Let’s keep the month of reviews of younger whiskies going. Following my reviews of the Kilkerran Work in Progress 1 and an Ardbeg 10 from 2013, here is a Springbank 11. This was released around the same time as that Kilkerran and was one of my first forays into purchasing limited release whiskies. I had enjoyed the Springbank 10 and the Springbank 15 (available at a startlingly low price from a store in Minneapolis known for their low mark-ups) a lot and so plonked down my money for this 11 yo. It was not a single cask release—900 bottles total were bottled at cask strength—but the spirit had spent the entire 11 years in the madeira casks. I enjoyed it greatly and purchased more than one bottle over the next year or two (of course, in those days excellent whiskies stayed on the shelves for much longer). Indeed, it was the gateway for me into Springbank’s Wood Expressions series (see also the Claret Wood and the Calvados Wood—to say nothing of all the 12 yo sherry cask releases from the 1996 vintage). Years later, when my friend Patrick S. offered me a bottle, I was only to happy to take him up on it. Now that it’s open, I can finally review an old favourite. Continue reading
Author Archives: My Annoying Opinions
Diane’s Place (Minneapolis, MN)
2024 was the year in which the Twin Cities went from having zero high-end Hmong restaurants to having not one, but two. The second of those to open was Chef Yia Vang’s Vinai. We ate there in late October and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. It was tempting to make plans to go back to Vinai very soon after that meal to try more of their menu but we decided to first try the other restaurant, Chef Diane Moua’s Diane’s Place, which had opened earlier in the year, serving brunch, and expanded to dinner in November. Those plans—and at one point, reservations—kept getting pushed back for one reason or another but we finally got there this past weekend. We’d taken our boys with us to Vinai and they joined us at this meal as well. We were all looking forward to the meal a lot. Did it live up to our hopes and expectations? Read on. Continue reading
Kilkerran Work in Progress 1, Take 2
In February I reviewed four older whiskies: a Caperdonich 36, 1972, a Caol Ila 30, 1983, the 2012 release of the Glendronach 21 “Parliament”, and a Laphroaig 21, 1990. March’s first review, on the other hand, was of a 10 yo: the 2013 release of the Ardbeg 10. Accordingly, let’s make this a month of younger whiskies. Up next, is the first release of the Work in Progress series from Kilkerran. I’ve actually reviewed this one before—about three years ago. That review was from a sample from a friend; this is from my own bottle. It was released in 2009 and contained spirit distilled in 2004, making the contents four or five years old. The vattings for these early releases of the Work in Progress series were said to contain both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry spirit, but I’m not sure what the ratios were. I do know I’ve liked most of the Work in Progress releases a lot. I’ve previously also reviewed both the sherry and bourbon cask releases of the fifth release and the bourbon cask releases of the sixth and seventh releases. I have an unopened bottle of the third release on my shelf. I haven’t tried the second or fourth releases since starting the blog. Anyway, let’s get reacquainted with the first release and see what I make of it now. Continue reading
Tori (St. Paul, MN)
Another month, another review of a ramen specialist in the Twin Cities. Though our lunch at Ramen Kazama in Minneapolis last month didn’t blow us away, it did make us interested to check the state of ramen offerings more generally in the Twin Cities metro. Here, accordingly, is a report on St. Paul’s premier ramen outlet: Tori. They first opened as Tori Ramen in 2016 on Victoria St. in St. Paul and later opened another location in Northeast Minneapolis. The “Ramen” was dropped from the name at some point when the menu expanded to include more cooked items. Both of those locations are now closed and the only remaining location is the one opened in early 2020 in a restored train car on West 7th St. in St. Paul. This location too is only called Tori, even though they currently only serve ramen. We descended on them for a quick lunch this weekend ahead of some grocery shopping at Dragon Star. Here’s how it went. Continue reading
Ardbeg 10, 2013 Release
My previous review of the venerable Ardbeg 10 was an unusually timely review. That was back in 2017 and I was reviewing the 2016 release. Today I have a review for you of the 2013 release. (I’ve previously also reviewed the 2007 and 2009 releases.) I’m not sure if I’ve had any Ardbeg 10 released since 2016 and I don’t have any sitting on my shelves. After this bottle is done, the only Ardbeg 10 I’ll have left is a bottle from the 2008 release. And so my reviews are going further back in time. That’s a bit of a shame as this is one of the great classic malts; along with the Lagavulin 16 and the Laphroaig 10, it used to be the cornerstone of the collection of every lover of peated whisky from Islay. I really should seek it out again—and I should probably check in on more recent releases of the Laphroaig 10 and Lagavulin 16 as well. I’m not buying much whisky any more these days—can’t remember which the last bottle I purchased was, or when I purchased it—but these are easily available in bars. Okay, let’s see what this one is like. Continue reading
February/March 2025
Last month’s version of this post began by noting that January had been a record month on the blog for traffic, with all-time highs—by some margin—for both page-views and unique visitors. This was due to the sudden explosion of interest in India in the controversy over the owner of Indri, which led a lot of people via search to my review of their whisky, Trini, early last year in which I’d noted his scrubbed history/identity as the killer of Jessica Lal. That interest tapered off in February—I’ve no idea if all the outrage amounted to anything finally or if it’s business as usual for the company. I rather suspect the latter. My review of Trini was still the most-read post in February but the page-views were only about 10% of what they had been in January (which is to say, they were still quite high). I’m not sure if any of the short-term Indian visitors have stuck around—I hope at least a few will become occasional visitors. What else were people reading on the blog in February? Here is the rest of the month’s top 10, followed by a quick look ahead to March. Continue reading
Legendary Spice 3 (Minneapolis, MN)
You have been disconsolate, wondering if I would ever post a Twin Cities restaurant report this week. I apologize: it’s been a very hectic week and a half and I just did not have time to get it ready to post on schedule on Wednesday, or even yesterday. But dry your eyes, tell your emotional support team they can go home: here I am now with my third report on a meal at Legendary Spice, probably Minneapolis’ best Sichuan restaurant. Now, you’re probably wondering how this can be my third review of Legendary Spice when there’s only one other review with its name in the title. That’s because when they opened, it was under the name Lao Sze Chuan and I first reviewed it as such. After a year or so the ownership split and what was Lao Sze Chuan became Legendary Spice—though the menu did not change. Meanwhile, a new restaurant named Lao Sze Chuan opened not too far away. We have not yet been to that new incarnation of Lao Sze Chuan (which, I believe, has the same menu as Legendary Spice). At some point I’ll redress that oversight; here now is my report on our dinner at Legendary Spice this past weekend. Continue reading
Laphroaig 21, 1990 (Whisky Import Nederland)
For my last whisky review of the month I have an older Laphroaig. This is a 21 yo distilled in 1990 and bottled in 2012 from a single refill hogshead by Whisky Import Nederland. I don’t think I’ve ever had an older bourbon cask Laphroaig that I’ve not liked a lot and this one is no exception. I opened it a few days ago and have been enjoying it greatly. I purchased this bottle a long time ago and had it sitting around ever since for no good reason. Now that it’s open, I don’t expect it will make it to the end of March. Here are my notes.
Laphroaig 21, 1990 (52.6%; Whisky Import Nederland; refill hogshead 5936; from my own bottle)
Nose: Bright, carbolic peat (Dettol) with a big dose of lemon. On the second sniff there’s some cereals in there too. A little sweeter here too with time with just a bit of vanilla emerging. With more time there’s salt here as well. A few drops of water emphasize the sweetness but everything else is still here. Continue reading
Biryani Stop (South St. Paul, MN)
In South St. Paul, in a truck stop off Highway 494 sits a Pakistani restaurant. I came across a reference to it in a Youtube Reel in mid-January and descended on them with friends almost exactly one month ago on an extremely cold Saturday morning. Only to find they were closed. Not forever but for two weeks for a holiday. That was the weekend we ended up eating at Mañana. That was a very nice meal but I had been denied nihari and paya and I was resolved to return not too long after they re-opened on Feb 4. As luck would have it, one of the friends who’d been thwarted alongside us was out of town the weekend after Feb 4 and since he really wanted to eat there, we agreed to wait another week (we went to Ramen Kazama instead that weekend). And so it was that we descended on them again this past weekend, on an extremely cold Sunday morning, this time having called ahead to confirm they were open. They were indeed open and I am very happy to say that I ate nihari and paya and more besides and that it was all very good. Details follow. Continue reading
Glendronach 21, Parliament (2012 Release)
I reviewed an 11 yo Glendronach back in August. Six months later, here is one that’s almost twice as old. This is the Glendronach 21, Parliament, specifically from the 2012 release. If I’m remembering correctly, the Parliament was launched in 2011. I was under the impression that I had reviewed a bottle of that 2011 release in the first year of the blog but I see now in my spreadsheet that I emptied that bottle two weeks before I launched the blog. Back in those days I did used to save large reference samples from bottles for future tastings; I wonder if one might be kicking around somewhere in my hoard or if I finished that as well at some point! Anyway, here is the 2012 release. The Parliament is unlike the more sought-after single casks Glendronach had begun to release around that same time in that it is a vatting, did not bear a vintage statement and was not bottled at cask strength. It was, nonetheless, usually better than many of those so-called single casks. Of course, I am referring to the earlier releases: I’ve not kept up with the distillery and have no idea if the 21 yo is still bottled or if not, when it was pulled. If you know more, please do write in. Continue reading
Ramen Kazama (Minneapolis)
It’s been almost two years since my last review of a ramen-centered meal in the Twin Cities metro (well, if you exclude my report on El Sazon Tacos & More, which included a bowl of their birria ramen). That last ramen report was from Itton Ramen in Bloomington. We were not terribly impressed. I noted in that review that there is better ramen available in the Twin Cities but it has taken me almost two years to get around to writing some of it up. This is partly because it’s been a busy two years with a lot of time spent outside Minnesota; but frankly, it’s mostly because a good chunk of that time spent outside Minnesota has been in places with far better ramen and so eating ramen here has not felt like a huge priority. When looking for noodle soup here we’re more likely to look in a Southeast Asian direction. That said, Ramen Kazama in Minneapolis is a pretty decent option. I’ve eaten stray bowls of ramen there over the years while running errands in the area; here, finally, is a report on a larger meal with the family. Continue reading
Caol Ila 30, 1983 (Wilson & Morgan)
I reviewed a 12 yo sherried Caol Ila last month. Here now is a much older one. While the 12 yo—bottled for Feis Ile in 2017—had been double-matured in sherry casks (in casks that had previously been used to make the Talisker Distiller’s Edition), this one came out of a single sherry butt. It was distilled in 1983 and bottled in 2013 by the Italian indie, Wilson & Morgan (yes, it’s not a very Italian name). I quite liked the only other Caol Ila I’ve had from Wilson & Morgan, but that was much younger and from a second-fill bourbon cask (this 16 yo). Indeed, I’ve generally liked almost all the Wilson & Morgan releases I’ve tried (not very many). And I can tell you—spoiler alert—that I quite like this one too. I opened this bottle, which I’ve had sitting on a shelf for a long time now, a few days ago and have been dipping into it ever since. These notes are being taken from the fourth pour from the bottle. The bottle was more than a bit hot when opened and I am hopeful that it may have mellowed a bit. Let’s see. Continue reading
India Market (Eden Prairie, MN)
As I said on Sunday in my look back/look ahead post, we didn’t go out to eat last weekend. And so I do not have a Twin Cities restaurant report this week. I do have a Twin Cities food report though, albeit on a market. It’s been a while since I last reported on an immigrant grocery store in the Twin Cities (Bodega 42 in Apple Valley). The one before that was my last report on an Indian grocery. That was a look at Spice Bazaar in Lake Elmo off Highway 94, which turned into India Market. Today I have a look at the other location of India Market, out in the western suburbs. This is the original location which has been in Eden Prairie since 2018. As with the newer Lake Elmo location, it is a very large store, containing within it both a butcher counter and a cafe with a fairly extensive menu. I’ve shopped there a few times before/after other appointments in the area (usually after a lunch thali at Godavari). This look at the market is put together from pictures taken on a couple of these visits in the last year and a half. I cannot promise that the layout of the store now is exactly as pictured—it changed a bit between my last two visits—but this should give you a pretty good idea of what you can expect to find there: in short, pretty much everything you need if you’re interested in cooking Indian food. Continue reading
Caperdonich 36, 1972 (Lonach)
Back in the early days of the blog—back when I had more energy and was known for being a thorn in the side of not food writers but the whisky industry and its many amateur apologists and spokespersons—one of the pet mythologies of the whisky enthusiast community that I often took issue with was the belief in magic vintages at particular distilleries. Indeed, one of my earliest reviews featured Caperdonich, which is one of the distilleries around which a lot of the magic vintage talk used to center (do people still go on about this kind of thing?). 1972 was the year about which people were most apt to wax rhapsodic. I never tired of pointing out—as I did in that first Caperdonich review—that what was almost certainly happening was that for entirely random reasons more casks of 1972 Caperdonich had survived to be bottled in the 2000s than of other years in the 1970s. I guess I just did it again. Anyway, I have for you today another Caperdonich 1972. This one was also bottled by Duncan Taylor—who bottled so many of those fruity Caperdonichs that made the dead distillery’s reputation—but not for one of their premier lines. The Lonach releases typically featured low bottling strengths and were not single casks. Quite likely these were vattings that had been used to rescue casks that had fallen below the minimum required strength of 40%. Many of these whiskies were very good anyway. Let’s see what this one is like. Continue reading
January/February 2025
December ended with a bang on the blog, with a sudden, dramatic rise in page views. In the previous month’s look back I’d expressed some skepticism about this increased traffic, particularly as it had not been accompanied by a similar rise in unique visitors. Well, January saw a record being set for page views on the blog, with an increase of nearly 10% over December, which had been the previous record holder. But this rise in page views was accompanied by a dramatic rise in the unique visitor count, which was 56% higher than the previous high in December. This time, however, there’s no mystery about the increased traffic. Almost all of the increase came from India and had to do primarily with one post. Unusually, this post is a whisky review—for the Indri-Trini; but the reasons for the sudden uptick in interest in it had to do not with the whisky itself but with the proprietors. You see, in early January it finally became news in India that the owner and face of Indri is someone who had previously been convicted of a heinous murder. This seems to have become news belatedly because the company is making ownership moves in Scotland and the press there, unlike in India, reported on his history. As my review from a year ago had already brought up this history, it turns out it is one of the top hits for Google searches for “Indri Manu Sharma“. And so. Continue reading
Bull’s Horn (Minneapolis)
It took almost eight years but we finally made it inside Bull’s Horn. As you undoubtedly know by now if you live in Minneapolis, Bull’s Horn is the South Minneapolis restaurant/bar opened by Doug Flicker and his partner Amy Greeley in 2017 after the closing of Piccolo. Piccolo had been our favourite high-end restaurant for some years at the time and we mourned its passing mightily, even as we we came to love its successor, Tenant. Chef Flicker, however, was out of the fine dining game. Bull’s Horn is very much a dive bar in aesthetic and its menu too is in keeping with that. We were already fans of Chef Flicker’s burgers etc., having eaten several times at Sandcastle, the concession stand they had operated at Lake Nokomis for several summers. So you might think we would have high-tailed it to Bull’s Horn. But somehow we never did. I put this down to a mix of things. A bit of mourning/denial for the end of Piccolo; more than a bit of the fact that they’re only open for dinner and we rarely eat this kind of food for dinner; and distance: a 45-50 minute drive is a long way to go for diner food, no matter how good it is. Well, our older boy turned 16 last week and for his birthday dinner out he voted for a good burger. And so there we finally were. Continue reading
Longmorn 15
So far this month I’ve reviewed whiskies released in 2021 (this Highland Park), 2017 (this Caol Ila) and 2009 (this Talisker). Here now is an even more untimely review: of the Longmorn 15. This release was discontinued in 2006, being replaced the following year by the just about whelming Longmorn 16. The 16 yo added three more percentage points in abv but you would have had a hard time finding people then who preferred it to the 15 yo. But we took what we got. Back then there was barely any official Longmorn on the market, as most of it went—and still does—into the group’s blends, particularly Chivas Regal. Your best bet beyond the 15 yo, and then the 16 yo, were the occasional limited 500 ml releases in the Cask Strength Edition series from Chivas that used to be available at the group’s distilleries and a few retailers. Now there are three official releases: an 18 yo, a 22 yo, and a 30 yo. I haven’t tried any of them and couldn’t tell you when they were introduced. I have an idea though that they probably cost a lot more than the 15 yo or even the 16 yo ever did. The 15 yo, in case you’re wondering, went for about $50 back in the day (hell, the 16 yo cost me $70 in 2012). Anyway, this bottle remained unopened for about two decades. No longer. Let’s see what it’s like. Continue reading