On Toasts and Irish Whiskey for St. Patrick’s Day
Life gives us precious few moments for a proper toast anymore. St. Patrick’s Day remains as one of the few times when you stop and hold a room’s attention long enough to actually raise one. Or rather, what I wonder is often the case in my experience, enough time for your friends and family to…
Review: A Trio of 2013 Italian Value Wines – Masi, Montessu, and Salviano
Italy has its share of cult wines, but it’s also loaded with bargains, like these three wines (all imported by Kobrand), which showcase a tour of different Italian wine regions, all coming in at less than $20 a bottle. Let’s take a look! 2013 Masi Campofiorin – A “Superveronese” blended from corvina, rondinella, and molinara…
Review: Breckenridge Brewery Dry Irish Stout
Get ready for St. Patty’s tomorrow by picking up a four-pack of Breckenridge’s nitro-charged Dry Irish Stout, a fun Guinnessesque brew that will take you straight back to old Eire. Made in partnership with Boundary Brewing of Belfast, it’s a silky and appropriately creamy ale that offers up a rich and toasty oatmeal character before…
Cocktails for Saint Patrick’s Day 2017
The Irish are some of the most celebrated of immigrants, along with their subsequent generations of American kin in the United States. Honor their heritage by skipping the green beer and goofy hats this year for these ten Saint Patrick’s Day cocktails. Hold your favorite up high and cheer, “Sláinte!” Cromwell’s Conquest courtesy of mixologist Matt Seigel…
Review: Warre’s Otima Tawny Port 10 Years Old (2017)
I’ve reviewed Warre’s 10 year old Tawny Port twice before, in 2009 and 2012. Now it’s 2017 and time to give this venerable bottling a fresh look. I’ve commented on the relative simplicity of this bottling in the past, and little has changed here, except perhaps for my palate (and level of experience with these…
Review: Ancho Reyes Verde Chile Poblano Liqueur
Ancho Reyes was our liqueur of the year in 2014. But given the range of chile peppers out there, it was only a matter of time before a follow-up came out. The obvious line extension: Pivot from red ancho chiles to green poblanos and release Ancho Reyes Verde Poblano Liqueur. This is perhaps a more…
Review: NV Szigeti Gruner Veltliner Brut
Sparkling gruner from an Austrian winery called Szigeti — officially Sektkellerei Szigeti? What could be more fun to drink!? This fruit-forward, nonvintage bottling offers lots of juiciness, but keeps things quite dry on the finish. There’s ample green apple, some light peach notes, and a bit of baking spice to mix things up, all filtered…
Cocktail (and Pie) Recipes for National Pi Day 2017
National Pi Day is celebrated every March 14th. Pi, as in the mathematical constant, is celebrated by the eating of pie — because pi is the symbol used in mathematics to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter…which is approximately 3.14159. That’s where March 14th comes from? The generally circular nature…
