The Spirit World

One of my friends is Swedish, and she often brings interesting things for me to try have made their way to the U.S. with her friends and family from Sweden. Her latest gift was a bottle of Carlshamn’s Swedish Flaggpunsch.
Finding Swedish Punsch
Some bloggers have written about Swedish Punsch because it is an essential ingredient in […]

New York girls have reinvented the ancient act of dressing. Perhaps inspired by the lushness of Sofia Coppola’s divine Marie Antoinette, an enterprising group of Manhattanites have begun throwing dress up cocktail parties complete with the sparkling addition of an on call hair stylist.
A pre-nightlife event, fulfilling that childhood game of make believe, each girl […]

How do you keep up to date with the wine world these days? I’ve found out what works for me although I still suffer from information overload some times. My interests are as follows –

current hot topics such as closures, global warming, harvest expectations and so on
recommendations on wines to try and buy
educational material especially […]

The latest edition of Decanter (March) came out this week, and several articles caught my eye.  The first was entitled Start Your Own Wine Cellar. As I’m often torn between buying bottles to drink and those I think I may like to keep for a special occasion, I was drawn to the profiles of the […]

I’ve never quite figured out exactly why, but “cocktail bitters” is something that has fascinated me ever since I first got into cocktails and mixology. Perhaps it stems when first coming to the realization that there were once far more bitters in use than “Angostura”. Orange bitters was one of the key “missing” bitters that […]

Small Plates, Perfect Wines, a new cookbook from Andrews McMeel Publishing, featuring mouthwatering recipes and wine pairing tips, is now on bookstore shelves and available to order online.
Meze, tapas, antipasti, antojitos–no matter what you call them, small plates offer big flavor, and this is a style of dining and entertaining that has taken the country […]

Looking for a special libation for the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday? Then you might want to consider the newest offering of X-Rated Fusion Liqueur. It combines French vodka and blood oranges from Provence, along with mango and passion fruit juice from Brazil.
Looking for the perfect cocktail for Valentine’s Day? Try this one:
Tickled […]

I spend a lot of time in liquor stores. I mean a LOT of time, mostly in the liquor section (as opposed to wine). So I tend to notice when new things come into the Chicago market, and also when things go on sale or are discontinued. Its interesting to see how many products have […]

I helped out at a trade event in London devoted to Sauternes and Barsac the other week. Entitled “Sweeties with Savouries” it set out to show how both Sauternes and Barsac can be drunk not only with the usual foie gras and desserts but also with all the courses of a complete meal. With courses […]

Usually when people give a bottle of wine as a gift, it’s in one of those pricier velvet-style gift bags that get lost before it can get reused, or those metallic ones.  The folks at Random House are offering a new, unique alternative and, best of all, if won’t break the bank.
These Wine Lovers Gift […]