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Jack Daniels Filled Chocolates Review

Today we have something simple, yet elegant. As I was beginning to check out at Mega Foods on Business 53, I was inundated with the presence of, what could be, a wonderful delight! I noticed a small black, envelope-like package that had the Jack Daniels label on it. After further reading, I discovered that this envelope was filled with Jack Daniel's Filled Chocolates. I could not resist the urge to buy them and took them home for further examination.

When you first open the chocolates, they are wrapped in a shiny black wrapper that must have taken someone a long time to design. Once you have removed that wrapper, there is a second wrapper that is all gold in color. It is made of the same material that Hershey Kisses are made out of. Anyways, the presentation of these chocolates is exquisite.

The taste is scrumptious as well. They really do have whiskey in these chocolates (along with other custards and flavors). They taste very much like a chocolate that you would get in one of those boxes that has 1.2 million chocolates in it, and you hope you don't get the one that tastes like tarter sauce? You know what I mean.

Overall, these chocolate are great. Again, found at Mega Foods on Business 53, they are placed exactly where they should be for impulse buyers like me. They were $3.29 for 8 chocolates. Not a bad price for something that you could just enjoy yourself or use as a stocking stuffer this holiday season, but a maybe a little high. If you get a chance to try these, let us know what you think! We would love to hear your impressions!

Overall Score: 8/10

Mothers Original Holiday Nog Review

If some of you are at all excited about the holiday season that we are now in, you know that it is a joyous time, for the most part. Of course, here in Wisconsin, we get 16 inches of snow at one time and then endure highs of 9 degrees (F), during walks to school and drives to work.

Anyways, to soothe the pains of this holiday season, there are many cocktails that can make us feel great. Whether you want to just have hot chocolate in the quiet of your own home or have egg nog at a social gathering of your friends, it is all fun in the end. This entry begins our segment into Drinks for the Holidays. The next month will feature only cocktails, drinks, and shots/shooters for this holiday season. Wouldn't it be nice to go home to your family and surprise them with a wonderful cocktail to help them celebrate your holiday together? I know it would be!

To begin this segment, we start of with Mothers Original Holiday Nog. There are many different "nog" style liqueurs on the market this holiday season and this is one of them. Hopefully, we will be able to compare a second brand to help ease the stress of buying decisions. This holiday nog is bottled by United States Distilled Products Co. in Princeton, Minnesota. That might be one of the reasons why the price is what it is here in Wisconsin.

First, the presentation is very holiday-esque. You can opt to buy the bottle all by itself, or you can buy it in a gift box to give to a friend or put on display at your residence (See picture above). There is a nice little gift tag printed on the box so you don't even have to wrap it! Could life get better? I believe that it cannot. The liqueur is a pale white, not quite as yellow as egg nog that you buy in the store that is milk based. It comes in a clear bottle, so as you begin to use it up, the level of liqueur left is noticed. Overall, good design, I would have liked the bottle to be white and non-see-though, as most creme-style liqueurs are to decrease chances of spoiling. You will want to refrigerate the bottle after opening.

Second, the scent is much that of egg nog. It actually almost smells exactly like egg nog. The ingredients, as stated on the side of the box, include but are not limited to rum, custard creme liqueur, and egg nog flavors. This goes to show that the liqueur is flavored like egg nog and already has the alcohol in it. I cannot smell any of the other alcohols that are in this liqueur, so that is a good sign. It is smells just like traditional egg nog you buy in the store and doesn't offer a whole lot of individuality from original egg nog (other than the fact that it is alcoholic).

The taste of this liqueur is good. It is something that would go well with dinner, either during or after your meal. It taste like egg nog right away, as soon as it hits the palate. After you begin the exit, it goes away and tastes relatively artificial. The taste that I get left with at the end is that of Peaches and Cream oatmeal. That sounds super weird, but so are humans. It also wasn't as thick as I was expecting. It has a consistency very similar to that of milk. It isn't as think as an Irish Cream liqueur. This can be both good and bad, depending on your tastes. It is full of custard, egg nog, creme and nutmeg-type flavors, which is good for something that is just thrown in a bottle and meant to imitate real, fresh egg nog.

This liqueur is a very good value and tastes extremely good when enjoyed on ice. I could see that this could be very tasty when combined with ice cream and milk in a blender. It would be a very wonderful egg nog shake. As for this liqueur, I would probably buy it again. The reason being that it is sold at $6.49-$6.99 for a 750mL bottle in 12.5% ALC/VOL, which is a steal. For being as high as 12.5%, I would have thought that I would have been able to taste somewhat of a burn on the exit. Nope, none. I like this liqueur and it would probably be best enjoyed in moderation. It is sweet and could probably cause a stomach ache sometime down the line when consumed in enormous amounts. This liqueur would be great for holiday parties and would be something special to your family's holiday party. Chances are they have not had this before and you can be the hero this holiday! Overall, this is a good liqueur, but it doesn't offer anything out of the ordinary to set it apart from traditional egg nog and your own liqueur.

If anyone gets a chance to try this, post a comment, either on here or on Facebook. We would like to hear what you think of this liqueur!

Appearance: 8/10

Scent: 6/10

Chilled Taste: 6/10

Overall Score: 6.6/10

Alaskan Duck Fart Shooter Review

Today is the debut of our first shooter. Some would classify this as a shot but for clarification purposes, the difference between a shooter and a shot is that a shot is normally constructed as a single serving of straight spirits, usually in the size of 25mL or 1 fl oz. A "shooter" is classified as straight liqueurs, cordials or mixed drinks served in a shot glass, sometimes poured so there is some kind of la

yered effect. Today, we have a shooter. It is known as the Alaskan Duck Fart. It has three spirits and is constructed in a layered fashion for the purpose of presentation. The ingredients list is as follows:

• 1/2 oz Kahlua coffee liqueur
• 1/2 oz Irish Cream liqueur
• 1/2 oz Canadian Whiskey

The shooter needs to be layered in the order above, starting with the Kahlua. After the Kahlua is in the shot glass, pour the second liquor, in our case O' Mara's Irish Cream, over the bottom of a spoon to slow down the rate at which it falls on top of the first layer. After the Irish Cream is in place, perform the same operation with the Canadian Whiskey on top of the second layer. After this is done, the preparation for the shooter is complete! Now to enjoy it!

We won't critique shots/shooters as critically, but as far as this shooter goes, its presentation is splendid! The layers form perfectly across each plane, causing the liquors to remain separated in the shot glass. This may take some time and some skill for beginners, but over time it will pay dividends during the get-togethers you will hold!

The smells is, well, take a guess. Some people prefer to not smell the shots/shooters before they take them, and the Young Connoisseur agrees. Smelling the shot before tasting it can ruin the whole experience! Combinations of different liqueurs can dramatically change the way a cocktail or shooter taste and smell is significantly linked to taste. Plus, this shooter probably just smells like whiskey anyway...

Now for the taste. At first, it tastes very much of chocolate, but then the end is much that of whiskey and Kahlua. The Irish Cream brings down the strength of the whiskey and Kahlua combined, but still has a solid body to it. This is a great shooter and I recommend it to all to try at least once. It is fairly popular amongst local bartenders, so just go ask them for an Alaskan Duck Fart!

Mr. Einstein Really Was a Genius!

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."

-Albert Einstein

Whether or not Mr. Einstein means "spirits" as as a cocktail ingredient or as the inanimate being that resides inside of us, we all know that this statement holds validity and reliability. To him, Cheers!

Whiskey Sour Review

After being away for a while, we have returned with an basic, yet elegant review of one of the cocktails we all love (or most of us at least :)...), the Whiskey Sour. Sometimes when you go to a local bar, for us Eau Claire folk, The Pioneer Tavern, The Court N' House, and even your buddy's homemade bar, the Whiskey Sour that you will have made for you will include whiskey, Sprite and if your LUCKY, some sort of sweet and sour mix. These are fine and dandy when you want to go out and just "drive 'em home" but when you really want to enjoy this cocktail, those recipes don't always suffice. The Whiskey Sour we have here is made with the finest of ingredients available, without actually driving to the distilleries and orchards around the continent. The ingredients used are as follows:

• 2 1/2 ounces whiskey
• 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 Maraschino cherries/1 Lemon wedge for garnish
• (We used 2x the amount of ingredients to fill the glass for this cocktail)

First, get out the fresh lemon and cut it in half. Juice the lemon with a hand-press-style juicer to create the 1/2 ounce of fresh lemon juice. Pour that juice into your lowball glass. Next, take 1 teaspoon of sugar and add it to the lemon juice in the lowball glass. Stir the sugar until it dissolves in the fresh lemon juice. Add ice to the mixture that you now have and add the 2 1/2 ounces of whiskey over the ice. We used Wiser's Blended Canadian Whiskey specifically for this cocktail. Now, for some cocktails, you are supposed to shake them in a Boston shaker but with this drink, we will stir instead of shake. Now that you have all of the ingredients in the glass and have stirred the drink, it is now time to enjoy.

To begin, the presentation of this cocktail is very nice. The dark golden color of the liquid clashes well with a lemon or maraschino cherry garnish. It looks great in a rocks glass, either short and stubby or tall and slender. Feel free to choose.

Second, the smell is very much that of whiskey. Because we used a blended whiskey, the flavor is very sweet and mixes well with the "sour mixture" we used.

The taste is very flavorful. The sour taste is very natural and fits well with the whiskey. Wiser's seems to fit very well in this drink and is among the best I have ever used. The drink does have that certain sour taste that brings out a small bitterness to it. Even though the drink smells sweet, it certainly doesn't have a very sweet taste. The Whiskey "SOUR" is meant not to be a sugary drink and it follows that concept very well.

If you like the Whiskey Sour that you get at your local tavern, then you may like this cocktail. It is not as sweet as one that has Sprite or sweet and sour mix but it definitely has more flavor. Wiser's De Luxe Blended Canadian Whiskey can be found ranging from $20.99-$28.99/1.75L/ in 40%ALC/VOL. This is probably the best whiskey sour I have had and with good reason. The fresh, natural ingredients really bring out the characteristics that a Whiskey Sour is supposed to have.

Appearance: 8/10

Scent: 7/10

Taste: 9/10

Overall Score: 8/10

If you have had a Whiskey Sour at your home, what whiskey do you use? What ingredients do you use in your Whiskey Sour? Let us know what you think with a comment either on this post or on Facebook. One person who commented will be picked at random for a free 750mL bottle of whiskey to use in their Whiskey Sours at home! Happy commenting!

New Glarus Raspberry Tart Review

Today we have a special treat from New Glarus Brewing Company, their Raspberry Tart Ale. The bottle has a very catchy logo on the front, two raspberries entangled in vines and leaves. The bottle, before opened, has been dipped in a dark, maroon wax on top of the seal already in place. When poured, the color of his beer is just astounding. The dark cranberry-red color makes it look like you just poured carbonated cranberry juice into a glass. The smell of this beer is just amazing. The front of the bottle says "Raspberry" but you get luscious amounts of strawberry/cranberry/blackberry from the start. It just makes you want to start drinking it immediately! When poured into a glass, it was a carbonation party to kick off. It formed a small, thin frothy top that dissipated quickly after pouring, but maintained its zing for a little while. The flavor of this beer is absolutely incredible. At first, you get what seems to be a tart taste, followed by rich, sour notes of raspberry. This has so much flavor but it does not require sugar to do so. There is a clean finish after a very solid body of flavor. This is probably one of the most full-flavored beers so far and it seems like you could just have one right after another. New Glarus's Raspberry Tart can be found ranging from $6.99-$7.99 for a 1 Pint/9 fl. oz. bottle in 5.0% ALC/VOL. Again, not too syrupy and not sugary sweet, but brewed with an immense amount of flavor. Highly recommended to the beer veterans, but also to people who are not too fond of beer. Great stuff!

Appearance: 10/10

Scent: 10/10

Chilled Taste: 10/10

Overall Score: 10/10