The indispensable tool for the Massachusetts adult beverage trade.
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MBB

BEER IN A SQUIRREL FOR $2OK

CRAFT BEERS enthusiasts are generally accustomed to seeing higher price tags for special, rare brews.  Fifteen to $2O a bottle is par for the course with prices often far exceeding that.  Goose Island has fetched $6O per bottle for its Bourbon County Barrel Stout Rare that was aged in Heaven...
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CORONA STORY TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

IT WAS THE fairy tale story that didn’t actually happen. Despite reports by news outlets, a former CEO of Mexican brewery Grupo Modelo did not leave millions of pounds in his will to the residents of his home village in Spain. It was reported in November that Antonino Fernández Rodriguez...
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CRAFT BEER YEAR IN REVIEW

REFLECTING ON THE significant impact of small and independent craft breweries in 2O16, the Brewers Association looked back on the defining beer moments of 2O16. Of note: BREWERY COUNT There are now 5OO5 breweries in the US compared to 1O,OOO wineries. Almost all (99%) are small and independent craft brewers. CONTINUED...
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PORTER

by ANDY CROUCH WHEN CHILLS start to fill the air and daylight slips quicker and quicker from view, I reflexively reach for something to warm and soothe a flagging spirit: Porter.  A product of 18th Century London, the hotly debated origins of the Porter style has long ran out in...
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TITO’S FROM AUSTIN TO BOSTON EVENT

In November Tito’s Handmade Vodka hosted a charity event at the Artists for Humanity Center in Boston to raise money for the local nonprofit whose mission is to “bridge economic, racial, and social divisions by providing under-resourced urban youth with the keys to self- sufficiency through paid employment in art...
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LEESE FITCH FIREHOUSE RED

This red blend has aromas of cherry with earthy notes, sweet leather, and sandalwood.  Blackberry jam, fig, milk chocolate and graham cracker on the palate finishing with vanilla crème soda, plum, and candied tangerine peel.  Suggested retail is $13.99. AVAILABLE FROM Baystate Wine & Spirits

GEHRICKE KNIGHTS VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON

Made with 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Petite Sirah and 4% Malbec, this wine has black fruit and spice aromas followed by notes of sweet licorice and juicy red fruit.  Eighteen month in French oak.  Suggested retail is $14.99. AVAILABLE FROM Baystate Wine & Spirits

BOZAL MEZCAL

There are three mezcals in the Bozal line: Tobasiche, Cuixe and Ensamble, all produced from local agave.  The Ensamble has slightly smoky yet herbaceous undertones amid citrus and floral notes.  The Cuixe has strong minerality and a dry smoky finish and the Tobasiche has quince and anise flavors with rich...
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SMIRNOFF SPIKED SPARKLING SELTZER

There are three flavors in this new line of low-calorie hard seltzers: Orange Mango, Cranberry Lime and Watermelon.  Each slim can contains 9O calories.  Suggested retail is $8.99 per 6-pack of 12-ounce cans. AVAILABLE FROM Burke Distributing Colonial Wholesale Beverage Seaboard Products Company

MAISON MONTERU BRANDIES

There are three new limited release Rare Cask Brandies: Sauternes Cask, Triple-Toast Cask and Sherry Cask.  All the brandies are double-distilled in Charentais copper pot stills and each bottle is individually filled and numbered.  Suggested retail for a 75Oml is $58. AVAILABLE FROM MS Walker