27 February, 2015

Woodchuck’s Cheeky Cherry Cider

Posted in : Cider on February 27, 2015 by : The Gourmez

Tags: best tasting spirits, blood red, cheeky cherry, cider, cider apples, hard cider, out on a limb, review, sour cherry, tasting notes, wine compass, woodchuck's

Obligatory disclaimer! I received this bottle of Woodchuck’s new Cheeky Cherry Cider free for review. And I’m pretty darn excited about it because it’s a departure from Woodchuck’s other fruit-infused ciders. I enjoy cider more than beer in the category of easily quaffable alcohol, and I appreciate that Woodchuck has been successful enough to make it
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25 February, 2015

Coffee Fest Atlanta 2015: Best Coffee Shop Competition

Comments : 1 Posted in : Coffee Shops, Events on February 25, 2015 by : The Gourmez

Tags: 2015, allison bouley, america's best coffeehouse, atlanta, black water loft, britt calder, cg pops, coffee fest, competition, cool beans coffee roaster, crystal gembala, finalists, jeff huey, joseph stout, kali malham, kaylan english, old-fashioned revision, peregrine espresso, photographs, seeds coffee, southeastern, strong beard, winners

Last month, I had the pleasure of covering the 2015 Southeastern Regional Coffee Fest, which took place in Atlanta. The Coffee Fest is a trade show and coffee education opportunity held in four different regions each year—upcoming ones for 2015 will be held in Tokyo, Chicago, and Portland. I’m writing a post on my favorite products
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19 February, 2015

Sipping Stones, TOPO Eight Oak Carolina Whiskey, and the Strawberry Glades

Posted in : Beverage, Cocktail Recipes, Product Reviews, Spirits, Whiskey / Whisky on February 19, 2015 by : The Gourmez

Tags: carolina whiskey, cocktails, dandelion chocolate, distillery, eight oak, frambroise, ice cubes, liquor, on the rocks, organic, recipe, review, salted cacao bitters, sipping stones, soapstone, strawberry glades, tasting notes, topo, vanilla, whisky, workhorse rye

I’m doing two reviews in one today! My friends over at TOPO Distillery have debuted their organic Eight Oak Whiskey, and they were kind enough to send me a bottle for review. This fortuitous gift also provided me with the perfect opportunity to test out a set of Sipping Stones, soapstone cubes designed to provide a
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10 February, 2015

Crowdpleazin 2013

Posted in : Primitivo / Zinfandel, Red Wine on February 10, 2015 by : The Gourmez

Tags: 2013, angels, crowdpleazin, derek rohlffs, ken deis, naked wines, NakedWines.Com, nakedwines.com, potpourri, quini profile, review, sonoma, tasting notes, vivino users, winos

Crowdpleazin 2013 Sonoma Valley, CA Crowdpleazin is a fantastic, affordable option from celebrated winemakers Ken Deis and Derek Rohlffs. It’s manufactured under the NakedWines.Com label, which I’ve talked about in the past, although it’s been a bit since my last review. I’m also an affiliate with NakedWines.Com for full disclosure purposes. Being an affiliate doesn’t
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5 February, 2015

Mac & Cheese Night #7 at Farmerbrown

Comments : 1 Posted in : Dining in San Francisco - CA, Restaurants on February 5, 2015 by : The Gourmez

Tags: baby back ribs, bbq ribs, biscuits, bourbon milk punch, catfish, cheddar, chicken, cocktails, dining, farmer brown, farmerbrown, fried chicken, mac & cheese, macaroni and cheese, mason jars, old fashioned, Restaurants, review, san francisco, soul food, southern, waffles

First Mac & Cheese Night of 2015! This outing took us to Farmerbrown, just about a block from the Powell St. BART stop in the heart of downtown San Francisco. Our original location was meant to be Grub in the Mission District, but it turns out Grub must have closed sometime in December! That makes
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3 February, 2015

Susan Alexander Truffled Popcorn

Posted in : Food, Product Reviews on February 3, 2015 by : The Gourmez

Tags: popcorn, review, snack food, susan alexander, truffle farm, truffled popcorn, truffles, united states, winter black truffles, za'atar

This snack item came my way from Pinehurst, NC, where Susan Alexander has a 200-acre winter black truffle farm, which is the largest US farm raising the ever-expensive and ever-more-popular gourmet food staple. I was invited to sample Susan’s new truffled popcorn, offered in 3 oz. bags. And yes, invited to sample means I did
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