I was shopping at Copps the other day and noticed a display that promoted a bourbon called Cooper’s Mark. Both the display and an employee led me to believe that this was a Roundy’s product, meaning an imitation of the real thing at a lower price; in this case, $19.99 for a 750 ml bottle compared to $26.99 for a similar size bottle of Maker’s Mark.

After doing some research, I learned Cooper’s Mark is not produced by Roundy’s, so I was upset at the deception. I still conducted a blind taste test of Cooper’s Mark and Maker’s Mark with some friends.

A few months ago, I compared the Kirkland (Costco) liquors to the real thing and concluded that there were many differences, both subtle and stark. In this case, Cooper’s Mark is very similar to Maker’s. I’m a huge fan of the latter, and I always keep a bottle stocked at home, so I felt guilty for enjoying the knock-off.

At the end of the day, I can get past this guilt and recommend purchasing Cooper’s Mark. Just don’t buy it at Copps.

***

Chips on a pizza? That’s exactly what you’ll get with the new Frito chili pizza at Papa John’s. My main concern in ordering it was whether the chips would still be crunchy by the time the pizza got to my house. Amazingly, they were.

Papa John’s did a good job of replicating a Frito chili pie (or “Walking Chili”). All the ingredients went well together, and the chili was surprisingly good. A large Frito chili pizza is selling for $12 for a limited time.