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Cocoa Cinnamon 420 W. Geer Street Central Park District Website M – Th, 7:30 am – 10:00 pm Fri – Sat, 7:30 am – Midnight Sun, 9:00 am – 9:00 pm I’ve been to Cocoa Cinnamon twice now, and I already wish I lived closer so I could watch as their amazing, thoughtful drink lists [...]
Luxardo Maraschino Original Liqueur Veneto, Italy 32% ABV This is a spirit of legend for me, in that I’d seen it in a million cocktail recipes before I could ever track it down. Now that it’s finally appeared at my local ABC store, I can explore it. And it’s full of shockers. Per Luxardo’s website, [...]
Redemption Rye Bardstown, Kentucky Seriously, that label is like porn to this foodie. The color, the slightly askew bold font with cursive writing and the handwritten lot # — I don’t know how to describe it. It does things to me. Things like make me buy the bottle. And I have not been disappointed since [...]
La Ronescina Pinot Grigio Collio, Italy This white wine smells mildly of cantaloupe, but no other scents jump out at me. That’s probably because it’s extra chilled, which dulls the aroma — my bad. It tastes dry at first, but a sweetness swells up in the middle of the glass. The notes are vanilla with [...]
Torrontes Dolce 1591 La Rioja, Argentina Sparkling Torrontes! Hooray! Torrontes quickly fought its way to the top of my favorite white wine varietals, so trying a sparkling version is trés exciting. This bottle has a fun purple rubber cork that contrasts with the simple, elegant label design, but I think that just makes it all [...]
Comique Revolution Blanc 2010 Central Coast, CA Look at this — another wine that won me over with its label artistry! I’m so predictable. This time, that art is an alluring blend of golden tones with black lines portraying some odd lords and ladies along with exclamations that they had to “cut the fluff!” apparently [...]
Bacardi Ron Solera 1873 Mexico Lest the color of that bottle fool you like it fooled me, Bacardi’s 1873 Ron Solera is a golden rum, not a dark one. It’s aged up to three years in charred oak and was my choice of rum to try for sipping now that my bourbon addiction has waned. [...]
Bogle Merlot 2009 Graton, CA This wine strikes me as smooth right away. It’s full of bright fruit, but not tart fruit like so many bottle I drank over the past two months. The main notes are strawberry and a juicy, juicy plum with subtle spice and vanilla. I enjoy how unobtrusive and [...]
Argiolas Costamolino 2009 Sardinia, Italy This Italian white wine made with the vermentino grape smells of orange blossoms and vanilla. It is very stony with herbal qualities like tarragon or majoram (though that may be the majoram butter from the corn on the cob I had for dinner talking). Banana, vanilla, and lemon notes abound, [...]
Lost Sonnet Meritage 2007 Napa Valley, CA This is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and merlot. One sip at the Trader Joe’s tasting table, and I was sold on it being worth the $9.99 (hey, that’s expensive for TJ’s wine!). The nose is very appealing, with a scent of warmed spices and vanilla [...]