Mexico City’s (MX) dining scene is HOT. Gorgeous diners smoke cigarettes while dining on sashimi platters accented by Mexican flavors from chiles to avocado. Experimentation – the likes of which is far advanced even from what one finds in Mexico’s second largest city, Guadalajara – reinvents classic Mexican flavors through an international, cosmopolitan lens (in San Francisco, the recent arrival… Read more →
Late summer and harvest season have brought me to Sonoma and Napa for numerous excursions. Fall is my favorite season and time of year in Wine Country as vineyard leaves transform from green to blazing reds, yellows and oranges. Here are a few fall ideas – unusual tours and quality Mexican food (plus mezcal and tequila, when you need a… Read more →
THE reason mezcal has become popular and widely available in the US can be traced back to one man: Ron Cooper, who founded Del Maguey, a brilliant line of mezcal producers from a wide range of Mexican villages. I have long been a fan of the entire line, and, in fact, it took years before I found mezcals even worth… Read more →
At Tales of the Cocktail (2013 highlights covered here), one can easily taste hundreds of spirits in a week (not that one should). Most of what I find in tasting rooms and at events I’ve already had before, but there’s the occasional new release or product that might not have been released nationally. Here are two standout newcomers – and… Read more →
Perfect for summer cocktails (or neat pours), here are two new spirits I’m rather crazy about. ST. GEORGE’S CALIFORNIA AGRICOLE RUM, $50 It’s back! Sporting a new label aligned with their gins, St. George Spirits released its California Agricole Rum this week. Formerly Agua Libre (first released in 2010), it’s no surprise, given that agricole is my favorite rum category, that… 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 →
NAVY STRENGTH GIN REACHES US SHORES Unforgettable: my journey to the south of England in the town of Plymouth and its legendary distillery with Master Distiller Sean Harrison. Possibly the most beautiful distillery I’ve yet visited, I relished drinking Plymouth Navy Strength ($34.99) while in the UK, a bracing version of their classic gin at 57% ABV/114 proof, the preferred… Read more →
Thanks to Napa-based Perfect Puree for a recent intimate dinner celebrating Perfect Puree neighbor Charbay Distillery’s new spirits releases at Jasper’s Corner Tap. The ever talented Kevin Diedrich (bar manager at Jasper’s) crafted three drinks using Perfect Puree’s fresh, bright purees. In typical Diedrich fashion, subtlety and balance wove together each, from a Thymely Fashioned, vivid with Charbay White Whiskey,… Read more →
From Berkeley to Sausalito, new restaurants to old, here are a handful of drinks to put on your warm weather, spring radar – and accompanying bites to go with. COMAL, Berkeley (2020 Shattuck Ave., between Addison & University, Berkeley, 510-926-6300) Downtown Berkeley (as opposed to the rest of Berkeley) has never overwhelmed on excellent dining options, much as I’ve combed… Read more →
HEAVEN’S DOG, 1148 Mission Street (between 7th & 8th Streets), 415-863-6008 Heaven’s Dog has been a haven for superb cocktails since it opened, with excellent bartenders like Erik Ellestad (Savoy Stomp) and pre-Prohibition era cocktails ($10 each) from Charles H. Baker’s The Gentleman’s Companion (aka Jigger, Beaker & Glass). The bar still serves Baker classics, and with new bar manager… Read more →