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United Liquors introduces Flaming Leprechaun Spirits

3 Hearts of Ireland (Boston) and Malcolm Brown Ltd. (Ireland) the brand owners of Flaming Leprechaun Spirits, announced a distribution partnership with United Liquors, a division of Martignetti Companies, the leading wholesaler of wine and distilled spirits in New England and the 7th largest distributor in the country. This announcement...
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Red Stripe Is Jamaican Beer Again!

HEINEKEN USA celebrates the official First Run of Red Stripe to come off the line in Jamaica. Following the acquisition of a controlling stake in October 2015, HEINEKEN has been working towards repatriation of the production of Red Stripe beer from North America back to the brand’s home country, Jamaica....
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ENDANGERED COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH: MAKE MINE A MARTINI

Consider the Martini.  Iconic, misunderstood, misconstrued.  Of the all drinks in the cocktail cannon, the beverage you are often served as a martini could not be further from its classic incarnation.  Here’s why: 1 A Martini is a drink, not a glass.  Referring to the stemmed, conical-shaped vessel that traditionally...
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Tempranillo as Tinta de Toro

SPANISH SHAPE-SHIFTER The grape we usually call tempranillo slyly changes its character and, especially, its name whenever it senses a new ethos.  Probably native to northern Spain, where it is the dominant grape variety, it is Spain’s best grape.  It is best known in the Rioja as tempranillo, and in...
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RED WINE LOWERS RED MEAT’S RISKS

Current research appears to confirm, and in part explain, some of red wine’s cardiovascular benefits, especially vis-à-vis eating enjoyably.  Work done in Jerusalem at Hebrew University’s Institute of Drug Research demonstrated that components of red wine, perhaps antioxidant polyphenols, vastly reduce the formation of a toxic cholesterol-altering compound following a...
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CAVA from CODORNÍU

A considerable proportion of the world’s high-quality, traditional Champagne-method bubblies are made in Spain, where, if they conform to geographical, viticultural and vinification regulations, they are called Cava, a term derived from “cave”. Cava is generally well priced, and encompasses a wide range of quality. The US imports close to...
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THE TEQUILA SUNRISE

While tequila is beloved by the LUPEC ladies, it isn’t a spirit that saw play pre-Prohibition.  One cocktail that came to be not before but because of the Noble Experiment is the Tequila Sunrise. With stateside boozing illegal, where else were wealthy and fashionable Angelenos and Hollywood stars to booze...
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ALSACE DON’T GET NO RESPECT

The good wine folk of the region avoid the adjective Alsatian, preferring the awkward use of the noun, Alsace, as adjective, i.e., “Alsace wine” in fear of confusion with the British term for German shepherd.  They should be reassured: their wines are not dogs. I like to imagine that Rodney...
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