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 →
Many spirits cross my desk or are tasted at countless bars or distilleries I visit in any given month… here are 5 international spirits — from gin to mezcal, Scotch to rye whiskey — that have stood out in recent months. CALEDONIA SPIRITS’ BARR HILL GIN ($35) Thomas Hardie (a distiller I was privileged to meet recently on his trek… Read more →
From my 15 articles/posts a week as Zagat Editor, I summarize and link to just some of this coverage here – you can sign up for Zagat’s weekly newsletter for the Bay Area here and follow along on Twitter @ZagatSF, where I post daily. As I have been for over a decade, I’m on the ground daily looking for early… Read more →
Article by Virginia Miller; photos from brand websites except where noted [Taken from my ZAGAT article on 4 New Local Spirits to Try, I have also added two additional recommended spirits, another one from California, and one from Oregon]: In the scheme of quality spirits, each of these is fantastic. Even better, they’re all made locally from Sonoma to Mountain… Read more →
Every year I look forward to Whiskies of the World (WoW) on the San Francisco Belle docked in the Bay, held this year on March 29. Although it is one of the big whisk(e)y events in the country (also in San Jose, Atlanta and Austin), it remains more intimate than others; packed, yes, but more like a big party than… Read more →
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 →
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 →
As common as they are, “limited” whisk(e)y releases may seem like a lot of hype. But American whiskey fans (such as myself) perked up when we heard about Diageo‘s Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Co. This new line of rare, essentially foraged or found whiskies, just launched with their first whiskies. 20 year Barterhouse and 26 year Old Blowhard bourbons were… Read more →
Another great year of whiskey, whisky and beyond (Cognac, gin, beer, etc.) at WhiskyFest San Francisco on September 27th at the SF Marriott Marquis – a massive whisk(e)y tasting event featuring distillers and brand ambassadors from around the world, held only in SF, NY and Chicago annually. I’ve been going six years straight (read about past years here), and while… Read more →
Here are some of the best or noteworthy drink books released this year so far, with one (Whiskey Women) out in October 2013. THE COCKTAIL LAB – Tony Conigliaro ($29.99) London’s experimental cocktail genius, Sicilian Tony Conigliaro, blessed drink aficionados with his book, Drinks, last year in the UK, just released this summer in the US under the name, The… Read more →