The newly-released White Whiskey from Wisconsin’s Death’s Door Spirits is a great way to taste “white dog” (spirit fresh off the still, before it goes into barrel). It’s interesting and it’s very good, but it’s certainly not “whiskey” in the conventional sense. And it’s probably not worth $40 a bottle. I first heard about this [...]
I’ve tasted Scotch whisky from many types of glasses, including several designed specifically for Scotch. But my favorite is a casual wine glass from Riedel’s “O” series of stemless tumblers. The model I like is intended for Chardonnay. Scotch whisky – when served neat, with water, or on the rocks – often comes in a [...]
The Hakushu Single Malt Whisky was the greatest discovery of my trip to Japan in 2007: an absolutely brilliant whisky, fully on par with its elite American and Scotch peers. Hakushu is produced by Suntory, the same conglomerate responsible for the better-known (and wonderful-in-its-own-right) Yamazaki single malt whisky brand. As of this writing, Yamazaki is [...]
Bourbon is hands down the best value to be found in whisk(e)y in the US today. Quality is high – very little of your grandfather’s rotgut can be found on contemporary shelves. And the prices, while rising far faster than inflation, can’t be beat – especially when compared to Scotch whiskies of similar quality. Following [...]
This attractive Epiphone guitar laudably attempts to be the “high end of the low end”, but it ends up caught in a disappointing middle ground of uncertain value for the price. Disclaimer: I am not a guitarist. I am barely a bassist. But over the past couple of years, as I’ve picked up the bass [...]
“The Beatles LOVE” is Cirque du Soleil at its Vegas essence, made even better with a beautifully remixed and reimagined soundtrack of the greatest pop songs ever recorded. I’m not much of a Cirque du Soleil fan, though somehow over the years I’ve seen at least a half dozen of their productions. Most were in [...]
