2009.
As you may or may not have read, the FTC had handed down some new guidelines to bloggers about disclosing who got what from whom. It’s all very legal and boring and SNNNNOOOORE but I’m going to address it here, add it to the site disclaimer, and then BOOM it’s done, we need’nt speak of it again because NAPTIME GRANDPA.
The long and short of it is…people send me booze. For free. I don’t promise them anything (either mention OR positive review) but they do it all the same. One of the perks of running a blog that makes you no money. So, for the sake of full disclosure, you should assume that any and all products I mention or review on this site have been given to me for free by the producer, PR folks, a friendly neighborhood bar, or someone else affiliated with the brand. A lot of booze is pretty expensive, and if the good people who represent these brands didn’t supply me with some of these products, I’d likely never have heard (or been able to afford) them, so I owe them at the very least a debt of gratitude for recognizing this blog as influential enough to affect your buying habits enough to provide me with samples to share with all of you good people. If I don’t try it, I can’t recommend it, right? That being said, if you’ve ever read anything on this site, you know that I don’t hold back in criticizing a brand or calling someone out on their crap product, regardless of how I happened to come across it. If I don’t have my honesty intact, I really don’t have anything. I feel like that’s one of the things that has built this blog into what it is today, a source people can trust for an honest take on whatever it is I might be drinking at the time. Thank you ALL for keeping me honest and making this site a place where we can all talk openly and honestly about booze no matter how bad (or incredible!) it may be.
So, my friends, I wanted to make sure you knew the full truth (in the small chance it wasn’t clear earlier) so we can go forth unfettered into this exiting new future where companies send me televisions and cars and mansions for free while I review them, in addition to all the booze they have sent me. That’s what this whole thing is about, right? Free Aston Martins and gold (-plated) bathtubs? Right? RIGHT!?!
2009.
Last night a very generous friend invited me over to try out some of the brews available from Furthermore Beer, a Wisconsin-based brewery. This was a treat, as it’s really only available in Wisconsin and Minnesota, giving these smuggled brews that extra air of rare mystery. So we sat down with our illicit bounty and took a few notes along the way. Read them!
Treasure from faraway lands! With great label art!
Fatty Boombalatty: An easy-drinkin’ Belgian pale ale. Like really easy drinking, as my cohort put it “I could have knocked down 5-6 like they were Miller High Life“. AGREED. Nothing too surprising, lightly citrusy and yeasty, Belgian stuff. At 7.2%, these could be dangerous (in the best way possible).
Make Weight: Easily our favorite of the whole bunch. Complex, smooth and creamy, balanced out with just a little bit of bitter hops. It’s hard to articulate everything that’s going on in this beer, but needless to say it is delicious, and that’s all you need to know. My buddy likened it to a Scotch Ale, but I think I have to disagree, because I didn’t really pick up the smoky notes you tend to get with a Scotch ale (which can make it taste like a pork chop or worse). Like I said, our favorite, and the one we’d be most likely to murder a hooker for (you’d be surprised how often that choice is presented to me).
Three Feet Deep: This was a surprising stout. Lots of dry roasted chocolate flavor, but it was incredibly light. It finishes dry and practically disappears. I know this is going to sound like I didn’t like it, but it was like this beer didn’t have a “middle”, like the backbone had been taken out of it. That said, I did enjoy it quite a bit and the light nature of it made it incredibly drinkable.
Fallen Apple: An apple cider blended with a cream ale. To be honest, I was kind of disappointed with it. I guess I just expected more from it based on that description. It ended up being a weak dry apple that tasted like watered-down apple juice. It just didn’t have the richness of flavor I was expecting, so maybe my disappointment is based on my raised expectations. My buddy said he’s still up in the air about it.
Oscura: YES. Probably the best coffee-flavored beer I’ve ever had. A perfect blend of rich coffee flavors and a light, refreshing cerveza-style beer. My friend said “I’ve tasted coffee beers before and most of them lean one way more than other“, and I couldn’t agree more. Oscura nails the perfect balance of flavors, and light enough to enjoy several in a row, even in the summertime.
Knot Stock: NO. This is a beer with pepper in it. Like salt-and-pepper black pepper. It comes across more like white or green peppercorns, vegetal and bitter, and for us, it was not our thing. We gave it a few sips to make sure and then poured it in the sink.
The closest we had to a snifter
Thermo Refur: “Ale made with red beets and black pepper” says the bottle. Needless to say after the last beer and our pepper experience there, we weren’t thrilled to try this one. And I have no problem admitting that I (like all 5 year-olds) don’t like vegetables, beets in particular were part of more than one excruciating dinnertime experience growing up. So…not excited. Gave it a whiff, and it was vegetables and dirt and pepper all up in my nosepiece. UGH. So I gave it a try and…not bad! The pepper is barely noticeable (thank God) and it’s mostly enjoyable. TONS of carbonation lightens up the thick earthy sweetness from the beets. Better than we’d hoped it would be.
Overall, a pretty great bunch of beers, and again thanks to my friend for the opportunity to try them out. When you’re sampling this many beers, it’s going to happen that there will be one or two that aren’t “for” you, so I wasn’t surprised that they weren’t all winners for me. I’m sure there’s people out there that would love that pepper beer, God bless ‘em, so I hope they enjoy it. I’ll be in my corner greedily hoarding the Oscura and Make Weight until they run out.
2009.
So instead of tasting sake last Friday, we got to tour Savannah Distributing and tried some great beers. A not at all disappointing change of plans.
We headed out to their offices/warehouse in Tucker, where our host Koji works. They distribute beer, wine, liquor, and even some energy drinks and sodas. They’ve been distributing in Atlanta for about 12 years (since 1938 in Savannah) and they handle some of the larger microbrews (if that makes sense). If I understood correctly, if they’re the distributor for a particular product, let’s say Lagunitas, they’re the ones who supply every restaurant, liquor store, and anywhere else that product is sold in the Atlanta area. So basically, if you’ve ever enjoyed a beer from Dogfish Head, Lagunitas, Smuttynose, Stone Brewing, up-and-comers The Duck Rabbit, or any number of other great microbrews, say “THANK YOU SAVANNAH DISTRIBUTING”. Seriously. Send them a card or something, you cheap bastards.
Lots of Lagunitas
Heaps of Dogfish Head
We then made our way over to the liquor/wine/sake side. I was a dunce and forgot to take pictures, but believe me when I say that they definitely have liquors, wines, and sakes in their warehouse. It’s a fact. I just can’t show them to you.
Next we decided to sit down and try some beers. YES. Here’s some quick notes on some of the beers I tried:
Smuttynose Hanami Ale: Pretty great. It’s seasonal, and just came out. It’s brewed with natural cherry juice, but it’s not what you’d think. It’s the tart ACTUAL cherry flavor, very light in the background of what’s otherwise a medium-bodied ale. This would be a great introductory beer to someone who’s not used to drinking beers with more substance.
Saison Dupont Farmhouse Ale: What a fantastic beer. Bright gold, it’s earthy, citrusy, and downright refreshing. Another one that’s complex and drinkable at the same time. Easily the best saison I’ve had.
Pulque Cool Passion: Well this was…interesting. Pulque is made from maguey, a form of agave, which is what tequila is made from. Fermented pulque can be made into mezcal, which longtime readers will remember is my least favorite liquor I’ve ever had and makes me want to die. But I’m getting off topic. This tastes nothing like mezcal, thankfully. You can’t really call this a beer, there’s no carbonation, and it’s thick and syrupy. It’s sweet at first but there’s an underlying spice and earthiness to it that’s hard to explain. I’d link to their site so you could find out more about it, but I can’t find one. I’ll just say that it’s unlike anything I’ve ever drank, and I’ve drank a lot.
I tried a few others, nothing else stood out all that much. Mojo IPA was a pretty hoppy IPA. And I had the first cider I’ve had in a long time that I liked, but I forgot the name and somehow didn’t take a picture of it. IDIOT. It was much less sweet than most ciders, made from granny smith apples. Crisp and tart. I’m sure I’ll see it in a liquor store someday and remember it.
Since we work with a number of restaurants on various things, we discussed setting up a beer pairing meal in the future. Maybe work with our pals at Kuroshio, and pair sushi (and the other food there) with beers. INTRIGUING, no? I’d go. Is that something you guys would come to? I’d make sure it was tasty and affordable. Maybe we’d meet…start talking and find out we have a lot of the same interests. Maybe I’d tell a joke, and you’d laugh and touch my arm, and a connection would be made. Maybe we’d make out in the parking lot, not in the gross way some people do, but tender and meaningful. Maybe we’d fall in love and eat sushi and drink beer for the rest of our lives. So many maybes.
So big thanks to Savannah Distributing and Koji, we had a great time and hopefully we can set up a tasting or pairing in the future and get some great booze in the hands and faces of these people.
*UPDATE* OH, I totally forgot to give the answer to the question asked in the comments. White Russian asked if there is any difference between sake produced here in the US and sake in Japan. The answer is YES, there IS a difference. Koji told me that most sake in Japan is small batch, and handmade in it’s process. American sake is machine processed and takes a few “shortcuts” in production. He said it isn’t what you couldn’t technically call it “cheating”, because it still fits in the rules of making sake, but it’s definitely not the same quality process that you’d get from a Japanese-made sake.
2008.
I swear, this gig just keeps getting better and better. People send me new booze to try out, new products to test and review, and it’s all stuff I’d pretty much use (or at least lust after) in my personal life. Which brings us to this item, The DeCapper. As the name hints, it’s a device for de-capping bottled beer. It’s basically a cylinder you push down on top of a bottle, and when it pops up, the cap has been removed. It’s incredibly simple. Here’s a video of it in action.
I know it looks like I struggled a bit on the second one, but that’s because I was holding the camera with one hand and the DeCapper with the other. Even though it takes just a second, it’s best using two hands. I’m not a wimp. I’m totally strong! SHUT UP!!1!
Analysis: This is the perfect party companion if you’re the one tending bar. If you ever drink bottled beer in your home, there’s no reason you shouldn’t own one of these. It’s incredibly easy to use, works as advertised, and really…a no-brainer. The only downside I can see is that it’s not very portable. As most dedicated boozers do, I carry a bottle-opener on my keychain, and there’s no way this thing is pocketable. It’s a beast. But that makes it perfect for keeping by your bar, or throwing into a cooler for a trip to the lake or tailgating or whatever. If they haven’t already, DeCapper needs to take a serious stab at marketing this to bartenders and restaurants. The speed and ease with which bottles could be opened needs to be exploited.
There ARE a wide variety of designs to choose from. I chose mine to be the classy stainless-steel variety, but they also have ones for pretty much every NCAA team (some in football shape), not to mention Outdoorsmen varieties, which range from moose to buckshot shell to wolf. The only people not included are the snail-hunters. WE WILL SOON HAVE OUR DAY!
Verdict: Highly Recommended
Seriously, the only downsides are bulk and not having run monthlong tests to ensure quality. Otherwise, this is a heckuva product.
2008.
A lovely thing showed up in my mail this week…my very own Drinking Deck! The Drinking Decks crew was kind enough to send a review deck to DP HQ for rigorous testing and evaluation. Personally, I think they look great. But don’t take my word for it, check ‘em out in the video!
I apologize for the focus issues, but the glare from the light was throwing the camera off I guess.
Naturally, this is not the end of it…I need to put them to use! So as soon as I can get some folks together for a good old-fashioned drinking game, I’ll do my full write-up and review.
So sit tight…or if you’re just too antsy in your pantsies, go and get your own right here.
2008.
Welcome to the very first installment of Bottle Shots, where I drink some beer, wine, or liquor and tell you what I think of it, and if I think you should drink it. Easy enough, right? I’ve got a variety of things I’ve been aching to try out, so let’s get crackin’.
So for our first installment, I’ve selected Wild Turkey American Honey.
The Lowdown: WTAH (as I will be calling it for the remainder of this review) is a liqueur made from bourbon and honey. From what I can tell (because it’s not featured on the Wild Turkey website, strangely) it’s meant to either be sipped slowly after-dinner drink style (like cognac or Irish Mist or Licor 43) or possibly shot, Jaeger-style. I opted for slow-sippin’, as I figured that would give me an idea as to how it would work as a shot if I ever wanted to drink it that way.
The Whiff: –A brief aside: Smell is very important to tasting. 70-75% percent of what we perceive as taste actually comes from smell. Hence, THE WHIFF.–
Strong alcohol smell. Not even bourbon, but just a general alcohol sting. I only barely get a hint of honey on the back end of a big long sniffy-sniff. Bourbon is nowhere to be found in the nose, which is very interesting. Honestly, it makes me a little apprehensive, but this is for science damnit, and I must solider on.
The Taste: HONEY, all day long. The bourbon is definitely there, but any alcohol sting I anticipated from the smell has been knocked unconscious, beaten within an inch of its life and left for dead in an abandoned washing machine factory by the hypnotic honey flavors found within. You would never, never-ever need to mix this to make it drinkable for a newbie, it’s very sweet, and just barely avoids being cloying.
It’s definitely a pure sweetness, it’s like Wild Turkey found that one really hot girl you knew in high school who was waaaaaaay out of your league but for some reason was really cool and actually talked to you and laughed at your lame Pokemon jokes* and didn’t care that you had seen The Matrix 37 times (in the theater, no less!) and you knew there was no way a girl like that should be talking to you in public, but she was, and they captured her and knocked her out with chloroform and systematically (but humanely) boiled her down to her basic genuinely sweet and caring nature and then poured her life essence into a bottle of bourbon, and branded it Wild Turkey American Honey. Can you believe that was only one sentence? THAT. JUST. HAPPENED.
The Mix: As I said earlier, you’d never need to mix this. However, I’m sure there are drinks you could use this in to give it a hint of honey if you wanted. I happened to have a glass of bourbon already poured nearby (surprise!) and poured a little bit of what I had left of the WTAH in it, and it definitely sweetened it up. It would probably be great to add to some bourbon if you were first introducing it to someone and they were nervous about drinking alcohol straight. Bourbon is typically sweeter than most whiskeys to begin with, but I also know most people are big babies when it comes to drinking booze without a mixer, so this could certainly ease their anticipated pain. It’d be a fantastic way to ween someone into the mysterious and beautiful ways of all things Whiskey. Maybe even your mom!**
Would you drink it again? Most def. While not as complex as many after-dinner type drinks, there’s nothing wrong with it per se, and I can’t see myself turning down a glass if it were offered (and yes, that does actually happen from time to time). It’s got that thing that all worthwhile after-dinner drinks have, where it instantly warms you from the inside out, from the very first sip. It walks that fine line of soothing alcohol warmth and delicious taste.
Would you recommend it to someone else? Yes, provided they have a sweet-tooth. For people who prefer bitter, sour, or salty drinks…this just isn’t for them. If you don’t like sweet, you won’t like this drink.
Overall Score: 87 out of 100
So there you have it. More thrilling and life-changing installments to follow. Would you like us to review your drink? Email us!
*Are there any non-lame Pokemon jokes? I mean really, how old are you?
**Just kidding, I’ve already got your mom drinking whiskey. Out of my palm. Creepy, right?
2008.
Yes, we tested it. First, the Field Tests, then the in-depth Analysis.
Well we decided we needed someplace to test out the Bierstick. None of our friends were having any house parties anytime soon, and the Bierstick was begging to be broken in, so we decided to venture out to Bullfrogz to make our own party.
And whaddya know, our friends from Anheuser-Busch were in the house promoting Bud Select. Could this be fate? They even had their smokin’-hot Agent 99 girls (because Bud Select is only 99 calories, who knew?) circulating and generally setting the place ablaze. Observe:
NOT your best effort, DP staff photographer. Still, the sultry Agent 99 girls (in the garish orange jackets and short-shorts, DUH) shine through.
So we figured this must be serendipity in action, God himself smiling upon us and our endeavor. So we made the rounds, chatted up the folks at the bar and the staff (and the Agent 99 girls, of course) and soon found ourselves some willing participants. The bar was so hyped about it though, they wanted to do it as a race: 1 Bottled Beer vs. the Bierstick. How could we say no? So we purchased a pitcher of Bud Select and filled it up. Here’s what happened when the two went head-to-head:
Did you expect anything different? It should be noted that the guy with the beer bottle had a straw poking out if his bottle to let the air escape faster, so he could pound it even quicker. It should ALSO be noted that the first time we tried this, the cap of the Bierstick popped right off, and dumped the beer on the floor. Lesson learned? Hold on to the cap.
But was that enough for the Bullfrogz crowd? Oh HELL no. They’d just seen their old buddy Bottled Beer get it’s ass kicked by some punk kid by the name of Bierstick. So they proposed a new challenge: Bierstick vs. Draft Beer. Free of the constraints of a bottle, free-flowing Draft Beer actually had a chance at outpacing this young upstart. We still had over half a pitcher left, so we said “Hell yes!” and set it up. Seriously, none of the racing was our idea, but it was a brilliant move collectively by the bar patrons. Anyway, the following ensued:
Yep, yet again the Bierstick came out ahead by a pretty decent margin. Really, it was no contest. The only challenge left was to do the full-on two beer challenge. Sadly, we couldn’t find anyone willing to do it. And you can see in the video how crowded the bar was, we still had no takers. I’m tellin’ ya, binge drinking just isn’t what it used to be.
Analysis:
So for the most part, the Bierstick performed as expected, I’ve never seen anything slam a beer faster, including funnels. Funnels are using gravity to drop the beer down your throat, but the Bierstick uses your own weight to shove it down your gullet as fast as possible. With the exception of the top popping off that one time and some issues I had getting the rubber rings to stay in their grooves before-hand, it’s pretty much a flawless execution (just watch for air at the top, unless you want to burp all night long). It does what it’s supposed to do: Help you drink beer really fast. I predict that the Bierstick will someday soon overtake the funnel and shotgunning as the preferred method of chugging beer. Everyone in the bar was crazy about it, asking where they could get one (even the Agent 99 girls were asking me about it and were talking about it to other drinkers in the bar).
Speed drinking isn’t really my thing (I just can’t consume that fast, nor do I like to) but I can’t fault the Bierstick for that, it performs as advertised. So what’s my conclusion?
Highly Recommended (if speed drinking is your thing)
Bierstick (tell ‘em DrinkPlanner sent ya!)
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