By definition, vodka is a neutral grain spirit which has been distilled and filtered to remove the flavors of the base grain and its fermentation. When we “taste” most vodkas for review, the focus tends to lean more towards smoothness, mouthfeel and quality of distillation than flavor. To make matters more complicated, many vodkas on the market come from the [...]

When it comes to spirits backed by celebrities, we typically have pretty low expectations. Great spirits don’t often come out of vanity companies that rely on the notoriety of the celebrity, more than what’s in the bottle, to sell. It’s a lot like bacon vodka - people will buy it because of the notoriety and be very forgiving about the quality (or [...]

We were absolutely bowled over by Finger Lakes Distilling’s white dog / white whiskey, Glen Thunder Corn Whiskey (which got Drink Spirit’s highest rating).  When a distillery blows you away with their white whiskey and the quality of their distilling, it makes the level of excitement over trying their aged whiskey even higher. McKenzie Rye Whiskey (91 Proof), made from [...]

The next stop on my journey thought the wonderful world of white dog is Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson New York Corn Whiskey. Located in the Hudson Valley, about two hours away from New York City in a town called Gardiner, Tuthilltown Spirits is another fantastic micro-distillery using local grains, small batch distilling and a hand-crafted process that ensures each bottle of spirit they [...]

With so many distilleries doing vodka (including many huge brand names) it’s a very difficult and crowded space for a small micro-distillery to make its mark. The field looks a lot different when it comes to micro-distilled rum. “A lot of vodka distillers are sweetening and flavoring a neutral grain spirit, so we figured why not start with something that’s [...]

It’s unfortunate that Irish whiskey is often seen as the ugly little red headed step child of the whiskey world. Irish whiskey used to be the widest consumed form of whiskey in the world, but a trifecta of misfortunate events (including prohibition in the US, getting cut off from serving the British empire and missing the boat on the column still) relegated Irish whiskey to [...]