Review: Omission Hard Seltzer
Omission Hard Seltzer was launched October 2019. It is produced at Omission Brewing Company in Portland Oregon. The Omission brewery was founded in 2012 and they currently produce four beers, Omission Lager, Pale Ale, IPA, and Ultimate Light. Omission is part of Craft Beer Alliance a group of breweries that was originally formed with the merger of Red Hook Ale and Widmer Brother in 2008. In 2010 Anheuser-Busch acquired about a third of the company. Since then CBA has added Kona Brewing Company, Cisco Brewers, Wynwood Brewing, Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Omission, and Square Mile Cider Company. November 2019, Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired the entire company. Omission Hard Seltzer is currently available in four flavors including Lime, Grapefruit, Orange Twist, and Pomegranate-Blueberry-Acai. Omission Hard Seltzer is made with just four ingredients carbonated filtered water, alcohol from organic cane sugar, hops, and natural fruit flavor. Read more 
Review: King St. Vodka
King St. Vodka, AKA Kate Hudson’s Vodka was created by Kate Hudson and David Kanbar, co-creator of Skinnygirl with Bethenny Frankel. David also created Bulldog Gin. King St. is crafted in Santa Barbara California at Cutlers Artisan Spirits by Master Distiller Ian Cutler. Cutler also produces their own line of spirits, including Gin, Vodka, Whiskey, Bourbon, Coffee Liqueur, and Apple Pie Liqueur. The King St. name pays homage to memories Kate had from her former home on King Street in New York City. The inspiration for the brand came from an impromptu cocktail party Kate hosted when she was not 100% happy with her vodka options when whipping up a batch of dirty martinis. She discovered none of the brands were founded by women. King St. is made from GMO free corn. It is distilled seven times, filtered, and cut with alkaline water. One look at the floral bottles label tells me I may not be the target market for this vodka, but I’ve never been one to judge a book or bottle by it’s cover. Read more
Review: Truly Hard Seltzer Citrus Mix Pack
Truly Hard Seltzer Citrus Mix Pack is one of three, four flavor 12 can mix packs produced by this division of Boston Beer Works. They also just released a 12 can pack of four new Truly Lemonade flavors. Boston Beer Works is best known for crafting Samuel Adams Beer, but they also produce Dogfish Head Beer, Twisted Tea, Angry Orchard, Wild Leaf, and Tura, a line of adult kombucha. Truly Hard Seltzer was launched May 2016 with the release of four flavors, Colima Lime, Grapefruit Pomelo, Pomegranate, and Sicilian Blood Orange. While none of those flavors are still produced, the Truly Hard Seltzer Citrus Mix pack does include a Lime, Grapefruit, and Orange flavor. Sorry Pomegranate, Lemon has replaced you in this 12 pack. In November, Truly revamped all 13 flavors bringing a more fruit forward aroma, and eliminating any bitterness or aftertaste. The slim cans still read, with a hint of Lemon, Lime, Orange, or Grapefruit, so I’m not expecting a flavor explosion. On to the tasting. Read more
Review: Los Sundays Reposado Tequila
Los Sundays Reposado Tequila has been redesigned and repackaged. I like the new high-end bottle design, I hope the same can be said about the bottles contents. Our regular readers may recall the previously reviewed Los Sundays Reposado was infused with coconut, and it was awarded a Gold Medal. The current version is made from the Los Sundays Blanco base that is crafted at Destiladora del Valle de Tequila. The agave used is hand selected from sustainably farmed 100% Blue Weber agave grown in both the Highland and Lowland region for 8-12 years. A minimum 23 sugar brix count is required before harvesting. The distillery has secured relationships with the agave growers to ensure consistency. The agave is slow roasted in stone ovens for 24-48 hours using stem. The extracted juice is fermented for 48-72 hours before it is double distilled. It is then matured for 1 year in once used American oak whiskey barrels sourced from Tennessee, before bottling at 80 proof. Read more
Review: White Claw Hard Seltzer
White Claw Hard Seltzer was launched in 2016 by Mark Anthony Brands, the company behind Mikes Hard Lemonade, Cayman Jack, and MXA Cocktail. Back then I reviewed their first three flavors, Black Cherry, Ruby Grapefruit, and Natural Lime. Since then they have added Raspberry, Mango, and an Unflavored White Claw. In the nearly four years that have passed, Hard Seltzers led by White Claw have shown they are not just a passing fad, like hard soda, or wine coolers. White Claw alone sold $1.5 billion of product last year. Like their competitors, White Claw is available in four flavor twelve packs and also individual flavor packs. With five flavors currently available, Mango is only sold in individual flavor packs. Don’t worry White Claw will soon be releasing Watermelon, Lemon, and Tangerine flavors. No doubt Mango will join them in their next four flavor twelve can variety pack. With over a 50% market share what sets White Claw apart from their competition. All share similar numbers in calorie count, alcohol content, and total carbs? Product availability, timing, and flavor are all factors. A look at White Claws ingredients, shows they are the only hard seltzer that includes natural fruit concentrates in each flavor. So how do they taste?
Review: Jameson Cold Brew
Jameson Cold Brew Irish Whiskey was just released as a Limited Edition. At one time there was one option for coffee flavored alcohol, and that was Kahlua. There are now dozens of coffee, espresso, and cold brew spirits including liqueurs, vodka, tequila, and rums. Curiously absent was coffee flavored whiskey. This is the first Jameson flavored expression. They had previously released their Caskmates series of beer barrel finished Jameson Whiskey. This initially consisted of an IPA Edition, and a Stout Edition. They followed that up with Topcutter IPA Edition, and Revolution Brewing Edition. As the name would suggest Jameson Cold Brew infuses their Original Jameson Whiskey with Cold Brew Coffee flavor. That flavor is made from Arabica beans grown in Brazil and Columbia. No sugar is added. Read more
Review: JF Haden’s Mango Liqueur
JF Haden’s Mango Liqueur was recently released. It is produced in 3000 bottle batches in Jacksonville Florida. I was lucky enough to receive bottle number 2117 of their first batch. The inspiration for JF Haden’s Mango Liqueur is the Haden Mango, with a history dating back to 1902 when the Haden family brought back four dozen Mulgoba fruit trees to plant on their property. The Mulgoba mango is native to South India. While the initial plating did not go well, by 1910 their mango trees were producing juicy blushed orange colored fruit. Most mango varieties ripen from green to yellow. The Haden mango is said to be a hybrid of a Mulgoba and Turpentine mango. Mango is an increasingly popular adult beverage flavor, and once opened a bottle of mango puree has a limited shelf life. CEO Buzzy Sklar teamed up with COO Andrew Siegel, to build Tropical Distillers and create JF Haden’s Mango Liqueur. It has a 2 year shelf life with no refrigeration needed. JF Haden’s Mango Liqueur is made from home grown Florida mangoes, grain neutral spirits, natural flavors, and Florida cane sugar. No preservatives, artificial colors, or flavors are added before bottling at 40 proof. Read more
Review: Wild Basin Boozy Sparkling Water Berry Mix Pack
Wild Basin just released 3 new flavors in their Boozy Sparkling Water line. These three flavors are Blueberry Mango, Yumberry, and Strawberry Coconut. Three cans of each are combined with 3 cans of their previously released Black Raspberry to make up their new Berry Mix 12 pack. The Oskar Blues Brewery best known for producing Dale’s Pale Ale, the beer that made drinking beer in cans cool, launched the Wild Basin Boozy Sparkling Water line in December of 2018. They launched with four flavors, Classic Lime, Cucumber Peach, Lemon Agave Hibiscus, and Melon Basil. All eight flavor are produced in Longmont Colorado and weigh in with 100 calories, 0 Grams of sugar, and 1 Carb. All are made with water, alcohol from cane sugar, natural flavors, cane sugar, citric acid and carbon dioxide. $1 from the sale of each case of Wild Basin goes to Can’d Aid Foundation to support river and beach clean ups around the country. As of this posting they have donated nearly $200,000. Read more
Review: Kulu Organic Rum
Kulu Organic Rum is one of three rums crafted at Hawaii Sea Spirits on the island of Maui. The others include Kula Dark Rum, and Kula Toasted Coconut Rum. Until recently they were just available on the island of Hawaii. The distillery also makes Ocean Organic Vodka. Kula is made from organic sugar cane grown on the 80 acres surrounding the distillery. Deep ocean mineral water sourced from 3000 feet below sea level is slow blended with the distilled rum to reduce to 80 proof. Read more
Review: Los Sundays Blanco Tequila
Los Sundays Blanco Tequila is one of three expression produced under the Los Sundays label. They also craft a Reposado and Coconut Blanco. My regular readers may recall my previous reviews of Los Sundays Reposado and Blanco Tequila. At that time their Blanco was infused with coconut flavor. Los Sundays has redesigned their packaging and Los Sundays Blanco is now unflavored. I will later review Los Sundays Coconut Blanco Tequila. My hope is they haven’t changed their original formula. Los Sundays Blanco is made from hand selected sustainably farmed 100% Blue Weber agave grown in both the Highland and Lowland region for 8-12 years. A minimum 23 sugar brix is required before harvesting. The distillery has secured relationships with the agave growers to ensure consistency. Destiladora del Valle de Tequila is positioned over a running volcano river where the water is used in the distillation. The agave is slow cooked in stone ovens for 24-48 hours using steam. The extracted juice is fermented with a proprietary yeast strain from Germany for 48-72 hours before it is double distilled. Read more