Profile: Laurette Cossaboon
LAURETTE COSSABOON • 38 • Buyer & Sales • Ball Square Fine Wines • Somerville, MA Who could have imagined the magical influence the training program at Disney World would have on the retailing of wine and spirits in Davis Square in Somerville? HOW I GOT MY START I’m from... Read More
The Single Malts
If you’re a consumer of single malt whiskies, the American market happens to be a remarkable place to be at the moment, and apparently will continue to be so for some time to come. You’re seeing not only an extraordinary increase of innovation and exciting ideas coming through with the... Read More
The Blends
Although low end, bottled in the US Scotch sales appear to be ebbing, in the premium and higher segments, a two percent yearly growth in dollar sales and a 1.2 percent growth of foreign bottled scotch volume are certainly cause for optimism. Some insiders are even predicting that brown spirits... Read More
Profile: Joe Gomes
JOE GOMES • 49 • Spirits Buyer/Store Manager • Blanchard’s • Allston, MA SELF-STARTER After a varied career (construction, high tech, manufacturing, engineering) I’ve been at this store over 17 years. It was a challenge at first: all I knew about wine and liquor and beer was what you come... Read More
Old School Warmth
As winter is upon us again it’s time to revisit drinks that ward off the chill. And for this article its time to go back to the near-forgotten originals. The oldies are goodies for a reason and this certainly goes beyond my beloved Side Car. Recently I found some very... Read More
Winter Beers
Winter beers! Just the tonic for cold weather: big and hearty, sweet and spiced, something special to celebrate the holidays. Just thinking about them makes you feel warmer; you don’t even need a sweater. Brewers move to a different calendar. They do winter beers way before it’s wintertime. “It’s a... Read More
Interview with Jeff Becker
ANDY CROUCH How is the Beer Institute’s relationship with smaller brewers? JEFF BECKER I’d like to say that one of the things we’ve been able to do, at least over the last seven to eight years, is the policy stuff where there is interest among the smaller guys at getting... Read More
Interview with Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger
Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, 54, an ex-Marine captain in French forces in Martinique, is well known as a forthright, opinionated speaker with resonant voice and take-charge personality; though he may rail against what he regards as absurdities in the business, he tempers his assertiveness with a courtly, occasionally confiding, genteel manner, and... Read More
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... Read More
Prosecco’s Strong Strong Niche
If most wine drinkers who enjoy bubbles today were to describe the pyramid of acceptable quality sparklers it would no doubt start with Champagne at the pinnacle, followed by method traditionelle wines from California, Cava at the base and Prosecco sandwiched somewhere in the middle. Prosecco is a popular everyday... Read More