Boulevard Brewing / Sierra Nevada Brewing - 2014 "Terra Incognita 3" ale

I've been meaning to do this review for quite some time...I picked up a handful of these bottles back in 2014 when they were released, as I was excited to see a collaboration between Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Boulevard Brewing Co. Collaborations are always fun to see, especially when they involve two excellent breweries. This beer is a 9.8% ABV mixture of ales called "Terra Incognita 3", the third in their "Terra Incognita" collaboration series.

What piqued my interest was the precise blend of ingredients:

• 13% ale
• 55% ale aged in wine barrels
• 32% ale aged in bourbon barrels

I'm not sure why they didn't just go with round numbers. Now, we all know what aging in barrels does to alcohol, so this peculiar blend gives a slight suggestion about what's in store - probably lots of woodiness and some dry oakiness from the wine barrels. Today's bottle has been aging in my cellar for two years, which of course has changed the beer a bit, but not too far off I hope.

Comes in a cork-and-cage 750mL bottle. Poured, it's got a dark brown, almost root-beer color in the glass. Smells a LOT like apple cider and alcohol. As usual with beers like this, I let it sit for 10+ minutes, warming up and opening up to the air.

 

Wow, yes, there's a full, deep taste of whiskey almost immediately after drinking. That flavor develops into an earthy, slightly sweet malty flavor with a strong finish of brown sugar. The texture (aka "mouthfeel") is like a dark apple cider, albeit with not as much astringent citrus.

This beer has some subtle qualities to it, like the richness and depth of flavor, but also retains a strong whiskey, slightly tangy taste. It's nice to have that balance of flavors, not always encountered by the way. Sometimes beers are too soft, or too harsh, but this one was just right.

I will certainly revisit this in a few years. I've got one more in my cellar, so perhaps in 2018 I'll come back to it and see how it has changed. For now, what a delicious beer! Too bad they don't sell these as a regular run, it's a perfect autumn / winter beer.

Alfred Dunhill, Ltd. - "The Signed Range" toro [Nicaragua]

I've enjoyed Dunhill tobacco for a while, in fact when I first got my meerschaum pipe in college, I exclusively smoked Dunhill's "Early Morning Pipe" or "Nightcap" pipe tobacco variants. I don't recall if I've ever had a Dunhill cigar, though, but I have seen them often in the store. A little about the company: Alfred Dunhill, Ltd. is actually a family of companies, stretching back to the 1800s, with interests in leather working, tobacco, machinery, and clothing. The tobacco arm started in 1907 when Alfred Dunhill first opened a pipe tobacco blending shop on Duke Street in London. They're known around the world, mostly for their pipe tobacco, but also operate a manufactory in Nicaragua, where today's cigar is made.

What drew me to this was that it's a special release - it's called the "Signed Range", and comes in a three pack. I purchased the pack of 5.5x52 torpedos (torpedo being the term used to describe the pointed or tapered end of a cigar. Cigars tapered at both ends are sometimes called "double torpedos.") The mixture of this particular smoke is a Nicaraguan wrapper, Dominican and Nicaraguan long-fillers, and a Cameroonian binder, and according to the promotional description, a team of 80 workers were hand-chosen to create this blend. I'm imaging (fancifully) that this means they assembled some masterful team, Oceans Eleven-style.

In truth, I smoked one of these in the spring and found it lacking. So this post is from a few weeks ago, and I gave the cigar ample time in the humidor to "bounce back."

Part of the fun here is that the cigars come with the signatures of the roller and quality inspector - Omar Sovalbano and Aurora Herrera, respectively. That's a neat personal touch which you don't see too often. I also like the box; it's always fun to get cigars packaged this way.

It was tightly-rolled so took a few tries to get it fully lit. Although it's certainly moister than the last time I had it, it's still pretty tightly wrapped.

It's definitely heavy, as previously expected, with not a lot of smoke. Perhaps if I had a Drawpoker, I would have reamed it out. Burning unevenly, it produces a dark and mottled ash. The body of the cigar has a strong woody / ashen flavor to it, and throughout I'm also detecting some slight herbal tastes, much like anisette (although not actually anisette) to complement the deep leathery tobacco notes. It burned about 2/3 of the way down, at which point the flavors became a bit harsh and the draw was harder than it should have been. In terms of texture and of gravity, it reminds me a lot of some of the Davidoffs I have had. It was a little easier smoking this time, perhaps due to environmental factors, but however long it sat in the humidor since I tried it last seemed not to have drastically changed the experience.

Beer Flash: The Bruery - "9 Ladies Dancing" ale

Here's a quick mention of a beer I sampled recently. It's called "9 Ladies Dancing" by California brewery The Bruery. I'm a huge fan of their other creations, like the "Autumn Maple" and the fantastic "Or Xata" so when I originally saw this in Whole Foods, $16.99 for a 750mL format, I was tempted. I passed it up but when I saw D'Vines had it on draft,  I figured I might try it. When I went to fill up, the keg kicked partway through the fill so all I got was 11 ounces - perfect to try.

"9 Ladies Dancing", is advertised as a "tiramisu ale." It's an 11.30% ABV American strong ale made with chocolate, vanilla, and a handful of other holiday spices. It pours reddish-brown, an interesting color as I was expecting something darker for some reason. There's a faint aroma of confection, like chocolate and spices.

Taste-wise, there's a sweet, syrupy flavor up front, almost like that cherry topping you put on frozen yogurt. Midway through the ale comes through, giving a nice chocolate flavor with some malted notes. There's a thin, slightly sweet aftertaste.

Eh, I'm not blown away. I appreciate the taste, and certainly The Bruery does put a lot of time and effort into their creations, but I am perhaps not as excited as I was seeing it on paper. By the way, their homepage has a list of other "retired" beers, and it seems they did in fact do the other "12 Days of Christmas" in previous years. I'm curious to see what those were. Still, glad to have tried this beer even if it wasn't particularly striking.

Ballast Point Brewing Co. - "Peppermint Victory At Sea" imperial porter

Here's another Ballast Point entry, one which I saw back in 2015, actually, and passed it over. But my curiosity got the better of me, and after keeping an eye out for it, I bought one and tried it. It's their "Peppermint Victory at Sea", a 10.00% ABV imperial stout.

Now, OK, I know what you're thinking. Peppermint. Gross. And I would agree with you, were we talking about those peppermint pinwheel candies. However, this beer isn't made with peppermint candies - just coffee, vanilla, and mint. They have a non-mint version, just called their "Victory at Sea", which I believe is year-round.

It pours black and generates a puffy white head. I love the aroma - very clean vanilla and coffee. It's great when a beer smells as advertised.

It's dark, almost black, in the glass.

It's milky and strong, with some sweet "burnt edges" reminiscent of a Russian imperial stout. The PVaS is heavy on roasted espresso, and the mint is present but soft - mostly on the finish. The more pronounced tastes are vanilla and espresso, though, and there is a noticeable vanilla bean flavor on the finish and aftertaste.

I actually have several of these tucked away to see how they age. I have a hunch that they'll turn out nice. If you like dark coffee with some vanilla tossed in, you may want to try this beer. And luckily, it's super cheap - $5.99 at Whole Foods. Really a good deal given what you get.

Update! Since originally writing the above review, I have encountered a "Coconut Victory at Sea" which I dutifully purchased and drank. I regret to inform you while it does taste like coconut, it tastes like artificial candy coconut, which is totally not OK in my opinion.

Wine Flash: Ironsides Cellars' 2014 "Ironsides Reserve" red blend [California]

I had an interesting wine a few weeks ago at my Dad's and wanted to spotlight it. It's a 2014 Napa Valley red blend from Ironsides Cellars, an offshoot of the vintners behind Ninety Plus Cellars. I've reviewed a lot of red blends before, but none with this particular mix:

• 33% Merlot (Oakville, CA)
• 25% Zinfandel (Rutherford, CA)
• 24% Petit Syrah (Rutherford, CA)
• 14% Malbec (Napa Valley, CA)
• 4% Cabernet Sauvignon (Red Hills, CA)

It pours a nice purple color in the glass. Initially, it's acidic and deep with a slight tinge of bitterness, reminding me a bit of the "Bulgariana" I had a while back. In today's wine, the bitterness is just a hint, with a short finish of sweet blackberry notes. The wine was 14.6% ABV, so a bit "hot", but didn't taste like it. 

I was happy with how this turned out. Nice and bold, with a flavor profile different from what I usually have. I was surprised at how tangy and bitter it was, but could definitely appreciate the deep, strong flavors. Also, the wine was aged in French oak barrels for 18 months, which definitely accounts for some of that flavoring. I think this bottle was something like $25, so not super cheap. But if you're into super bold wines, give this a try.

Wine Flash: Ninety Plus Cellars' 2011 "Lot 71" malbec [Argentina]

Here's a Malbec I had at Thanksgiving, served as an appetizer with some dried meat and stuffed portabella mushrooms. It's from Ninety Plus Cellars, the wine originating in the Lujan de Cuyo area in Mendoza, Cuyo region, Argentina. Aged for one year in French oak casks, and another in the bottle before being sold, this one has aged three years beyond that - a total of five years.

It's the smoothest, most mellow Malbec I think I have ever had. It's got a soft nose, almost nonexistent, with a clean and refined taste with some dry tannic flavors. There's a long, lingering finish with some dark berry notes. Very pleasant and delicate! I don't know how much more I would age this, though. It's really nice now but maybe aging it longer might start removing some of the nice flavors.  

Beer Flash: Stone's "Chai-Spiced" Imperial Russian Stout

Finally got a chance to try this beer after it sat a year in my cellar. It's Stone's 2015 off-year version of the Imperial Russian Stout. Every year, Stone releases two versions - the "Classic" version, which is a straightforward Russian Imperial Stout, and an off-year version, which is some variant on the classical using unconventional ingredients.

Today's beer is last year's off-year variant. It's a 10.60% ABV Russian Imperial Stout made with black tea leaves and other spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, and clove. Tea is not a common ingredient in beer; I think I've only seen three or four beers that feature it. I'm excited to try this one since I love this series so much  (looks like I have reviewed this beer twice on the blog - once back in 2013 where I reviewed that year's off-year release, an espresso variant; and once last summer where I reviewed the original version.)

As you can see, it's black in the glass with a light-tan colored head. It's got the usual milkiness that you'd expect from a stout like this, with a strong and peculiar flavor of tea. I was at first expecting this to be more on the pumpkin spice end, but it's more like what would happen if you put one of those Bigelow "Constant Comment" tea bags into a dark beer. Sounds gross, but it's rather tasty. Complementing those flavors are nice notes of chicory, nutmeg, and cloves. As it warmed up, those flavors became even more present. What a nice glass of beer this was! Unfortunately you can't find this anymore, unless someone (like me) has a stash somewhere. But it's definitely worth a try if you can find it.