Apples and Pears are both included on Environmental Working Groups 2020 Dirty Dozen List which annually highlights fruit and vegetables that have the highest pesticide residues when not grown organically. Read more
Review: Golden Road Fruit Cart Hard Seltzer
Golden Road Fruit Cart Hard Seltzer was launched July 2020. It is brewed with a beer base made with dextrose and 2-row malt, and nugget hops at Golden Road Brewing Company in Los Angeles California. Fruit juice and natural flavors are added. The four flavors currently available include, Mango, Watermelon, Cucumber Lime, and Strawberry Pineapple. This is not Golden Road Brewing Company’s first hard seltzer. They released Maha Organic Hard Seltzer April 2020, and Spiked Agua Fresca the summer of 2019. Golden Road Fruit Cart Hard Seltzer appears to be a re-branding of the Spiked Agua Fresca line as the four flavors are the same and Spiked Agua Fresca is no longer present on the Golden Road website. The recipe in some cases has been tweaked as the calorie and carb. count doesn’t exactly match up. Golden Road Brewing was co-founded in 2011 by Meg Gill and Tony Yanow. They started brewing with a 15 bbl brewhouse in the Atwater Village neighborhood. They grew and expanded quickly before Anheuser Busch acquired Golden Road September 2015. At that time Golden Road Brewing Company was the largest craft brewery in Los Angeles, selling 45,000 barrels that year. Each flavor of Gold Road Fruit Cart Hard Seltzer weighs in at 4% alcohol with a calorie count ranging from 98-113 per 12 ounce serving. Read more
Review: Barcelo Imperial Rum
Barcelo Imperial Rum was launched in 1980. It is distilled from the finest selection of estate grown Caribbean sugar cane grown in the Dominican Republic. Ron Barcelo is the only rum produced in the Dominican Republic from fresh cut sugar cane. The other brands are all made from molasses. Imperial is one of eight rums currently produced at this distillery. Having arrived from Spain in 1929 Julian Barcelo founded Ron Barcelo in 1930 and by 1950 the Ron Barcelo Brand was launched with Barcelo Blanco and Dorado. In 1974 Don Julian Barcelo handed over the reins of the business to his nephew Miguel Barcelo. Barcelo Imperial is made from a blend of rums aged up to 10 years in American bourbon barrels. Ron Barcelo is sold in over 50 countries and it ranks as the 4th largest exporter of rum in the world. Read more
Review: Timber Creek Vodka
Timber Creek Vodka is crafted at Timber Creek Distillery in Crestview Florida. The Distillery was built on a 1400 acres farm near Destin Florida owned by Aaron Barnes family. Aaron partnered with neighbor Camden Ford in building the distillery, and creating the spirits. They currently also produce gin, rum, flavored rum, and several whiskey’s. Timber Creek Vodka is four times distilled in a custom pot still from 100% Florida grown red soft wheat and Florida limestone spring water pumped directly from the Florida aquifer. The wheat is cracked open and gently cooked to release the sugars. The grain is removed from the lauter tun and only the liquid is fermented. Timber Creek has developed a proprietary distilling and blending technique they call PureBlend. The spirit is filtered with natural charcoal. The vodka then rests for 6 months prior to bottling. Read more