Endangered Cocktails
Last month we discussed vodka a spirit overlooked in the states until the 1950s, when it took the nation by storm. Tequila suffered a similar fate – didn’t gain notoriety here until the “Great Experiment”, when any liquor was good liquor. Surely you’ve tried a Tequila Sunrise or a Margarita,... Read More
Smoked Beer
. . . smoked beers are more than likely,every bit as old as smoky whiskey, and were once much more widespread. The first time I had Victory Brewing’s St. Victorious doublebock, I noticed a difference from other doublebocks I’d had. It had an extra dimension to it, a richness that... Read More
Sauvignon Blanc
. . . the point is that the Marlborough style . . . now appearsto set the standard by which the market measures virtuallyall Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon Blanc’s reversal of fortune from shunned outcast to darling of the American dinner table owes everything to a style that emerged full blown... Read More
Wyndham Estate’s Shiraz
Syrah or shiraz as it’s called in Australia and some elsewheres, is bursting its erstwhile boundaries, and emerging all over the world’s wine scene. It remains, however, a dominant grape only in southern France and in Australia. Since I’ll be focusing on Australia today in response to a visit from... Read More
Silent Selloff: Ninety Plus Cellars
WINE MARKETING IN PINCH TIME SILENT SELLOFFS Latitude Beverage Company has scored nicely with Ku Dé Ta.Now Kevin Mehra is quietly talking up Ninety Plus Cellars. First the plains then the moat now Kevin Mehra is ready to scale the walls of the wine castle. Sipping Starbucks on the Needham... Read More
Chris Douglass
Wine dinners are a dime a dozen and when pressed, most restaurateurs will tell you they’re hardly an easy sell. It’s not just the abundance of them that diners can often find on any given weeknight, it’s pulling off the affair at a cost that’s both consumer-friendly and fiscally sound... Read More
Bitters
That dusty old bottle sitting on countless bars back shelf could be one of many potable or non-potable spirits being massively overlooked by most bartenders and imbibers. Until recently that is. With the serious cocktail resurgence in full effect we see bartenders all over the country and world, mixing old... Read More
MASSACHUSETTS SWEEPS HONORS AT WSWA AWARDS
The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America wrapped up its Sixty-Sixth Annual Convention & Expositionwith the presentations of the 2OO9 WSWA Lifetime Leadership Award and the Sidney Frank Award to industry visionaries Robert Epstein and A. Raymond Tye. Robert Epstein President of Horizon Beverage Group was presented with the WSWA Lifetime... Read More
Tequila, the Visit
A VISIT TO TEQUILA. . . the unique qualities of each brand of tequila are achieved through carefully derived formulas each of which involves a delicate balance of ancient knowledge, agricultural prowess, modern technology, and a dash of sunny whimsy. Tequila is perhaps the most regulated spirit in the world.... Read More
Tequila, the Business
Given the centuries-old legacy of alcoholic beverages it took a very short time for Tequila to go from a native Mexican spirit that might be palatable if you’re lucky, to a highly regulated industry that has diversifying exponentially each year. The Beckmann (formally Cuervo) family remains the oldest tequila-making clan... Read More