Drink the Bottles

We've been Old Elk fans for several years, always interested in what was next for this brand.  There were a few fleeting moments where we were seeing fewer and fewer selections on the shelves of our local liquor stores, and we were puzzled.  After some investigating, we found that this non-distilling producer, founded in Fort Collins, Colorado, has sold to Middle West Spirits in Columbus, Ohio.  We were immediatley thrilled about the new ownership, as the Ohio distillery produces some fantastic bottles under their own labels.  Keep an eye out to see what becomes of this new marriage! In today's bourbon landscape, everuy brand seems to be searching for a way to stand out.  Some chas higher proofs.  Others lean heavily into barrel finishes and limited releases.  Old Elk, under the watchful eye of Master Distiller Greg Metze, took a different path.  Rather than focusing solely on what goes into the barrel, they spent years perfecting what happens aft...

  From Cline Cellars and the Dry Creek Valley Appellation comes the 2022 Eight Spur Zinfandel .   Dry Creek Valley is one of the oldest growing regions in California and the Zinfndel vines resemble small trees that are spur pruned to eight canes, hence the name of this affordable and completely approachable wine.   Coming in at 15% alcohol by volume, the 2022 release is showing off some ripe red raspberries, cranberry and baking spice aromas.   The palate is full of sweet and sour cherry candies, plum, sage, beef stake tomato and sweet spices on the finish.   This is a straightforward and tasty Zinfandel that is very versatile and would pair very well with braised short ribs, a bold blue cheese or even a burger and fries.   This wine is very food friendly with an MSRP of only $35.00 you really can’t go wrong here.   This, in our opinion, is a solid 90-point wine all day long. The 2023 release is currently available on the Cline Cellars website....