The indispensable tool for the Massachusetts adult beverage trade.
By

Liza Weisstuch

Living la vie Cognac

Same goes for if you’re strolling on the periphery of an idyllic vineyard where the “hiss” of a breeze off the Charante River sounds like nature’s shorthand for “history”. Standing in a cellar in Cognac – where fungus lingers on the stone wall and the angels’ share seems almost perceptible...
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Melanie Asher’s Peruvian spirit

Macchu Pisco, the brand she created, was released in Europe in January 2OO5 and its United States availability is growing steadily. It hit the shelves in Massachusetts in June 2OO6. “It’s been a long ride and adventure. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mind,” says Melanie, 31, noting that while all...
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Spotlighting The Cocktail

Indie music fanatics have the annual South by Southwest music conference. Movie buffs have Cannes – not to mention Sundance and Berlinale and Toronto. Socially conscious politicos and heavy-hitters have the World Economic Forum in Davos. And foodies have a virtual harvest of gourmet festivals around the globe to pick...
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J.J. Foley’s turns 99

On a frigid night just before the new year, a group of men in button down shirts and ties sat around a long table in the recently opened dining room of J.J. Foley’s Café on East Berkeley Street in Boston’s South End. The men were from all lines of work...
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Clif Travers’ [SWEET] Stuff

Clif Travers is in the airy kitchen of his Dorchester home. Wielding a ridged muddler, he shows no mercy toward a lime wedge in a glass. An assortment of liquor bottles sits on the nearby table. A quartet of elegant, sleek square bottles stand out from the collection like stilettos...
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RumBa

Trends come and go. A new infusion will likely replace the last hot infusion. Tequila drinkers are rapidly upgrading to anejos. The Mojito craze wilts annually with the season and the Negroni is the new Dark ‘n Stormy, say some trend trackers. Maybe Pulitzer Prize winning poet Robert Frost put...
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Tequila’s Sunrise

The LEADERS of the PACK To hear anyone in the spirits industry talk about tequila, it’s clear that 2OO6 was a pretty spectacular year. High-end premiums continued the steady surge in numbers that the spirit has not seen since 2OOO. “What happened in other categories is finally happening to tequila:...
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What Is Everyone Drinking This Year

AMERICAN MICROBREWS In evolutionary terms, the time wasn’t long ago when the American beer industry was ruled by titans. American craft beer was perhaps considered quaint by some, a novelty by others. But now craft is king. “American craftsmanship is certainly the wave of popularity right now,” says Alan O’Campbell,...
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Those Triple Digit Bar Tabs

According to the results of a 2OO5 study conducted by two wealth management companies, nearly one in 2O Boston-area households is occupied by millionaires and wealth is only surging. Add that to the fact that new super-premium products are unveiled each year – limited edition scotches, anniversary cognacs, boutique aged...
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