Belvedere Black Raspberry Vodka Review

Sometimes we get a liquor in to review that feels...well, it just feels too classy for us. You know, like we're the only guys in shorts and flip flops who show up at a black tie affair. Belvedere's Black Raspberry vodka is one of those bottles - we feel like we should handle the bottle with white gloves so we don't smudge the finish.

Then we remember Belvedere puts their pants on one leg at a time, and we crack the bottle and get to sipping.

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Jim Beam Red Stag Black Cherry Bourbon Review

We got our bottle of Jim Beam's soon-to-be-released black cherry flavored bourbon, Red Stag, a couple weeks ago and now it's time to review it. We mentioned this before - we were hesitant to even try it at first, because full disclosure requires us to say right up front we're Jim Beam White Label men from way back, and we were a bit concerned about a syrupy Nyquil nightmare that would forever tarnish our sweet, sweet nectar.

So how did we fare? Surprisingly well, we must say

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Hiram Walker Triple Sec Review

We've never reviewed triple sec here on the site, but we're starting to think we should focus more on things like this. Hell, sometimes liqueurs and other mixers make up 25 or 30 percent of the cocktail you're drinking - we're thinking we're going to want to make sure the stuff is on the level.

Plus, this is going to be a fun review for another reason - because the Hiram Walker folks sent us a bottle of Cointreau, what many people consider the industry standard in orange liqueurs. So how does good old Hiram measure up to Cointreau? Only one way to find out, isn't there?

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Absinthe Mata Hari Review

Before we received our bottle of Absinthe Mata Hari, we had never heard of bohemian absinthe. We figured it was some kind of crazy libation people drank at poetry readings, sipping on it in between snapping their fingers in applause for the latest spoken word stylings. Hell, maybe that's exactly what it is.

All we know is we tried it, and yeah...maybe we did feel a bit more like Maynard G Krebs afterward.

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Oval Vodka Review

We've been looking forward to reviewing Oval Vodka ever since we got the bottle a little bit ago. We've finally had time to sit down and give it the look-see (and smell-taste) it deserves, and we're excited to share the results. Ever since we heard about the 11 day "structuring" process Oval goes through, we've been excited about giving it a go - after all, who makes a vodka with a proof as strange as 84 unless there's a damned good reason? Find out why after the jump.

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Guest Review: Michter's US 1 Whiskey

We haven't done a guest review in a while, so we're excited to drop this great review of Michter's. As usual, the only problem we have with this review is that we didn't get to drink it, but we've had the stuff before and thought it kicked some serious arse.

Thanks for the reivew, Carlos.

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Double Cross Vodka Review

We got our bottle of Double Cross Vodka a little bit ago, and we've sort of been reluctant to open it. No ulterior motive other than that rectangular bottle looks pretty darned cool front and center in the Liquor (Snob) Cabinet, and we didn't want to sully it by draining it. But, of course, our curiosity to try out the nectar inside overtook our aesthetic sense, and we had to pop it open for some sniffing, sipping, and cocktails.

OK, maybe it wasn't as existential as all that. But you're curious about how it all turned out, aren't you?

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(ri)1 Rye Whiskey Review

News flash: we love whiskey. Bourbon, rye, Canadian, we just can't get enough of it. We've always felt rye got a bad rap as most people like its sweeter cousins, but the rip roar of rye has its place, especially in a well-crafted cocktail. (ri)1(pronounce it with us, rye-one) is the ultra-premium rye offering from the Jim Beam family.

So how does this new top shelf whiskey hold up? Read on to find out.

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KU:L Vodka Review

Do you ever have one of those moments where everything comes together exactly, a lilting song of perfection with each piece fitting into the puzzle almost of its own accord? This is the opposite of how things went with our KU:L Vodka review. That's not to say we didn't like the stuff...quite the contrary. It was just a comedy of errors of lost notes and spacey editors that started way back in November. But you know what? We think KU:L is tasty enough and a good enough value you won't mind the wait.

Read our notes below.

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MGD 64 Has Faint Beerish Taste, Consumer Reports Reveals

We understand the urge to reduce the calories in beer. We really do. No one wants to end up looking like Peter Griffin just because he likes to have a few sudsy cold ones every day, but can we keep it reasonable? Most light beers taste like someone emptied a beer bottle and filled it with cold water - do we really have to remove any more flavor?

Apparently, we do. Consumer Reports will be featuring blind taste tests of two types of beer in its February 2009 issue - two low calorie beers from Miller (MGD 64 and Miller Lite) and two chelada-like lime beers (Bud Light Lime and Miller Chill). We don't want to spoil it for you, but when Miller Lite is considered to be the "more complex and heavier-bodied" of two beers, we're all going to hell in a handbasket.

As for the lime beers, we won't color your opinions with our own (unless you're chelada curious), but apparently the lime flavor masks any actual beeriness. On the bright side, maybe they'll be the Bartles & James or Bacardi Breezers for a whole new generation of high school kids who hate the taste of beer.

Battle of the Light Beers at Consumer Reports

Tommy Guns Tequila Review

Our long-time readers (both of them - hi Mom and Dad) will remember our glee when we discovered Tommy Guns Vodka a couple years back. We loved the fact it came in a bottle shaped like an old-fashioned tommy gun, we loved the Al Capone-themed concept behind the company, and best of all we thought it was a damned fine liquor. Imagine our excitement when we found out the same folks also make a tequila, and they also put it in a gun-shaped bottle...but this time the bottle is red.

Will what's inside the bottle live up to our exacting standards? Will we give it a good review for fear of getting shot by Capone's cronies? Find out after the jump.

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Guest Review: Bluecoat Gin

We haven't had too many guest reviews lately (hell, we haven't had many in-house reviews lately, but that'll change soon). Our man Kevin from over at The Scotch Blog has put together a nice little piece on Bluecoat Gin, a spirit we've heard a lot about but never had a chance to try. We're being the bigger men by not being jealous he got a bottle of the stuff...especially after his review. Check it out after the jump.

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Kindred Spirits 2: 2400 Liqur Reviews in One Little Book

OK, so we're going to deal with the elephant in the room right now - we're sort of liquor nerds around here. You probably couldn't tell, but we like to drink booze, write about it, talk about it, and read about it. And today, thanks to a post at the Kegworks blog, we have found our holy book.

F. Paul Pacult's Kindred Spirits 2 is the follow-up to the groundbreaking 1997 book of spirits reviews, Kindred Spirits. Ten years later, this indispensable, comprehensive compilation of 2,400+ detailed evaluations of whiskeys, brandies, vodkas, tequilas, rums, gins, and liqueurs sets the international gold standard for distilled spirits criticism.

Kindred Spirits 2

Boozer Hangover Remedy Review

We want to start off by saying we really threw ourselves into this Boozer hangover remedy review by getting ourselves seriously, seriously hung over. Many drinks were involved, of sundry types, all calculated to leach the moisture out of our cells and cause us to wake up feeling like we were hit by a truck. There was red wine. There was white wine. There was bourbon. There were sugary sweet cocktails. There was neverending vodka on the rocks. And the beers, oh sweet Jeebus the beers.

We're not telling you this to make you think drinking like that is cool - we just want you to know we're dedicated to our craft. Boozer's claim to fame is that its ingredients help you metabolize the poisons in the booze and replenish your vitamins, etc. Find out how it worked for us after the jump.

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