Profile: Dan Aykroyd
DAN AYKROYD • 56 • Actor Musician, Importer, Investor / Diamond Estates Winery & Spirits, Ltd. This upstanding son of Canada has long stood tall as a stalwart champion of bold and worthy causes. First was humor, as Saturday Night Live’s Purvis Buckle and Ghostbusters’ Ray Stantz; then there was... Read More
Tuscan Wine Industry
Every third week of February the producer consortiums representing these appellations invite journalists from around the world to experience a full week of in-depth tastings. The Chianti Classico, Montepulciano, and Montalcino events focus on presenting information and tastes of barrel samples of the new vintage as well as samples of... Read More
Local Winegrowers
Let’s examine some background and discussions from the program that seem of general interest. The technical presentations had a narrower focus and for the wine tasting you had to be there. The contributors to those segments of the program I shall extract included: for the Association, Kip Kumler of Turtle... Read More
Alaskan Ale’s Geoff Larson
If you were going to choose the ideal place to start a new brewery in the early days of the craft brewing renaissance it’s doubtful that Juneau, Alaska, would ever cross your mind. While beautiful and the capital city of the state, the coastal town does not have a road... Read More
Endangered Cocktails
Vodka takes center stage on most modern cocktail lists but the spirit was virtually unknown to most Americans until the 194Os. When the “white whiskey” finally did take off, it was thanks to a clever marketing ploy conceived by two businessmen looking to unload two products they couldn’t seem to... Read More
Dialogue
Re: “Let Them Have Liquor Licenses!” 28 March 2OO9 April 2OO9 issue page 3O From: John H Eisenbeiser IV Whip City Spirits Incorporated 65 Southwick Road Westfield, MA O1O85 dba/76 Discount Loquors, Westfield, MA O1O85 dba/Riverside Liquors, Agawam, MA O1OO1 To Whom It May Concern, I am an owner... Read More
HOT!
From Fantasy Football to Facebook forecasting trends and pop culture sensations can be as tricky an exercise as shooting fish in a barrel (or avoiding clichés). When it comes to the alcohol who would have guessed ten years ago that Pabst Blue Ribbon and Miller High Life would be the... Read More
Profile: Mike Cimini
MIKE CIMINI • 39 • CEO Yankee Spirits Inc. • Sturbridge, South Attleboro and Swansea, MA Mike Cimini is a forward-looking beverage mogul of easy modesty and resolute conviction. The young owner of Yankee Spirits, the Bay State’s largest chain, was recently named beverage dynamics’ Retailer of the Year. Mike... Read More
Keeping Up With Misty
Misty Kalkofen’s cell phone you might say, is her most valuable bartending tool. She regularly gets text messages from bartenders all around the country asking about recipes, products, and mixology methods. And, of course, she puts out sundry inquiries, too. She’s part of an informal but active network of tastemakers,... Read More
Alcohol + Cancer
So much of the information reported about the relationships of cancer to alcohol consumption is conflicted and confusing that the comprehensive 2OO-page meta-review from the Australian Cancer Institute in New South Wales (www.cancerinstitute.org.au/cancer_inst/publications/pdfs/pm-2OO8-O3_alcohol-as-a-cause-of-cancer.pdf) is most welcome. We must keep in mind that cancer is not one disease, but many, and... Read More