The Spirit World

Hello TSW readers. I would like to introduce myself, as I recently agreed to try my hand at editing this site.
My background is primarily academic: I was an university English professor for a number of years, and now work in academic administration at a private, for-profit university in Atlanta. A good many editing chores — […]

In the minds of many — even (or perhaps especially) people who do not regularly imbibe — the Martini holds a special place. It seems to serve as the pole star of the cocktail firmament. As the iconic cocktail, it has been discussed and depicted more than any other: in film, in New Yorker cartoons, […]

As we continue our examination of “Whisk(e)y”, let’s now take a look at the unique product coming from our neighbors to the north, Canadian whisky.
In the US, the birth of our whiskey industry is usually attributed to Pennsylvania and the rye whiskey which was being made there, and later to Kentucky, with the advent of […]

I had a lunch the other day which was very enjoyable – great food, good wine, stunning location, nice views and pleasant company – and it set me thinking about the pairing of food and wine. There is a lot written about the importance of matching food and wine and there are many web sites […]

Rye may have been America’s first whiskey, and at one time it’s most popular. Today however, bourbon is king.
According to the US Federal guidelines (availalbe here and here), to be called bourbon, a whiskey must meet the following criteria:

It must be manufactured entirely in the United States.
It must be made from at least 51% corn.
It […]

The folks at Bon Appetit magazine have put together their “top picks” for what they’re drinking this month.  Agree?  Disagree?  Discuss.
- Brooklyn Brewery “Local 1″ Ale.  Golden, hoppy and honeyed, this ale is brewed in the Belgian style.- Cape Mentelle 2006 Sauvignon Blanc Semillion, Margaret River, Australia.  Vibrant acidity and zesty citrus notes make this […]

On one of those very rare occasions that we were not watching something previously recorded, my wife and I caught a commercial for SmirnoffSource. For some reason, we both listened to the commercial and didn’t get it. We actually went back and watched it again. I don’t know what it was about the commercial that actually got us to listen […]

We’ve covered Whiskey before, but Whiskey is the most complicated of the spirit categories, since within it there are several different types, and often a little bit of confusion ensues. So I’d like to dive into this topic a little deeper, and hopefully shed a little light on it, starting with rye whiskey.
One of the […]

I’ve just got back from a week in the very South of Morocco and was surprised to see a number of local wines readily available. Subsequent research in the Oxford Companion to Wine shows that of all the North African countries, Morocco probably has the greatest potential for producing good quality wine. Having tasted a […]

Popular Top Chef judge (and model and cookbook author) Padma Lakshmi recently took Food & Wine magazine readers behind-the-scenes as she threw a luxuriously opulent party for a few of her closest friends. 
Getting the soiree started right, she whipped up a batch of her own Sweet Lime-Ginger Rum Punch, telling F&W, “In India, we constantly […]