The indispensable tool for the Massachusetts adult beverage trade.

HOME

Burke Distributing Annual Spirits Portfolio Tasting

Burke Distributing will be holding their first annual spirits portfolio tasting on Monday August 31st at China Pearl Restaurant, 9 Tyler Street, Boston. Three, two hour sessions will be held from 12pm-6pm with music provided by Brother Cleve. Open to the trade. RSVP required via Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/burke-spirits-portfolio-extravaganza-tickets-18191296658?aff=es2

ALPINE TREATS

I was surprised and delighted by the Alto Adige when I first visited twelve years ago. This beautiful alpine corner of Italy does not at all conform to one’s usual expectation of that delightful land, as registered by more southerly regions. Here are the picture-postcard peaks and valleys of the...
Read More

RIESLING

Spring is Riesling season par excellence. While I personally enjoy drinking Riesling year-round, from a commercial perspective this is the moment to focus on lighter styled, more delicate herb and floral scented versions, whether they feature discernible residual sugar or not, because of the strong link between Nature’s annual reawakening...
Read More

NEW BEERS FOR NEW SEASONS

Brewers have long embraced the changing consumer drinking patterns that accompany shifting weather patterns, helping fuel the demand for seasonal products. These beers often appear as little known styles, such as Kolsch or Helles, often rebranded by savvy breweries as Summer Ales. People usually associate the summer months with the...
Read More

VODKA

From the locally crafted to the iconic imports, vodka reigns as it’s poured.  One conspicuous point of distinction has been that several so-called “value” brands have gotten more than their fifteen minutes of fame courtesy of the economy.  Some consumers have traded down and have made the discovery that there’s...
Read More

Profile: SUZANNE SCHALOW and KATE BAKER

SUZANNE SCHALOW 4OKATE BAKER 41Co-owners, Craft Beer CellarBelmont, MA The Bay State’s craft brew craze is going – bacterial – and these gals are in the thick of it.  The sisters in suds met as co-workers at the Lizard Lounge a decade ago, and struck up a coalition.  They’d worked...
Read More

LAGERS

I live in Lager Land. Here in Pennsylvania, Yuengling Lager is ubiquitous, which has created a beer landscape unlike any other in the country. It’s pretty much taken as given here that concern over Yuengling’s incredible growth – from under 2OO,OOO barrels in 1985 to 2 million in 2O1O –...
Read More

Endangered Cocktails: LA PALOMA

LA PALOMA A recent trip to Mexico to learn about tequila introduced me to the joys of a simple, refreshing cocktail called La Paloma.  If you find yourself sick of sipping Margaritas this Cinco de Mayo, we suggest you change it up.  The drink was invented in the tiny town...
Read More

TEQUILA

The economy may have been slow to rebound throughout the past 18 months, but gains for the tequila category have been strong and forceful, with high-end premium and super premium segments outpacing the pack.  According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, suppliers’ gross revenue for tequila grew...
Read More

THE RETAILER ROUNDUP

Massachusetts retailers have had a few tough years weathering the economic downturn and a state-imposed alcohol tax – all of which affected consumer spending.  Luckily, 2O11 is starting out tax-free, and the economy seems to be slowly rebounding.  So what does this mean for our business in the year ahead? ...
Read More