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15
Sep

Review: 21 Seeds Valencia Orange Tequila

21 Seeds Valencia Orange Tequila is one of three flavor infused tequilas created by sisters Kat Hantas, and Nicole Hantas-Emanuel, and their close friend Sarika Singh.  The other flavors are Grapefruit Hibiscus, and Cucumber Jalapeno.  It is distilled at the female owned and operated Casa Maestri.  The 100% agave tequila base is infused with Valencia oranges grown in Vera Cruz and other natural flavors.  A custom built refrigeration system was built at the distillery to ensure all ingredients maintain their optimum freshness prior to infusion.  Read more »

13
Sep

Review: ALOO Vodka

ALOO Vodka is one of three premium well spirits produced at OOLA Distillery.  The others include ALOO Gin, and ALOO Chili Pepper Flavored Vodka.  The OOLA Distillery was founded January 2010 in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood by owner and Master Distiller Kirby Kallas-Lewis.  ALOO Vodka is made from a multigrain distillate of wheat, corn, and barley.  It is Lab Certified Gluten Free.  As a grain distillery special measures are employed to ensure no post production contamination from sources including grain dust mix with the spirit. ALOO comes in a light weight one liter bottle designed specifically for a bartender serving cocktails. Read more »

11
Sep

Review: Boracay Coconut Rum

Boracay Coconut Rum was recently released for sale in the US.  It is made in the Philippines by Tanduay.  Tanduay has been producing rum since 1854 and they are currently the worlds largest producer of rum.  Yes they sell more rum than Bacardi and Captain Morgan.  Tanduay also released Boracay Cappuccino Rum.  Boracay is named after the Philippines world famous island and beach.  Boracay was awarded as the worlds best island in 2012 by Travel and Leisure, and again in 2014 by Code Nast Traveler.  Boracay translates to white cotton for the white sugary sand found on the island.  Boracay is made from their white rum base made from island grown Asian Heirloom sugar cane.  It is fermented for twelve hours before it is distilled.  Natural and artificial flavors and caramel color are added before bottling at 50 proof.  Read more »

9
Sep

Review: Sunora Cream De Bacanora Mocha

Sunora Cream De Bacanora Mocha is one of two cream liqueurs made from pure bacanora by NLV Tequila Bottling in North Las Vegas.  The other is the previously reviewed Sunora Cream De Bacanora Pineapple Colada.  For years locals have blended pure bacanora with rich dairy cream and deep dark mocha to produce a decadent cream liqueur drink.  Bacanora is a cousin of tequila.  It is made from the Agave Pacifica plant grown exclusively in the Sonora Mexico region.  Once harvested and trimmed the agave are fire roasted in stone pits lined with mesquite wood and charcoal.  The pinas are crushed using large stone wheels.  The juice is fermented, triple distilled, and cold filtered.  It is blended with dairy cream and mocha coffee flavor and bottled at 30 proof. Read more »

6
Sep

Review: Seaspirits Coconut Rum

Seaspirits Coconut Rum is one of four rums crafted in Woodinville Washington, near Seattle by owner and Master Distiller Kurt Wettlaufer.  The others  include a Silver, Spiced, and Barrel-Aged rum.  Kurt also makes a vodka distilled from cane sugar.  Seaspirits Coconut starts with their Silver rum base made from dark molasses from Central America.  The molasses is fermented with a proprietary yeast designed specifically for rum, and nutrients from Australia.  While few distillers add nutrients in the fermentation process, the nutrients keep the yeast alive longer developing a better flavor profile.  The spirit is distilled in a custom 1000 liter 16 plate Kothe pot column hybrid still built in Germany.  Reverse osmosis purified water from Washington is blended to reduce to proof.  The rum is minimally filtered.  Six different sources of coconut flavor, including two toasted coconut flavors, and a hint of vanilla are blended with the silver rum base before bottling at 80 proof.  No added sugar or colors are added. Read more »

4
Sep

Review: Boot Hill Vodka

Boot Hill Vodka is crafted in the former Dodge City Kansas Municipal building that was build in 1929, and once housed city hall, a municipal courtroom, jail, Fire Department, and Police Department.  The Boot Hill Distillery is owned by Roger and Hayes Kelman and Chris Holovach.  These farmers produce every single grain used to produce their spirits.  They plant, harvest, mill, mash, ferment, distill, and bottle each spirit.  They also produce Gin, White Whiskey, Red Eye Whiskey, Bourbon, and Bitters.  Boot Hill Vodka is made from 100% wheat.  The spirit is distilled in 500 gallon batches in a custom crafted pot still/column still. Read more »

2
Sep

Review: Bounty Lime Rum

Bounty Lime Rum was launched October 2017 and introduced in the US in 2018.  The Bounty rum brand was established in 1972 as the principal brand of St Lucia Distillers, a united venture created when the last two distilleries of St Lucia merged.  They also released their white, gold, dark, spiced, and coconut flavored rums for sale in the US initially on a limited basis as they build distribution.  Bounty Lime Rum starts with the Bounty White rum base made from double column distilled Guyanese molasses.  The rum is aged in once used bourbon casks for two years.  The wood colors are filtered after blending.  Natural lime sugars and flavors are macerated with the rum at 80 proof.  Distilled water and natural sugar are then blended to reduce to 50 proof.  Bounty distills, blends, and bottles their rums on site in St. Lucia.  Read more »

1
Sep

Review: Boardroom Fresh Citrus Vodka

We recently picked up a bottle of Boardroom Fresh Citrus Vodka for review.  We had heard good things about the vodka and after sampling ourselves, we liked it so much we awarded a gold medal.  Since then Boardroom Distillery has informed us they have updated their Citrus Vodka and it is now made from a 100% non GMO corn vodka base.  The previous version was made from a vodka base made from wheat.  The current Boardroom Fresh Citrus was released near the end of 2017.  They were kind enough to send us a bottle and provide some additional details on how they craft their citrus vodka.  The vodka base is distilled in a Hagyo custom built 530 gallon still.  It is then infused with real lemon, lime, and orange.  It is a combination of dried and fresh citrus zest.  The dried citrus provides greater flavor, while the fresh is more aromatic.  No artificial flavors, color, sugar, or preservatives are added before bottling at 60 proof. Read more »

31
Aug

Review: Lady Bligh Coconut Rum

Lady Bligh Coconut Rum is made by Luxco with rum imported from the Caribbean.  Natural flavors are added before bottling at 50.5 proof in Missouri.  They also produce Lady Bligh Spiced Rum, and Lady Bligh Cherry Spiced Rum.  The brand is named for Mary Elizabeth Bligh, the daughter of William Bligh.  Yes he is the same William Bligh who was the Commander of HMS Bounty in 1789 when the famous Mutiny on the Bounty occurred.  Years later he was appointed Governor of New South Wales in Australia.  He soon initiated a law prohibiting the use of spirits as payment for goods.  This led to the Great Rum Rebellion of 1808.  Bligh’s daughter Mary Elizabeth was so ashamed of her fathers rule she led a band of rebels to reclaim the peoples taxes, possessions, and their confiscated rum. Read more »

30
Aug

Review: Padre Azul Silver Tequila

Padre Azul Silver Tequila was launched in Europe in 2016 and was later released in the US February 2017.  The story begins in Heidelberg Germany where HP Elder from Austria met and fell in love with Adriana Alvarez Maxemin from Guadalajara Mexico.  They soon married and with the help of his Father in law, HP Elder set out to create the finest tequila.  Their quest led them to a small distillery in Amatitan.  Padre Azul Silver is made from 100% Weber Blue Agave grown for 8-10 years in the valleys of the Lowland Region by Master Distiller Erika Sangeado.  The extra growing period produces more sugars for fermentation.  The agave are slow cooked in traditional masonry ovens that steam the pinas for 24 to 48 hours.  The pinas rest and cool for 24 hours before the juice is extracted.  Only natural occurring yeasts are used for fermentation which takes between 72 and 96 hours in stainless steel tanks.  A double distillation at low temperatures so as not to burn off the sugars follows.  The hand blown bottles are topped with a 270 gram solid metal skull paying homage to Dia de los Muertos and eternal friendship.  The leather jacket with lacing is a tribute to the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling mask and is a tribute to El Santo, the most famous Luchador in Mexico. Read more »