We all love a good DIY situation, especially since the pandemic hit. Our social media feeds have been flooded with folks making their own bread, beer, kombucha, and more. We’ve been doing a lot of the same. Lending your favorite food or beverage a personal touch just feels good. Of course, there are many ways to add a bit of character to your cocktails, from DIY syrups and bitters to even making your own amaro. But, it’s hard to find something as easy and distinctive as the spirits you’ll customize using the Barrel-less Oak Aging Kit. Real oak barrels run thousands of dollars and, we don’t know about you, but we certainly couldn’t fit them in our apartments, even if we did have a few grand to spend on an oak barrel or two. Instead, we use this kit. Buy a great but young bottle of white rum, tequila, or even whiskey, then throw in the charred oak stick for anywhere from a day to six weeks. Then, enjoy a spirit that you had a hand in shaping. Each kit comes with one stainless steel & silicone stopper/pourer, two charred oak sticks, and a world of possibility for customizing your favorite sipping spirits and cocktails. And because the stopper sits in the original spirit bottle, you don’t have to worry about any additional messes or spills when transferring to other containers. If you want to really test the boundaries of this kit, we recommend batching a bottle of a spirit-forward cocktail, such as a Negroni or a Manhattan, and aging it with this stopper set. You’ll truly add a personal touch to your house cocktails. It makes a great gift for anyone who loves whiskey or a dimensional cocktail. Just make sure you grab one for yourself before gifting one to someone else. The article Give Your Cocktails a Personal Touch With This Barrel-Less Oak Aging Kit appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/picks/cocktail-personal-touch-kit-2020/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/give-your-cocktails-a-personal-touch-with-this-barrel-less-oak-aging-kit
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Sparkling wine is made by a fascinating combination of science and human hands. Allowing carbon dioxide to form in an enclosed space, only for it to saturate into the wine, forming persistent bubbles under the pressure of a car tire, is something to behold. The mesmerizing strands of pearls rising to the top can make you pause for a moment, even mid-convo, to stare at what’s happening in your glass. And this beautiful, scientific awesomeness can occur anywhere, with any grapes. Sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France is probably the most well known here in the States, as the French have been enticing us with bubbles and marketing since before the Civil War, but this natural phenomenon is not exclusive to the region. There is, of course, no denying the greatness of wines from Champagne. When that region fell in love with the traditional method, they took it to a whole new level. But outside France, there are all kinds of bubbles to have on offer for your New Year’s. They are all delicious and cost less than even the most entry-level, non-vintage Champagne. If you love Champers but not the spend, here are some alternative fizzies that are balanced, fun, and hella tasty to drink on New Year’s Eve. Llopart Reserva Brut Rosé NVThis bottle has just the right amount of tartness. And the very persistent bubbles make this pink wine extremely refreshing. The effervescence lifts on the palate but does not deny you a slight fruity depth. Treleaven Blanc Ebullient 2019This wine is soft and fizzy. It smells like sliced apple and has a slight touch of honey-sweetness. It’s a laid-back wine, perfect for a laid-back evening. Domaine Carneros by Taittinger Ultra Brut 2015This is a great American Sparkler. It has bracing acidity beneath those soft bubbles. Earthy fruit vibes are lifted into your senses as the body of the wine grips the palate. This is legit, celebratory stuff. Marenco Pineto Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG 2019This wine is deep pink and sweet, with soft, playful, frothy bubbles. It has a creaminess coating the palate and smells like strawberries and raspberries. This is one of those rare wines that will pair well with chocolates. La Marca ‘Luminore’ Prosecco Superiore NVThis Prosecco is soft and bright. It has the tartness of sliced pears, with a whiff of white flowers. The bubbles race to the top, then laze out and float up after being poured, creating a comfy fizz on the palate. Buy a few of these because these bubbs can keep you going all night. Gratien & Meyer Crémant de Loire Rosé Brut NVThis sparkler has a savory side. It’s ripe and juicy, with broad bubbles and a whiff of pepperiness. The fruit is leaner than other wines on this list, but not only is it great on its own for a midnight toast, it will also sing with a meat and cheese plate. The article The 6 Best Sparkling Wines for New Year’s Eve That Aren’t Champagne appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/buy-this-booze/6-best-sparkling-wines-new-years-champagne/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/the-6-best-sparkling-wines-for-new-years-eve-that-arent-champagne In July 2020, the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) issued an ordinance requiring bars to sell food with all alcoholic beverages ordered by diners seated outdoors. Already reeling from the impact of the pandemic, operators without kitchen facilities found a quick workaround to the new mandate, introducing $1 menus with novelty food items such as “Cuomo Chips” and “Handful o’ Croutons.” While his name adorned bar menus across the state, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was not impressed. The SLA soon updated the guidance, warning bar operators that food items had to be as substantial as a sandwich or bowl of soup, and that a bag of chips or handful of baked cubes of bread did not qualify. Cuomo Chips could live on, but only as a side dish. At the risk of further wearing out a tired cliché, history sure has a strange way of repeating itself: Cuomo Chips are not the first example of New York bars serving novelty food items to circumvent newly introduced legislation, though modern-day diners can count themselves lucky that the 2020 workaround bore no resemblance to the previous incarnation — the infamous, and by all accounts inedible, “Raines Sandwich.” In 1896, the State of New York introduced an alcohol excise law, which later came to be known as the “Raines Law” after its author, Sen. John W. Raines. The law restricted how and when alcohol could be sold in the state and aimed to crack down on public drunkenness, particularly in New York City. The Raines Law took aim at the city’s thousands of seedy saloons by drastically increasing the annual cost of liquor licenses and raising the drinking age from 16 to 18, Darrell Hartman explains in Atlas Obscura. The law also prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sundays, except in hotels and lodging houses with at least 10 rooms, where drinks could be served with complimentary meals. Savvy operators were quick to exploit this loophole and continued selling booze throughout the week. Bar and saloon owners converted the extra space on their premises — from attics to basements — into the required number of lodgings. To meet the food requirement, they then devised the cheapest, nastiest solution imaginable. When patrons entered one of the city’s new “Raines Hotels” and ordered a beer or shot of something stronger, a server would bring it to them along with a “Raines Sandwich.” No sooner had the plate been set down on the table, the sandwich would then be whisked back to the bar before accompanying another drinks order at a different table. Drinkers would rarely complain. While satisfying the legal loophole, the sandwiches were never intended to be eaten, often containing rubber or even bricks wedged between two slices of bread. Even when ingredients like ham and cheese were used as the filling, the sandwich could remain in rotation at the bar for anywhere from an entire day to a couple of weeks. Playwright Eugene O’Neill described the typical Raines Sandwich as “an old desiccated ruin of dust-laden bread and mummified ham or cheese.” In “The Social History of Bourbon,” Gerald Carson writes, “Once in a while, some yokel picked up a Raines Law sandwich and tried to eat it, and everybody had a good laugh.” Carson also notes that there is at least one recorded incident of a man using a sandwich as a weapon during a barroom brawl, tragically ending his adversary’s life with one blow. It soon became clear that the legislation had failed in spectacular fashion. Within one year of the law’s passing, New York City housed more than 1,500 Raines Hotels. All could now legally serve alcohol at any hour of the day and on any day of the week, and would ultimately continue doing so until the passing of Prohibition. Rather than curb public drunkenness, the Raines Law fueled more disorder. When local authorities tried to push back, they were stunned to see the courts rule that a “sandwich” satisfied the requirements of being a sufficient “meal” — just as they would more than a century later. The article The Pre-Prohibition Precursor to Cuomo Chips Was the World’s Worst Sandwich appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/pre-prohibition-worlds-worst-sandwich/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/the-pre-prohibition-precursor-to-cuomo-chips-was-the-worlds-worst-sandwich Let’s ease our way into the new year with something light, delicious, easy to drink, and inexpensive. Let’s raise a glass to — and with — Beaujolais. The region just south of Burgundy (some consider it part of Burgundy) is the home of the still-underappreciated Gamay grape, which produces everything from the much-hyped Beaujolais Nouveau to the more substantial and often age-worthy “cru” Beaujolais, which take the names of the 10 villages where these site-specific wines are produced. Morgon, Fleurie, and Chiroubles are just a few of them. And then there is the wine labeled simply “Beaujolais,” a kind of catch-all appellation for wines produced (and blended) from anywhere in the region. Although not very high in the hierarchy, plain old Beaujolais can rise well above its official status and showcase delicious wines that you can buy for bargain prices. One of them is Louis Jadot’s delightful and expressive 2019 Beaujolais. Jadot is one of the oldest and most famous Burgundy négociants, with a portfolio of well over 100 wines, at all levels, from Burgundy and Beaujolais. Its 2019 Beaujolais drinks more like a lighter cru wine — perhaps a Brouilly — than the relatively high-volume bottling that it is. In fact, Kobrand, the U.S. importer, notes that Jadot’s “generous” use of “blending wines of a higher classification to elevate the blend promotes quality and value.” The quality and value quickly become clear in this $12 wine. Fresh and fruit-driven with aromas and tastes of strawberry, raspberry, and a hint of Maraschino cherry, there’s also a peppery note that punctuates the fruit and just enough tannic structure to make it interesting. The wine is made with partial carbonic maceration, a technique commonly used in Beaujolais. Crisp but balanced acidity make it a great companion for a range of lighter foods. It was perfect with a savory veal stew made with lots of dill but, importantly, without cream, which would probably overpower this wine. The article Louis Jadot Beaujolais 2019, Beaujolais, France appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/louis-jadot-beaujolais-2019-beaujolais-france/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/louis-jadot-beaujolais-2019-beaujolais-france This episode of Wine 101 is sponsored by LUX Wines. LUX Wines is an importer of luxury wines from prestigious wineries around the world. Carefully curated, the LUX Wine collection showcases an evolving selection of the finest wines from some of the most revered wine-making families. We are the storytellers and stewards of their family legacies, and we can’t wait to share it all with you. Discover our exceptional wines, and esteemed wine-making families at luxwines.com. In this episode, your host Keith Beavers closes out the first season of Wine 101 with a discussion about Tuscany. Beavers explains that winemaking in Tuscany revolves around the Sangiovese grape, but many regions have their own names for the grape, as well as their own styles of wine produced from it. For example, Chianti, which dominates the American market, is made from Sangiovese, but the wines from this region are bright and aromatic and emit notes of cranberries and cherries. Some of these flavors come from the region’s terroir, but, as always, some are simply instilled by the winemaker’s design. Conversely, another popular Tuscan wine is Brunello di Montalcino. This wine also uses Sangiovese, but the specific variety it calls for is well acclimated to dry, arid regions and produces a very concentrated red wine. It was first created by Ferruccio Biondi-Santi, who wanted to age a wine far past the requirements for Chianti. The result was a big, structured wine that was so popular, a team tried to produce counterfeit versions with Syrah and Merlot, and were eventually jailed. Beavers traces the histories of these wines and other grapes throughout this episode, but warns listeners to look forward to a deeper dive in Season 2. The next season will more specifically examine winemaking in Chianti, as well as parts of Argentina, Chile, and South Africa. Fans can follow Beavers on Instagram at @VinepairKeith, where he will eventually share the Season 2 release date. Listen OnlineListen on Apple Podcasts Or Check Out the Conversation HereMy name is Keith Beavers, and this is the last episode of the season. What’s going on wine lovers? Welcome to Episode 32 of VinePair’s “Wine 101” podcast. My name is Keith Beavers. I am the tastings director of VinePair. And wow, how are you? This is the last episode of Season 1. Wow. I think it’s important that we all have a nice well-rounded conversation about Tuscany. What goes on in the hills of Tuscany? What is Tuscany all about? Is it just Chianti? No, it’s more than that. Let’s get into it. I can’t thank you guys enough for the support you’ve given this podcast. Thank you so much. This has been awesome. This being the last episode, I’m just thinking back on all this and how much fun I’ve had. I loved every episode. I love doing this stuff. Thank you for all the engagement on Instagram, all your reviews, your listenership. Thank you for being part of the VinePair family and just reading VinePair and being a part of it, helping you guys learn. I just don’t ever want to stop doing this, ever. And that’s cool because there’s going to be a Season 2, but we don’t know the date yet, but we’re working on it and man, it’s awesome. We’re gonna build off of what we did in Season 1. We’re going to talk, we’re going to dive deep into “terroir.” I mean, we’re gonna dive deep into the dirt of that. We’re gonna talk about new regions, Chile. We’re gonna do a little more detail on Argentina. We’re gonna talk about South Africa. We’re gonna talk about new grapes, like Moscato, like what’s Moscato? And we’ve had a lot of listeners ask about ports so we’re talking about port. And then I get to talk about this crazy thing called phylloxera that I’ve been hinting at a lot throughout Season 1. It’s a story. Get ready for that one. OK. I want to get to Tuscany, but I just want to let you guys know: Thank you. You’re the best. Let’s keep this going. Right? Cool. So let’s talk about Tuscany. Now the thing is in the next season, another thing we’re going to do is we’re going to do this really deep dive into Chianti and the grape Sangiovese, so I’m not going to go deep into that. That story is really fun. It’s going to be awesome, but I’ll give you an overview of Tuscany, because you know, we know Chianti. We probably know that word. We know it’s a wine. You may be familiar with the term “Super Tuscan,” which is a wine that popped up in the ’70s and the ’80s. It became all the rage on the American market. You may know about Brunello di Montalcino, which is sort of a Johnny-come-lately, noble wine region in Tuscany. But to understand the whole region, just to get a sense of Tuscany is important, because Tuscany, this is where Italian culture and language and art and everything was formed — specifically around the town of Florence. And because of that deep-rooted, embedded history, there’s more documentation about the history of this place, this region, than a lot of other regions in Italy, and the historical activity between the town of Florence and the town of Sienna, south of that is some really fun stuff. And in Season 2, we’re gonna talk a lot about that. But I want to give you sort of just an overview of Tuscany, because there are tons of Tuscan wines on our market, and it can be a little bit overwhelming because it’s one of those regions that we just have such a connection to. A really cool way to understand Tuscany and wine is that what Tuscany really is, is a celebration of one variety, and that variety’s ability to express itself in different ways within one region. The Sangiovese grape, which again, we’re going to get a little deeper into next season, is grown mostly throughout the central part of Italy and Tuscany takes up the majority of the central part of Italy. And one thing about Sangiovese — I mean, every grape loves a hill. Am I right? Every grape loves a good hill with drainy soils and good sun exposure, but Sangiovese legit thrives on these hills. I mean, if you were to put Sangiovese in a lower-lying area, it’ll grow, but it will not do what it does on hills. And it just so happens that Tuscany is 68 percent officially hills. 68 percent. One region. Only 8 percent of the region is flat. And I say that because there’s some Sangiovese there, we’ll talk about that. But what happens with Tuscany is it starts on the coast, in a place that’s called the Maremma, and it works its way inland, and as the hills get higher and higher and more undulating and higher and more undulating, and it gets up to like 18-2,000 feet above sea level as you go inland from the coast. And that’s when things get really interesting. You have all different kinds of elevations, all different opportunities for good sun exposure, and a ton of different kinds of soils. There’s actually famous soils in these lands, but it is a wide variety of soils, and all these conditions are perfect for Sangiovese. And all of the regions that we know, and some that we don’t know, pretty much all lie within these hills. And it’s so unique because the Sangiovese grape has different names depending on where you are in Tuscany. And those names are based on the clonal selections that they’ve made over the years. But it’s also just because of the expression the varieties give — they’re different expressions. And that’s just a great way to understand Tuscany. When you’re drinking wine from Tuscany, you’re drinking Sangiovese in different expressions. Now, the thing is, there are places in Tuscany that do that plant and make international varieties. Those are often done in areas where Sangiovese doesn’t really thrive as much, but it can grow, but they’re using other varieties to supplement. They don’t want to get rid of Sangiovese, it’s their grape, but in certain areas, it’s just not as plentiful in the blends. But that’s a fun part about Tuscan wine, especially as a wine lover, is whatever wine you’re drinking from Tuscany, it’s probably going to be an expression of the Sangiovese grape. I mean, sometimes it’s going to be a small amount. It’s not always going to really be in there, but Sangiovese always has a presence in this area. In Chianti, the Sangiovese grape is bright and aromatic, cranberries and cherries, and just has a good amount of acidity because it’s in these hills with these draining soils. And even if it’s a blend with Merlot or something else, it still retains that sort of, rustic elegance. And the thing about it, that’s kind of a general statement, because within Chianti itself, there’s all these different communes that express the grape in different ways within that region and that sub-region itself. Then if you go south of the Chianti hills, you go into a town called a Montalcino, and this is one of the most arid, dry patches of Tuscany. And in the early to mid-19th century, a man by the name Ferruccio Biondi-Santi isolated a clone of Sangiovese from one of his vineyards. The technical name of the Sangiovese in his vineyard was called “Sangiovese Grosso,” which means it’s a big grape. But the Sangiovese that Ferruccio isolated was not your typical Sangiovese grape. This is a clone of Sangiovese that was truly acclimated to the dry, arid climate of this area and made more concentrated red wines. His goal was to make a wine that would age longer than the wines of Chianti, let’s say. Chianti ages about 10, 15 years. He wanted to go longer. So he created this powerful, big-structured wine from a Sangiovese grape that he called Brunello. And that’s where Brunello di Montalcino came from. So where Chianti is kind of almost elegant, rustic, Brunello di Montalcino is big and structured and it needs time. Before it’s even on the market, it has to age for four years, including two of those years in barrel and four months in the bottle before it’s out onto the market. And five years for the reserva, and you can’t blend anything with this. This has to be 100 percent Brunello. If it’s anything else, it’s a crime. Literally in 2008, there were people that were caught blending Syrah and Merlot into the Brunello di Montalcino and they went to jail. It was a thing. It was called “Brunello Gate.” Seriously. South of Montalcino is a town called Montepulciano, and in that township there is a very famous wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. And originally it was all Sangiovese, but today you can actually put some Cab and Merlot and Syrah into the blend. But it’s kind of going back, now more and more people are just doing Sangiovese and another native grape called Canaiolo. And the result of that old-school blend of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is this really awesome dance between Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti. It has the bright elegance of a Chianti, but it still has the structure of Brunello di Montalcino. It’s really awesome. And you bring a little Canaiolo in there, it kind of makes it nice and earthy. There are Vino Nobile di Montelpuciano that have some Cabernet, some Merlot, and some Sangiovese, and it’s more of a modern-style wine, and they’re really delicious, but the old-school stuff is emerging again. And it’s really awesome. And these are just examples of Sangiovese in these hills at different elevations, different soils expressing themselves in different ways. And what’s so cool is all these wines are available on the American market, and there’s a ton of Italian wine on the American market. You can really explore this stuff pretty easily. And as we start heading west out of the hills towards the flatlands, towards the coast, the hills get a little bit lower, then we get into just flat lands. And as you head west towards the coast, there’s another famous wine region you’re going to recognize on the American market called Morellino di Scansano, and here, they actually call Sangiovese “Morellino di Scansano,” which makes sense right? And because of the lower-lying hills and because it’s getting closer to the coast, where you get a little more sun, it’s a little bit warmer and the wines are kind of full-bodied. They’re not on the level of Brunello di Montalcino, but they have a nice fullness to them. They only have to be 85 percent Sangiovese and they can put other stuff in there, like Cab or Syrah or Merlot. But they’re really awesome wines, if you get a chance. And they are very affordable, too. You can get a Morellino di Scansano for like 15, 20 bucks. And just before we hit the coast is a new-ish wine region called Monte Cucco. And we’re seeing some of it on the American market. They’re kind of full-bodied Sangioveses, and it really is so new. It has a lot of potential, but it hasn’t really been defined yet, but we’ll see it being defined over the next 10 or 15 years or so. And then we get to the coast, and this is what’s really interesting about Tuscany. In these lower-lying areas, Sangiovese grows, it’s fine, but Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cab Franc, all these Bordeaux varieties do better in this area than Sangiovese. And this is the area where, back in the 1960s, and all the way back to 1940s, people were making wine not from Sangiovese but from Cabernet Sauvignon. And this area is called the Maremma, which is a reference to “mare” as in “the sea,” and it, itself, is a wine region, and it’s huge. But in the Maremma, in a town called Bolgheri in the 1940s, a man with a fairly long name, Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, planted Cabernet Sauvignon for literally a house wine in the 1940s on his San Guido estate. And he labeled that wine Sassicaia, and this became one of the first “Super Tuscans” that we’ll talk about in Season 2, but became a really big trend in this area. By the 1970s, there were other winemakers doing the same thing that he was doing, and the “Super Tuscan” thing kind of blew up, because in this area of Tuscany, Sangiovese isn’t as prominent as Bordeaux varieties. And actually Bolgheri was only really known for white wine and rosés because it’s on the coast, but then this thing happens. You’re also going to see wines from Maremma. It’s there, it’s becoming very popular on the American market. And the Maremma is a very large, loosely drawn appellation that covers almost the entire coastline of Tuscany. It’s a big catch-all wine appellation, and you’re going to see wines from the Maremma on the American market. They’re becoming very prominent. But you name it. It’s all kinds of blends. It’s all kinds of reds. Merlot is there, Sangiovese is there, Petit Verdot, Carignan, Syrahs, everything. So the red blend phenomenon we have here in the United States, the Maremma kind of feeds into that love for red blends. Big, full-bodied, more modern in style. And that’s not everything, but that gives you a sense. I hope that it helps you understand Tuscany a little bit more because it really just is different expressions of Sangiovese, and the Sangiovese grape has different names depending on where it’s grown just because of history and because it’s hard to identify it on its own. Tuscan winemakers in these different regions want you to know that this is not just a Sangiovese, this is a Brunello di Montalcino. And even though it is Sangiovese, this is our expression of this grape. Now the thing about Tuscany is it’s not all red wine. It’s not all Sangiovese all the time. There is white wine in Tuscany, it’s just not as prominent. There’s a grape called Vermentino that has grown throughout Tuscany and it doesn’t really have an appellation. I think Monte Cucco has Vermentino in its appellation, but it’s not a prominent grape in Tuscany. But what is, is a grape called Vernaccia. Now Vernaccia is mostly grown around the town of San Gimignano. And there is an appellation there called the Vernaccia di San Gimignano. And what’s interesting about that is that white wine region is that the first DOC awarded to Tuscany was a white wine-growing region. I mean, you would think that Chianti would be the first, but no, it was a white, it was Vernaccia. Vernaccia di San Gimignano is a beautiful white wine. And it’s just not as popular, just because of the popularity of Sangiovese. I mean you can’t mess with its prominence in this region. But that’s kind of a conversation about the overview of the wine of Tuscany, which basically revolves around Sangiovese, and in the second season, we’re going to get into a bunch of other stuff. We’re going to talk about Brunello di Montalcino. We’re gonna talk about Chianti. And in doing that, we’re going to get a better sense of the history of Tuscany, the wine laws, the drama, and all that stuff. A lot of this stuff you probably wish I was talking about right now is going to happen in the next season with a little more detail. It’s gonna be a little more fun because we’re going to be able to really dive into the subtleties of these awesome Italian wine regions. And that’s it. That’s Season 1 in the books. Wine 101. Guys, I cannot wait for Season 2. Follow me on Instagram @VinePairKeith in the meantime. I’ll announce the date, but I’ll see you soon. If you’re digging what I’m doing, picking up what I’m putting down, go ahead and give me a rating on iTunes or tell your friends to subscribe. You can subscribe. If you like to type, go ahead and send a review or something like that, but let’s get this wine podcast out so that everybody can learn about wine. Check me out on Instagram. It’s @vinepairkeith. I do all my stuff in stories. And also, you got to follow VinePair on Instagram, which is @vinepair. And don’t forget to listen to the VinePair Podcast, which is hosted by Adam and Zach. It’s a great deep dive into drinks culture every week. Now, for some credits. How about that? Wine 101 is recorded and produced by yours truly, Keith Beavers, at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big shout-out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin. I also want to thank Danielle Grinberg for making the most legit Wine 101 logo. And I got to thank Darby Cicci for making this amazing song: Listen to this epic stuff. And finally, I want to thank the VinePair staff for helping me learn more every day. Thanks for listening. I’ll see you next week. Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity. The article Wine 101: Tuscany appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/wine-101-tuscany/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/wine-101-tuscany Few spirits have captured the public eye as much as tequila, with stars all launching their own tequilas in recent years. But bartenders will tell you that the flashy new arrivals can’t really compare to the classics, especially when it comes to a brand like Don Julio Tequila, one of the pioneers of the luxury tequila category that most celebrity newcomers are aiming to get a piece of. But bartenders enjoy Don Julio for far more than its pivotal role in tequila history: You’re likely to hear any number of explanations why people who make drinks professionally truly love this drink in particular. From the mixable Blanco to once-in-a-lifetime expressions, here are seven reasons why you should have a bottle of Don Julio on your shelf. 1.BackstoryNew tequila brands might have flash, but none have a backstory quite like that of Don Julio, a company founded in 1942 by a young agave farmer who sought to make great tequila. In 1985, after more than 40 years in the industry, Don Julio González-Frausto Estrada changed tequila forever with the launch of the brand bearing his own name that was only meant to be enjoyed with close friends and family. After a private celebration where it was served, word got out about the quality of the spirit, leading to the subsequent public release of the world’s first luxury tequila. Don Julio is still produced today at the founder’s original property, La Primavera. 2.ProvenanceAs with wine and its terroir, the flavor profile of any tequila depends on where its agave plants are grown. All the agave used in Don Julio comes from the mineral-rich, red-soil Jalisco highlands, an area called Los Altos that is famous for producing fruitier agave, which in turn creates tequilas with pronounced fruitiness and floral notes. The Blue Weber agave used to make Don Julio is harvested at seven to 10 years of age. Each plant is hand-picked and hand-cut by Don Julio’s jimadors to ensure the quality of its juice. According to some stories, Don Julio González even planted his agave farther apart than usual, which was costly and required more land, with the goal to produce the highest-quality agave to make his tequila. 3.MixabilityThere’s a reason why world-class bartenders like Mario Farulla love to deploy Don Julio in contemporary cocktails. Formerly at one of the world’s-top-100-rated bars and now running a luxury bar in Rome, Farulla uses Don Julio Blanco to add complexity to a house Manhattan traditionally using Bulleit Rye. For Josh Lindley, co-founder of Bartender Atlas and one of the organizers of the Toronto Cocktail Conference, Don Julio’s versatility makes it a go-to in mixed drinks. “All of the best tequilas can straddle the line between accurate representation of the agave plant in distillate form while still being versatile enough to combine with juices, liqueurs, and other cocktail ingredients,” Lindley says. “Don Julio Blanco does this really well.” 4.SippabilityDon Julio makes for a terrific cocktail, but it’s also phenomenal to sip on its own. Seattle bartender Kit Blood often uses Don Julio Reposado in a classic Margarita. “Shake Don Julio Reposado, fresh-squeezed lime juice, and agave nectar with ice,” she says. “Pour it into a glass with a salty rim. No liqueur or sour mix necessary when you make a Margarita with good tequila.” But when she’s off the clock, her favorite drink is the same Don Julio Reposado — neat. “It’s smooth and tasty,” she says. “Good as a sipper or a mixer.” 5.AppearanceBalanced aromas, flavors, and textures are the most important aspects of any high-end beverage, but don’t overlook the aesthetic qualities of the bottle from which they are poured. For Matej Novak, a drinks blogger with the YouTube channel “Cocktails and Happiness,” the long and elegant bottles of Don Julio 1942 stand out whenever he sees them. “Its [the bottle’s] dimensions mean it doesn’t fit where regular bottles do, so it’s usually displayed somewhere more prominent,” he says. “If I’m at a bar that stocks it and someone is celebrating something big and special, that’s what I’m ordering, without hesitation.” 6.Unique VariationsDespite its history, Don Julio isn’t afraid to try completely new things. In addition to its classic line of tequilas, Don Julio also produces several unique variations, such as the Don Julio 70 Añejo Claro, a unique, clear añejo tequila. Aged 18 months in American oak as with the traditional Don Julio Añejo, with all the rich character and complexity that designation implies — it is then charcoal-filtered, giving the appearance of a young, vibrant Blanco and bringing back in those pepper and agave notes. Another unique variation that offers rich potential for cocktails: Don Julio Reposado Double Cask, which was finished in casks that previously held Buchanan’s blended Scotch — a changeup from a now- sought-after previous release that was finished in smoky Lagavulin barrels — this one offering even more variation in flavor, as well as mixability. The end result offers the smooth chocolate and peat overtones of a Scotch-cask finish to the honey notes of agave. 7.The (Ultra) High EndFew tequilas approach the complexity and character of Don Julio 1942, which, after a minimum of two and a half years in oak, emerges as a creamy, spicy sip — exactly the sort of drink to order for a special occasion, or when spending someone else’s money! But Don Julio takes it even further with its Real (as in “Madrid”), an Extra Añejo that spends three to five years in American white-oak barrels. Don Julio Real offers complex notes of caramel, chocolate, vanilla, almonds, and black pepper, followed by a long, elegant finish. Its price point, around $400 per bottle, means that it is probably not going to be found on every bar. However, that can be interpreted as a sort of bonus attribution: If you do spot a bottle, you’ll know you’re someplace special. Find out where to buy this storied tequila – click the button below! This article is sponsored by Don Julio Tequila. The article Love Tequila? Bartenders Explain Why You Need Don Julio Tequila on Your Bar appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/bartenders-explain-why-you-need-don-julio-tequila-on-your-bar/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/love-tequila-bartenders-explain-why-you-need-don-julio-tequila-on-your-bar It’s probably not a shock a tequila favorite among bartenders would have a stake in the world of classic cocktails, right? Not that Don Julio’s portfolio doesn’t lend itself to some unique cocktail twists (the bee pollen-studded Turmericana, for instance). But cocktails with classic roots and Don Julio Tequila seem to go hand in hand. That’s right in line with the Don Julio legacy—a legacy built by a young farmer, Don Julio González, who started making tequila in 1942 and founded La Primavera distillery in 1947 because he believed in the potential of agave in Mexican soil. Rooting his brand to the literal land — putting sweat and money behind his devotion, with more space between agave plantings and slower roasting — is what set Don Julio apart early on. Of course, the best part of Don Julio is those high standards for authenticity and agave quality apply at every level still today, from Añejo and Reposado to the classic Don Julio Blanco, making it just the right ingredient for classic cocktail recipes — ones that have survived changing times and trends (and even a few tall tales). Here are three classic cocktails that are rooted to history and lend a taste of authenticity in a time when we need it most. La PalomaThe Paloma is an exquisitely easy recipe, the kind you can put together on the fly with a few ingredients. Its history is a bit more muddled: One story attributes its origin to hospitality legend Don Javier Delgado Corona, who ran a famous bar in the town of Tequila and also invented another soda-tequila drink, the cola-based Batanga. Another now-debunked story attributes the Paloma to a contemporary Massachusetts-based bartender, Evan Harrison, who supposedly included it in a pamphlet on the “Popular Cocktails of the Rio Grande” (except no evidence of that pamphlet exists). It’s understandable why people wanted to claim credit for inventing it. The truth is much more poetically simple: The drink came about as an inevitability of two products meeting in time, in an evolving Mexican drinks culture. As tequila production continued to evolve in the mid-20th century — very much courtesy of brands like Don Julio — tequila eventually met up with its carbonated match made in heaven: grapefruit soda. Grapefruit soda was being developed in Mexico in the mid-1950s, at which point Don Julio González was hard at work devoting his time to his agave plants and honing his tequila-making process at La Primavera distillery. From there it was only a matter of time before grapefruit soda found its way into a glass of tequila with ice and lime — and maybe a pinch of salt. The drink is still adored in Mexico today, with Mexicans reaching for any one of a variety of grapefruit-flavored sodas, allowing the spritely carbonation and floral bittersweetness of the grapefruit to act as a perfect complement to the tequila. It should be served in a tall glass, giving those lovely bubbles a bit of length to travel upward. Considering the increasing array of artisanal grapefruit sodas now available, there’s plenty to play with. Just keep the Don Julio handy to ensure you’re using the best ingredients. Don Julio Blanco Margarita, a.k.a. a ‘Tommy’s Margarita’In the U.S., the drink has been adulterated to the point where one can pull on a lever to release a sticky, frozen mix masquerading as a cocktail. Not that we don’t have room in our hearts for a frozen Margartia, but the cocktail actually has cleaner, simpler roots — spirit, sweetener, with the assertive piquancy of salt and lime — and it deserves more reverence. If only its origin was easier to pin down: Back stories are as varied as bizarre recipe variations (Kale Margaritas, anyone?). In one version of the story, Carlos “Danny” Herrera, claims he invented the drink as a Tijuana roadside bartender catering to the finicky tastes of an aspiring dancer named Marjorie King. There’s another story of a Dallas socialite, Margarita Sames, inventing the drink during a 1948 Christmas party in Acapulco, where her dear friend Tom Hilton (you might know the name) quickly exported the drink idea onto his hotel menus (except the timing there is at least a few years too late). The origins of the Tommy’s Margarita are exceedingly simple and lean into the drink’s Mexican heritage. Working at his parents’ now-famous restaurant bearing the same name in San Francisco in the late 1980s, Julio Bermejo swapped simple agave sweetener in for the traditional orange liqueur in his Margarita recipe. Bermejo wasn’t just bored. He’d been exploring tequilas for a better part of the decade, and wanted to create a drink that allowed the agave spirit to shine, unobstructed. The result was not only a cleaner flavor profile — delicately sweet agave notes in place of syrupy orange florals — but a return to literal roots. With just blanco tequila, lime, and agave, a Tommy’s Margarita is kinder to the essence of agave. Therefore it’s no shock Bermejo was chosen to accompany then-President of Mexico Vincente Fox on a world tour to celebrate tequila’s denomination of origin status. For agave authenticity, the Tommy’s Margarita is the recipe to beat. It’s a purist’s cocktail, highlighting the delicacy of agave from the fresh vegetal notes of Don Julio Blanco paired with the subtle, sugary kiss of agave nectar (no levers required), as well as the clean, and nearly clear color of the drink. Plus there’s no kitschy glassware required. The Bloody MariaYou might know the Bloody Maria as the guest of honor at a recent morning-after brunch. The drink, however, has a longer footprint, with its origins stretching all the way back to the 1920s and all the way across the pond, to Paris. At least that’s the fabulous, if murky and convoluted background of the Bloody Mary, on which the Bloody Maria is based. There are two possible sources — a former Vaudevillian named George Jessel, who at a Palm Beach party in 1927 experimented with tomato and vodka and promptly spilled it down the dress of a fellow party guest named Mary. There’s also a bartender, Fernand Petiot, who supposedly mixed the fiery vodka favored by Russian emigrés at a Parisian bar, softened by tomato juice. That all came stateside when Petiot got behind the bar of a lauded New York hotel in 1934, and the rest is Bloody history, so to speak. The Bloody Maria came about more recently, sometime in the 1960s (according to some historians, the first mention of it is in The Press Courier in January 1972). It’s nearly the same vibrant mix of tomato, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and cayenne, but the fresh, spiky green heat of a tequila like Don Julio Blanco gives it more of a garden patch vibe than you’d get out of a traditional Bloody Mary. Indeed, the green notes against supple red tomato and the subtle earthiness of the Worcestershire make this a kind of spring awakening in a glass — ideal for a brunch eye-opener, of course, but just as welcome when you’re looking for something to sip that tastes fresh. There’s a spiritual, if not historic, connection between the beloved Sangrita chaser and the Bloody Maria. In fact, among Sangrita drinkers it’s widely contested whether tomato belongs in the zest concoction in the first place (many recipes include pomegranate and orange juice, as well as chilies). But when Sangrita recipes incorporate tomato, there’s no denying the two drinks have a flavor profile in common. The Don Julio Sangrita features fresh plum tomatoes, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and lime, making it almost a kind of Bloody Maria in miniature. (That’s apt, considering “Sangrita” literally means “little blood.”) With tomato and assertive savory seasoning and vibrant spices, the Bloody Maria and Sangrita alike act as perfect backdrops for the fresh, tender green heat of a Don Julio Blanco. It’s your choice whether you want a little Sangrita kick or a full Bloody Maria, which can be served in anything from a tall Collins glass to a sturdier Old Fashioned glass — or batched in pitchers. You’ll notice that vegetal heat instantly and promptly forget the vodka. Don Julio in the mix makes it an instant classic. This article is sponsored by Don Julio Tequila. The article The History Behind 3 Classic Tequila Cocktails appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/the-history-behind-3-classic-tequila-cocktails/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/the-history-behind-3-classic-tequila-cocktails The new year is finally around the corner, and no one can wait to celebrate — but how will they? With indoor dining barred across the country, and many avoiding get-togethers altogether, this New Year will be anything but ordinary. Many wonder what 2021 will even look like. When we emerge from our pods and dust off our “going-out” threads, where will we actually go? And when we get there, what will we be drinking? The greatest minds of our generation gathered in the subreddit “r/AskReddit” to answer the question: “You go up to a bartender and tell him: ‘Make me a 2020.’ What drink does he make?” We scanned the hive for the best responses, and compiled them below. 1. Keep your distance.
2. It wouldn’t be a 2020 cocktail without hand sanitizer.
3. … Or cocktails to go.
4. Waste not, want not.
5. On second thoughts…
6. We’re all home bartenders these days anyway.
7. No need for jiggers or shots glasses after the year we’ve just had.
8. The perfect alternative dairy for your latte.
9. AKA “Rotten grapefruit, sugar, and regret.”.
10. The Easiest Low ABV Cocktail
11. And finally, where would we be without our most esteemed mixologists?
The article People Are Sharing What 2020 Would Be If It Were A Cocktail And The Answers Are Brutal appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/booze-news/2020-the-cocktail/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/people-are-sharing-what-2020-would-be-if-it-were-a-cocktail-and-the-answers-are-brutal New Year’s Eve looks different for everyone, every year. This year especially will be a bit of a crapshoot. Bars and restaurants are closed across the country, parties are illegal, family gatherings are dangerous, and friends are helping friends by agreeing to #stayhome. But of course, there is a bright side: Now is your chance to confidently skip out on overcrowded ragers with insane entrance fees and take a short, budget-friendly trip to the grocery store and stock up on some really good beer. For those who already love beer, there’s no explanation needed here: Enjoy the list! For those who may have an inkling to expand their beer palates — perhaps the world of sour beers is calling, or a sparkling-wine-inspired IPA might do — there’s no time like the present to start exploring. This festive list of beers includes options for a range of palates and tastes, from a lager-like beer-wine hybrid brewed with Sauvignon Blanc must, to a corked-and-caged classic from the saison promised land. Consider this curated list of beer bottles (and cans) worthy to pop while you’re counting down the clock. New year, new you: Let the beer-buying adventure begin. 10. Allagash Two Lights
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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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