Blog
Paloma on my mind…
Two words: Summer. Cocktails. People feel the warmth of the sunshine and automatically start making margaritas. But why? They aren’t even the favored drink in Mexico. Step aside Margarita…it’s the Paloma’s time to shine. So what is a Paloma you ask? Let me tell you what you’ve been missing. A Paloma is a refreshing tequila cocktail made with grapefruit. While the traditional is great, I found a recipe for one with a twist by adding some rosé wine to the concoction. So you have some choices on how you get the grapefruit...
read moreTequila Made Right
It’s hot out. We should all be at the beach. Maybe you’re hangin’ loosely in your parent’s backyard. Maybe you are at the beach. Maybe you’re tailgating in your building’s parking lot like I am. Most importantly, what are you drinking? And you better not say White Claw. No my friend. You are drinking tequila. And not just any tequila. Not that swill that’s distilled from unripe agaves to 95% alcohol in column stills then flavored and colored to look like tequila. You are drinking true artisanal tequila made in the the town of its namesake by...
read moreA Sip of Summer
It’s SUMMER! The season has finally arrived. Time for sunshine, warm temps, and fun new cocktails! How about a beer cocktail? I know, at first I was like, WHAT?! However, they do exist and they can be fantastic when done properly. I saw a post from Lawson’s Finest Liquids on Instagram for this particular recipe. I mean, I love their beer Sip of Sunshine, so how could this be bad? They made what they called a Sip 75, a variation of the classic gin cocktail French 75. The standard French 75 calls for gin, lemon juice, simple syrup...
read moreStrawberries, Basil, and Brunch, Oh My!
Sunshine and warm weather, the perfect ingredient for a summer brunch date. With everything going on in the world, many of us are spending much more time at home, so brunch had to be taken into our own hands. What is the secret ingredient to a fantastic brunch? Mimosas of course! Mimosas and I are pretty much best friends. I also am having a love affair with fresh basil. I have two plants currently overflowing from their pots with fragrant leaves, just waiting to be used in some sort of fabulous creation. It’s June, which in...
read moreTaking the L Train
The pandemic and quarantined life have me missing traveling, especially to New York City. I usually make a couple of trips there each year, hanging in Manhattan and more importantly, Brooklyn. I have a love affair with Brooklyn, it feels like a second home to me. Since I couldn’t make a trip there yet this year, I decided to find a cocktail that would stir up memories of my favorite neighborhood, Greenpoint. This recipe comes from the book Shake by Eric Prum & Josh Williams. It’s a great resource if you are looking...
read moreTequila & Sherry
Warm weather has got me thinking about cocktails again. My sherry obsession started talking to my tequila obsession and decided to have a baby. As it turns out, they’ve already made a bunch of babies as sherry fixated bartenders the world over have been mining this idea with some winning results. Why do sherry and tequila go together? It depends. Dry sherries have a distinctive saline quality which, as we know, blends well with tequila. Both are pungent spirits with savory flavor profiles that open up a world of possibilities for...
read moreA Day of Beer & Cider in Vermont
Vermont is a magical place, especially when it comes to their libations. They don’t take their beer and cider game lightly. Vermont is a mecca for fans of craft beer and cider. I mean, if you are a fan, then you’ve no doubt heard of The Alchemist. The best part about Vermont is that there are MANY amazing establishments churning out fabulous brews in the Green State. I was lucky enough to visit a few of them and even get a behind the scenes tour of a couple one chilly day in January. Don’t worry, if you aren’t into...
read moreA Week in Jerez
It’s 8AM, and I’m sitting in a very plushy chair on a tour bus in Sanlucar de Barrameda, Southwest Spain with a bunch of other winebuyers from the US. We are here by invitation of André Tamers from Demaison Selections, an importer of French and Spanish wines, to tour their artisanal sherry bodegas. André is all charisma. He walks like a tiny matador and has a smile that makes you want to do bad deeds. We are here to learn about sherry. To spend 5 days drinking sherry from noon till dawn, to see the vineyards and the towns, to dine in the...
read moreCorzano e Paterno
Corzano e Paterno. Two hills a stone’s throw west of Chianti Classico in the Colli Fiorentini, purchased on a whim in 1969 by a retired Swiss architect named Wendel Gelpke. The place was a mess back then. The whole region largely abandoned as people left for the city and the promise of a desk job. Corzano had been a farm with few vines and olive trees, no modern equipment, and no electricity or running water. The farmhouses on the property were leftovers from the mezzadria days when families worked the land and split the profits with the land...
read moreBoston Harbor Distillery
It’s 10:00 am on a Tuesday morning, 25° outside with a 30% chance of snow. I’m sitting in my car outside the Boston Harbor Distillery watching planes land over my head while I wait for my crew to show up. It’s their day off so I’m not totally surprised that they are dragging. We are here to do a tour and a tasting with Mark Sampson, VP of Sales. Mark has been in our store several times mixing up cocktail samples for our customers. He’s an enthusiastic ambassador for the brand and proves to be a gracious host....
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