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May 10, 2013
Tell Me More

When the conversations about wine begin to get interesting.

As much as drinking wine, I enjoy talking with wine people.  Fortunately, I get to do that quite often, sometimes several times per week, by phone, at restaurants in New York, at wineries in Greece or Paso Robles or Mendoza.  Somewhere in the middle of the discussion of grape-growing and winemaking techniques, a topic will often pop up like those red plastic “it’s done” temperature ga

March 22, 2013
Featured Cocktails: The Glories of Gin

Since the dawn of the new millennium, gin has come roaring back.

It wasn’t so long ago when gin as a spirits category was on a long slide into obscurity. Sure, you had your standard well brands and a couple of premium labels, but vodka had become the wunderkind of the spirits league And gin? Well, that was what your grandfather drank. Not so anymore.

February 28, 2013
The Drawing Room: Shaking it up Chicago Style

The Drawing Room’s reputation is built on the strength of its food, beverage, and service, but in a city with a bevy of fine eateries, it may be Joly’s cocktail mastery that sets The Drawing Room apart.

Since opening in 2007, The Drawing Room, a 60-seat American restaurant in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, has been praised by both establishment and social network media for its commitment to food-and-beverage excellence.

February 8, 2013
Cold Weather Cocktails: the Suspended Ginger & Old Scottsman

It's still winter! Mixologists Zach McCabe and Carrie Allen share their cozy, cold weather concoctions.

Carrie Allen, Bartender, Urban Farmer, Portland, Oregon

January 15, 2013
Featured Cocktail: The Kentucky Sidecar

Noted mixologist Patricia Richards at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas has popularized a specialty called the Kentucky Sidecar, which features Maker’s Mark, Marie Brizard Apry, vanilla-infused simple syrup, and fresh lemon sour mix.

For those times when an ordinary cocktail won’t suffice, skilled mixologists are increasingly turning their sights to the sidecar, a satiny-textured classic that debuted during World War I at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. The cocktail is traditionally prepared with brandy, Cointreau, and lemon sour mix and presented in a sugar-rimmed glass.

December 18, 2012
Europe's Wine Fairs 2013

Now is the time to start planning your attendance at next year's wine trade fairs in France, Italy, Germany and England.

With the buying public once again opening its wine wallets, and with the euro more of a bargain that it has been in recent times, 2013 might be an ideal year to consider attending Vinexpo, Vinitaly or one of the other European wine trade fairs.

The key dates are:

December 5, 2012
The Modern Mixologist: Whatever happened to gin cocktails?

Master barman par excellence Tony Abou-Ganim makes the case for adding classic gin cocktails to any bar menu.

Long before James Bond uttered one of the most famous orders of all time, “Vodka martini, shaken, not stirred,”  gin was the prince of white spirits. As a matter of fact, gin reigned supreme in the white spirits category until 1967, when vodka surpassed it. Gin is the king of classic cocktails and the spirit at the heart of the quintessential cocktail: the perfect dry martini.

November 30, 2012
The Zuani Stories

There is a good background story to this Collio winery, but the front story now being written is equally interesting.

Every winery has a story.  Or maybe two.

October 8, 2012
Featured Cocktail: The "Never Setter"

Craigie On Main Bartender, Ted Gallagher, Shakes up Something Peppery and Sweet.

Ted Gallagher’s love for fermented and distilled beverages began during his time stocking shelves and delivering wine at Marty’s Liquors in Allston, Massachusetts.

September 19, 2012
Kappa Wants to Be the Alpha Pisco

Marnier Lapostolle's first venture into white spirits adds Cognac know-how to a Chilean institution.

There are worse things a wine-and-spirits writer could be doing at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday morning than drinking Pisco cocktails in the elegant conference room of the American headquarters of Marnier Lapostolle on Madison Avenue in New York. 

September 7, 2012
End of Summer Cocktail: Tomato Kiss

Seasonal and Savory, Jeff Hollinger's Tribute to Summer

Jeff Hollinger has been interested in food and drink for as long as he can remember. After graduating from San Francisco State University, he enrolled in classes at the California Culinary Academy and found himself on a path that would enable him to pursue his life-long love affair with gourmet cuisine and drinks.

December 29, 2011
Has Anyone Seen My Julep Strainer?

If we want bartending to stand alongside the other culinary arts, we need to start approaching the job as a true culinary profession. 

If we want bartending to stand alongside the other culinary arts, we need to start approaching the job as a true culinary profession.

December 14, 2011
The Winter Bar

Dark gloom beckons for a cozy room and a lovely cocktail to match.

A working definition of a winter bar may be impossible to establish.

September 23, 2011
I check out yours....

Visiting a wine store is an incredibly economical use of your time to gain information that gives you a competitive advantage.

I’m referring to our respective wine programs, of course, and there might be valuable information you’re missing by not paying a wine retailer a visit.

April 8, 2011
Form and Function

Glassware has an enormous impact on the success of every beverage program, regardless of the operation’s demographics or degree of sophistication among clientele. Nothing accentuates the appearance of a cocktail or so profoundly influence

March 23, 2011
So what is gin?

Gin is a clear, mostly unaged spirit that derives its flavor from a variety of fruit peels and botanicals, most notably juniper, which by law must be the prominent flavor ingredient. 

February 24, 2011
"Secret" potions on the backbar

Apart from skilled and curious mixologists, who else knows about bitters, that underappreciated collection of “secret” potions on the backbar? Within this category are complex spirits that stimulate the appetite, aid digestion, and

February 11, 2011
Why not take a Goldilocks approach to wine portions?

 

 

 

January 29, 2011
Bittersweet Hellos

Turn your patrons on to classic and new aperitifs to stimulate your clientele’s juices and curiosity---and fatten the check. 

January 18, 2011
The Famous Cocktails of New Orleans

When it comes to the cocktail, historically at least, New Orleans is arguably the most influential city in the world. Not only does it boast some amazing old bars and saloons, but it is also the birthplace of some of the most famous, inspiring, and complex cocktails being enjoyed around the globe today.

January 4, 2011
Spruce: Evergreen by Design

 

At San Francisco’s Spruce, a reverence for the past and for breaking new ground is evident from the two cocktail lists, Classic and House, to the decor. Spruce is housed in a former 1930s auto barn with a tall entrance arch to accommodate Model-T cars. On one side is a small gourmet take-out shop, Caffe at Spruce, which also houses the espresso service. Across the entrance, a smallish library room serves as a waiting area or private party lounge.