RED WINE LOWERS RED MEAT’S RISKS
Current research appears to confirm, and in part explain, some of red wine’s cardiovascular benefits, especially vis-à-vis eating enjoyably. Work done in Jerusalem at Hebrew University’s Institute of Drug Research demonstrated that components of red wine, perhaps antioxidant polyphenols, vastly reduce the formation of a toxic cholesterol-altering compound following a... Read More
“There are No Craft Lagers in New England.â€
If you think that, you’ve got vision problems: How about Samuel Adams? Boston Lager? Not to mention Narragansett (even if you won’t admit the Lager as “craft”, there’s the excellent Bock and Oktoberfest), and Thomas Hooker, and . . . um . . . New England Elm City . .... Read More
A DRINK WITH . . . MISTY KALKOFEN and PATRICK SULLIVAN
A DRINK WITH . . . MISTY KALKOFEN + PATRICK SULLIVANBRICK & MORTAR To most of us familiar with the cocktail landscape, Misty Kalkofen and Patrick Sullivan need no introduction. Between the two of them, they’ve logged in 36 years of hospitality, weaving in and out of beloved institutions across... Read More
CAVA from CODORNÃU
A considerable proportion of the world’s high-quality, traditional Champagne-method bubblies are made in Spain, where, if they conform to geographical, viticultural and vinification regulations, they are called Cava, a term derived from “cave”. Cava is generally well priced, and encompasses a wide range of quality. The US imports close to... Read More
THE TEQUILA SUNRISE
While tequila is beloved by the LUPEC ladies, it isn’t a spirit that saw play pre-Prohibition. One cocktail that came to be not before but because of the Noble Experiment is the Tequila Sunrise. With stateside boozing illegal, where else were wealthy and fashionable Angelenos and Hollywood stars to booze... Read More
ALSACE DON’T GET NO RESPECT
The good wine folk of the region avoid the adjective Alsatian, preferring the awkward use of the noun, Alsace, as adjective, i.e., “Alsace wine” in fear of confusion with the British term for German shepherd. They should be reassured: their wines are not dogs. I like to imagine that Rodney... Read More
A LOOK AT STYLE AND BEERS FOR SPRING MARKET
From the earliest days of commercial brewing, consumers have relied on an informal patchwork of descriptions to differentiate the beers available to them. If one brewer’s beers were deemed too smoky, people knew and told one another. If another brewer had managed to produce a stable product capable of lasting... Read More
EVERYONE WANTS A PIECE OF IRISH WHISKEY
Last October, three Irish distillers were sitting on the stage at WhiskyFest New York. The audience: very serious aficionados who’d paid hundreds of dollars to be there. The deep subject: Understanding Irish Whiskey. Colum Egan of Bushmills was leading the audience through a tasting of Bushmills 21 year old. Don’t... Read More
ENDANGERED COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH: IRISH WHISKEY COCKTAILS
March is one of Lupec’s favorite months because it marks not one but two very special holidays. On March 8th we’re thrilled to join Lupec ladies across the nation in raising a glass in honor of International Women’s Day. Just a little over a week later falls St. Patrick’s day,... Read More
A DRINK WITH . . . IAN STANCZYK + TJ CONNELL
The summer before entering business school, Ian Stanczyk decided to do a “fun” project: build an iPhone app that would tell him when his bartender friends were working. An early iteration of the app was called “Boston Flip”, after Stanczyk’s signature cocktail at the time. After a few months, he... Read More