School of Wine & Spirits
All Reviews
1674 curated reviews
Clairin Sajous Ansyen 18 Mois
Clairin
Clairin Sajous Ansyen represents Haitian rum at its most transparent. Michel Sajous grows his own native sugarcane varieties on volcanic and limestone soils, ferments with wild yeast, and distills on a small copper pot still. The 18 months in American oak add polish without erasing provenance. This is terroir-driven rum in the most literal sense — the mineral signature of Haitian soil is printed on every sip.
Lote Maestro Reposado
Lote Maestro
Lote Maestro Reposado demonstrates what happens when good agave from the highlands meets restrained oak aging. Eight months in barrel adds dimension without drowning the spirit's terroir. The mineral backbone here is striking — this is a tequila that genuinely tastes like the red volcanic soil it grew from.
Benanti Serra della Contessa Etna Rosso DOC 2020
Benanti
Serra della Contessa is Benanti's flagship single-vineyard Etna Rosso, sourced from pre-phylloxera Nerello Mascalese vines at 900 meters on the volcano's northern slope. The 2020 vintage captures the tension between volcanic power and Burgundian finesse that makes Etna one of Italy's most compelling regions. This is a wine that will evolve beautifully over the next decade.
Powerscourt Fercullen 10 Year Old Single Grain Irish Whiskey
Fercullen
Powerscourt's Fercullen 10 Year Old single grain is a masterclass in delicacy. The column-still distillation gives it a transparency that lets cask influence shine through without heavy-handedness. It's a whiskey that rewards contemplation over cocktails — best enjoyed neat after a long walk through the Wicklow hills that inspired it.
Wilderness Trail Single Barrel Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon
Wilderness Trail
Wilderness Trail's wheated single barrel program continues to punch above its price. This is a bourbon that rewards patience — let it breathe and it opens like a flower. A textbook example of how a small distillery's grain-forward philosophy can produce genuinely compelling whiskey.
Elephant Gin London Dry
Elephant Gin
Elephant Gin earns its place through sheer botanical conviction. The use of African-sourced botanicals — buchu, baobab, devil's claw — alongside classic London Dry staples creates a gin that feels rooted in the earth. It's a serious spirit that demands a thoughtful tonic or a well-built Martini. Fifteen percent of profits go to elephant conservation foundations, but this would stand on flavor alone.
Ardmore Legacy Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Ardmore
Ardmore Legacy is the quiet argument that Highland peat can be gentle rather than aggressive. It won't rival the intensity of Islay, nor should it try. This is a gateway to understanding how geography shapes smoke — here it's heathery, not maritime. A genuine value bottle for daily exploration.
Clairin Casimir Ansyen 22 Mois
Clairin
Clairin Casimir Ansyen is terroir in a glass. The native yeast fermentation and small-batch distillation preserve every idiosyncrasy of the Barradères microclimate. Just 22 months in oak adds polish without erasing the spirit's wild soul. This is rum for people who believe origin matters more than age.
Cantina Terlano Terlaner Classico 2023
Cantina Terlano
Cantina Terlano's Classico blend is among the great value wines of northern Italy. The cooperative's vineyards sit on ancient porphyry rock at elevation, and you can taste every meter of altitude and every millennium of geology. The 2023 vintage is taut, focused, and effortlessly drinkable — a white wine that proves terroir doesn't require a luxury price tag.
Lough Gill Athrú Annacoona 14 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Athrú
Athrú sources exceptional aged stock and finishes it with real intention. The Annacoona 14-year is sherry-forward without being syrupy, offering the kind of depth that single malt Ireland is increasingly known for. It handles scrutiny well — no thin spots, no borrowed sweetness.
Widow Jane 10 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Widow Jane
Widow Jane's sourced 10-year blend is a study in balance — neither too sweet nor too spicy, with enough barrel influence to show its age without tasting over-oaked. It drinks well above its proof and rewards patience in the glass.
Plantation Single Cask Haiti 2013
Plantation
Haitian rum occupies a space between agricole's grassiness and molasses-based rum's depth, and this single cask bottling captures that duality perfectly. The dual aging — tropically in Haiti, then finished in France — adds layers without erasing the distillery's character. It's wild but controlled, funky but polished.
Glenburgie 15 Year Old Ballantine's Single Malt Series
Ballantine's
One of Speyside's quieter distilleries finally gets its solo turn. This 15-year Glenburgie is unapologetically gentle, but there's real complexity hiding in that softness — a malt that asks you to lean in rather than brace yourself.
Domaine Skouras Moscofilero 2023
Domaine Skouras
Moscofilero is one of Greece's most distinctive white grapes, and Skouras' version is a textbook expression — aromatic, lively, and bone-dry. The high-altitude Mantinia plateau gives the wine a nerviness that keeps it energized despite its gentle body. An ideal warm-weather pour that punches well above its price.
Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Tradition 2021
Domaine Santa Duc
Yves Gras farms some of Gigondas' oldest Grenache vines, and that pedigree shows here. The 2021 vintage gave concentration without heaviness, and this bottling captures the sunbaked terroir of the Dentelles de Montmirail with transparency and precision. A serious southern Rhône at a fair price.
Wolfrest Gin
Wolfrest
From the Italian Alps, Wolfrest is a gin that knows what it is: juniper-led, mountain-clean, and unapologetically classic. The alpine botanicals bring a crispness that feels almost mineral. It performs beautifully in a Martini but has enough personality to drink on ice with just a twist.
Lote Maestro Añejo
Lote Maestro
Lote Maestro quietly delivers an añejo that respects the agave rather than burying it under barrel char. The oak and spirit negotiate honestly — you taste the conversation between them. A strong pick for sipping neat when you want tequila that doesn't pretend to be whiskey.
Cascahuin Reposado Tequila
Cascahuin
Cascahuin has operated in El Arenal since 1904, and this reposado demonstrates their philosophy of minimal intervention. Four months is just enough oak to polish the spirit without burying the agave. It's a textbook example of letting the plant speak.
Glendalough 7 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Glendalough
Glendalough's location in the Wicklow Mountains informs a whiskey that tastes of its environment—green, bright, and grounded. At 46% and non-chill filtered, the barley character transmits with unusual clarity for a seven-year-old malt.
Domaine Bousquet Torrontés Reserve 2023
Domaine Bousquet
Torrontés is Argentina's signature white grape, and Domaine Bousquet's high-altitude vineyards in the Uco Valley give it a razor-sharp acidity that balances its naturally exuberant aromatics. This 2023 is a varietal showcase—every sip announces the grape before the place.
Domaine de la Solitude Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge 2020
Domaine de la Solitude
Domaine de la Solitude is one of the oldest estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and this 2020 shows why longevity matters. The Grenache-led blend lets the varietal's spiced berry character take center stage, framed by the galets roulés that define the appellation's terroir.
Trois Rivières Cuvée de l'Océan Rhum Agricole
Trois Rivières
This Cuvée de l'Océan showcases what happens when terroir speaks through sugarcane rather than grape. The Martinique AOC guarantees the spirit's provenance, and Trois Rivières delivers a blanc that's simultaneously refreshing and complex—the base ingredient in full command.
Kyrö Koskue Cask Aged Gin
Kyrö Distillery Company
A gin that wears its fermentation on its sleeve — the 100% Finnish rye base is unmistakable, and the brief cask rest amplifies rather than masks it. Essential for drinkers curious about what grain truly contributes to gin.
Aberfeldy 12 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Aberfeldy
Aberfeldy 12 is the kind of Highland malt that rewards attention without demanding it. The honey character is its signature—derived partly from the water source—and it keeps the malt front and center. A benchmark for what unadulterated barley tastes like under gentle oak influence.