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Quality Beverage Buys Williams Distributing

Quality Beverage of Taunton is buying 69-year-old Williams Distributing, the Budweiser and Yuengling distributor in Western Massachusetts. The deal, which needs the approval of Williams Distributing’s suppliers, will make Quality Beverage the state’s leading supplier of Anheuser-Busch InBev brand products. The transaction is expected to close in October, according to...
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THE ESSENCE OF HEALTHY DRINKING

by HARVEY FINKEL, MD THE SEMINAL WORK of Serge Renaud, R. Curtis Ellison, and many others during the last 3O years has made the health effects of drinking a perennially hot topic, developing the iconic concepts of the French paradox and the J-shaped curve.  Of course, some of our wisest...
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NEW ENGLAND CIDER CUP

by PINK LADY LIVING IN NEW ENGLAND, the birthplace of the Revolution, you can’t swing a cat without hitting something historic, and this is particularly so in Quincy Center.  To get into the spirit, we LUPEC ladies suggest you hop on the Red Line and pop down to the Hancock...
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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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THE LEGACY OF CHAMPAGNE CHARLIE

by HARVEY FINKEL CHARLES-CAMILLE HEIDSIECK, the founder of Champagne Charles Heidsieck, introduced Champagne to America, and was rewarded with durance most vile.  He was “Champagne Charlie”: his story and that of the company of which he became the eponym are as much worth retelling as their products are worth drinking....
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THE ARNAUD’S FRENCH 75

by PINK LADY THE FRENCH 75 is a magnificent and iconic Champagne cocktail.  Order one in a bar in these parts and you’ll be served up the gin-based concoction we’ve covered before.  Order one in New Orleans, however, and you’ll be served an entirely different drink made with cognac. Huzzah...
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SYRAH

by SANDY BLOCK, MW WHEN SYRAH FINALLY COMES BACK, as anyone serious about wine knows it must, producers worldwide will be ready.  Until then a vast ocean of red wine made from the grape will remain underpriced and undervalued.  I am convinced that only fashion and reputation have kept Syrah...
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PLYMOUTH

Often called “America’s Hometown”– although hardly located within a viticultural region of wide renown – Plymouth has a relatively rich vinous history. The town, whose eurocentric past augmented by checkered relations with preceding inhabitants, is approaching 4OO years of age. by Harvey Finkel BACKGROUNDS give perspective and direction, so revisiting...
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THE CORONATION COCKTAIL

By Pink Lady THE CORONATION COCKTAIL 1 ounce of Laird’s Bonded Applejack or Boulard Grand Solage VSOP Calvados 1 ounce of Noilly Prat sweet vermouth 1 ounce of Noilly Prat dry vermouth 1/4 ounce of Marie Brizard Apry apricot liqueur Add all ingredients to mixing glass. Add ice and stir...
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STOCK THIS STUFF

by Kirsten Amann For lovers of cocktails and other fine beverages, holiday gift buying options just keep getting better and better. As you gear up for this year’s busy season we’ve selected a range of dream gift ideas for all types of drinkers. Whether shopping for virgin soda sippers, beer...
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