This week’s Wine Wednesday comes to us from one of my favorite wine regions in the world, Italy. And it’s made from an ancient and relatively obscure grape, the Fiano. While Fiano generally grows in Campagnia, these grapes were grown in Sicily. Who knew? For those of you who like big, luscious, fruit forward wine, Fiano is the wine for you. If Marilyn Monroe had been a wine, this is what she would be. Sexy, … Read more
Dark chocolate and coconut are an amazing combination. You can bring those flavors to your cocktails with this simple infusion. The bitter cacao nibs in this recipe bring the tantalizing chocolate aroma without adding more sweetness. The coconut rum brings in a hint of sweetness and tempers the intensity of the cacao.
You can use this as the base for a Manhattan-style drink made with sweet vermouth and orange bitters, or along with some vodka … Read more
Another offering from the folks at Wild Turkey, who never cease to surprise us. At this point, Wild Turkey is truly an American icon. And we love the story on how this bourbon got its name—a turkey hunting trip that one of its marketing executives went on and took samples. The next year, the friends asked for some of that “wild turkey.” It’s a great story!
Wild Turkey has a Rare Breed society for bourbon … Read more
I recently wrote about my fear of French wines. In addition to examining the root of these fears, I also decided to go on a French wine-shopping spree. My goal during this shopping trip was to purchase wine from various regions of France excluding the Loire (not because I don’t like the Loire but because I feel most comfortable there; my wine group spent four weeks studying the Loire earlier this year) to increase my … Read more
This is a spirit that you know by the bottle alone. Maker’s Mark comes in the iconic square bottle with the wax closure. But, there are some facts that you might not know about Maker’s Mark. First, the wax closure is protected by a copyright obtained by the family (and was invented by the inventor’s Marjorie Samuels). Second, Maker’s calls it Bourbon Whisky in honor of the company’s Scottish roots (it was those rogue Scots … Read more
Until recently, I didn’t realize that there were days dedicated to grape varieties. It’s kinda weird but I kinda like it! I felt horrible when I missed Cabernet Sauvignon Day on September 1 of this year and vowed I would never miss another (just kidding—I already know that I will). Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across International Grenache Day scheduled to go down on September 23. I needed to make sure that I captured … Read more
Warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club can be a great place to purchase wine on a budget. Warehouse clubs typically pass along great deals on wine as they have very little markup, buy in large quantities (to get the best prices possible) and get favorable pricing from distributors. While you may not be able to consistently buy your favorite bottle of wine (or favorite winery) at discount clubs, they offer a variety of wine … Read more
One of the six offerings of bourbon from Wild Turkey. The 81 Proof (or 80 as the website says but my bottle reads 81 Proof) is bottled at a slightly lower proof than the original Wild Turkey recipe and was created to offer a lower octane alternative with the same spicy kick as the original and the famed Wild Turkey 101. In addition to being bottled at a lower proof, the 81 Proof was also … Read more
Summer is on its way out but that doesn’t mean it’s time to whip out the hot drinks and sweaters just yet. The weather here hasn’t quite gotten the memo about the season change, so I’ve been inspired to drink collins- and mojito-style cocktails: tall, cool, light and sparkling.
Here are my picks for refreshing cocktails perfect for any season … but especially satisfying during this transition time:
Cucumber Basil Collins: Cucumber-infused gin and … Read more
This week’s Wine Wednesday is an interesting wine that comes all the way from the Rapel Valley in Chili! Lapostolle is a relatively new winery with history and Carmenere is a very old and confused grape making, which makes for a unique wine. Lapostolle is the name of the family that brought you Grand Marnier (and still holds a controlling interest) and before that were wine negociants in France. Clearly, they know their wine. That … Read more