From recipes to bars to trends in drinking, if we think it's interesting, entertaining or too weird to ignore, you'll find our two cents about it here.
If you have a column on your grocery list for beverages, here are three new ones you might want to check out:
Trinchero Family Estates is rolling out a new luxury wine brand, Shatter, in collaboration with winemakers Joel Gott (of Joel Gott Wines) and Dave Phinney (of Orin Swift Wines). Sourced from Roussillon, France’s Maury region, the Shatter name refers to the “extreme viticultural conditions” in Maury, which is known for producing sweet wines in a terroir frequently ravaged by high winds. The first Shatter wine is a 2010 Grenache.
Also new to major U.S. markets this spring is Mickey Finn Irish Apple Flavored Whiskey. A blend of Irish and American whiskies infused with natural apple flavors, Mickey Finn Irish Apple is priced at $24.99 a 750-ml. The 70-proof rides the flavored whiskies wave, which rose 154.8% the first quarter of this year. An unflavored Mickey Finn Irish whiskey will follow, the company tells Shanken News Daily.
Famed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and his brother, Alberto, have launched two new labels: Bocelli Prosecco and Bocelli Sangiovese (both $19.99). They’re now available in New York, Texas, Illinois, Washington and Oregon and will go national by September. The duo join Bocelli In Canto (Cabernet Sauvignon), Alcide (Cabernet and Sangiovese blend) and Terre di Sando (Sangiovese).
There was a bottle of wine that our significant other had “dibs” on. It was given to us by a friend who has a wine cellar — so it must be good? We had no clue about the vineyard it came from — California somewhere. It came in a foil bag with a card and, if memory serves me, a ribbon.
It had been in the pigeon hole for over a year.
When our thirst got the best of us a few weeks ago, we had no other choice then to open said “special wine.”
It was special, indeed. Very (very) good.
Also special was our S.O.’s reaction to the empty bottle.
“What were you saving it for?” was our defense. To date, we have not received a satisfactory response.
Today, we ask you. What are YOU saving that special bottle for? Do you have more than one? How long will you wait? And how mad will you be if someone other than you opens it?
Listen up ladies, last week Women’s Health published some news worthy of rooftop yelling: “The Archives of Internal Medicine published that women who had one or two alcoholic drinks a day were actually less likely to gain weight than those who shunned the sauce. And they did it while consuming more calories overall (from food and drink) than both heavy drinkers and teetotalers.”
Seriously. Researchers believe that the bodies of long-term moderate drinkers somehow adapt to metabolize alcohol differently than heavy or occasional drinkers. They use more energy, burning the calories in the drink—or even more than that—while digesting it, says Lu Wang, M.D., Ph.D., the lead researcher of the study and an instructor in medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
“Researchers are still working out the specifics of how and why this happens, but they’ve figured out that for women who drink up to eight ounces of an alcoholic beverage a day, those calories simply don’t end up as extra fat.”
Note: This gift from on high does not apply to those who bank their daily drinks for weekends or girls’ nights. “Your body adjusts metabolically to the amount you drink, and when you don’t drink regularly, your body can’t adjust,” says Wang.
Of course moderate drinkers tend to practice healthier habits in general than teetotalers. If you’re used to having three or four drinks every week as part of your diet, you’re probably compensating for them with fewer calories elsewhere. “These women know how to moderate how much they drink, so it makes sense that they’d moderate what they eat as well,” says Robert Klesges, Ph.D., a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. The Archives study found that these women also exercise more, which knocks off additional calories.
Jersey Shore’s reality star DJ Pauly D announced the June release of his ready-to-drink cocktail line, appropriately named REMIX. Thecocktails were made for partiers looking to get their ‘pre-game’ on. And if you’re not familiar with the term, then don’t worry you won’t like these anyway.
The line includes 4 flavors: Oye Mojito, Yeah Yumberry, Strawberry Holla-peno and Starfruit. All are vodka based and named after Pauly D catch phrases and sayings.
Recommended over ice by the DJ himself and priced at $14.99 a bottle, the REMIX brand hopes to be available nationwide this summer.
Bacardi has launched its long-awaited foray into the US Cognac market with the unveiling of D’Ussé, which goes on sale in June.
D’Ussé – pronounced [dew-say], the company told The Spirits Business – is sourced from Château de Cognac, also the home of Bacardi’s Baron Otard brand, which is not currently sold in the US.
Details were unveiled at a private tasting for a handful of journalists in New York, where Bacardi USA CEO Robert Furniss-Roe said the aim was to shake up a sector that had become “a bit dusty” under the domination of Hennessy, Rémy Martin, Martell and Courvoisier and target a younger demographic.
Rapper-mogul, Jay-Z has jumped on board to endorse the brand and assist with marketing efforts to target a fresher audience.
Priced at $44.99 – roughly on a par with Hennessy VSOP – Bacardi’s new brand will be available in New York in June and nationally in September 2012.
D’Ussé’s eye-catching packaging, a far cry from the traditional look employed by clear market leaders Hennessy and Rémy, is likely to feature strongly in the brand’s marketing, along with the “unique dry and humid cellars” used for maturing its eaux-de-vie.
“The result is a uniquely powerful, authentic Cognac that starts off with distinguished intensity, which gives way to a pleasantly smooth, balanced finish,” Bacardi said.
Samuel Adams has launched its Barrel Room Collection, a new range of barrel-aged brews inspired by the Belgian practice of blending, aging and conditioning beers.
The collection currently includes Samuel Adams New World (10%-abv), Samuel Adams Thirteenth Hour (9%-abv), Samuel Adams Stony Brook Red (9%-abv) and Samuel Adams American Kriek (7%-abv).
The secret ingredient in each is Kosmic Mother Funk (or KMF), which Sam’s website defines as, “Our special beer aged in wooden vessels for over 6 months. This beer is very fruity and sour due to a secondary fermentation with brettanomyces yeast. It is used to add flavor and complexity to each of our Barrel Room Collection beers.”
The Barrel Room Collection is available nationwide, with the exception of American Kriek, which will only be offered in the New England, Denver and New York
The Mother of all Beer Weeks starts today. From May 14-20, American Craft Beer Week (ACBW) invites breweries, beer wholesalers, retailers, media and craft beer fans to join in the country’s craft beer revolution by celebrating with events featured on Craftbeer.com
“Last year, all fifty states held official celebrations to hoist a glass to America’s small and independent craft brewers,” said Julia Herz of CraftBeer.com, producers of ACBW. “As the excitement for craft-brewed beer continues to grow, our goal is to list even more events in each state in 2012.”
Started in 2006 and recognized by congress twice in its history, ACBW is the national celebration of America’s small and independent craft brewers, their impact on American culture, and the love affair that craft beer enthusiast have for their favorite American made craft beers.
Look for planned events on the ACBW Events page as breweries, wholesalers and retailers add them to the calendar.
1. Mother’s Day- We’re hoping you already know Sunday is Mother’s Day, but if not, you’re welcome. Hopefully you can remember the card and wine on your own.
2. American Craft Beer Week- May 14th is the first day of American Craft Beer Week. Since you’re all spending Sunday with your mothers we expect to see your game faces on Monday.
3. 2012 Olympic Flame- The torch for the 2012 Olympics has been lit and it’s on the move. It starts in Greece and ends in London for the July 27th opening ceremony. Cheers to 2,700 years of tradition.
4. Graduation- We’re raising a glass to all the college grads that are officially on summer vacation. Enjoy it as long as you can kids.
5. Silishot- The first indestructible silicone shot glass has arrived. Among its many uses, golf tee is our favorite. With the warm weekend ahead, you can see where this is headed. Cheers to an interesting walk back to the clubhouse.
Why would we post about an event six months away? Because we don’t want you to miss out, that’s why. Especially when 250 of the world’s finest whiskies are at stake.
Whisky Fests are notorious for selling out early. And the New York show on October 26th and 27th is no exception: Friday’s VIP Grand Tasting tickets are already gone. And by “gone,” we mean “forever” (the organizers go out of their way to say that there really, really aren’t anymore secret tickets after the ones on the website are sold out).
Earlier in the month (October 5th), Whisky Fest San Francisco is offering Early Bird pricing, which can save you twenty bucks a ticket. But you have to buy by June 30th. Click here to set yourself up.
With all due respect to how much television spots cost to produce and get on the air, we have to say that these two first-timers still need a little practice.
Tequilla Avion’s first-ever tv spot can be summed up by the second-to-last line in the script: “That’s it?”
We watched it in mixed company and while it got a rise out of the gentlemen in the room for the “hot chick,” it left us all feeling underwhelmed and unsure as to what this product has that others don’t.
Jägermeister’s new campaign is more memorable to us, but not necessarily in a way that would make us run out and buy the stuff. Running under the tagline “Stronger Bond,” the ad campaign is aimed at males between the ages of 21-29.
Our pet name for the campaign is “Egomeister,” as filmmaker Albert Hughes and director Alastair McKevitt, profile seven seemingly self-involved men “whose success relies on their strong bonds with others,” says the press release. Boy, do these guys like themselves. Not enough was left on the edit room floor, if you ask us. See for yourself.
