It’s not often that we run across women distillers. In the case of Zacapa Rum, the master distiller is a wonderful woman named Lorraina. Believe us, Lorraina makes some mean rum.
An aged rum named after the town of Zacapa, Guatemala., which combines the best of low and high altitudes. Zacapa is a combination of sugar cane honey extracted from sugar cane grown near sea level, fermented with yeast extracted from pineapples and then slow … Read more
As you know, we try to make Wine Wednesday’s fun and bring you interesting-yet-affordable wines for $10 and under. Our assignment is often challenging; it isn’t always easy to find wine at the $10 and under price point and end up drinking a fair amount of wine to bring you 52 Wine Wednesdays a year. This week’s pick is a familiar varietal from a relatively unfamiliar region.
This week’s Wine Wednesday is a Cabernet Sauvignon … Read more
It’s not often that we offer a restaurant review on DOTW but this really isn’t a restaurant review, it’s more of a booze rave. We recently headed to Gitane in San Francisco to experience their cocktail menu. I have recently become interested in wine-based cocktails (and DOTW plans to bring you a new series on wine based cocktails soon) and we went out on a scouting mission. It’s actually not that easy to find cocktail … Read more
I will admit that French wine scares me. Even after all the wine classes I have taken, France remains the great unknown and it seems unknowable. But I also realize that if I am going to be remotely close to becoming a wine goddess, I will need to know France. I will have to embrace France.
It is this realization that spurs me to take two actions. First, I need to figure out my issues … Read more
Ken Burns, the amazing documentarian who brings American history alive in his documentaries on such diverse subjects as the Statute of Liberty, the Civil War, baseball, jazz and the national parks, tackles Prohibition. In our opinion, Prohibition was one of the darkest periods in American history when patronizing moralists outlawed alcohol in a backlash against immigrants and the working class. The 18th amendment was only the second amendment that stripped Americans of their rights (I … Read more
We recently attended Effen Vodka‘s Art of Design Cocktail Contest in SF and our very own Jonas Halpren was one of the three judges, along with USBG President, Dave Nepove, and Wine Fashoinista, Mary Orlin.
In a very cool space at the Terra Gallery in SOMA, Effen gathered 10 Bay Area mixologists from near and far. The mixologists were then paired into teams of two (not quite sure how the pairing occurred—secretly planned twosomes or … Read more
It’s the granddaddy of the Wild Turkeys, the Wild Turkey 101! Its big, bold and badass. When fern bars reigned supreme during the 1970s and 1980s, Wild Turkey was one of the few distilleries to continue bottling at 101 Proof. It refused to compromise and continued its proud tradition of making Bourbon for Bourbon aficionados. For some reason, I don’t see Wild Turkey being popular in fern bars anyway; it clashes with the white wine … Read more
Tomatoes are in season! When you make bruschetta or pico de gallo, set aside a couple of tomatoes to make this crazy-delicious Martini.… Read more
On a recent outing to Costco, we ran across a new item, the Kirkland Premium Small Batch Bourbon. You might be thinking, really, Costco is making bourbon now? Well, Costco isn’t really making bourbon; they sourced it from one of the distilleries and private labelled it. Given the price at $19.99, I was game to try it. My husband and brother-in-law drink bourbon like it was 1818 (it’s almost a water substitute at my place, … Read more
Cocktail onions may seem like an outdated garnish. A lot of bars don’t even bother to stock them. However, when done right, they add a nice savory finish to a good stiff drink.
Of course, you can’t make a Gibson without them.
Check out this tasty and simple recipe.… Read more