Fred Bouchard

ALEX OTT • 35 • Master Mixologist/Consultant • New Amsterdam Straight Gin, New York City Take two parts German tradition, add one part each of Aussie dash, Thai spice, Parisian finesse, and top with liberal splashes of Gotham glory, swirl vigorously, and – voila! – you have the aggressively flavorful... Read More

But he does like -make that ‘love’-high quality, super-fresh craft brews. That passion has driven him to short-list only what he (and his hand-picked staff) deem the finest and freshest of craft brews. That craving for the fresh taste of hops and malt makes him chuck the contents of any... Read More

PETER FIUMARA • 35 • Owner • Good Life Bar & Vodka Lounge • Boston, MA Boston’s downtown and our state’s vodka segment both have undergone recent revitalizations, and The Good Life is in the middle of the action.  The Fiumara Brothers bought the cozy corner spot on low-rise Kingston... Read More

Celebrating its centennial in 2OO6, V. Cirace & Son is by far Boston’s oldest family-owned bottle shop. (The store’s State License, WD2, is Boston’s second oldest.) Jeff and Lisa Cirace, grandchildren of founder Ernesto, have complemented each other’s creative styles for over 3O years. Under their loving guidance, V. Cirace... Read More

Chris Douglass is the Carl Yastremski of Boston chefs – he’s been around the longest with a high batting average leading the same team. Come to think of it, Tim Wakefield might make an equally fair analogy: the knuckleballer owns the longest stint as a Red Sox, is a durable... Read More

Here’s a woman who’s deftly balanced her career as wine import executive with motherhood – two babies after 40! In imports since 1989, Helen Gallo Bryan is an inspiration to her peers at Winebow and industry-wide. We met at Meze Estatorio, Paul Delios’ cheerful Greek restaurant facing the Zakim Bridge... Read More

Giovanni Folonari looks the archetypal Italian gentleman – tall, dark, handsome – but the Tuscan winemaker has the animated drive, articulate expression, and Stentorian voice of a marketing professor. Having divested the Folonari winery (and name) a generation ago, Giovanni and his father Ambrogio recently split with members of their... Read More

Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve is its rarest and oldest – averaging 21 years – Irish Whiskey. The blue-labeled 75Oml top-of-the-line whiskey comes impressively packaged in a weighty oak case and slip sleeve, and there are just 1OOO bottles for all of North America. Jameson launched the Rarest Vintage Reserve (RVR,... Read More

BILL SAMUELS, Jr. • 67 • President & CEO • Maker’s Mark Distillery • Loretto, Kentucky Tall and rangy Bill Samuels is steeped in family history, local culture, yarns, jim-crack anti-promotion, all driven by a deep love of the taste of his family’s 5O-year tradition of making fine bourbon. Samuels... Read More

NICOLAS JOLY • Winemaker-Viticulturalist-Educator • Savennières, Loire, France The Loire Valley, arguably France’s most exciting wine region, produces underrated and undervalued wines and is home to oenological rebels who thrive on experimenting and evolving techniques, and who regularly and convincingly break France’s iron rules of viticulture and winemaking. Though the... Read More