In the Winter 2020-2021 print issue of Distiller Magazine, my article and interview of two women in distilling and winemaking —from Kentucky and Napa Valley—who are collaborating on turning around tragedy (the recent years of unprecedented NorCal fires and their damage of smoke-tainted grapes) into spirits innovation… smoked brandies in a range of styles and experimentation.
Published November 2020 at Distiller Magazine, my bottle column covers trends and reviews international spirits here, with taste ratings:
Published August 2020 at Distiller Magazine, my bottle column covers trends and reviews international spirits here, with taste ratings:
Published July 2020 at Distiller Magazine, my bottle column covers trends and reviews international spirits here, with taste ratings:
Published May 4, 2020, at Distiller Magazine, my bottle column covers trends and reviews international spirits here, with taste ratings.
After my recent travels in Cognac, France, my longheld love for brandy deepened even further. I am crazy about all manner of brandy (grape-based spirits), from Armagnac to pisco. I am passionate about Calvados (French apple brandy) and other apple brandies — note here my most unforgettable Calvados experience and tasting in the world, in Kyoto, Japan, of all places.… Read more →
This article was first published at Tasting Panel Magazine in January 2016. All photos and the article by Virginia Miller. The romance and history of Cognac is unparalleled. As one who has visited distilleries from Japan to Scotland, Oaxaca to Bassano del Grappa, I thought I’d seen it all. True: the rolling vineyards of Cognac more than slightly recall my… Read more →
Almost daily, I’m tasting a wide range of spirits, wines and beers, whether at restaurants and bars, distilleries, wineries or breweries or as samples crossing my desk. Over the past few months, there have been many new spirits releases, including these spring and winter releases since the year began. I’ve been having fun experimenting with cocktails with recently released Cent-Anni… Read more →
From my numerous articles a week as Zagat Editor, I summarize and link to some of this coverage here – you can follow along on Twitter @ZagatSF, where I post daily, or on my own @ThePerfectSpot via Twitter or Facebook. Cocktails LOLO’s artistic new PLAYING CARD COCKTAIL MENU NOPA’s two cocktail menus within a cocktail menu Cocktails on the new… Read more →
Article by Virginia Miller [ran in Zagat SF on September 3, 2014] We love our St. George Spirits. From the rock and roll attitude of their tasting room and tours in a WWII hangar housing their Alameda distillery (reservations for tours and tastings here) to their fantastic gins, brandies, whiskies, rum, absinthe, coffee liqueur and eaux de vie, they’ve been… Read more →