The Spirit World

Oprah Winfrey is known for many things … her philanthrophy, her constant struggle with her weight, her long-standing relationship with Stedman, even her “Favorite Things” episode every December, but bartending?
Over the past year or so, Oprah has introduced a few of her favorite drinks. I happened to catch the episode when she […]

After spending time talking with the distiller at St. George Spirits, I made my way back into the tasting room. It was there that I made my way through their entire line-up of products, plus more. We started with the vodkas. Hangar One vodka is the most distributed product of their line-up. They […]

Go into a brewpub with a plan and stick to it. If you’ll be driving your car (like we were on this trip) you’ll need a volunteer to pilot the car when lunch is over, or something to do afterward that is within walking distance. My wife assumed the designated driving duties for […]

I’m heading off to Boston in a couple days, so I think that you all should join me - at least virtually! This week’s Happy Hour at Home consists of a mixed drink with a name that takes you to the Eastern shore, The Cape Cod or Cape Codder - it seems to be […]

I have to admit that today’s Drinks Around the World post has a selfish motive to it. I belong to a cooking club that meets on a regular basis. For each meeting the host picks a theme - sometimes a country, sometimes an idea like “Romantic Dinner” - and then we each bring […]

A few weeks ago, I went to an AHA, that’s American Homebrewers Association, membership rally at the Brooklyn Brewery. The event started at 7 pm and went until 10.
Almost everyone hung around until “closing” at 10 pm. We sat together at the long benches in the Brooklyn Brewery’s tasting hall introducing ourselves to […]

While traipsing through the historical records, it can often get confusing as to what the real recipe for any particular cocktail is, or at least was intended to be. Take the Bacardi Cocktail as one example. Traditionally it is expected to be made pretty much the same as a Daiquiri, except obviously with Bacardi Rum, […]

On a recent quick trip to San Francisco I did my best to check out as many little places around the city as possible. I was staying in the Union Square area and a friend recommended SWIG as a fun place in the area.
On my first evening in town I […]

Lunch is the ideal time of the day to visit a brewpub with a near-three year old. All the brewpubs I’ve ever been to are kid-friendly. A brewpub is a family place. Brewpubs aren’t rough bars where people go to get drunk, they are restaurants that serve fine handcrafted beers. Most […]

Lew Bryson’s Pennsylvania Breweries guidebook is not just full of information, it’s also a book you can sit down and read for fun. He’s got a relaxed writing style and each entry focuses on the brewery and the people that make the beer. This is not a book about the beers you will […]