School of Wine & Spirits
All Reviews
2059 curated reviews
Jefferson's Reserve Very Old Very Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Jefferson's
A composed, contemplative bourbon that embodies slow heat — approachable on entry but with depth that unfurls over minutes in the glass. A quiet benchmark of the blended-bourbon craft.
Capreolus Garden Tiger Gin
Capreolus
Capreolus is best known for their fruit eau de vie, and that distiller's discipline shows in their gin work. Every botanical is articulated rather than blurred. Garden Tiger is a gin that rewards the attentive palate — each sip reveals a new layer without ever feeling cluttered.
Capreolus Pear Eau de Vie Gin
Capreolus
Barney Wilczak's Capreolus Distillery is known for its obsessive approach to fruit spirits, and this gin applies that precision to a juniper-forward framework. The pear eau de vie base is the differentiator — it gives the gin a textural richness and aromatic complexity that grain-based spirits rarely achieve. An exceptional gin for contemplative sipping or a refined Martini.
Teaninich 10 Year Old Flora & Fauna
Teaninich
Teaninich is one of those distilleries that most whisky drinkers have consumed without knowing it — its spirit forms a backbone of several major blends. In its own right, this Flora & Fauna bottling is a refreshing, precise Highland malt. It rewards those who seek out the quiet corners of Scotch.
Barrell Craft Spirits Infinite Barrel Project Bourbon Whiskey
Barrell Craft Spirits
The Infinite Barrel Project takes its name from the solera-inspired process — each release carries DNA from every prior batch. The result is a bourbon of uncommon depth and consistency. At cask strength, it's a master class in how blending can transcend its source materials.
West Cork Barrel Proof 12 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey
West Cork
West Cork's barrel proof 12 Year Old is a serious statement from a distillery still fighting for recognition among Ireland's more storied names. The sherry cask influence is beautifully integrated, and the higher proof carries the flavors with conviction. This is a bottle that argues for Cork as more than a footnote in Irish whiskey.
Caroni 15 Year Old The Ritual Trinidad Rum
Caroni
Caroni is the closed distillery that haunts the rum world — its shuttered gates in 2002 ensured that every remaining bottle is finite. This 15-year-old expression captures the distillery's legendary heavy character: assertive, brooding, and utterly unique. It's not a rum for everyone, but for those who appreciate it, there is no substitute.
Domaine du Clos du Fief Juliénas Vieilles Vignes 2022
Domaine du Clos du Fief
Michel Tête's Clos du Fief has been a benchmark for serious Juliénas for decades, and this old-vine cuvée demonstrates why the cru deserves more attention. The concentration and structure here rival wines at three times the price. It's Beaujolais with backbone — a wine that opens a door to the region's potential for age-worthy, terroir-driven reds.
Cascahuin Tahona Extra Añejo
Cascahuín
Cascahuín's tahona-crushed extra añejo is a contemplative spirit that demonstrates what extended aging can accomplish when the base distillate is robust enough to hold its own. The agave character persists despite three years in wood — a testament to the tahona process and the quality of the raw material. This is tequila for sipping slowly.
Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Blanc 2023
Domaine Guiberteau
Romain Guiberteau has quietly become one of the Loire's most respected vignerons, and his Saumur Blanc is a stunning demonstration of what Chenin Blanc can achieve on tuffeau limestone. This is a wine of purity and tension — no shortcuts, no distractions. It's Loire Chenin at its most essential, and it will only improve over the next five years.
Chattanooga Whiskey Cask 111 High Malt Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Chattanooga Whiskey
Chattanooga Whiskey has built its identity around experimental mash bills, and Cask 111 is the proof of concept distilled to its essence. The high malt proportion delivers a texture and sweetness profile unlike traditional bourbons, rewarding drinkers who want something genuinely different without sacrificing depth.
Rhum J.M 10 Year Old Rhum Agricole Vieux
Rhum J.M
Distillerie J.M sits on the volcanic slopes of Mont Pelée where sugarcane is pressed fresh and fermented with wild yeasts. At ten years, the raw agricole power has been tempered by tropical aging into something poised and layered — a rhum that never forgets its cane origins but has learned patience.
Glendronach 21 Year Old Parliament
GlenDronach
Parliament earns its name through the gravity and deliberation of two decades in oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. This is GlenDronach at its most authoritative — sherry-forward without sweetness fatigue, and layered enough to reward an hour of slow sipping.
Waterford Dunbell Edition 1.1 Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Waterford
Waterford's single-farm-origin project is ambitious by design, and Dunbell 1.1 demonstrates why it matters. The barley from this specific farm delivers a flavor profile distinct from neighboring estates, vindicating the distillery's terroir-driven thesis. Approachable yet intellectually engaging.
Tierra Noble Blanco Tequila
Tierra Noble
Tierra Noble's blanco delivers a textbook expression of well-cooked lowland agave without any additives muddying the picture. It is pure, approachable, and honest — the kind of tequila that reminds you why blanco can be the most revealing category.
Domaine de la Bouïssière Gigondas La Font de Tonin 2020
Domaine de la Bouïssière
The Faravel brothers farm some of Gigondas' highest-altitude plots on the Dentelles de Montmirail, and La Font de Tonin showcases what elevation brings to Grenache — freshness, tension, and a floral lift that distinguishes it from heavier valley-floor wines. The 2020 vintage offered ideal conditions, and this wine captures the vintage's generosity without excess.
Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Clos du Bourg Demi-Sec 2023
Domaine Huet
Le Clos du Bourg is Huet's most structured vineyard — clay over tuffeau limestone — and in the 2023 vintage the Chenin Blanc delivers both the richness that biodynamic viticulture encourages and the taut acidity that great Vouvray demands. This is a white wine of uncommon balance, equally suited to the cellar or the table tonight.
Capreolus Damson Eau de Vie Gin
Capreolus
Barney Wilczak's one-man distillery applies the logic of eau de vie — capture fruit in its purest form — to gin production. The result is a gin with unusual depth and texture, where the base spirit is a feature, not an afterthought. Distinctive without being eccentric.
Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge 2020
Domaine de Marcoux
Domaine de Marcoux has practiced biodynamic farming since 1990, and the purity of fruit in this 2020 reflects that commitment. The sun-baked galets roulés stones — heat stored by day, released by night — are the invisible hand in every Châteauneuf, and this bottling captures that thermal exchange beautifully. A wine shaped by the memory of stone and sun.
Deanston 14 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Deanston
Deanston 14 is a Highland malt that earns its place through texture and restraint rather than volume. The unpeated barley, dried in a gentle kiln, lets the distillery's clean spirit character shine. Non-chill filtered and bottled at a sensible strength, it rewards patience.
Cascahuin Tahona Reposado
Cascahuín
Cascahuín's Tahona Reposado showcases the difference that stone milling makes. The texture is weightier than roller-milled equivalents, carrying more of the agave's roasted character into the glass. Brief barrel time adds structure without masking the spirit's origin. A tequila that tastes like where it comes from.
Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Michter's
Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight delivers the kind of polished warmth that rewards attention without demanding it. The heavy char influence gives it a toasted backbone, but the blend is balanced enough to stay accessible. A benchmark for what well-managed heat can do inside a barrel.
Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina del Sannio DOC 2023
Feudi di San Gregorio
Feudi di San Gregorio's Falanghina is a summer wine with purpose. The volcanic soils of Campania — heat stored in stone and ash — give Falanghina its distinctive mineral edge, while the 2023 vintage delivers the freshness the grape demands. Uncomplicated but never simple, it's a reminder that great value can come from ancient terroir.
Trois Rivières Cuvée du Moulin Rhum Agricole Vieux
Trois Rivières
Trois Rivières' Cuvée du Moulin honors the heritage of the estate's original sugar mill. The aging in French and American oak rounds the agricole funk into something sophisticated, but the grassy, cane-juice DNA remains intact. It's a contemplative sipper that bridges the gap between fresh agricole and more structured aged expressions.