Liquor Reviews

Cherry Tart Pinot Noir

categories: COCKTAILS, Liquor Reviews

Last night I finally cracked open the bottle of Cherry Tart Pinot Noir I purchased three months ago.  I saw it on display at the liquor store and it immediately caught my attention because I love sweet wine.  What better way to test out my new Olivia Pope Wine Glass I ordered on Black Friday from Crate and Barrel.

Cherry Tart Wine

When I do drink wine, I prefer Pinot Noir.  Pinot Noir is a medium-bodied red wine and it tends to be the sweetest of other red wines.  I didn’t expect it to taste exactly like a cherry tart, but I did expect it be a little sweeter than it was.

When I poured it into the glass I could smell the sweet fruity aroma and when I gave it a sip I could taste the cherry fruit notes. It was fruitier than your average Pinot Noir and it was easier to drink.  It goes down smooth and before I knew it I was on my second glass.

This wine is great alone but would be excellent in a Winter Sangria or a Mulled Wine cocktail.

Winter Red Wine Sangria

Ingredients: 

1 (750-ml) bottle red wine

1/2 cup Brandy

1/4 cup  Triple Sec

2 Apples and 2 Oranges (occasionally I like to add 1/2 cup orange juice)

2 cups of sparkling water or sparkling cider

Instructions: 

Stir the wine, Triple Sec and Brandy.

Cut apples and oranges into slices and add to the mixture

Add the sparkling water or cider

Pour mix serve over ice and enjoy

Have you tried any other fruit inspired wines?  Comment below and tell me what you think.

Charm City Meadworks

categories: COCKTAILS, Liquor Reviews

Last month I attended the “Strangers with Style Meet and Mix” at Six Point Studios in Baltimore, MD.  The event featured a specialty cocktail mixed with mead from local meadery Charm City Meadworks.   In case you are not familiar with mead, it’s a fermented wine made from honey and water.

charmcitymeadworks
Photo from the Charm City Meadworks Facebook

Charm City Meadworks makes four mead flavors, Original, Rosemary, Cinnamon and Sweet Blossom.  Some people like to drink mead straight, but it is a sweet wine and it’s often paired with opposite flavors to balance the taste. Charm City Meadworks also makes an assortment of beers in flavors such as Wildflower, Elderberry and Basil Lemongrass.  They also have seasonal flavors “Pumpkin” for Fall and “Retire by the Fire” for Winter. I’m not much of a beer person and I tend to stick with sweet beers and ciders. I did sample the beer, I forget which flavor, but it was a satisfying alternative to my usual cider.

For this event the signature cocktail was “Granddads with Style” and the mead of choice was cinnamon. It’s funny because when I was a bartender the only time I served Old Granddad Whiskey was to older men or granddads and now I’m excited to see the younger generation embracing it… everything old is new again.

ccmw
The “Old Granddad” Cocktail

This cocktail was a perfect mix of sweet with a little cinnamon spice.  I could taste the cinnamon mead flavor notes and the apple cider gave it a seasonal crisp taste.   It’s very easy to make and is a good addition to your Fall/Winter cocktail list.

Ingredients: 

1 oz  Old Granddad Bourbon Whiskey

1 oz. Charm City Meadworks Cinnamon Mead

1/2 oz Apple Cider

Splash of Peach Schnapps or Peach Syrup

Instructions: 

Pour all ingredients  into a cocktail shaker.

Shake well

Pour mix serve over ice

Garnish with a cinnamon spice apple slice

Charm City Meadworks is available for purchase at local Maryland/Washington DC farmers markets, liquor stores and wine distributors.  The cost varies ranging from $10.00 – $13.00 depending on your purchase. Charm City Meadworks also hosts tap tastings on Friday Evenings and Saturday Afternoons at their local meadery in Baltimore.  For a list of purchase locations, events and additional information, please visit their website at http://charmcitymeadworks.com/

Cheesecake Wine by Birthday Cake Vineyards

categories: Liquor Reviews

Over the weekend I celebrated the birthday of a really good friend. While pre-gaming at her crib I had the opportunity to taste the new Birthday Cake Vineyards Cheesecake Wine.

CakeWine

The creators of this wine also make Hpnotiq and Nuvo.  If you’re not familiar with those brands,  they are both sweet liqueurs that can be mixed with liquor or chilled and served alone.  I’ve seen the four flavors of Birthday Cake Wine in my local liquor store but never had the guts to buy it, so naturally I was excited when my friend offered it up to sample.

I sampled the Cheesecake flavor and as I expected it was sweet.  It does not have a subtle sweetness like Moscato, but just like the bottle says it “taste like real cheesecake”.  This wine of course would be considered a dessert wine and in my opinion should be served with dessert, after a meal, or on special occasions such as a birthday.  I suggest sharing it with friends at a party or giving it to the party hostess as a gift.  I’m looking forward to buying a bottle of my own and mixing it with other ingredients and creating a specialty cocktail.

Birthday Cake Vineyards wine is priced at $12.99 and is available in four flavors: Cheesecake,  Coffee Cake, Cake Batter, and Black Forest Cake. Birthday-Cake-Collage

 

 

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