Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale Review

Today we bring to you our first beer, one from Blue Moon's Seasonal Collection. It goes by the quiet name of Harvest Moon. It is a pumpkin ale that, according to Blue Moon Brewing Company, is brewed in early September through late November. It is flavored with the very unique taste of vine-ripened pumpkin. They also say that it goes great with turkey, sweet potatoes and beef (BlueMoonBrewingCompany.com, 2009). Already a huge fan of Blue Moon's other seasonal brews, The Young Connoisseur is excited about this one. First, the bottle is designed similarly to the other seasonal brews that Blue Moon creates. The nice burnt orange label is a very nice touch to the blue and white that are always present on its forefront. Next, the color of the beer is wonderful. Blue Moon calls it a "copper orange" but I think it is more of a dark amber, merged with orange. When poured into a glass, the flavor and scents explode. The rich smell of pumpkin and spice emerge with every last drop coming out of the bottle. The pumpkin is present but it takes a lot of sniffing to get that smell. It smells just more like malt and barley over the pumpkin at first. It foams subtly at the end, only a 2 centimeters or so, but that is great for the taste at first. For the taste, it is that of a very nice, well grown pumpkin. There is not a lot of sugar here so this is not a particularly sweet beer. The spice shines as if they were to be pulled from a pumpkin pie. It is a very full bodied beer with a somewhat light finish at the end. It does have a mild bitterness to it but that is going to come from mostly the base of what beer is and also the pumpkin flavor. This beer was served cold, straight from the refrigerator, poured into a tall glass. The price ranges from $11.99-$14.99 for a 12-pack and $6.99-$8.99 for a 6-pack. This beer packs a 5.7%ALC/VOL and can be found at almost all local beer retailers. Some carry only the 12-packs, and some carry only the 6-packs. Overall, this is a great beer. It may be a little difficult to drink in the spring and summer months and the time when it is brewed and delivered to the store for us to purchase is perfect. Grab this while you can and try it, even if it is only a 6-pack. Just take a try and you may end up liking it and be sad when it is gone, like me.

Appearance: 9/10

Scent: 8/10

Chilled Taste: 9/10

Overall Score: 8.6/10

Toasted Head Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 Review

Toasted Head has a small group of wines that are elegant, yet affordable. The wine featured here is Toasted Head's Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. According to Toasted Head's website, the grapes for this wine are sourced from the Lake County region of California and from Mendocino, including the Redwood Valley. These grapes thrive in the loamy and gravel-like soil of these vineyards. They also mention that the aging process can continue for up to five years in the bottle. The bottle has a pretty unique label as it has a picture of a bear blowing fire! That is just plain awesome in itself. The dark black bottle and the deep red label complement each other spectacularly. In regards to smell, when the bottle was first opened, it smelled very strong of cherries and toasty smells from oak barrels. When poured into a wine glass, the dark reddish plum color looked very luscious. It looked as if you would grab a whole bunch of grapes and dark cherries and juiced them right into the glass. When smelled while in the wine glass, the same scents were present except there were more chocolate notes present. Not the sweet milk chocolate smell but more the dark, cocoa smell. When tasted, this wine was good. The cherry and oak notes were very present and there were small hints of the chocolate. The wine seemed somewhat dry and to not have as much fruit flavors. This wine would probably taste perfect with a hamburger, a nice steak or even a chocolate dessert. The wine was good by itself and could work at a social gathering but it's flavor would shine much more if you had cheese/red meat at that same social. This wine was tasted with Colby cheese and that tended to bring out the cherry and oak flavors much more. This wine can be found ranging from $9.99-$14.99/750mL/ in 13.5%ALC/VOL. This wine has a wonderful value for the price. This wine was purchased on sale for $9.99, after a $3.90 discount. This wine is a great entry level Cabernet Sauvignon for someone who wants to "get their feet wet" in the wine world and try the different types of wine. Soon there will be a featured review on another wine in the less-than-$10 price range so keep reading and checking back! In closing, this is a good wine for the value and works best with a food complement.

Appearance: 9/10

Scent: 8/10

Single Taste: 7/10

W/ Food Taste: 9/10

Overall Score: 8.25/10

Jack Daniels Single Barrel Review

I present to you today the newest member of our family, Jack Daniel's Single Barrel. This spirit is very prestigious in the whiskey community and carries a very big stick. The bottle is designed with simple in mind. The glass has a Jack Daniel signature below the label to add to its one-of-a-kind nature. It also has a small label on the front, only about 2"x2". The neck of the bottle as a great vintage design with a sturdy corked top to finish it off. The label around the neck has the inscription of what the barrel number is and the date. The spirit is a dark sort of amber/gold color with deep brown tendencies. When compared to the traditional Jack Daniel's, it is much more rich in color. When the cork is popped off, it smells of rich oak and honey. It smells significantly sweeter than the traditional Jack Daniel's. There are hints of smoke and oak that overpower the sweeter smells, so you get a "taste" of how long it has been in the maturation process. When tasted neat, it is a very smooth ride, more than I was expecting. At the exit, there is a little bit of a nice sting in the nostrils that adds to the flavor recognition. I was expecting some sort of small sting, as this whiskey is 94 proof instead of the traditional 80 proof. I really liked this whiskey neat as I think it offers a lot of flavor and a really nice level of intensity. Next, this whiskey was tried on ice, swirled around in the rocks glass to melt the ice just a little bit. I found that the whiskey became much smoother, but you lost a lot of the sweet flavors that were present when it was neat. The smoke and oak tastes were still prevalent but not as pungent. Lastly, this whiskey was tried with cola. Just kidding. I'm sure that this Jack Daniel's Single Barrel would taste wonderful in cola but I will not be the one to commit that petty crime. For a whiskey that is as prestigious as this, I would prefer to keep it by itself. Feel free to mix it with cola, if you get a chance, and post a comment in regards to what you think. If you are like me and do not want to do such a thing, then we will never know what that combination offers. Overall, this is a very good whiskey. It is one of the better American whiskeys I have had and it has a lot to offer, in both flavor and presentation. Jack Daniel's Single Barrel can be found ranging from $37.49-$47.99/750mL/ in 47%ALC/VOL. The value of Jack Daniel's is great when put up against other options for a small amount of difference in cost. If you are a whiskey fan and feel like treating yourself to something special for that once occasion, Jack Daniel's Single Barrel would sure be a good choice.

Appearance: 9/10

Scent: 9/10

Neat Taste: 10/10

Chilled Taste: 8/10

Overall Score: 9/10

Schwartzhog Review

Today, I bring you a wild herbal liqueur called Schwartzhog! Schwartzhog is a German Krauter (herbal) liqueur, carefully crafted and finally approved in the US in 2008 ( LocalWineEvents.com, 2009). This spirit is contained in a dark green bottle with gold-trimmed labels. The design is elegant and catches the eye. The black wild boar (Schwartzhog) icon on the front draws significant attention along with the unique font. First, the liqueur has strong hints of ginger and root. It also has small hints of orange and lemon as well. It smells similar to its well-marketed competitor, Jagermeister. Schwartzhog smells sweeter, with more hints of fruit. We will taste this herbal liqueur in three ways. The first way will be what Schwartzhog calls Shoot the Hog. This is just a straight shot, ice-cold. Wow! What a rush! This liqueur is very full and rich with flavor! It is very smooth across the tongue and on the way down the hatch. As it first hits the tongue, you get a strong taste of the root and ginger. As you begin to ingest the spirit further, you taste a large group of fruit. As compared to its competitor Jagermeister, there is not as much black-licorice (anise) taste; Schwartzhog seems to have more fruitiness to it. Second, we will try Schwartzhog mixed with cola, as if it were a cocktail. When combined in a 1:3 ratio, Schwartzhog to cola, the root and ginger of the liqueur keep their presence. The fruits, both orange and lemon, still exist on the exit. Either way, this is a good combination. The last way we will try this wonderful Schwartzhog is.....drumroll please.....a "bomb!" Schwartzhog calls it a Hog Bomb but they create it in the form of a cocktail in a highball glass. We will use a power-bomb cup. This is the most tasty, energy drink-based liqueur bomb I have ever had. The flavor is just as wonderful as when the liqueur is enjoyed straight but when combined with the energy drink, it offers a large burst of flavor for the taste buds. The ginger and root flavors somewhat disappear but the fruit flavors are very rich. This liqueur can be used in different cocktails, ranging from energy drink cocktails, to shots, to a wonderful modification of a popular cocktail that Schwartzhog calls a Hogarita (Schwartzhog.com, 2009). In conclusion, this liqueur has a lot to offer. The presentation, overall flavor and options for recipes give this German herbal liqueur a large bang-for-your-buck. Schwartzhog can be found ranging from $15.49--$19.99/750mL/ in 36.7%ALC/VOL. When this was purchased, Schwartzhog was offering a $10 Mail-In Rebate after your purchase, one per household. The value of this liqueur is outstanding and it offers wonderful flavors. The best way this could be enjoyed is with an energy drink in the form of a power-bomb. The only disadvantage is that this is not how the liqueur was intended to be enjoyed (straight, ice-cold). Choose what works best for you! Schwartzhog is a strong opponent to Jagermeister and offers many different qualities that make it a wonderful liqueur for any occasion!

Appearance: 9/10

Scent: 9/10

Chilled Taste: 9/10

Mixed Taste: 8/10

"Bomb" Taste: 10/10

Overall Score: 9/10

Satan's Whiskers Cocktail Review

Today I bring to you a vintage cocktail known as Satan's Whiskers. This cocktail was obtained from Suzi Parker's "1000 Best Bartender's Recipes" book, published in 2005. This cocktail has a wonderful ingredients list that will sure bring you back a few years. The recipe calls for:

1 ounce gin

½ ounce sweet vermouth

½ ounce dry vermouth

½ ounce Grand Marnier

1 ounce orange juice

1 Dash Angostura Bitters

The directions call for the ingredients to be shaken with ice in a cocktail shaker and then poured into a chilled martini glass. After following these steps, you can garnish the cocktail with an orange peel or what I found went well, a small slice of lemon. To begin, this cocktail has a wild presentation. It shows off with a bright, luscious orange color with a very wholesome depth. It doesn’t smell a whole lot like gin, which is very nice. You can smell the vermouth characters the most. The orange juice is a very nice complement to the other ingredients. The cocktail has a big burst of flavor. At first you taste the orange juice and Grand Marnier together, which is a very sensational taste. You then have the vermouth and gin taste exit at the end. This cocktail has little to no burn at all. It has more of a “zing” to the taste than an alcohol burn. This cocktail has a lot going for it and has very “classy” ingredients. Whether you are outside on a warm day or sitting inside with your friends playing cards, this cocktail will fit most any occasion. I would highly recommend this cocktail to both a beginning taster as well as any veterans that would like an exquisite rush of flavor!

Appearance: 9/10

Scent: 9/10

Taste: 10/10

Overall Score: 9.3/10

Gusano Rojo Tequila Review

Today we will look at a man's best friend...tequila. The tequila we will examine today will be Gusano Rojo (which translates to "red worm"), a 100% Agave
tequila with an Agave Worm! The worm is in the bottom of the large bottle and in the small bottle that is roped to the top of the neck of the bottle as well! Two bottles of tequila with two worms? Could life be better?! Well, the presentation seems to be significantly above par with a very well designed label and and double-bottle value, but we will have to see if the taste holds up to it's physical impressions. First, the smell first smells like tequila and pimento (the little red thing in the middle of green olives). It smells sweet, contrary to the characteristics of a hot chili (pimento). It smells strong of agave, which is a good thing for any 100% Agave tequila. Next, when tried neat, it doesn't taste like the traditional tequila! It doesn't have as much of the sweet taste as it did the scent but is more spicy. It has more of the green-olive taste, which leads to a more bitter taste. It is not so bitter as to be unbearable but in a 1-1/2 oz. shot, it would be very tasty. It doesn't leave much of a burn but more of a warm tequila sensation. Second, when tried on ice, the flavor diminished a little, but seemed to have a more oak-like taste to it. This wasn't as much present when tried neat because the overwhelming flavors of spice, tequila and agave were so present. The last way to try this tequila is in a tequila sunrise, described below:

2 oz tequila

4 oz orange juice

1 oz grenadine

Garnish w/ Lime wedge (optional)

First, the smell was wonderful, presenting clashes of what seemed like fresh oranges and tasty agave. The grenadine chilled at the bottom (no pun intended) with no contribution to scent. The tequila, when in a cocktail as such, can still be significantly tasted. That oak-type presence is still there but the spice/pimento-type taste goes away. The orange juice complements those characteristics and makes this a wonderful tequila-based cocktail for anyone. After all of these methods, it is clear that this tequila is probably best enjoyed in a tequila-based cocktail with fruit juices or maybe as a shot. The tequila tasted more flavorful when it was not chilled and even more-so when it was in a juice-based cocktail. This tequila ranges from $18.99-$20.99/750mL/ in 40%ALC/VOL. In summary, this tequila is a wonderful addition to anyones spirit collection. The value is great as the tequila's taste is good and you get a second small bottle (mini) and an agave worm in each bottle! The value is outstanding, the bottles look awesome and the tequila tastes good! Sounds like a winner to me.

Appearance: 10/10

Scent: 8/10

Neat Taste: 8/10

Chilled Taste: 7/10

Mixed Taste: 9/10

Overall Score: 8.4/10

Superheroes

As we venture out into the impenetrable night

The night that covers us like a dark, black wave,

To enjoy ourselves as the evening commences,

We look to be entertained by the nightlife around us.

The places we choose make us who we are

The drinks we choose make us who we are

Both can change our lives in one way or another

To create so-called "superheroes,"

Ones we call ourselves.