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“You’ve never been in a liquor store, right?” Rick Gordon quips as he walks me through the aisles of Gordon’s Fine Wines & Liquors in Waltham.  It’s mid-afternoon on Friday before Labor Day weekend and shoppers are bustling by us as he guides me through the aisles.  He shows me... Read More

Could there be a more wholesome fall activity here in New England than apple-picking (full flask notwithstanding)?  It’s as American as apple brandy – or applejack, the American version. Applejack is America’s oldest distilled spirit, an apple brandy that first became popular during Colonial times.  Laird’s & Company were the... Read More

Western Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley, along the Connecticut River within the Commonwealth, might seem an unlikely wine-producing region, but during a recent exploration I found that tasty wine is grown and producedata cluster of sites in Hampshire County’s share of the valley. The area is well known for its fertile farmland,... Read More

Max Toste doesn’t like junk food or rotgut booze. For his side-by-side bars – Deep Ellum and Lone Star Taco Bar, nestled in Union Square, Allston – he handpicks every bottle (beer, wine, tequila, mezcal) and creates most of the dishes with Chef Rian Wyllie. Sitting with Max above the... Read More

Like the canary in an old coal mine, the liver is the sensitive sentinel, the first organ to sustain permanent damage from abusive drinking. A large portion of the excessive mortality depicted by the right upward sweep of the J-shaped curve is due to alcoholic liver disease – chiefly cirrhosis.... Read More

We’d like to raise a glass today to one of our favorite bourbon drinks, the Bourbon Belle.  A modern classic created in the mid-2OOOs by LUPEC Boston founding member Joy Richard, this is hardly an extinct cocktail.  But we feel the drink deserves a little celebratory pomp for its clever... Read More

Burgundy (i.e.: the Côte d’Or) is mysterious. Despite the misleading simplicity of essentially one white and one red grape sources, it is the wine region that novices are never comfortable confronting. Many winemakers make what is labeled as the same wine. Many winemakers are not equal. The terrain is divided... Read More

JOY RICHARDBAR AND BEVERAGE MANAGER AT FRANKLIN RESTAURANT GROUP JOY RICHARD is well-known around Boston for managing “craft cocktail” bars before the term existed.  She’s always had a passion for mixing up expertly made drinks and stellar cocktail menus suited to a variety of tastes.  Richard is also one of... Read More