Making Brandy for Berkeley’s Covenant Winery
According to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), vintage years are verboten on spirits labels. It was all Jeff Morgan — who makes wine, where it’s standard to put a year on the label — could...
London Dry: The Real History of Gin
As a beer-writer of more than 30 years’ standing, I found my curiosity piqued when craft distilling in Britain seemed to be following a trajectory very similar to that of craft brewing. Both fell broadly into two waves: a...
New Release Roundup for November 2020
My bottle review column (last month’s edition here) is less about tasting notes and more about what is unique, new or trending in spirits alongside my ratings (on a 1–5 rating scale). Now more than ever, small-batch distillers and...
Copalli Rum
These days, environmental responsibility is no longer a choice. For many distilleries, it’s a necessity. Implementing sustainability practices requires careful thought and design around the environmental pitfalls present throughout the life cycle of distillation: farming and harvesting, the source...
New Release Roundup for August 2020
My bottle review column (last month’s edition here) is less about tasting notes and more about what is unique, new or trending in spirits alongside my ratings (on a 1–5 rating scale). Now more than ever, small-batch distillers and...
Congratulations to ADI’s 2020 Judging Award Winners
Once again, ADI’s Judging of Craft Spirits took place in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we were blessed to have perfect weather when we received 11 pallets of some of the world’s best craft spirits. Over the years...
South African Gin
Given the intricate blend of cultures and wealth of natural biomes scattered across 470,000 square miles (1.2 million km²) of land, it should come as no surprise that South Africa is a pioneer within the realm of booze. Many...
