Yamazaki 12-Year-Old from Japan is a whisky that Ken Gargett has loved every time he has had the chance to try it. The bottle he sampled for this piece was actually one from the back of his cupboard, which he has been sitting on for far too long. When a mate saw it, he implored him not to open it. But Ken of course did and shares the experience with us here.
2008 is a truly brilliant champagne vintage that will age for many years, and the Dom Pérignon is one of the very best of them all, if not the star. And it is also perhaps the greatest young Dom Pérignon we have seen. Ken Gargett rates it 98/100 with potential to go even higher.
Barolo Chinato is basically a spiced wine made from a base of Barolo. But it is so much more than a usual spiced wine (and in no way to be compared with the sangria or mulled wine that Ken Gargett calls “abominations”). Find out exactly what Ken thinks is so special about Barale Fratelli’s Barolo Chinato right here.
Burgundy’s Dujac boasts holdings in seven Grand Crus plus Premier Cru holdings in Vosne-Romanée, making it, by any standards, one of the more impressive winemakers in the region. Ken Gargett shares details on the unusual domaine as well as tasting notes right here.
The 2007 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is a scintillating champagne, fresh, balanced, crisp, and with great length. It really should be put away for the best part of a decade and then drunk over the next 15 to 20 years when it will start to reveal a much richer, more complex profile. Ken Gargett rates it a 96 now, with the promise of better to come. Find out why right here.
Winemakers across the Champagne region are still in raptures over the 2008s; the 2008 Dom Pérignon, for example, has been declared the greatest Dom ever made. And how does the Bollinger 2008 La Grande Année stack up for Ken Gargett? Find out here.
Ken Gargett has been reliably informed that there are tequilas now considered quality spirits, designated for sipping – he admits that he swallowed this obvious falsehood on an occasion many years ago, but in the interests of research once again he sallied forth. Sharing the results of his investigations here, he dips into two high-end tequilas: Fortaleza and Calle 23. Olé!
Michter’s aim is to make small-batch or single-barrel products so the distillery has restricted itself to a maximum of 20 barrels for any of its small-batch products. And, as Ken Gargett reports, the Kentucky-based company is making superb bourbon.
Ken Gargett reports that while the Sullivans Cove distillery in Hobart, Tasmania could hardly be further from Scotland, in double-quick time it has established a record that most distilleries around the globe would envy, including more medals, awards, trophies, and golds than Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt at their peaks. Does the concept of Australian whisky sound like an oxymoron to you? Read this and you might change your mind.
Ken Gargett believes that the Craggy Range’s Le Sol is one of those wines that will age with grace for many years, but that it is simply so full of joy and so delicious as it is now that a lot of bottles will die young. And here is why.