Templeton unveils oldest release ever: Hidden Stash 15-Year Rye

As we shift into cooler weather, many of us are focused on holiday plans, football games, and the approaching cool winter air. Usually, we all rush to wheel our grills in for the season—but what if we didn’t? Ed Reilly, Chief Operations Officer at Monument Grill LLC, says it might be worth holding off on putting away the grill just yet—as shorter days and clearer skies can make fall and winter outdoor cooking even more enjoyable.

As we shift from summer BBQs to tailgates and holiday gatherings, you can still prepare richer, sweeter seasonal foods standing over a warm grill or backyard fire pit. According to Reilly, winter is the “underrated grilling season,” as cooking outside in cooler temperatures will turn your grill into a high-heat convection oven that cuts through the heavy, moisture-laden air of the colder months. 

Even the most iconic and enduring brands need a facelift here and there. Disaronno unveiled its new bottle design earlier this year in Europe. The bottle’s new look debuted in the U.S. in October. The older bottle featured a shorter, stockier neck. The newer version is now taller, lighter, and brighter. The makeover can be seen and appreciated from head to toe. For starters, there’s a redesigned square cap that features a more modern and distinctive look.

There are other special touches: Domenico Reina’s signature is now embossed directly onto the bottle, and there’s a new “DD” monogram, representing Disaronno and Domenico Reina, who comes from the Reina family and, as legend has it, began commercially producing the liqueur in Saronno, Italy, in 1900, more than 200 years after the Reina family rediscovered the recipe.

I’ve been writing about spirits for almost two decades. I’ve learned the ins and outs of every popular hard alcohol. But if you’re new to the spirits world, you might not know the differences between tequila and vodka. Tequila vs. vodka –this is especially true when both are unaged. In appearance alone, the two spirits look remarkably similar. When made with high-quality ingredients, distilled multiple times, and filtered a handful of times, both tequila and vodka are crystal clear. There aren’t any noticeable differences. The same could be said for a bottle of gin or a glass of tap water.

Once you take a whiff, the differences begin to reveal themselves. Unaged (or blanco) tequila carries aromas like vegetal sweetness, cooked agave, vanilla, and cracked black pepper. Vodka has different aromas based on its main ingredient (wheat, rye, corn, potatoes, or something else), but you can bet you find scents of neutral ethanol, minerality, vanilla, cracked black pepper, and even citrus peels.