Rachel Halpren

Kirkland Premium Small Batch Bourbon, Aged 7 Years Review

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On a recent outing to Costco, we ran across a new item, the Kirkland Premium Small Batch Bourbon. You might be thinking, really, Costco is making bourbon now? Well, Costco isn’t really making bourbon; they sourced it from one of the distilleries and private labelled it. Given the price at $19.99, I was game to try it. My husband and brother-in-law drink bourbon like it was 1818 (it’s almost a water substitute at my place, … Read more

Mandra Rossa 2008 Fiano – Wine Wednesday

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This week’s Wine Wednesday comes to us from one of my favorite wine regions in the world, Italy. And it’s made from an ancient and relatively obscure grape, the Fiano. While Fiano generally grows in Campagnia, these grapes were grown in Sicily. Who knew? For those of you who like big, luscious, fruit forward wine, Fiano is the wine for you. If Marilyn Monroe had been a wine, this is what she would be. Sexy, … Read more

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon Review

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Another offering from the folks at Wild Turkey, who never cease to surprise us. At this point, Wild Turkey is truly an American icon. And we love the story on how this bourbon got its name—a turkey hunting trip that one of its marketing executives went on and took samples. The next year, the friends asked for some of that “wild turkey.” It’s a great story!

Wild Turkey has a Rare Breed society for bourbon … Read more

French Wine Odyssey

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I recently wrote about my fear of French wines. In addition to examining the root of these fears, I also decided to go on a French wine-shopping spree. My goal during this shopping trip was to purchase wine from various regions of France excluding the Loire (not because I don’t like the Loire but because I feel most comfortable there; my wine group spent four weeks studying the Loire earlier this year) to increase my … Read more

Maker’s Mark Bourbon Review

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This is a spirit that you know by the bottle alone. Maker’s Mark comes in the iconic square bottle with the wax closure. But, there are some facts that you might not know about Maker’s Mark. First, the wax closure is protected by a copyright obtained by the family (and was invented by the inventor’s Marjorie Samuels). Second, Maker’s calls it Bourbon Whisky in honor of the company’s Scottish roots (it was those rogue Scots … Read more

International Grenache Day

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Until recently, I didn’t realize that there were days dedicated to grape varieties. It’s kinda weird but I kinda like it! I felt horrible when I missed Cabernet Sauvignon Day on September 1 of this year and vowed I would never miss another (just kidding—I already know that I will). Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across International Grenache Day scheduled to go down on September 23. I needed to make sure that I captured … Read more

Buying Wine on a Budget Volume III – Warehouse Clubs

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Warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club can be a great place to purchase wine on a budget. Warehouse clubs typically pass along great deals on wine as they have very little markup, buy in large quantities (to get the best prices possible) and get favorable pricing from distributors. While you may not be able to consistently buy your favorite bottle of wine (or favorite winery) at discount clubs, they offer a variety of wine … Read more

Wild Turkey 81 Proof Bourbon Review

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One of the six offerings of bourbon from Wild Turkey. The 81 Proof (or 80 as the website says but my bottle reads 81 Proof) is bottled at a slightly lower proof than the original Wild Turkey recipe and was created to offer a lower octane alternative with the same spicy kick as the original and the famed Wild Turkey 101. In addition to being bottled at a lower proof, the 81 Proof was also … Read more

Lapostolle 2010 Casa Carmenere – Wine Wednesday

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This week’s Wine Wednesday is an interesting wine that comes all the way from the Rapel Valley in Chili! Lapostolle is a relatively new winery with history and Carmenere is a very old and confused grape making, which makes for a unique wine. Lapostolle is the name of the family that brought you Grand Marnier (and still holds a controlling interest) and before that were wine negociants in France. Clearly, they know their wine. That … Read more

Wild Turkey American Honey Liqueur Review

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A relatively recent offering from Wild Turkey, it’s the sweeter, honied side of turkey. Actually, Wild Turkey American Honey is a blend of Wild Turkey and honey liqueur with the honey liqueur being added just before bottling. It tames the Wild Turkey but not completely. I wish that I had more to tell you about the history of the American Honey but I have searched high and low and there is nothing much out there … Read more