I don’t know about you, but I look at gin kind of like I do butter. A vital ingredient to be sure, but not something typically enjoyed by itself. Little did I know, everything I had ever learned in my “cocktail drinking life” was about to change…

I received the bottle of Cricket Club Gin with great enthusiasm. It was the first gin to be reviewed in Killer Hooch. I wanted to try this offering in two ways: straight up and served in a martini. The first taste was “straight up”…just poured in a glass. The smell was interesting…a light fruity bouquet. That’s certainly not what I expected.

The taste was nothing short of spectacular. That light fruity smell didn’t deceive me. The taste was actually kind of like a perfect baked, light fruit delight. I’m not kidding…we’re talking some sort of delicious, yet unidentified cobbler. Clearly this isn’t a gin that you need to cut with anything else, nor would I recommend even mixing it up into a cocktail…we’re talking straight up or over ice.

Of course, I had committed to also try this in a martini. I mixed up my ultimate gentleman’s martini (no dirty martini this time for me…I wanted to savor the Cricket Club Gin).

I took a drink…ohhhhhh, that light, fruity delight produced a fresh and clean martini. No longer is gin the “butter” of my liquor cabinet…it’s moved right up to the main course.

Killer Hooch for dinner anyone?

For more information:
www.indiospirits.com

Buying Cricket Club Premium London Style Gin:
Cricket Club Gin can be purchased at fine liquor and grocery stores. Check out Indio Spirts Web site for availability in your market.

Be sure to ask for it by name!

Have you ever gone into a movie with high expectations because it seemed to have an interesting storyline, you like the actors and actresses cast and the advertising campaign made it seem like it was really going to be good?

Of course for every movie like “The Departed” (great cast, storyline and advertising…turned out to be an awesome movie) there one like The DaVinci Code (great cast, storyline and the advertising made it look good but I tried watching that thing on DVD the other day…holy cow, I felt like I walked in halfway through the movie. I mean there are people speaking in tongues, bad guys chasing the main characters and I had no idea who they were, much less why they were chasing the main characters…Tom Hanks had some weird hair thing going on…there was a naked guy that kept appearing...I don’t know, some people like that movie, and maybe if I made it through all three hours I would have figured it, out but I bailed after about 30 minutes).

This review starts out the same way for me…high expectations. I like everything it’s about:

The Snake River – I grew up in the 70’s. Evel Knievel was a hero to my generation. His stunts, and even more importantly his failures, were events that were not to be missed. Sure, looking back I think he was more of a precursor to the Jackass-type stuntmen of today…but to the mop-haired crew I hung out with, he was a beacon of hope. His attempt to jump the Snake River was his flagship “stunt” and still brings fond recollections to this day for me.

Stampede – Who doesn’t like a bunch of running horses? That brings me back to college days at the track wagering a couple of bucks on the ponies. Good times!

Canadian – Canada? Maple syrup, Canadian bacon, the good side of Niagara falls and words like eh and aboot. Oh yeah, great stuff!

Whisky – I’m all about the whisky. Pure machismo in a bottle. Booyah!

So here I am with a gorgeous bottle of Snake River Stampede Premium Blended Canadian Whisky in my hand (I’m not kidding, the bottle is as fine of a design as you’ll ever see). Could this possibly live up to my lofty expectations, though (I mean I love the Snake River, stampedes, Canada and whisky…will this be my Departed or my DaVinci Code)?

I took a stampede-sized pour for my tasting. The tasting proved to radiate only with a mild heat (no whisky burn). The flavor yielded a plethora of tastes: toffee, vanilla, hints of oak and light smoke. It’s so good it should be sipped and enjoyed, but it’s so smooth you can chug it if you want!

Oh yeah, it’s definitely The Departed in a bottle (Scorsese, Oscars, Nicholson, Leo, Damon, great story, great music, excellent action and storyline) and not The DaVinci Code (bad hair, nude prancing, subtitles, etc.).

Snake River Stampede Premium Blended Canadian Whisky, it’s got everything you and I love in a bottle…all coming together to make some Killer Hooch!

For more information:
www.indiospirits.com

Buying Snake River Stampede Premium Blended Canadian Whisky:
Snake River Whisky can be purchased at fine liquor and grocery stores. It sells for $24.95 a bottle. Check out the Web site for a list of states where it can be purchased.