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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Beija Cachaca Review

We have to tell you - it's easy to get jaded when you're in the liquor review business. We're sure you wouldn't believe us, especially since we've received gallons on gallons of free hooch to sample and write about, but it can get pretty ho hum to see ANOTHER bottle of vodka or whatever show up on the doorstep. But we had an experience a few days ago that helped us shake off the cynicism and see things in a new light. It's something we should do more often anyway...we actually met the folks behind some of the liquor we planned to review.

The scene was set at the Green Street Grill (this visit renewed our love affair with the place, and we can't remember why we stopped going in the first place), and the booze was Beija, a "virgin cane rum" that's been getting some buzz in Boston. The meeting was with Kevin and Steve, the brains behind the operation, and they'd done some pretty hard work to break us from our natural homing instinct of "drink near bed." So how did the evening unfold, and more to the point, how did we like Beija?

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Rio D Cachaca Review

We're not haters, but there are a few things we dislike intensely here at Liquor Snob. One of them is missing the chance to review some great new booze before a lot of people have had a chance to try it. Another is making mistakes. We're afraid that when it comes to Rio D Cachaca, we did both.

We received bottles of all three varieties of Rio D (plain, lime-flavored, and 'passion') way back in June of '07. Somehow through a SNAFU in the shipping and receiving department, those bottles got lost in the shuffle. (OK, you got us - we put the box somewhere stupid when we moved and didn't find them until recently)

We've finally had a chance to try them and write up our thoughts, but we have one question - did all that extra bottle aging skew the results?

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Manik Tequila Blanco Review

Manik Blanco Tequila
Imported from Mexico
80 Proof (40% ABV)
The Company Line:

Clear and pure as the Artic Winds, has smooth and distinct softness, resulting in this icon of perfection. This premium creation is a favorite of connoisseurs of ancient traditions; a true masterpiece of sublime flavor and majestic notes.

Our Thoughts: When we first got our bottle (not the bottle pictured above; we just haven't had a chance to snap a shot), we were impressed with the packaging and the lack of a paper label. It was replaced instead with a stamped metal piece glued to the bottle, giving it a distinctive look.

The nose was fairly mellow and unaggressive for an unaged tequila, and we could already sense the pepperiness that was to come with our first taste. We tend to like silver tequilas because they haven't picked up the flavor of whatever they're aged in, and have a snappiness to them that can disappear during aging; Manik was no exception.

The flavor was spicy and almost reminiscent of black pepper, and while we wouldn't shoot it we enjoyed it on the rocks. The peppery taste also made for some excellent Bloody Marias (bloody marys but with tequila instead of vodka). The mouth feel was a bit thin, but the tequila had a nice long finish that kept us coming back for more.

The Verdict: We'd pick up a bottle of Manik if we were out in the liquor store looking for something a bit different, and we liked using it in more savory drinks rather than your typical sweet margarita. It made tasty margaritas as well, and with a silver tequila this tasty we'd love to try some of this company's more aged products. Recommended if you like your drinks with some south of the border heat.

Corner Creek Bourbon Review

Corner Creek Reserve Bourbon Whiskey
Kentucky Whiskey made with corn, wheat, and rye
8 Years Old
88 Proof (44% ABV)
Typical Price: Mid-$20 range
The Company Line: A selection of the distillery's finest barrels. Smoothed to perfection with pure Kentucky limestone water. Full-bodied, but without any harshness.
Website
Available at Internet Wines & Spirits

Our Thoughts: The first thing that struck us about Corner Creek was the fact that everyone who saw the bottle initially thought it was a wine bottle. We thought this was interesting because the round-shouldered bottle definitely stands out from other whiskey packaging we've seen, plus we didn't mind the idea of being able to hide our bourbon in the wine rack.

When we got the bottle open, the nose was sweet and sultry with no harshness. When we tasted it straight, that sweetness carried through and we were blown away by how smooth this bourbon was. There was no hint of that harshness you get from a lot of rye in the blend, and while we usually take a drop of water in our whiskey we were fully able to enjoy Corner Creek straight.

Corner Creek had a light to medium body that fits with its deep amber color, and a sweet and smoky taste that kept us coming back for more. The finish was long and dare we say sexy, like a nice deep kiss from that special someone you didn't think was interested in you. We were immediately in love, and struck by the fact this was a refined bourbon we would recommend to any of our whiskey snobbish friends.

The Verdict: Corner Creek is a diamond in the rough, and we would expect to pay far more than the $25 or so dollars it costs for a bourbon of this quality and taste. At 88 proof and with that sweet tinge it won't burn off your tongue, and if you're anything like us you'll continually want to wrap your tongue around it. Great value, distinctive bottle, exciting taste - highly recommended for anyone looking to dip their toe into the bourbon world without spending too much.

Canton Ginger Liqueur Review

When we first heard about Canton Ginger Liqueur, we had a pretty good idea we were going to like it. After all, we love ginger like it's our job, and marrying it with cognac can go under our "why didn't we think of this?" file. What we didn't expect, however, was that we'd fall in love.

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Bottle Popper Review

We've been sitting on our Bottle Popper review for a little bit, but you shouldn't read into that. In fact, we've been itching to write it up but haven't had a chance. Why, you ask? Because the Bottle Popper has done something we didn't think possible - it's added even more fun to opening up a beer (which is great enough on its own). We're not going to say it opens your beer any faster or any more effectively than any other opener, but it brings back that "wow" factor you got when you first started cracking beers.

How does it do that? Here's the thing - you set it on top of the bottle, push down quickly, and suddenly the cap is hanging from the bottom of the Bottle Popper. If we were from a primitive culture, we'd say it was magic, but being the civilized creatures we are, we're pretty sure it's magnets.

It's funny - when we first broke it out the general reaction was "what the Hell do you need another bottle opener for?" People were intrigued when we showed them how it worked, but they didn't get fired up until we let them try for themselves. We heard "oohs," "aahs," and an honest to goodness "Oh my God!" And there you have it - is that kind of magic worth the few extra dollars for a new bottle opener? We think it might be.

Bottle Popper

X-Rated Vodka and Fusion Liqueur Reviews

There was a time when a company wouldn't dream of marketing a product to the ladies and give it a name like "X-Rated". That time is long gone, however, and we're lucky enough to have two products with that adult name now - both an unflavored vodka and a fruity liqueur.

The question on everyone's lips, however, is - do they live up to their racy name? Let's just say we enjoyed ourselves enough during the tasting to be just this side of, as Borat would say, a "romance explosion".

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Giant Jellyfish Beer Bong Review

[Update: Looks like the Beersudz folks were upgrading their shopping cart and there was a little SNAFU that caused the site to say there was no shipping available in most areas. It's all fixed now, so you can head on over and snap one up.]

This just in - the Giant Jellyfish is big. Like, real big. When we first pulled it out of the packaging, we had no idea what we were in for, because we'd seen and used the regular sized Jellyfish beer bong (review). Before being inflated, the Giant didn't look too much different - it had a little more girth, yeah, and there were three tubes coming out of the bottom instead of one, but it didn't seem that far off. One Intern even commented that its inventors should have come up with a way for people to easily clip off one or two tubes to make it easier for less people to use it. After all, you weren't always going to have three people around who wanted to funnel, right?

Then we blew it up.

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XO Vodka Review

If you've ever accidentally wandered into an elegant party while wearing your gym clothes, you'll have an inkling of how we felt cradling the bottle of Jean-Marc XO Vodka we received for review. Coming in around $50 a bottle, this is probably the most expensive vodka we've drunk, and we were a bit out of sorts before we started the review. We felt like we were in the presence of royalty - were we supposed to bow to it, or thank it for pouring into the glass?

Luckily, our thirst overcame our confusion and we were able to get the review done - find out how it measured up below.

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Reyka Vodka Review

One thing we really like in our booze is personality. Of course, the real important thing is the taste and quality, but it's great to see a little blush of cool in your drink. We're big fans of the marketing campaign for Reyka Vodka - they've got some humor going for them, and we like the tongue-in-cheek things they're doing with their Iceland connection.

Check out some of the humor on their website (link below), and find out if the flavor of Iceland is everything we ever hoped it could be.

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Whitley Neill Gin Review

A man more clever than us recently noted that if people keep monkeying around with vodka and adding more and more flavors, pretty soon they'll invent gin. That might not be such a bad thing - gin was a popular libation among drunkards for a lot of years, but with in recent years vodka has slipped in and taken hold of a lot of its market niche. Some folks have decided they want some additional complexity in their flavored white spirit, and they're doing some very interesting things with gin.

Not the least of these is Whitley Neill, a gin "inspired by Africa, made in England." With nine different botanicals in it, it's not designed to club you over the head with juniper as some gins have been known to do. Plus, it contains fruit from the Baobab tree - how can you go wrong with something distilled from the "Tree of Life?"

Read on for the full review.

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Zodiac Vodka Review

We don't spend much time reading our horoscope anymore. We've found if we want bland, overly generalized advice with little practical use, we'll watch Dr. Phil. One thing that's picked up our interest in all things horoscopical (we know - that's not a word), however, is Zodiac Vodka, a high end potato spirit made right here in the states.

Does Zodiac live up to its astrological trappings? Read on to find out.

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Agua Luca Cachaca Review

We've already called 2007 as the year Cachaca will take the U.S. by storm, and the bottle of Agua Luca we've got sitting here in front of us is one of the contenders hoping to do so. Marketed as an ultra-premium label, Agua Luca is coming straight from Brazil to your glass - and being filtered 12 times in between.

Read on to find out how Agua Luca measures up to our demanding requirements for whipping up Caipirinhas.

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