GLADDENING the HEART
The notion that a dram or two is good for the heart is far from new; it can be traced back to biblical times. The accretion of scientific evidence to support the notion in little more than the last quarter century should be convincing. We continue to see the playing... Read More
ENDANGERED COCKTAIL of the MONTH
GIN Could there be a more appropriate cocktail to sip at the dawn of summer than the Daisy a cool and refreshing drink named for a hardy, innocent flower? Two versions of this drink were in wide circulation by the time Prohibition rolled around in 1919. The early version appears... Read More
CRAFT NAVIGATES NEW WATERS
Despite long-standing concerns with the economy the domestic beer segment overall, and the craft beer set in particular, continues to perform well for retailers and distributors. Nudging up one half percent, the beer industry fought against strong and troubling economic trends, especially in the second half of 2OO8. Craft brewers... Read More
REVISITING TANIA OSEGUERA
If any spirit category deserves a party to celebrate how well it’s done over the past year it’s tequila. And if anybody can host that party it’s Tania Oseguera, brand ambassador for Cazadores and Corzo, Bacardi USA’s tequilas. Oseguera was recently in Boston to lead diners through a tasting paired... Read More
TOURIGA NACIONAL and ARINTO
What would be a US wine consumer’s reflex response to Sauvignon Blanc and Malbec? . . . New Zealand and Argentina. The marketing power of these so-called “signature” varieties is clear. Could the market woes of the Portuguese wine industry be solved by a signature variety or two? Could one... Read More
Profile: Daniel Bruce
DANIEL BRUCE 49Executive Chef Boston Harbor HotelDirector of the Boston Wine Festival Few dispute that the Bay State’s gold standard for wine dinners is Boston Harbor Hotel’s Boston Wine Festival. Now planning its 21st season the man at the helm is the same tirelessly creative guy who co-founded and still... 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
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
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