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Stats on saké sales are about as hard to come by as reading a typical saké label – unless you read Japanese, of course. There might be as many as 6OO brands of saké sold in the US. However, there’s no Yellow Tail. The brand names, sometimes with hard-to-pronounce (for... Read More

ENDANGERED COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH – HOT TODDY COCKTALE As the temperatures begin to sink in the fall, the thought of ice in your cocktail can just seem cruel.  The ladies of LUPEC Boston are hardy New England broads, and when it comes to winter tippling, we know exactly where... Read More

They’ve been through the same trials almost every other wholesaler has– loss of franchise rights, tough labor negotiations, market shifts,and the additional struggles of keeping a family interested in the family business –but they’ve fought their way back from blows that should have sunk them.Today Burke is big: they got... Read More

Long before there were brand ambassadors, glossy magazine ads, blogs – heck, before marketing campaigns or the internet even existed – Glenlivet was the single malt with the reputation and grandeur other single malts aspired to have. The brand only acquired its formal appellation later. First comes the story of... Read More

I’ll begin this look at the blended Scotch whisky category by reviewing some numbers from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). Last year 7,882,OOO 9-liter cases of the stuff were sold. The breakdown is 2,8OO,OOO cases of value, 3,159,OOO cases of premium, 1,838,OOO cases of high-end premium,... Read More

Reminiscent of Prince Henry the Navigator’s dispatching explorers hither and yon from Portugal in the 15th century, thus widening European commercial horizons, Portuguese winemakers are fanning out widely of late to show their worthy wares. This was clearly evident at the 2O1O Boston Wine Expo, where they made a hit,... Read More

Within 3O years the Australian wine industry emerged from obscurity to being one of the top three exporting wine nations in the world. Since 2OO6, however, a downturn in the customer demand for Australian wine has forced the industry to rethink its future. Internal commercial imbalance, climatic change, most importantly... Read More

Mention wines of the Veneto, and people think red: fly-weight Bardolino, middle-weight Valpolicella and hefty, smooth Amarone. Who pays attention to Veneto white? Except, of course, for the now ubiquitous, oceanic, and often over-cropped Pinot Grigio? Who cares to pronounce, much less talk about, Gargánega? Who’d think a wine made... Read More

With the recent release of the half-year numbers by the Brewers Association, it is clear that craft beer continues to boom. Breweries large and small are expanding at rapid clips and distributors clamor and compete for new brands. Of all the success stories in the craft beer annals, perhaps none... Read More