Wine: The Black Pig Prize Shiraz Winemaker: Fuse Vintage: 2016 Variety: Shiraz Price: £19.99 Buy Now: Virgin Wines A big bulky Shiraz, with a powerful bouquet and wonderfully extracted flavours of inky dark fruits, vanilla, liquorice and leather. Incredibly intense, with grippy, almost wild tannins, a bit of a mouthful for sure and …
Wine: Musar Red Winemaker: Chateau Musar Vintage: 2004 Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan & Cinsault Price: £27 Buy Now: Roberson Wine As with many other 04’s I’ve enjoyed, this example had the same youthful nose, not something one can often associate with Musar; very Bordeaux in style: blackcurrant and blackberry, with earthy notes and a …
Wine: Eghemon Passimiento Winemaker: Maurizio Biscardo Vintage: 2015 Varieties: Nero d’Avola Price: £15.99 Buy Now: Virgin Wines An absolutely stand out wine at this price point. Really very impressive indeed. Huge, powerful aromas of inky dark fruits: blackcurrant and damson, supported by fresh vanilla bean and an alluring wood spice. In the mouth sweet …
Wine: Remolinos Vineyard Malbec Winemaker: Decero Vintage: 2012 Variety: Malbec Price: £13.50 Buy Now: Wine Direct I’m not a big drinker of Malbec, nor am I particular fan of the variety, but when a good example smacks you round the chops, you stand up and take notice and that’s exactly what happened with this …
Spirit: Slow Hand Six Woods Cask Whiskey ABV: 57 (115% Proof) Ingredients: Organic malted barley and infused flavor from six woods: white oak, hickory, maple, mulberry, red oak and grape wood Score: 96 Points When you mature a whiskey in 6 different types of wood it’s either going to be …
Spirit: CITY Amber Gin Ingredients: Organic juniper, lemon, lavender, angelica, orris root, coriander, vanilla, cardamom, clove, fennel, cinnamon, allspice, chamomile, star anise ABV: 42 (84% Proof) Score: 92 Points A tempting orange hue sits within the glass, a result of 14 botanicals being macerated for up to two months. The …
Spirit: FRUITLAB Ginger Liqueur Ingredients: Organic fresh, dry, and candied ginger, lemon, cane sugar ABV: 20 (40% Proof) Score: 94 As if you’ve taken fresh ginger and concentrated it down to its purest form, this FRUITLAB concoction is packed full of heat and spice. There’s an array of flavors that …
Spirit: FRUITLAB Orange Liqueur Ingredients: 100% organic sweet, sour, and bitter oranges, cane sugar ABV: 20 (40% Proof) Score: 92 Many liqueurs claim to be fresh, but are overpowered by a synthetic bittersweet finish – this is not the case for FRUITLAB Orange Liqueur. This robust and incredibly concentrated spirit …
Product: Bar Keep Apple Bitters Score: 89 Points Pure apple cider enriched with cinnamon and dry spice notes. The apples notes start out with a flush of concentration before fading into a bittersweet finish. These bitters are 100% organic.
Spirit: Ixá Añejo Tequila Distillery: Greenbar Distillery ABV: 40 (80% Proof) Type: Organic 100% heartland blue agave Score: 97 Points Like pure comfort wrapped up in a bottle, the Ixá Añejo offers sumptuous aromas of toasted oak, butterscotch and toffee syrup. There’s an incredible fresh tobacco that rolls out of …
Product: Bar Keep Lavender Score: 94 Points Deep, sustained and intense lavender glides out of the glass. The pure essence of the plant, it does not overwhelm and it does not dissipate quickly. A great example of bitters that attain a tenacity of flavor and compliment the drinks they …
Spirit: CITY Bright Gin ABV: 42 (84% Proof) Ingredients: Organic juniper berries, ancho chiles, angelica, basil, California bay, cardamom, cassia, coriander, cubeb, black cumin, fennel, grapefruit, lemon balm, lemon, lemongrass, kaffir lime, lime, pink peppercorn, Sichuan peppercorn, peppermint, spearmint, star anise Score: 93 Points CITY Bright gin is a local …
