Born of the avant garde drinks scene in Germany’s capital over 13 years ago, Bar Convent Berlin quickly became one of the drink industry’s most influential trade shows. Now, its stateside offshoot, Bar Convent Brooklyn, is finding similar success in one of the world’s greatest cocktail cultures, while also forging friendships and nourishing the community it serves. The inaugural year featured 125 brand exhibitors, dozens of product launches and over 3,000 attendees. One year later, the event nearly doubled in size, expanding its footprint into an adjacent building by adding 35% more space for brand booths along the way. In a normal year, Bar Convent Brooklyn would take over the Brooklyn Expo Center with two days’ worth of revelry in early June. A forum for demos and discussions, the convention is built around nearly 250 brand exhibits. Unsurprisingly, the spirits world veers far from the dull table-with-pamphlets structure of most trade shows. Each booth comes with a distinctive theme and brazen display, some with a manifest desire to take it a step further than everyone else. Of course, we know all too well that this is not a normal year. Without being able to fully contain outside circumstances, this year Bar Convent Brooklyn will continue its efforts in the digital space. The camaraderie and sense of community that Bar Convent Brooklyn embodies are more essential now than ever before. “BCB’s goal has always been to support our industry and we are dedicated to re-emerging from the current crisis as a united community,” says Carlos Rodriguez, BCB Event Director. “The global Bar Convent team has been working diligently to innovate in new ways to deliver various channels for hospitality industry professionals to easily connect, learn, and grow from the comfort of their homes.” As the pandemic continues to impact the way we live and drink, BCB is tackling the critical needs of an industry in flux. To that end, BCB has launched two online opportunities for the community to interact in a new way it never has before. Creating a real-time opportunity for bartenders and beverage brands to mingle in lieu of an in-person event is Global Bar Week: a collaboration between BCB Brooklyn, BCB Berlin, BCB Sao Paulo, and Imbibe Live. Taking place October 12-18, the worldwide celebration of the people who shake up the drinks industry will unite spirits professionals and brands from around the world to meet, share, and learn. Global Bar Week will be complimentary to bar & beverage professionals, offering education and inspiration by some of the world’s most creative minds. A dedicated matchmaking platform will enable attendees to schedule individual appointments with brands and have the chance to interact with exhibitors and peers via video chats and speed networking sessions. To complement the one-time virtual event, BCB Brooklyn has launched Infused365, a web-based, year-round hub for industry news and resources, educational webinars and other digital programming in the bar space. The site offers a rapidly expanding line-up of educational sessions, hosted by members of the BCB community. Recently, the complimentary courses have included deep dives into the spirits of Greece, Italy, and Mexico. Another popular series, “Law & Libations served by DiPasquale & Summers” offers legal guidance on how to navigate the rapid changes occurring in our current climate—the type of insight consultants typically charge thousands of dollars for, disseminated without cost. Elsewhere on the platform is a multimedia cocktail book library—featuring noted authors such as Aaron Goldfarb, Kurt Maitland, Chantal Martineau, Fred Minnick, and Sother Teague—to address the lack of book events and thus dwindling sales during the pandemic. “When BCB asked me to film a short bit about my books, I was thrilled, because I have lost 100% of my live events. Selling books is hard enough. With no events or book signings, it’s damn near impossible,” says Minnick, author of Bourbon Curious. “To me, this shows BCB is not just about the sponsorship checks they collect,” he says. Finally, as part of Infused365, BCB has also paired up with Culinary Agents to host a hospitality industry job board and a session on landing work post-pandemic by Culinary Agents founder and CEO, Alice Cheng. BCB has taken extreme steps to strengthen the industry at a time when it is most vulnerable, but its team is aware that even the most personal and authentic interactions cannot fully replace the face-to-face experience. While crafting and adjusting digital offerings to meet the needs of brands, educators, and spirits professionals every day of the year, Bar Convent Brooklyn is actively planning to revive its live event in June 2021. “BCB has been one of our highlights of the year the last couple years,” says Jordan Silbert, Founder and CEO of Brooklyn’s Q Mixers. “We’re still going to connect with everyone, to show them the joys of a properly served highball, virtually. But, I’m super excited about next year when we can all raise a great highball together, in-person, again.” Learn more about Global Bar Week 2020 here! This article is sponsored by Bar Convent Brooklyn. The article Everything You Need to Know About Bar Convent’s “Global Bar Week” appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/everything-you-need-to-know-about-bar-convents-global-bar-week/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-bar-convents-global-bar-week
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I fell in love with wine when I was in college in California. Good wine was easy to find, and it was easy to steal away to Paso Robles or drive up to Santa Barbara to visit wineries. When I graduated with a degree in engineering from Harvey Mudd College in Southern California, I contemplated going to graduate school for winemaking. Instead, I jumped into the wine industry, becoming a certified sommelier. I developed wine lists at James Beard Award-winning restaurants and worked as a sommelier at an establishment with three Michelin stars in Chicago. But after five years of working in wine, the nerd in me won out and I decided to go back to school for winemaking. Never one to go for the easy option, I decided on a master’s degree in wine science at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, which I completed in 2019. By this time, I’d worked two harvests in New Zealand and had a diverse group of mentors and peers. New Zealand’s diversity may surprise those who have never been. The U.S. is lauded as a country of immigrants, but in New Zealand it often feels like everyone just got here. My cohort at the university hailed from Australia, South Africa, India, China, and the Philippines. My WSET tasting group was made up of people from the U.K., Canada, and New Zealand. When my friends and I get together, almost every continent is represented. Our common language is English, but French, Spanish, and Italian are also spoken. My Kiwi mentors are a mix of women and men, but regardless of their backgrounds and identities, they’ve always been supportive of me. They’ve shared their knowledge freely without ego or preconditions. Most importantly, they’ve listened to me, whether I’ve agreed with their opinions or not. If I dissent, it’s not the end of the world. We chat about it, learn something, and move on. While studying, I worked as a cellar hand at a nearby winery. I’d gained practical experience but was itching to work a harvest in California. So I approached a small winery that I admired in Sonoma about harvest positions, and was accepted. In taking the role, I expected that I’d be treated with the same dignity and professionalism that I’d experienced abroad. I was wrong. A RUDE AWAKENINGWhen I arrived, I was shocked. I’ve never seen a city as monochromatic as Healdsburg in all my life. In the span of three months, I only saw 10 black people. That’s not an estimate; I counted. One was another intern, six were tourists, and three worked at the Napa tasting room of Brown Estate, one of the few Black-owned wineries in the region. Where is everyone? Did I miss the memo? According to the 2019 U.S. Census estimates, about 4 percent of Sonoma’s residents are Black, compared to more than 13 percent nationwide. But it wasn’t only people who look like me who were conspicuously absent; it was all people of color. I saw a few POC around town but I was surprised at how few Latinx people I saw out and about. Sonoma has a high percentage of people from the Latinx community — 27.3 percent compared to 18.5 percent nationally — yet I only saw them when they were taking their kids to and from school, or in the grocery store. They were not shopping in boutiques, sitting at bars, or dining at restaurants. The town’s lack of diversity almost felt deliberate. It was creepy. Luckily, the family I was staying with was warm and welcoming. So, I shook off the bad vibes and tried to get acclimated. On a few occasions, I went to a dive bar that was highly recommended to me by wine industry veterans. When I went in with white interns, we drew a few stares, but I was able to relax and enjoy myself. When I went by myself? It was a totally different story. The bartenders were cordial, but a couple of the patrons scrutinized my every move, which made me feel anxious, and as if I wasn’t supposed to be there. It was hard to enjoy my beer, and I never went back. There was another bar down the street that was far more welcoming — it had a big “NO BIGOTS ALLOWED” sign above its bar, and indeed offered a more hospitable atmosphere. I remember wondering: Why did anyone bother sending me to the other bar if there were more welcoming spaces for POC? The answer is simple: My white colleagues don’t think about it, and they may not even realize that racial bias exists in such an establishment. There are so few BIPOC in the industry that diversity and inclusion training likely isn’t high on the agenda at most bars — or frankly in most parts of the wine industry. GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESSOn my first day when I was completing my new-hire paperwork, the winemaker told me, “We aren’t going to make you sign an NDA like other wineries. But just know that we won’t say anything bad about you if you don’t say anything bad about us.” That struck me as problematic. It’s difficult to bring awareness to and solve a problem if you’re never supposed to talk about it in the first place. There is this belief among some in wine that the industry has made strides in recognizing and moving toward racial equity, and doesn’t need to do anything further. However, one look at the diversity statistics shows that that simply isn’t the case. Tough conversations are the only way to get to a better place. This can result in performative interactions. I was proudly told by an industry veteran I worked with that he “voted for Obama and listens to NPR.” In his mind, and those of other liberal white people I’ve talked to, there’s a belief that they’re not contributing to the problems of racial inequities in the industry; that they’re exempt from doing the work to address unconscious biases that might exist. It’s as if any discussion to the contrary will fracture the internal narrative they have about themselves, their friends, and their community. When that dissonance happens, they tend to shut down and get defensive instead of continuing the conversation. That leads to a standstill where no progress can happen. SOWING THE SEEDS OF DOUBTAfter our first week, I went to an intern party along with the winemakers from my winery. I was excited to meet people and to network, but it was a big disappointment. I was the only Black person there, but I was long used to that from my time in New Zealand. There are not a lot of Black people there, either, but my race never impacted how I was treated there. I wasn’t used to this: It seemed to me that most people thought I was making up my history. They didn’t believe that I had gotten my master’s degree, that I lived in New Zealand, or that I used to be a sommelier. Later, I overheard a white female winemaker whispering to one of the winemakers I worked with: FIELDING UNCONSCIOUS BIASESAll the grapes that came through the winery were hand-sorted, which meant we were in for long days at the sorting table. We were all told up front that we’d get a slot each day to play whatever music we wanted while we sorted grapes. “And I mean whatever you want. We had this girl last year, who’d only play pop music. And a couple years back, we had this guy who’d play the filthiest hardcore rap,” one of the winemakers said. “Ha! Well, you won’t be getting a lot of pop out of me,” I said. We both laughed and I thought that’d be the end of it, but it wasn’t. Every other day for the first two weeks of sorting they reminded me that I could play “whatever music I wanted.” I think they thought I was listening to things they wanted to hear, but I’m into all kinds of things. Punk and rock are my go-tos if I’ve got work to do. They reminded me of the rap intern so much, I kept thinking: If you want to hear rap so bad, then play it yourself. ESCALATING MICROAGGRESSIONSTypically, it was just me and a team of guys working the sorting table. When you’re hand-sorting fruit for six-plus hours a day, seven days a week, for weeks on end, it’s preferable to work alongside people you can carry a conversation with. It’s absolute torture when every conversation is full of bias and microaggressions. The person leading most of these conversations was an industry veteran. I’d been looking forward to learning from him. But it was clear that he already had our conversations outlined in his mind, as if on autopilot, and wasn’t looking for my input — or for a real discussion. A typical conversation would go something like: For context, sour rot is caused by bacteria that find their way into split or damaged grapes. Botrytis is a fungus that can indeed cause cracks in grapes that allow the bacteria in. We had a fair bit of rain right before the 2018 harvest I worked in New Zealand, which caused the grapes to split and sour rot quickly took hold in our Chardonnay grapes. I remember the rains; I walked through the vineyards weekly and saw the grapes swell, retreat, swell, retreat, swell, and then split. I harvested them and cut out the soft discolored berries. I sorted what was left in the winery with my peers to ensure no rot remained. I saw this phenomena in our student vineyard, the one I worked at, and other vineyards on the island. When I asked Kiwi winemakers what it was, they explained the complexities of sour rot, why it had affected this vintage, what to do about it in the vineyard, and how to keep it from spoiling the wine. That’s all to say: I was there. It was sour rot. Yet the industry veteran wasn’t interested in hearing any of this. And while he had years of professional experience on me, it was insulting and demoralizing to have him dismiss my personal experience out of hand, as if I lacked the capacity to comprehend the difference between sour rot and botrytis. After a few sessions like this, it became apparent that he wasn’t interested in having actual discussions. I stopped investing energy in these conversations. They were a waste of energy and only upset me. MISPLACED BLAMEWhenever I noticed something was out of place or a task unfinished, I’d correct it if I could and move on. It’s harvest, it’s busy, we’re all working long hours. Mistakes happen, and no one’s infallible. However, whenever the managers found something wrong, they’d always ask me about it first. Dirty punch-down shaft? Diana, were you on punchdowns last night? I will not pretend that I didn’t make mistakes. I’m human, I absolutely did. But I sure as hell didn’t make all of them. I had never been blamed for so many errors in any other job I’d had. There were times when my denial wasn’t believed, and I had to point to work-order signatures to clear my name. This was distressing because it implied that they truly believed I was incapable of doing anything correctly. I take immense pride in everything I do, and I strive to avoid making the same error twice. I can’t say with certainty why they constantly blamed me, but as the only harvest intern of color, the only female harvest intern, and the only American intern they’d had in years, I was the one who was continually singled out. ASKING FOR HELPAfter several weeks of microaggressions, false accusations, and gaslighting, I began to question myself, and the expertise I’d built over multiple harvests and a stint as an assistant winemaker. I raised my concerns with the winemaker, who listened, paused for a moment, and told me: “I don’t know why you and those guys never hit it off. I hear what you’re saying, and I’ll talk to them about it, but I’m sure that wasn’t their intent. Look, I’ve been doing this for a while now. Whenever something challenging comes at me, I keep going. Harvest is never going to be easy, but you’ve got to just keep moving forward no matter what. That’s what winemaking is: Making it happen no matter what.” On some level, I get that, but if the only way to “make it happen” is by sacrificing my dignity and self-respect? No thanks. I’m good. I love making wine, but keeping my head down and plowing ahead accomplishes nothing other than making it harder for the next BIPOC employee. Furthermore, the idea that I’m supposed to ignore what’s happening and take it because it’s harvest isn’t just offensive, it’s also a false choice. The last time I looked, addressing employee concerns doesn’t negatively impact wine quality. It’s called unconscious bias for a reason, and if we don’t bring awareness to it and have conversation out in the open, nothing will change in our industry. By this point, it was late October and I’d been at the Sonoma winery since August. I started questioning if even I wanted to make wine anymore. Maybe I could get a job as a lab tech instead? I knew that if I continued on, I’d lose my passion for wine. We’d finished processing our last lot of fruit earlier that week, and they said they wanted to go down from three interns to two. I’d seen what I’d wanted to see and felt that I’d suffered more than enough. So I volunteered to leave. MOVING ONIn my seven years in the industry, I’ve met dozens of winemakers as a sommelier and burgeoning winemaker. I’ve traveled around the globe. I’ve had deep engaging conversations with many legends in the business, and they’ve actually listened and engaged with me instead of anticipating or imagining what I’d say. I knew what I’d just experienced in Sonoma wasn’t normal everywhere — it was just the norm there. But how many POC don’t? How many do one harvest, have a bad time, and then swear off the entire wine industry? How many Robert Mondavis have we lost? How many Paul Drapers or Heidi Barretts has the industry turned off through its intolerance? How many budding scientists who were interested in researching smoke taint? How many up-and-coming engineers with innovative viticulture solutions? That’s what made me want to share my experience. My hope is that it will educate allies and wineries — especially smaller companies — on how they can be more inclusive and check their unconscious biases. My hope is that it will empower domestic and foreign POC to advocate for themselves should they be faced with similar situations. That this essay encourages them to ask questions in their interviews beyond the varieties produced and the winemaking philosophy of the places they’d like to work. That vintners and winemakers start questioning their unconscious biases and ask how they can support their interns and BIPOC staff. I need to make one thing very clear: I love California. I’ve had too many good memories there to count. It’s where I discovered my love of wine and came of age. It’s where I thought I’d cut my teeth and carve out a name for myself as a winemaker. Instead, after harvest, I packed up my things and loaded up my car. I turned the key in the ignition and headed East on I-80 as fast as my Honda would take me. While I’d completed this cross-country journey back to Chicago several times before, that was the first time I left questioning whether I’d ever be back. The article How Microagressions in a Sonoma Winery Made a Black Winemaker Question Her Profession appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/black-winemaker-microaggressoins-sonoma/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/how-microagressions-in-a-sonoma-winery-made-a-black-winemaker-question-her-profession We all have tried and true favorite spirits; the ones that have gotten us through the longest days, and greatest celebrations. Though allegiances can be hard to break, having an open mind toward drink exploration can lead not only to incredible new cocktails to sip, but also to equity in the spirits world that has needed it for so long. 2020 has echoed a number of rallying cries for the wine, beer, and spirits industries to be more inclusive on a number of fronts. And right from the comforts of our own homes, we can be a part of this movement with a few remixes to our at-home cocktail bar. The stories behind these brands stretch from Trinidad to Tennessee, and their products just might be the base to your next great cocktail. UNCLE NEARESTIt’s likely no one would ever have sipped the ubiquitous “Jack and Coke” if it weren’t for Nathan “Nearest” Green, an enslaved man who taught a young Jack Daniel how to distill whiskey in the 1850s. This century, Fawn Weaver has made sure we don’t forget Green with her brand Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, which was one of two brands named “World’s Best” at Whisky Magazine’s 2019 World Whiskies Awards. (The brand was also ranked one of VinePair’s best craft whiskeys under $60). The line includes a premium aged whiskey with a blend of 8- to 14- year old, an 11-year-old minimum age single barrel, and a 7-year-old small batch offering. The drink below, Harvest Moon, was created for VinePair by Chris “Speedy” Krantz, Uncle Nearest market manager in Alabama and Tennessee. It’s for those who enjoy an Old Fashioned or Manhattan, but are looking to zhuzh it up a bit for autumn. “I decided to forego a 9-touch cocktail with homemade bitters or tinctures in favor of something more accessible,” Krantz says. “Uncle Nearest, Rivulet, and Hella Cocktail Co. are all African-American owned. This cocktail celebrates that synergy.” Harvest MoonDeveloped by: Chris “Speedy” Krantz Ingredients
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TEN TO ONEThe best of the Caribbean is represented in this rum brand from Marc Farrell, a proud Trinidadian and Starbucks’ youngest-ever former VP. Ten to One is a masterful blend of 8-year old aged Barbados and Dominican rums, combined with Jamaican and Trinidadian rum, with a taste that aims to challenge a spirit that is often attributed to frozen drinks. “Growing up in Trinidad gave me a profound appreciation for how amazing both rum, and the heritage that surrounds it, could ultimately be. Through the lens of Trinidadian culture, I understood rum to be an extremely versatile spirit with a number of premium expressions that played a pivotal role in many of the moments of celebration — both big and small — that we enjoyed as a people,” says Farrell. Try this twist on the classic Negroni below. Blood Orange NegroniDeveloped by: Ten to One Ingredients
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BROUGH BROTHERSIf you add Brough Brothers bourbon to your bar, not only can you make a delicious Old Fashioned recipe below, you’ll also have a bottle from Kentucky’s first-ever Black-owned distillery. It all started with three brothers, Victor, Christian, and Bryson Yarbrough, who launched Brough Brothers in Louisville in February 2020, making history in bourbon’s 231-year-old industry. “Brough Brothers really takes inspiration from our last name, Yarbrough. We are our brand, we wanted to create a legacy. Not only for us brothers, but also in terms of diversity within the spirits industry,” says Victor Yarbrough. “With our brand, we hope to be of inspiration to a more diverse generation that will make new history in American distilling.” Brough Brothers Old FashionedDeveloped by: Brough Brothers Ingredients
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DU NORD“In 2013, Du Nord Craft Spirits was formed as the nation’s first Black-owned distillery, though we didn’t know it at the time,” says Chris Montana, who is also the president of the American Craft Spirits Association. “There were hundreds of breweries in Minnesota, but no distilleries, so I thought, ‘Why not me?’” Du Nord offers a lineup of vodka, gin, whiskey, and apple and coffee liqueurs. The distillery is based in Minneapolis, where Montana says the events of 2020, including the murder of George Floyd, “laid bare the drastically different outcomes for communities of color” in his neighborhood. “At Du Nord,” Montana says, “we have historically gone about our business quietly, but this is not a time to be shy about the situation we and so many others face every day.” DuNord’s Henry Gatz cocktail uses the distillery’s Fitzgerald Gin for a botanical and bright low-ABV drink, with crisp green pepper and citrus flavors. Henry GatzDeveloped by: Du Nord Ingredients
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HH BESPOKE SPIRITSThe HH Bespoke Spirits Collection includes vodka, gin and rum. The gin remixes traditional London Dry style with American botanicals and juniper; and the recipe below amplifies those flavors even further with a tropical twist. “The idea behind the HH Hawaiian Vacation cocktail was to play off the pineapple and lemon flavor to accent the notes of the gin. This is a light and velvety drink that has a great flavor and texture to the cocktail,” says Brent Herrig, creative director of HH Bespoke. HH Bespoke Spirits is owned by the family behind fashion brand Harlem Haberdashery. Sharene Woods, president and CEO of Harlem Haberdashery, says the bottle designs pay homage to the distinctive style of the Harlem Renaissance. “Our goal is to expand into a full-fledged lifestyle company with bespoke products in all categories,” says Woods. “At Harlem Haberdashery we are committed to producing exclusive and quality products, celebrating family, and building a transferable legacy of business and wealth.” HH Hawaiian VacationDeveloped by: Brent Herrig Ingredients
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The article Five Black-Owned Spirits Producers Share Cocktail Recipes to Make at Home appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/black-owned-spirits-brands-recipes/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/five-black-owned-spirits-producers-share-cocktail-recipes-to-make-at-home I must admit, beyond a surface-level understanding of how it’s played, I don’t know much about football. I was a “Star Wars” nerd from a very early age, and in high school, music and theater were my jam. Back then, the closest I came to the sport was being bullied by the crowd that played it, or doing detention-worthy activities under the bleachers of the football field. More recently, my career in wine has just about filled up my ADD brain — meaning I rarely have the time or energy to focus on a football game for extended periods of time. Though I’m far from a sports fanatic, I do have some fond memories of football (or rather, the food that goes with it). As a kid growing up in 1980s Tallahassee, Fla., I remember tailgating in the Sun Bank parking lot with my family and friends before every Florida State Seminoles home game. I never knew what was going on once we got into the stadium, but I always looked forward to the food. Next door to the Sun Bank was a Church’s Chicken, and even though everyone brought their own dishes to contribute to the festivities, we always ordered up a bucket or five of hot, crispy, and juicy fried chicken. Drumsticks were my go-to. In the early aughts, when the popularity of wine in the U.S. was skyrocketing due to the organic movement (plus a movie about two loathsome dudes in Santa Barbara wine country), my wine knowledge suddenly became invaluable to my group of friends. I owned a wine shop at the time, and was often invited to game- day soirees by friends and customers who knew I’d come bearing wine. Pairing wines with their game day food offerings proved a fun new challenge — and even though I still didn’t understand the sport, I enjoyed hanging out with friends, eating game-day food, and, of course, testing out new pairings. As we go full-hog into football season, I’ve decided to share some of the fun ideas I came up with over the years. From bubbly to sip with all things fried and spicy; to dark, medium reds for meat lovers, these wines are the perfect pairings for all your favorite game-day cravings. And from experience, I can say that a couple glasses will keep even the least enthused or most confused tailgaters entertained. Just remember to keep the red wine in hand, and away from the living room victory dances. Sparkling wine with fried chicken and spicy dipsA nice, round bubbly like the Blanc de Noirs from New Mexico-based Gruet family is the perfect match for the salty crunch of fried chicken, and a straightforward Prosecco like the Nino Franco Rustico will calm the heat of jalapeño poppers, a spicy guac, or even hot spinach dip. Chilled, light reds with burgers and pizzaA juicy, drippy burger is best enjoyed with a light young red with a slight chill (20 to 30 minutes in the fridge) like The Pinot Project Pinot Noir. This bottle has a little weight to help it hold up to meat and good acidity to complement the fixins. For hot, gooey pizza with all the toppings, go Italian with Tommasi Raphael Valpolicella Classico Superiore. It’s a lot to say, but so damn easy to drink. Give this bottle a chill, and you’ll @me to thank me. No-oak whites with nachosLoaded nachos deserve to be tasted! No need to oak out your palate and miss all those versatile flavors. A young, refreshing, no-oak white like Hanna Sauvignon Blanc will do the job. It has bright acidity to hold up to the salsa and guac, with a slight weight to match the sour cream and queso. It’s also a bit peppery to match the onions and, well, the peppers. You can also go Grigio, but it should have some character to hold up to all that awesomeness. Choose something like the legit Jermann Pinot Grigio. Inky reds with wings, ribs, and slidersThese righteous game day staples are all about the slathered-on sauce. Inky reds that are not overbearing are key here. The Intrinsic Red Blend is a workhorse for any BBQ sauce — vinegar-based, molasses-centric, or otherwise. It has just the right amount of weight to match the density of the sauce, and the right acidity and residual sugar to match the quiet heat (you can chill this as well). Also one of the most case buy-worthy Malbecs on the market is the Familia Zuccardi ‘Zuccardi Serie A’ Malbec, which will pair so well with these platters you’ll miss a play while zenning out. The article The Best Wine Pairings for Your Favorite Game Day Food appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/wine-pairings-game-day-food/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/the-best-wine-pairings-for-your-favorite-game-day-food Grab a drink because Tuesday night marks the first Presidential Debate of 2020. And, just like everything else this year, it’s sure to be a doozy. As President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden face off in Cleveland at 9 p.m. EST, sip along with VinePair’s Presidential Debate Night Bingo card. Fill your glasses and drink each time you hear one of the words or phrases in a tile. “Fake News,” “Russia,” and “Tax Returns” are just a few of the terms to be ready for. Cheers! The article 2020 1st Presidential Debate Bingo Card Drinking Game appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/booze-news/2020-presidential-debate-drinking-game-bingo-card/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/2020-1st-presidential-debate-bingo-card-drinking-game In July, Coca-Cola announced its plans to release a hard seltzer under its popular mineral water brand Topo Chico. On Tuesday, the beverage company released more information behind the Topo Chico Hard Seltzer release, announcing a partnership with Molson Coors. The beer company will handle the launch of Topo Chico’s spiked seltzer, expected to hit U.S. shelves in early 2021. “Molson Coors Beverage Company has entered into an exclusive agreement with The Coca-Cola Company to manufacture, market, and distribute Topo Chico Hard Seltzer in the U.S.,” a press release from the company states, “taking another big step in its plan to aggressively grow the company’s above premium portfolio and become a major competitor in the fast-growing hard seltzer segment.” The new announcement also confirmed three flavors in addition to the “Tangy Lemon Lime” pictured in the initial press release in July. The additional flavors are: Exotic Pineapple, Strawberry Guava, and Tropical Mango. Each can will clock in at 4.7 percent ABV. The initial debut will prioritize markets “where Topo Chico sparkling mineral water is known and loved,” the release states. (Think: Texas.) The new boozy seltzer will be the third in the Molson Coors portfolio, which already includes Vizzy and Coors Seltzer. Fans who are looking to get their hands on Topo Chico Hard Seltzer will have to wait until some time next year. In the meantime, mixing up a simple Ranch Water might be the best indication of what to expect. The article Coca-Cola and Molson Coors Team Up for Topo Chico Hard Seltzer Release appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/booze-news/topo-chico-hard-seltzer-molson-coors/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/coca-cola-and-molson-coors-team-up-for-topo-chico-hard-seltzer-release For more than a month, wildfires have engulfed large areas of the West Coast. According to the New York Times, Oregon, California, and Washington, combined, have experienced more than 5 million acres burned by the largest fires ever recorded. Early Sunday morning, fires in Napa County — known as the Glass Fire — began sweeping through Napa Valley, causing immense damage to the region’s famous wineries. As of Tuesday, the fires have stretched along the Silverado Trail and have turned west into Santa Rosa in neighboring Sonoma County. CBS local news reported Tuesday morning that the fires have amassed to 36,236 acres with zero containment. Reports have emerged that many of the wineries in the affected regions have suffered devastating damage or destruction since the onset of fires on Sunday. A list released by The San Francisco Chronicle outlines wineries and vineyards impacted by the fires, it includes eight properties as of publishing. The list is being updated as new information is available. Chateau Boswell’s main building burned on Sunday night, destroying a wine collection that included bottles dating back to 1979. Hourglass Winery owner Jeff Smith confirmed that the facility and a 162-year-old guest house were destroyed, while Fairwinds Estate Winery “appears to be leveled” according to the Chronicle. Newton Vineyard, which is owned by LVMH, confirmed it has been “significantly impacted” by the fire. Hunnicutt Wines and Sterling Vineyards appear to both have suffered damages to their crush pads and winemaking equipment, according to the list. Castello di Amorosa, the famous winery in Calistoga known for its Tuscan-style castle built to honor owner Dario Sattui’s Italian ancestry, lost a 145,000-square-foot farmhouse. The building housed offices and wine storage, and was used as a bottling line and fermentation site. Firefighters were able to save its underground cellars, but the winery lost 2,500 bottles of wine. Nearby, Tofanelli Family Vineyard lost a 120-year-old barn and a family home; no one was inside the home when it burned, thankfully. Owner Vince Tofanelli told the Press Democrat, “I’m numb. It’s very frustrating.” The iconic Meadowood Resort in St. Helena was also devastated by the wildfires. The winery’s three Michelin Star restaurant — The Restaurant at Meadowood (TRAM) — and its golf clubhouse burned to the ground on Monday, other buildings were also scorched. “We are all torn apart. A Eulogy is deserved, and will be given in due time,” head chef Christopher Kostow wrote on Instagram. “[F]or now, I want to thank all of the TRAMily that have ever graced this magical space—and all of the guests over the years who have enjoyed the efforts of these multitudes.” As reports of damage to Napa and Sonoma county wineries continue to come out, Ehren Jordan, owner of Failla Wines, dispelled claims via Instagram that Failla was burned in the fires. “As many of you are aware, reports were beginning to circulate on social media and even mainstream media (shame on you San Jose Mercury News) that our winery had burned,” Jordan wrote. “These reports are very much inaccurate.” The winemaker commended the efforts of firefighters and said he is “sobered by the destruction” surrounding him. The record breaking fires throughout Napa and Sonoma counties continue to be entirely uncontained, as of publishing. Smoke and flames in the region could have grave effects on the vineyards’ harvests. Vinters had already anticipated the season to be cut short following wildfires in August. The article The Latest We Know About The Wildfires Devastating Napa And Sonoma appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/booze-news/wildfires-devastating-napa-sonoma/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/the-latest-we-know-about-the-wildfires-devastating-napa-and-sonoma No spirits category is dominated so completely by one brand as Irish whiskey is by Jameson. Yet that may soon change. Irish whiskey is one of the fastest-growing spirits categories in the U.S., according to drinks market analyst IWSR. Over the past five years, volume sales increased at a 13.4 percent compound annual growth rate. IWSR forecasts the category will continue to grow in the coming years. To give the category a sense of context, the Irish whisky category is about half the size of Scotch in the U.S. Nearly 4.9 million 9-liter cases of Irish whiskey were sold stateside in 2019, generating $1.1 billion in revenues for distillers, according to data from the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS). In comparison, 9.5 million 9-liter cases of Scotch whiskey were sold in the U.S. last year, driving revenues of up to $2.4 billion. The major returns on this healthy sales growth continue to be enjoyed mainly by Jameson. In 2019, the Pernod Ricard-owned triple-distilled whiskey enjoyed an 80 percent market share of the Irish whiskey category in the U.S., according to Impact Databank. But things are changing in Ireland. In the past 10 years, the number of distilleries operating in the country increased eight-fold. Far from trying to imitate the style that’s brought Jameson such success, those distilleries are embracing historical styles and leaning into uniquely Irish distilling techniques. Their bottles offer higher-end alternatives within the Irish whiskey category, at a time of increased premiumization within all spirits categories. If ever there was a time for Irish whiskey to outgrow its one-brand reputation, it is now. So how can Irish whiskey producers achieve this? The Irish Distillery BoomIn 2010, there were only four distilleries in Ireland producing and selling Irish whiskey. By December 2019, the number of operational distilleries had increased to 32, according to the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA). This renaissance has been the defining story of Irish whiskey over the past decade. The ability of these distilleries, and the dozen or so others that are still in the planning or construction stages, to operate profitably will surely be the factor that proves whether Irish whiskey can continue to grow as a category. But such rapid expansion also suggests that judging Irish whiskey’s potential based on current sales data is a somewhat flawed science. By law, all Irish whiskey must age for at least three years before release. Many newer producers may wish to release longer-aged, more premium offerings. Given that more than half of Ireland’s current distilleries began their operations in 2015 or later, we have yet to experience their real impact on the sector. And it’s in the premium-plus price segment where those that have already come to market have had the biggest impact. “The new ranges on the market are more premium than the incumbent products, which is driving continued interest in the category, resulting in value growth outpacing the volume growth,” says Adam Rogers, IWSR research director, North America. That value growth is outpacing volume increases seems to confirm that consumers are increasingly “trading up” with their purchasing decisions. It would also suggest that distilleries planning to introduce premium-plus bottles can further disrupt the market. “Last year alone, there were over 30 new Irish whiskey brands launched in the U.S. market at a premium-and-above price point,” says Conor Neville, Tullamore D.E.W.’s U.S.-based brand ambassador. “With an influx of new quality offerings, we’re starting to see a growing shift in consumer assumptions of the category and how it can be enjoyed coupled with a willingness to trade up.” The Diversity of Irish WhiskeyA few descriptors relating to production techniques and Irish whiskey’s perceived style are commonly used to describe the category. Irish whiskey is triple-distilled, blended, and approachable or smooth, it is often said. It makes sense that these are the often-associated terms, given that they describe Jameson to a tee. But historically, the category has offered much more than just approachable blends. Now, the nation’s pioneering new distillers and well-established brands alike are looking to the past to drive future innovations. Four whiskey styles can be produced in Ireland: Blended, single grain, single malt, and single pot still. Of those four, single pot still is the only uniquely Irish offering, and it’s one that many modern distillers are embracing. By law, this pot-distilled style must contain a minimum of 30 percent each malted and unmalted barley. Up to 5 percent of other cereals such as oats and rye are also permitted in the mash bill. Several other distinctions within all four styles make Irish whiskey ripe for innovation. Distillers can alter their single malts’ flavor profiles, for example, via different distillation methods (double-distilling versus triple-distilling), processes like cask finishing, and the types of wood used for maturation. (Unlike Scotch or bourbon, Irish whiskey does not have to age in oak vessels.) “Distilleries and producers have been experimenting with [these styles and processes] to develop new and interesting offerings,” says Donal O’Gallachoir, co-founder of Glendalough Distillery. “This has been significant, breathing life into the category and offering U.S. whiskey drinkers real choice while on their Irish whiskey journey.” Indeed, Glendalough is a fine example of one producer embracing Ireland’s diverse range of whiskey styles. Its Pot Still Irish Whiskey is finished for up to a year in virgin Irish oak casks, made from trees felled by the distillery. The distillery’s Double Barrel single grain whiskey spends most of its maturation period in used bourbon casks before it’s finished in Spanish oak oloroso barrels. Meanwhile, Glendalough’s 17-year-old single malt is aged 15 years in ex-bourbon barrels before a two-year finishing period in Mizunara oak sourced from Japan. Tullamore D.E.W. is the second-best-selling Irish whiskey in the U.S., according to IWSR data. This brand has found significant success with its Caribbean-Rum- and Cider-Cask-finished blended whiskeys, as well as its range of age-statement single malts. Bushmills and The Tyrconnell are two examples of other established producers offering aged expressions in the single malt category. Pernod-Ricard-owned Redbreast, a longtime standard-bearer for the single pot still category, added a Lustau-cask-finished expression to its permanent lineup in 2016. Redbreast also offers increasingly aged pot still whiskeys, including 15-, 21-, and 27-year-old expressions. Younger brands that do not have access to their own aged stocks — or choose not to source aged whiskeys from other producers — are innovating in different ways. For example, Brown-Forman-owned Slane Irish Whiskey offers a blend of malt and grain whiskeys aged in three different types of barrels: Virgin oak, seasoned American whiskey, and oloroso sherry. Kilbeggan serves innovation through the grains used in its mash bills. Its single pot still release includes 2.5 percent oats in the recipe, which has a much more noticeable impact than the figure suggests. The distillery also offers a Small Batch Rye that includes roughly 30 percent of the spicy grain in its mash bill. “It’s innovating combined with a true history — taking note of what we’ve done in the past and carving out a new avenue for growth,” says Michael Egan, Kilbeggan’s U.S.-based brand ambassador. “Irish whiskey was once the Rolex of the global whiskey industry and today we’re making that comeback.” (Other younger brands, such as Conor McGregor’s Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey, have primarily stuck to the Jameson blueprint, though the success of Proper Twelve cannot be overstated as a factor in the continued expansion of the overall category.) Irish Whiskey AssociationAnother notable development within the past 10 years has been the formation of the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA), which was established in 2014. “It’s immensely important on a number of fronts,” says Alex Conyngham, co-founder of the Slane Distillery. ”Firstly, category protection — and by that I mean defining the standard of Irish whiskey, upholding that standard, and protecting it internationally.” Another essential role of the organization is the promotion of the Irish whiskey abroad, Conyngham says. Part of that role as a marketer has seen the IWA drive to boost tourism in recent years. While that revenue stream is currently not an option, it’s a shrewd move if other categories are anything to go by. Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, recently told me how important the Kentucky Distillery Trail had been to the “bourbon boom” of the last two decades. Distillery visits create a legion of “ambassadors” for brands, who are likely to share their experiences with friends and family and remain loyal to those brands when making future purchases, he said. The scores of newly opened Irish distilleries have proven adept at catering to this. There are now 19 different distillery tourist experiences across the country. And those efforts are already bearing fruit. Last year, a record-breaking 1 million tourists visited Ireland’s distilleries. “North America remains the top market of origin for visitors to Irish whiskey distilleries, with tourists from the U.S. and Canada accounting for 34 percent of all visits in 2019,” according to the IWA. This is an important distinction, as the U.S. remains by far the largest market for Irish whiskey. In 2019, America accounted for more than 40 percent of volume sales, according to IWSR data. Irish whiskey sales in the U.S. are nearly nine times greater than those in Russia, the category’s second-largest market. The Influence of Spirits ConglomeratesAnother promising sign for the future of Irish whiskey is the number of notable spirits conglomerates in the space. Pernod-Ricard is the most important in terms of its market share, being the owner of leading brands Jameson and Redbreast. Proximo Spirits, which is a part of Jose Cuervo, has Bushmills and The Sexton. Bacardi owns a minority stake in Teeling, which became Dublin’s first new distillery in 125 years when it opened in 2015. Beam Suntory counts Kilbeggan, Connemara, and Tyrconnell as part of its international portfolio, while William Grant & Sons owns Tullamore D.E.W. In 2017, two years after selling Bushmills to Jose Cuervo, Diageo announced its new premium blended Irish whiskey, Roe & Co. Conyngham, whose Slane Irish Whiskey brand was acquired by Brown-Forman in 2015, says being a part of a larger spirits company has multiple benefits. His distillery is able to source its American whiskey and virgin oak casks directly from its parent company — the only leading American whiskey producer that owns sawmills and cooperage facilities. Past this, Conyngham says it’s the expertise a larger brand offers that’s been most helpful. From a strategic standpoint, being part of Brown-Forman has eased access to the American market and its complex three-tier distribution system. The company has also shared expertise on things like how to grow Slane’s range over time, when to introduce new products, and how to keep them in line with the core brand. Bartenders’ Role in the Rise of Irish WhiskeyOne conversation that’s played out in the success of other whiskey categories has been the role of bartenders. While Irish whiskey isn’t associated with well-known classic cocktails, that hasn’t stopped bartenders from experimenting with it. “There’s a huge chance to develop Irish whiskey through the cocktail program in the same way that bourbon started getting really popular through cocktails,” says Shane Mulvany, a (currently furloughed) bartender at New York’s Dead Rabbit. Mulvany says that Irish whiskey’s approachable profile, and the sheer number of different styles on offer, makes it a “malleable” cocktail ingredient, and one that is attractive to bartenders. One such option they might turn to is The Sexton. A non-age-statement single malt, the whiskey is crafted with versatility in mind, says the brand’s master blender, Alex Thomas. The whiskey’s bold flavor profile, she says, allows it to be enjoyed neat or in a range of cocktails from the Old Fashioned to Whiskey Sours to proprietary bartender creations. “Whichever way you want to drink it, The Sexton allows you to — which isn’t normal for [traditional] single malts.” The Future of Irish WhiskeyEveryone contacted for this article said the next five to 10 years will be among the most exciting in Irish whiskey history. All predict the category will not only broaden as more brands come to market, but also deepen as established brands introduce new expressions. Some are betting on the future of cask finishing and oak-alternatives for maturation. Others highlight single pot still, the cornerstone of Irish whiskey, as the future of the category. The number of age-statement single malts will also increase in years to come, they say. And so, too, will conversations surrounding its viability as a better-value alternative to those produced in Scotland. Indeed, as a category, Irish whiskey not only stands somewhat geographically between America and Scotch but also ideologically. Its approachable flavor profile, recent resurgence story, and myriad styles are comparable to bourbon. With Scotland, it shares a lengthy heritage and lineage unrivaled in the rest of the world. Clearly defining all that Irish whiskey offers may be the biggest challenge for the Irish Whiskey Association in the coming years. Producers will be tasked with delivering on that message. If both succeed, the days of Irish whiskey’s reputation as a one-brand category should be consigned to history. The article Dozens of Distilleries Are Betting That Irish Whiskey Has a Future Bigger Than Jameson appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/irish-whiskey-future-beyond-jameson/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/dozens-of-distilleries-are-betting-that-irish-whiskey-has-a-future-bigger-than-jameson Made with 56 herbs and spices — plus a whole lot of mystery — Jägermeister is a liqueur that most young Americans know and love. But how did this German digestif become a fraternity basement staple? The story starts on Bourbon Street. In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub — a New Oleans bar that played 1920s-style jazz — almost single- handedly popularized Jäger among Bourbon Street bar goers. (The bar remains on Bourbon Street, and was still playing jazz before its temporary closing due to the coronavirus pandemic.) After founding the bar in 1969, Gunther “Dutch” Seutter promoted Jägermeister by selling it to Louisiana college students, according to drinks historian Wayne Curtis. Seutter, a German immigrant, was already familiar with Jägermeister, and began retrieving the spirit from German seamen who brought him the liqueur to New Orleans’ busy ports. Though at the time, Jägermeister was the most popular liqueur in Germany, it wasn’t distributed in the United States until 1973. As it would have taken a while to get into all 50 states, Curtis says, there’s a good chance that Fritzel’s was serving it before it was legally distributed — likely contributing to its illicit, mystical reputation. The spirit’s popularity among Louisiana college students helped ignite the drink’s popularity countrywide — as the enigmatic drink was rumored to contain more than just alcohol. Since its ingredients are undisclosed, there have been many rumors regarding the contents of Jäger over the years. While some believe it to be vegan, others have surmised that it contains deer’s blood. Others, still, believed that Jäger caused temporary blindness, Curtis says. But what really sparked college-age interest in Jägermeister was a rumor among Tulane and LSU students in the ‘70s that the drink contained liquid Quaaludes or Valium, notes David Wondrich in his podcast “Life Behind Bars.” Though it was already becoming popular among Lousianians in the know, the drink didn’t become a countrywide sensation until 1985, when a viral Baton Rouge newspaper article called it “liquid Valium” — further adding to the spirit’s aura of mystery and drawing an even larger crowd of college students, who all wanted to try out its supposed dulling effects. After this, sales exploded a hundred-fold. “That’s what college kids do. They look for stuff that will hurt you, and they exploit it,” Curtis says. When American businessman and Jäger importer Sidney Frank caught wind of these rumors, he changed his marketing techniques, gearing his efforts to the same demographic that was making the spirit famous: College students. Inventing what has become the “shot girl” concept, Frank hired young, attractive, scantily clad women he dubbed “Jägerettes” to frequent college bars, handing out shots and spraying Jäger from water guns into patrons’ mouths. “He was a bit of a marketing genius,” says Curtis, adding that Frank was also a sexist. Frank was later sued for sexual harassment, and for failing to protect his Jägerettes from harassment. Despite Frank’s unethical tactics, his decision to market Jäger as the college bar shot of choice proved successful, as the beverage maintains its hard-partying reputation even today — several decades later. When it comes to Jäger’s long standing notoriety, Curtis says, “Bourbon Street lit the fuse, but Sidney Frank provided the bomb.” While Jägermeister now aims to outgrow its lowbrow reputation, it was no accident that the digestif ended up in more fraternity basements than fancy cocktail bars. And though the brand wants consumers to know that the liqueur can be used for much more than just “Jägerbombs,” let Jägermeister not forget that it has college students to thank for its early American success. The article How a Bourbon Street Jazz Bar Helped Launch Jägermeister in the U.S. appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/bourbon-street-bar-jagermeister/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/how-a-bourbon-street-jazz-bar-helped-launch-jagermeister-in-the-us Although New York City is somewhat solemnly celebrating extended outdoor dining through winter and year-round, Covid-19 is still threatening restaurants, bars, and the public across America. With fall officially here, most of us will soon face the end of outdoor dining and drinking, or at least a greatly limited version of it for the next four to six months, if not longer. On the flip side, that means the trend toward home bartending we saw in spring and early summer will undoubtedly accelerate — perhaps with new, seasonal focuses. Instead of the Margarita and its many variants being the most popular drinks to make at home, will bourbon-based drinks like the Manhattan or Old Fashioned stake their claims at the top of the DIY drinking list? How can bourbon producers and beverage brands, bars, and bartenders alike find ways to contribute to — and potentially profit from — this emerging trend? What flavors, spirits, and emotions will color fall and winter drinking habits? That’s what Adam Teeter, Erica Duecy, and Zach Geballe discuss on this week’s special episode of the VinePair Podcast, recorded live as part of Tales of the Cocktail’s virtual conference last week. Listen OnlineOr check out our conversation hereAdam: From Brooklyn, New York, I’m Adam Teeter. Erica: From Jersey City, I’m Erica Duecy. Zach: And in Seattle, Washington, I’m Zach Geballe. A: And this is a live Tales of the Cocktail edition of our podcast. Guys, what’s going on? E: Hey. Excited to be here. I see you guys on video now. Usually, we’re just doing audio. Z: I know. And I’ve long wanted to go to Tales of the Cocktail, so now I can say I’ve been, even though it does not involve going to New Orleans or necessarily doing more than putting on a shirt. You don’t even know if I’m wearing pants — which may have been the case if I had gone to New Orleans. A: Zach, have you never been? Z: I’ve never been. A: Erica, what about you? E: Yeah, I’ve been several times. I’ve presented a couple of times, and it is very hot but so much fun. A: I actually can’t imagine what it would have been like this year if they would have done it this time of year, because I’m sure it would have been lovely. July in New Orleans is definitely super warm, but it’s always a great time. There are so many people that you get to meet, so many connections that you get to make, so many amazing bars that you get to sample cocktails from which are doing pop-ups across New Orleans. It’s a pretty amazing experience. It’s hard to replicate almost anywhere else, I think, given New Orleans’ attachment to cocktail culture and the fact that the United States is the birthplace of cocktails. Let’s be real: It fits there in a very different way than other conferences in other parts of the world. It’s a very cool experience, and I obviously can’t wait to get back to Tales next year in real life. Z: I can’t wait to sweat my ass off with you all next year. A: Before we kick into everything, I know we all made cocktails because it is Tales of the Cocktail. Zach, what are you drinking? Z: I got back in the house just in time for our recording, so I had to settle for just grabbing something off the shelf. But fortunately, I have some selections back here and I’m drinking my favorite, which is also what I named my dog. This is Willett Bourbon, a classic Kentucky distillery — and it’s delicious all the time, including right now, in the middle of the afternoon here in Seattle. A: Definitely a lot of Willett is consumed during Tales. Or just a lot of bourbon in general. Erica, what about you? E: I have a very cool new liqueur from Forthave Spirits. It’s a small Brooklyn distillery. Dan Daylon, who owns it, is someone I’ve known for about 20 years. And it’s been so cool to see this distillery come out and make a bunch of amaros and digestifs. This new product that they just released that I’m drinking is called ‘Yellow.’ It’s yellow, and it’s a really gorgeous liqueur that you can drink yourself. One of the things that I find tough about aperitif culture is sometimes there’s so much sweetness. But this is a really incredibly well-balanced liqueur that I actually have just been drinking over the rocks and it’s gorgeous. It has some bitterness and some floral qualities. I received it in the mail a couple weeks ago, and I’ve just been drinking it over ice pretty consistently. So cheers to Forthave Spirits. Z: What about you, Adam? A: I’ve got this awesome new tequila called LALO that is actually made by the grandson of Don Julio. It’s a pretty cool tequila. It’s out of Austin. It’s the only place it’s available right now. It’s a group of three guys who started it. The grandson, whose nickname is Lalo, he was making tequila for fun in Mexico and then was going to visit friends in Austin and kept bringing what he was distilling and all of them were like, “This is really good.” His whole idea is sort of returning to blanco as the premiere place to showcase tequila. While reposados and anejos are interesting, he really feels as if the pure form of tequila is blanco, so that’s all they do. And they do it really well. And they take the agave they’re harvesting really seriously, so they want old agave that’s at least seven years old, they’re not going for the really young stuff that a lot of people are using just to keep up with demand right now. And they really want all of those floral and herbaceous notes from the agave to really come through. Their belief is that when you get to reposado and añejo, you lose a lot of the flavor of the true agave and it gets covered by wood. So they’re really just trying to highlight agave because tequila wouldn’t exist without it. It’s a super-cool spirit. And I love the packaging, I think it’s just gorgeous. I’m drinking Ranch Water because it’s still too early in the day. E: I was so excited when I was just looking through our cocktail recipe database and I saw that Ranch Water is now in our top 50 cocktails. A: I know it’s crazy. It’s a cocktail that has come out of nowhere. It’s blown up. Z: I also want to put in a note that if you are interested in LALO, Adam did an interview with the guys who founded and it is available on the VinePair Podcast feed. A: Before we kick off today’s topic, which we’re super excited to get into, a quick word from our sponsors. The 2020 Sherry Wines Mixology Challenge is on. That’s for everyone here at Tales. If you love sherry, get in on this. Sherry, as we all should know, is a fortified wine from southern Spain that has become the secret ingredient of many innovative cocktails for its versatility and complex flavor profile. We’re looking for all mixologists out there to show their skills and enter to win by submitting your very own sherry cocktail creation. There’s going to be prizes of $3,000, $1,500, and $500 that will be awarded to the top three winners. All you have to do is go to vinepair.com/sherry-mixology-challenge for details, inspiration, and how to enter. It’s super easy. Give us your best sherry cocktail. You have a great chance. There’s an awesome slate of judges. I think everyone should get in on this. I love sherry cocktails, and I’m sure a lot of people do as well. Enter at vinepair.com/sherry-mixology-challenge. And now for this week’s topic. I figure because it’s live we wouldn’t do as much of our banter — we kind of did it already. So this week’s topic is cocktail trends coming into the fall. For those who are aware of the VinePair Insights product, a few years ago we started tagging in a very specific way all of the content on VinePair in order to truly understand where the industry was headed. And we then took that data and created an algorithm that’s able to rank an index of spirits, serves, et cetera to see where trends are moving in the world of cocktails. We thought this was a perfect topic to talk about for Tales, because not only are we coming out of Covid (and kind of still in it, which is terrible) but we’re also looking to the fall in terms of what we think the next big cocktail trends are going to be and where we are headed. With that in mind, guys, you want to kick it off? Erica, where are we headed? E: It’s really interesting, when we look at the data — and I will say that when we started analyzing the insights data from VinePair a lot of it is also supported by what we’re seeing in Nielsen, in IWSR, and other data sources, so there’s a lot of context for some of the trends we’ve been seeing. I think the biggest trend and the real trend to focus on for brands who are listening, as well as producers and bartenders, is the at-home cocktail trend. We are seeing that spirits, liqueurs, vermouths — everything that supports the evidence of the at-home cocktail trend — has just been going up, up, up, up throughout the Covid-affected period. And I think we’re really going to see that continue into fall. One of the biggest trends that we saw this year is during the Covid- affected period is tequila. Tequila blew up, and it continues to keep going. I think bourbon is now starting to take its place back rivaling tequila. But throughout the entire summer, we saw a massive growth in tequila that was supported in off-premise sales data. When you look at VinePairs cocktail recipe database, for example, a lot of those top cocktails are Margaritas and Margarita variations. So I think tequila had a lot going for it going into Covid. A: Absolutely. Z: And I think an important thing to note here is when we’re talking about at-home cocktails, we’re talking about two distinct appeals for people. And I think this was the same thing when we did this same topic talking about what we thought summer would be like, and I think, not to toot our own horn too much, but I think we f***ing nailed what summer 2020 was going to be like from a cocktail perspective. A: Maybe we did. Z: You can go back and listen, folks, if you don’t believe me. But I think what we identified was that people are going to want a couple of things. They’re going to want comfort, and I think fall and winter is going to be even more about that, and that’s where bourbon and those sort of warm brown spirits are going to come into play even more. But people are also going to want the ability to feel transported. And that, to me, is the place where whether you’re a brand, whether you’re a bartender, whether you’re a bar, you have that opportunity to take people on a journey. And while I think that for the certain kind of home bartender who is interested in comfort, that I think is going to express itself in the classic cocktails. It’s going to express itself in Old Fashioneds and Manhattans and bourbon served neat. But I think that, for people who are looking to do something else, and especially when people are looking for either unusual products or they’re looking for prepackaged cocktails, where that’s going to go is: How can you take someone on a journey while still sticking with the flavor set that people expect in the fall? Tiki is a great place to look. I think bourbon cocktails are a great option or whiskey-based tiki cocktails. I think we’ve talked a lot about Cognac in the last couple of months. I think that’s another opportunity where if you do something a little bit unfamiliar to people, put a spin on it that they may not be familiar with, while still touching those classic flavors. That is a great opportunity. And I think that’s what people are going to want. They’re going to want to be able to feel like they can go on a journey without leaving their house, or at least without going too far out of their comfort zone. But they are going to want to do something other than what they can usually do at home. So if you can step into that void, that’s a huge opportunity. A: I think there’s definitely a lot of people still doing to-go cocktails and things like that. I do think that the other thing we’re going to see is there’s going to be a lot more interest in the drinks that include vermouth. We’ve seen vermouth sales explode, and what we’re seeing on VinePair is a massive amount of traffic to all of our content about vermouth. So people are saying, “OK, I bought this because of a Negroni and I was told I had to have this because I want to make a Negroni, and now what are the other uses for it?” How do I use this in a Manhattan? I think the Manhattan is going to have a big fall. I think the Martini is going to have a big fall and into winter, because these are actually pretty easy cocktails for the at-home consumer to make. But they are also going to be looking for bartenders and brands to give them information to make them better. So if you have a personality online and you’re on Instagram, whatever, you can provide these tips, especially as a bartender, for how someone can really perfect the at-home Martini or how they can change it up a little bit. “Oh, I recommend that you should add dashes of orange bitters, and it gives it a different flavor profile.” Or, “With your Manhattan try these brands of cherries.” Or, “Try this brand of vermouth, or this rye, or this bourbon.” I think this is what people are really going to be looking for. Because we’re now seeing that they are trying to get comfortable with those ingredients and they’re playing with them more at home. So I think this is a time for a lot of bartenders, especially, to build a profile amongst consumers in their area and become a resource for those consumers. There’s a lot of other things going on in the world of drinks right now in terms of just even being worried about survival, so the first thing you may not be thinking about is also what you can do to serve people who are making drinks at home. But if you do have that extra time I think there will be a lot of wins for people that are able to provide that kind of knowledge, because I think there’s going to be more people making cocktails at home. And then, Zach, you’re completely right, looking for the more advanced cocktails out. OK, so I figured out how to make the Martini, what can I buy out of the home that feels like a treat? And I think tiki is a perfect example. It’s something that I’m not going to try to make at home. Z: Erica will. A: It’s a hard category. I think tiki is really difficult to master, and a lot of consumers feel that way. I think tiki is really hard to master, but people still view it as a true treat. And there’s a lot of other cocktails like that as well. And at least in New York, it feels like people are going out to the bars when they can. They’re feeling more comfortable to be outside. They’re feeling comfortable about going to pick up the cocktail and bring it home. And I’m hoping that continues through the fall. E: A couple good points there. I was just looking through our recipe database to see what are the highest-performing cocktails. Totally fascinating. The top 50 cocktails during the Covid-affected period, even more so than before that, are made with two to four ingredients. So I think for brands, for bartenders, all of them were two-to-four-ingredient cocktails. Those are the cocktail opportunities that you have to put tweaks on. Change them up a little. So that was the top 50 cocktails, and they really were the classics. There are even things that aren’t even that popular normally, such as the gin sour, whiskey sour, things like that, in addition to the ones we all know and love, like the Martini, Aviation, Negroni, Old Fashioned. But then you look at the next 50 most popular cocktails, they are slight variations. So we’re talking the Lemon Grapefruit Martini, Espresso Martini, Paloma. Just adding in one more ingredient. And so I think that’s where there’s another level of opportunity for brands and bartenders. “OK, you’ve mastered the Margarita, let’s take it to the Paloma,” or, “You’ve mastered the Martini, here’s a couple variations.” And that’s the opportunity. I think for rum, I also agree with you that there is an opportunity there with escapism. I think the biggest challenge for tiki is really all of the ingredients. I was talking with a writer today and she is a well-known tiki mixologist and she was pitching some different ideas for tiki drinks, and I said, we have to go to the simple ones. Like grog, for example. Grog is an unheralded, delicious drink, made with dark rum, lime, simple syrup, Angostura bitters — done. That profile of tiki, but make it simple. I think that’s going to be the opportunity for tiki cocktails. What are the simplest variations that you can give so that people can actually embrace rum. And they want to embrace rum. I think they really do. And we saw rum getting some traction this summer as well. A: I think it’s funny, every time I hear Erica talk about cocktails, I’m like, “Oh, yeah, that’s right. She wrote a really successful cocktail book.” So she actually knows what people want to read and make at home, which I think is really worth explaining. I think about it in terms of even the recipe books that I get where there’s some 20 steps in the ingredients to make the recipe and I think, “This looks delicious, but I’m just not going to do it.” And I think the same is true for lots of cocktails when it comes to at-home mixology. But people are looking for experts. They’re not going to do it on their own. They’ll come to sites like VinePair, they’ll read our recipes, but they also are looking for people they can interact with on all these different social media platforms. I know we have this as an episode coming up in a few weeks, talking about what’s happening on TikTok with everything in the cocktail world and all the people that are creating these really massive followings by showing you how to make drinks. If you look at the drinks that most people are making on TikTok as well, they are super simple. No one is going after these really in-depth drinks. No one’s fat washing. No one’s making Milk Punch, because it’s just too much for the consumer to understand. But I think a lot of people are going to have great personalities coming out of Covid, and we’ll be able to do things because they built these followings, which is really interesting. Z: I also think the other possibility here and the other opportunity for a lot of brands and bars is to look at how you can interact with the reality for a lot of people, which is a lot of people over the course of spring and summer and into fall did a lot of stocking up. People bought lots of booze. They were like, “I don’t know when I’m going to be comfortable going to a store. I don’t know when there’s going to be shortages.” I mean, fortunately, most of those things have proven to be not such a big deal. But there’s lots of people I know who have lots of bottles of booze kicking around their house. And if you give them an “everything but the booze kit” essentially, I think about this a lot, we probably all have really bad impressions of sour mix or Margarita mix or Bloody Mary mix. But that’s just because what was typically available was crap. It was really mass-produced, not made with quality ingredients. But if you as a bar or you even as a bartender can offer someone an option where all they have to do is stir in or shake in the booze that they already have, they might not want to buy a $15 cocktail from you, but they might want to buy a $5 “everything but the booze” cocktail kit. And you can capitalize on your ability to produce a lot of those difficult-to-make, or time- consuming, laborious ingredients like syrups and stuff for tiki cocktails. I think that’s another possibility. Now, maybe that’s not as big an opportunity as some of what else we’re talking about. But I know that I’ve been approached by bars in the Seattle area who are interested in my thoughts on what to do. And that’s one thing that I’ve offered, is if you offer something like “here’s a Mai Tai, and all you have to do is add the rum.” That’s a lot more approachable than “here’s a $15 Mai Tai.” Some people are out there doing that but a lot of people are not going to go down that route all that often. And it’s also a lot more approachable than “here’s a recipe for a Mai Tai, have fun.” Those kinds of cocktails are, for me even as a relatively confident old bartender, a lot to take on. You can bridge that gap for someone and work with the knowledge that they probably have. They probably have a base spirit at home but maybe not all the other components. That’s, I think, a huge opportunity for bars and a way that they can stay more relevant in people’s lives than the occasional treat. A: Yeah, I totally agree. It’s funny, before I decided to make the Ranch Water, I can’t remember the brand now but it’s one of these fresh juice cocktail brands that I think was serving the bar industry and then in Covid pivoted, and so you’ve already seen some of these brands do that and they’re going on to Amazon and they’re letting you buy them there. But I think what to your point, Zach, a lot of people, especially in cities, have a great bar in their neighborhood, and if I knew that I could go out and walk to the Rockwell Place — which still hasn’t opened — I could go there and I could get a bunch of different mixers that I could then take home because I already have alcohol, and then can also make it at my leisure. There’s also this pressure when you get that cocktail to-go that it’s to be consumed right now. I think people would be into it because, again, it’s just another way to get into what’s going to happen this fall. This celebratory time, OND (October, November, December) matters for every spirit’s brand. Everybody in this space really is very much focused because we know that people drink more. And we’ve already seen the level at which people drank when Covid happened. And I think it’s just going to come to massive extremes and you’re going to see what we saw in the spring, which was that tequila has always been popular and it just went a thousand times more popular. I think bourbon has always been popping, and in the fall we’re going to see has become a thousand times more popular. And so how do you take advantage of that as well? And think about that when it comes to what you’re serving to the community and how you’re staying present so that when all this blows over, you have a platform to be able to reopen again. Z: And I think if you’re a producer, if you’re a distillery — and we have distilleries all over the country, so it’s not just for bourbon, it’s not just in Kentucky — I think one thing that you can really think on is how can you give someone a complete package? I don’t think it’s sufficient these days to say, “Here’s the bottle of spirits, and here’s a recipe.” The recipes are great, but as we pointed out, people have a ton of resources for recipes, including VinePair. And if you’re not checking out our drinks catalog, you really should. It’s an amazing repository. I’m an experienced bartender, and I go look at recipes on there all the damn time. I’m probably the one responsible for the Aviation being so popular. But I would say that I think that if you’re a producer, not just the bar or other kind of purveyor of spirits, it’s good to think about how we can channel our ability to produce things at some scale, and maybe you put together three or four. I think cocktail kits are a little played out, but I think if you have “here’s the bottle of spirit and here’s the bottle of mixer” people are going to eat that s**t up because most people, as Erica was alluding to, they don’t want to do more than combine two or three ingredients, stir or shake, and drink. And if you can give them a complex, interesting, pretty-to-look- at, or at least super-tasty kind of cocktail in a couple of packages — especially one that they can, as you said, Adam, access whenever they want, that they can go back to over a period of a few days or weeks — you have an opportunity there to capture some attention and some sales that just doing spirit sales or just doing cocktails may not afford you. E: It’s shocking to me that people still buy simple syrup. But apparently that is a growth opportunity in many liquor stores right now. Those types of things, people are looking for those small variations that they just don’t have to make it themselves. They don’t want to put some lemon peel into some sugar and water and make an infused syrup. So I think that’s another area we as publications, brand ambassadors, whatever it is, just giving people the tools to help them figure out how to make a couple simple drinks. I think that’s actually one of the biggest opportunities I see with Cognac. Which I know we have been blown away by seeing how much it has grown off-premise. Nielsen just released some numbers showing that over the summer, it’s up 61 percent year over year. And a lot of that is the volume shifting from on-premise to off-premise. But I think the bigger point is that there have been so many successful collaborations and spokespeople with people from the sports world, from the music world, but I still think that a lot of consumers have no idea what to do with Cognac. And so we’re still 100 percent giving them some ideas of, “Hey, here’s a product and here’s a couple of ways to use it.” It could be as simple as a French Manhattan, Cognac-based Manhattan, a Sidecar, a variation on an Old Fashioned. These things do not have to be difficult. But I think brands and ambassadors and bartenders just giving those small variations can really make a difference and help those people find a following. And I think that’s one of the big opportunities for drinks professionals right now. Using social media and or newsletters or other platforms to try to build an audience when you can’t have that audience in person. Z: I think the other piece is, and this is a great opportunity where, whether it’s on social media or just in home education opportunities, one thing that’s really cool is you can really showcase technique when and where technique is appropriate. All of us have smartphones, most of us have a computer that can record a video. Show people how to do this stuff. It’s amazing to me — it’s also not surprising, on the other hand — that my dad doesn’t know how to make a Manhattan. Every time he wants one, he calls and goes, “What exactly goes in it?” And my dad is not an unsophisticated person in some senses, but it’s true that there isn’t that retained knowledge for a lot of people if you’re not doing it all that often. And it’s something as simple as, how do you actually shake or stir a drink? If you can arm people with that knowledge, let alone how to make a drink with an egg white or something like that. That’s getting up there, but just the basics. People are super interested in mastering those skills, but are also very unsure of themselves. And so the more you can give them the ability to feel confident, engage with content that you’ve created, they’re going to be loyal because this sucks, and so we’re all looking for fun, and points of connection, and people that we can feel connected to, even if we can’t see them in person. A: Yes, I agree. And I think I’d be remiss if we didn’t say we know this is an industry we love, a lot of you are our friends, we’re all hurting from what’s happening right now, and if there’s any other way that we can be helpful, please reach out. You know, you can email us at [email protected] and tell us what we can do. There’s obviously lots of things that we’ve tried, initiatives we’ve started already, but we would love to highlight things that you might be doing if you’re doing really creative things in your city. Or your brand is doing interesting things to give back. We’ve tried to do that through highlighting different interviews throughout the week in addition to this roundtable we do every Monday. So please let us know. Shoot us an email, and we’ll do our best to get back to you and try to shed light on as many people as possible in the industry and how everyone can be helpful. Z: Absolutely. We love that we’ve been able to be a resource in these times. We hate that it’s come to that, but it’s been really powerful for all of us. I think that we’ve been able to shine some light and hopefully offer some suggestions, solutions, and opportunities for all of you. A: 100 percent. E: Definitely. And we are definitely dedicated to highlighting people from the BIPOC community, women, voices that are not often heard or have not had platforms. I think that’s one of the most successful things that we’ve been able to do, is use VinePair as a platform for good in the drinks industry, and we’re dedicated to that. It’s a pillar of our editorial and something that we are dedicated to throughout our programming. So if your voice has not been heard and you are looking for an outlet either to write or to be a source, please do reach out. A: Yeah. Again, the email is [email protected], it’s the easiest way. Or [email protected] for writing and to be a source in some of our articles. We really would appreciate you to reach out. And guys, my Ranch Water is done, so I think that means the podcast is over. Z: Oh yeah, I’m going to have my last sip. E: I’m still sipping. A: I’ll read a word from our sponsor again. The 2020 Sherry Wines Mixology Challenge is on. Again, I don’t think I need to educate you on what sherry is, but just in case, sherry is a fortified wine from southern Spain and has become the secret ingredient of many innovative cocktails for its versatility and complex flavor profile. Again, if you’ve attended Tales multiple years, you already know this. Show your mixology skills and enter to win by submitting your very own sherry cocktail creation. Prizes of $3,000, $1,500, and $500 will be awarded to the top three winners for the most innovative sherry cocktails. Visit vinepair.com/sherry-mixology-challenge for details, inspiration, and the instructions to enter. And with that, we wish everyone a good Tales. We hope to see you in person next year. And thank you so much for listening. And Zach, Erica, see you next week. E: See you next week. Z: Sounds great. A: Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair Podcast. If you enjoy listening to us every week, please leave us a review or rating on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever it is that you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show. Now, for the credits. VinePair is produced and hosted by Zach Geballe, Erica Duecy and me: Adam Teeter. Our engineer is Nick Patri and Keith Beavers. I’d also like to give a special shout-out to my VinePair co-founder Josh Malin and the rest of the VinePair team for their support. Thanks so much for listening and we’ll see you again right here next week. Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity. The article VinePair Podcast: Fall Drinks Trends LIVE From Tales of the Cocktail appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/fall-drinks-trends/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/vinepair-podcast-fall-drinks-trends-live-from-tales-of-the-cocktail |
John BoothHi I am John Booth,36 years old from California,CA,USA,working in Whole Seller market,we supply different types of Beverages to the market.Here I am sharing some special tips about it. Archives
August 2021
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