Article and Photos (unless otherwise noted) by Virginia Miller Three Seattle visits in the past seven months centered around craft distillery and cocktail bar research means a few spirits have stood out among the dozens I’ve tasted from Washington state, most launched in recent years. Here are my top seven from the glut of craft distillers hitting the Washington market:… Read more →
Whatever association you have with the word Schnapps, or Schnaps, as it is known in Germanic countries (the word means “swallow”), it likely isn’t good. Sour apple, pucker, fruit flavors… you might think of cheap, sugary liqueurs in unnatural colors. But this, my friends, is not real schnaps. In Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and the French region of Alsace, schnaps, edelbrande or… Read more →
When you get the rare chance to try 50 year old Scotch or Cognac, you do. When it’s a tasting with drink industry legends like James Espey, who is behind the creation of iconic brands like Bailey’s Irish Cream, Malibu Rum and even Johnnie Walker Blue, it’s an imperative. I enjoyed a rousing lunch at Hakkasan this week with James… Read more →
San Francisco Bartender Bret Sylvester has done the somewhat impossible: created a line of fruit-infused brandies to please the spirits and non-spirits drinker alike. I recently tested out his sparkling line on visiting family and friends. My wine drinking and even some generally teetotaling family members all loved Drink Verbena, while I and other spirits drinkers found the line complex… Read more →
My spring travels in Peru with Campo de Encanto Pisco allowed me to richly deepen my pisco knowledge, from hands-on work in pisco production and blending, to witnessing broader uses of pisco in cocktails on Lima menus. I come from a city that has full-on pisco bars, a rarity in the US. Yet despite the range of pisco cocktails in SF,… Read more →
San Francisco has a rich pisco history and a long love affair with the evocative, clear grape brandy of Peru and Chile. Being the first US city where pisco was popularized in the 1800’s, it’s no surprise that San Francisco has seen a few pisco-heavy bars open over the past decade (Pisco Latin Lounge, Cantina, La Mar Cebicheria, etc…), just… Read more →
CHRISTIAN DROUIN Pommeau de Normandie If you love spirits and apples, then Calvados is your is your ideal imbibement. The elegant French version of apple brandy grown in the Calvados region of France, the apple brandy is often rounded out by pears, and in the case of Calvados Christian Drouin, one of the world’s best-selling small Calvados producers (around 150,000… Read more →
Article by Virginia Miller, Press photos/from brand websites Each year holds a range of interesting spirits released from around the globe. As the craft spirit industry continues to explode, there are many exciting newcomers this year. Here are some of the best of what’s crossed my desk in 2012. FORD’s GIN ($27) – The 86 Company is a new venture… Read more →
In my recent travels in Portland I trekked to three distilleries within city limits, two established, one brand new. My top priorities were Clear Creek and House Spirits which have been the best I’ve tasted historically of what is coming out of Oregon. I also visited brand new Bull Run Distillery near Clear Creek, boasting a retro tasting room lined… Read more →
These eight books are new spring releases, among the best of what has landed on my desk this year. TRADITIONAL DISTILLATION: ART & PASSION – Huber Germain-Robin Anyone who knows US craft distilling knows Hubert Germain-Robin, one of the pioneers in the American craft distilling movement. He was making world class, French-style brandies (he is French, after all) since the… Read more →