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4
Oct

Review: White Mountain Vodka

White Mountain Vodka is distilled at Tamworth Distilling in Tamworth New Hampshire at the foot of the White Mountains.  Tamworth was founded by Steve Grasse.  Steve had previously created Hendricks Gin and Sailor Jerry Rum.  He purchased the former Tamworth Inn in 2011 and opened the distillery in 2015.  White Mountain Vodka is made from locally grown grains.  They mill the grains and distill their own neutral grain spirit from organic corn, organic rye, and malt.  All grains are sourced from within a 150 mile radius.  The spirit is distilled on a 250 gallon copper Vendome still, proofed with water from the Ossipee Aquifer, and bottled at 83 proof. Read more »

1
Oct

Review: Centinela Eterno Cristalino

Centinela Eterno Cristalino is made at Casa Centinela, a fifth generation family owned distillery that has been making tequila since 1904.  It is made from 100% agave grown in the Highland region.  Once trimmed the pinas are cooked in masonry kilns and steamed at 90 degree celcius for 36 hours, then rested for another 36 hours.  The juice is extracted and fermented for 4 days with a proprietary yeast, then double distilled.  The tequila is aged for over 36 months in American white oak barrels, and charcoal filtered to remove most of the color. Read more »

28
Sep

Review: Lake Superior Vodka

Lake Superior Vodka is crafted at Vikre Distillery in Duluth Minnesota.  It is named for and is made with water from Lake Superior where contains 10% of the worlds fresh water.  Emily and Joel Vikre tired of their desk jobs in Boston and returned to Duluth Minnesota where they built their distillery in the Paulucci building in Canal Park in the former home of Chun-King.  After 1 1/2 years of planning, fundraising, setup and developing recipes they opened their distillery February 2014.  They currently make 3 gins, 2 aquvits, 2 Amaros, a blended whiskey, Sugarbush whiskey, herbal liqueur, canned wine cocktails and vodka.  Lake Superior Vodka is made with locally corn, wheat, and malted barley.  The vodka is proofed with pure Lake Superior water. Read more »

25
Sep

Review: Cathedral Ledge Vodka

Cathedral Ledge Vodka is crafted at Cathedral Ledge Distillery in Conway New Hampshire where they currently also produce 5 flavored vodka’s, whiskey, rye, three bourbons, 3 gins and a maple liqueur.  Owner and Head Distiller Chris Burk built his 5000 square foot distillery in a timber frame barn.  A 63 panel solar system provides all of the distilleries electrical needs.  All of the grains are milled onsite and they are all USDA-Certified organic.  Cathedral Ledge Vodka is distilled from a blend of 45% organic corn, 45% organic wheat, and 10% malted barley on the tallest column still in New Hampshire with 16 bubble caps that provide 16 points of distillation.  The spirit is proofed with clean crisp water from the White Mountains before hand filling in a 100% recycled glass bottle. Read more »

22
Sep

Review: Tequila General Gorostieta Blanco

Tequila General Gorostieta tequila is named for General Enrique Gorostieta who was the leader of the Cristero Movement, during a Civil War in post revolutionary Mexico in the 1920’s.  He led the defense of the Port of Veracruz against the landing of US Naval forces.  Luis Torres a trial lawyer partnered with Ana Maria Romero and NOM 1499 to craft this tequila.  More recently he has moved his brand to NOM 1414 where Maria was still the Master Distiller for the brand.  It is not uncommon for tequila brands to move from one distillery to another but we always try to review the current expression.  We acquired our bottle of Tequila General Gorostieta from an online retailer and the bottle we recieved was distilled at their original distillery, Casa Tequilera de Arandas.  In breaking news Tequila General Gorostieta is on the move again and will now be distilled at NOM 1579 with a 104 proof blanco arriving soon.  Until then here are our thoughts of General Gorostieta Blanco from NOM 1499. Read more »

19
Sep

Review: Sugarfield Vodka

Sugarfield Vodka is crafted at Sugarfield Spirits in Gonzalez Louisiana.  They currently produce over a dozen spirits including gin, bourbon, aged rum, spiced rum, and over 10 liqueurs.  On a trip to Oregon in 2011 Sugarfield Founder Thomas Soltau fell in love with a family owned distillery devoted to bottling spirits made from Pacific Northwest fruit.  Five years later Thomas worked through the LSU business incubator to start what would become Sugarfield Vodka.  In 2018 he purchased the land and began distilling on-site in October 2019.  He hosted their grand opening January 2020.  In 2022 Sugarfield added a winery and cidery.  Sugarfield Vodka is the official Vodka of LSU.  It is made in small individual batches and distilled from raw cane sugar sourced from Lula Sugar Factory in Belle Rose Louisiana.  They pasteurize the turbinado sugar then open air ferment in steel tanks, double distill, and filter before bottling onsite. Read more »

16
Sep

Review: Watertown Whiskey

Watertown Whiskey Co-Founder and CEO Mikey Bortone found his love for coconut water while he was a contestant on the TV show Survivor. During his season in Micronesia he and his cast mates had little to eat or drink other than coconuts. He later Co-Founded Watertown Whiskey with longtime friends Steve Cicarelli and Mark O’Donnell.  The Watertown name is an homage to their hometown of Watertown Massachusetts.  Watertown Whiskey is made from locally sourced 100% rye whiskey, aged up to 2 years.  The whiskey is infused with natural coconut flavor from both alcohol and oil based extracts.  Watertown Whiskey is bottled in Palm Springs County California.  It was launched June 2023 in Southern California and is now available in major Northeast markets and online. Read more »

13
Sep

Review: Rider Vodka

Rider Vodka is small batch distilled in Lenexa Kansas at Union Horse Distillery.  Union Horse was founded in 2010 by four siblings in the Garcia family.  The original name was Dark Horse Distillery but after a lawsuit filed by E&J Gallo on behalf of their Dark Horse wine brand the name was changed to Union Horse in 2016.  Besides vodka they craft distill several whiskeys.  Rider Vodka is made from 100% Kansas grown wheat.  It is distilled six times in a custom 500 gallon column pot still made by Vendome Copper and Brass Works in Louisville Kentucky, and slow filtered before bottling onsite. Read more »

11
Sep

Review: Milagro Tequila Anejo Cristalino

Milagro Tequila Anejo Cristalino was just released.  Milagro Tequila was founded in 1998 by Danny Schneeweiss and Moy Guindi, two wide eyed college friends.  They sought out Master Distiller Pedro Juarez to craft their tequila.  Milagro Tequila Anejo Cristalino is made from 100% blue agave from the Highland Region of Jalisco.  The agave is slow cooked for 36 hours in traditional brick ovens.  The extracted juice is fermented for 72 hours in stainless steel tanks, then distilled in a pot still.  A second distillation in a column still follows.  The tequila is aged for 18-24 months in American ex-bourbon and French oak casks before filtering through charcoal to a crystal clear color. Read more »

9
Sep

Review: Essen House Vodka

Essen House Vodka is crafted at Paradise North Distillery in Green Bay Wisconsin.  Tom Felds opened this family operated distillery May 2021.  In addition to vodka they currently produce 6 rums, 2 bourbons, a white whiskey and Cherry Bounce described as a barrel aged cherry, sugar, and neutral spirit.  Essen House Vodka is made from a 100% corn distillate.  It is triple distilled and triple filtered before bottling on site. Read more »