It is Bourbon month at Liquor.com and here are 11 of my bourbon cocktails around the US now (click on each for the featured cocktail and bar/restaurant): Rusted Mule, San Francisco Baptiste & Bottle, Chicago Lola, Louisville Stacked Sandwich Shop, Portland, OR Duchess, Oakland, CA The Pritchard, Oklahoma Alexander’s Steakhouse, San Francisco Spilt Milk, Chicago Meta, Louisville Quaintrelle, Portland, OR… Read more →
Another Whiskies of the World (WoW) on Hornblower’s San Francisco Belle, docked in the Bay on March 31 (last year and years prior here) — and another stunning Spring night smoking cigars on the rooftop deck and swaying to the Bay’s waves while sipping hundreds of whiskies. Although it is one of the big whisk(e)y events in the country (also… Read more →
It’s my 8th year attending Whiskyfest San Francisco (also held in Chicago and NYC annually) and like any other year, the event held many return sips of favorite whiskies (here are last year’s standouts), from Scotland, Japan, Ireland, Canada, India and the US, in the massive underground ballrooms of the SF Marriott Marquis. Of new releases this year, here were… Read more →
Winter in California is a gorgeous affair, much like the rest of the year, with sunny, crisp days and nights interspersed with warm, summery waves. There are always nearby mountains when one craves snow for the weekend but winter leads into spring seamlessly and we drink refreshing cocktails as easily as spirituous drinks, thus all spirits flow year-round, from whiskey… Read more →
We just had another Whiskies of the World (WoW) on the San Francisco Belle, docked in the Bay and held on March 26 (last year and years prior here). Although it is one of the big whisk(e)y events in the country (also held in San Jose, Atlanta, Houston, Austin), it remains more approachable than larger whisk(e)y events, more like a… Read more →
This Winter saw the release of numerous new whisk(e)y releases, ranging from American whiskies (bourbon, rye, wheat, etc.) to Scotch and a Mexican whiskey (yes, you heard right, Mexican whiskey). Here are 9 whisk(e)y stand-outs and why they make an impression. ST. GEORGE Lot 15 SINGLE MALT WHISKEY St. George’s newest, Lot 15 Single Malt Whiskey may be my favorite… Read more →
My 7th year attending Whiskyfest San Francisco (also held in Chicago and NYC annually) and like any other year, the event held many revisits of favorite whiskies (here are last year’s standouts), from Scotland, Japan, Ireland, Canada and the US in the massive underground ballrooms of the SF Marriott Marquis. Between re-tasting greats like Aberlour’s A’bunadh and Hibiki’s gorgeous 21… 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 →
For lovers of Japanese whisky — akin to and birthed from Scotch and Scotland but entirely Japanese in its sense of balance and harmony — Yamazaki is a special whisky. Privileged as I have been to taste many variations and special casks of Yamazaki over the years, including the acclaimed 1984 and Sherry Cask bottlings, and being the whisky that… 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. For March, here are recently-released spirits standouts. WhistlePig Old World Series: Sauternes, Madeira, Port ($117.99) WhistlePig’s Old World Series was just released, showcasing WhistlePig Rye aged in three different types of wine casks… Read more →