Drinks Examiner

Colorado town getting another micro-brewery

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:24:28 -0700

Alaska once was regarded as the wild frontier of America where the entrepreneurial spirit could thrive. Colin and Shannon Westcott have reversed that trend.When they moved to Fort Collins, CO, from Anchorage in 2005, they established Hops & Berri...

Cape Cod Beer expands again

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:04:42 -0700

As many brewers cut back in the face of an ongoing global economic malaise, Cape Cod Beer keeps growing. Four new tanks were installled today at the Phinney's Lane facility in Hyannis, MA. The expansion is only natural since the bre...

Bluecoat Gin finally becomes 'official'

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:26:14 -0700

William M. Dowd photoWhen I was a newspaper editor for more than 40 years, the joke used to be that too many people didn't think anything was official until they read it in The New York Times.In today's Times food section, Florence Fabri...

Craft distilling guru goes between the covers

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:07:42 -0700

As the American craft distilling field gathers momentum, it is developing not only its own flavors, but its own literature and human catalysts.Take Bill Owens. A craft distiller as well as being the founder of the American Distilling Institute, he ha...

A cocktail menu for New Year's Eve

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:16:28 -0700

• I'm releasing this expanded version of my first monthly "What will they think of next?" feature for 2010 a few days early so you can go through it to select some New Year's Eve cocktails. For that reason, the offering is double...

Bruce Willis a diehard Belvedere man

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:54:45 -0700

Willis at a press conference John McClane, actor Bruce Willis's action hero character in the "Diehard" movie trilogy, took a lot of chances. But, he could always forget about them once the director yelled "Cut!&...

Merry Christmas 2009!

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:54:35 -0700

A very merry Christmas to you and yours.

P.S. If you're stuck for a last-second gift for a person of refined taste, try my four-part "Holidays In a Bottle" gift guide. It covers rums, bourbons, Scotches and liqueurs.

Do's and don'ts for holiday partying

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:09:42 -0700

Tis the time of year when inhibitions go out the window.Office parties, gatherings of friends, family feasts, New Year's Eve ... Ah, how the drinks do flow.Unfortunately, too many occasional drinkers tend to overdo in such circumstances, to the regre...

Holidays in a bottle: A gift guide (4)

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:49:43 -0700

William M. Dowd photos• Fourth, and last, in a series of holiday gift-giving suggestions for the spirits connosieur. Go here for part one, here for part two, and here for part three.We've done the rums, bourbons and Scotches f...

Ontario wine gala to honor its own

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:43:39 -0700

Good winemaking doesn't stop at the Canadian border."Cuvee Weekend," an annual gala celebration of Ontario province winemaking, will be held from Friday, February 19, through Sunday, February 21, beginning with the Cuvee Gala on opening da...

Holidays in a bottle: A gift guide (3)

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:58:02 -0700

William M. Dowd photos• Third in a series of holiday gift-giving suggestions for the spirits connosieur. Go here for part one and here for part two.We've done the rums and bourbons, so today we head across The Pond to Scotland...

Some toasts for the New Year

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:35:46 -0700

We all know about "Auld Lang Syne" and "Here's to absent friends" toasts usually recited to ring in the New Year. But wouldn't you like to find something more in keeping with your personality and philosophy -- assuming you have on...

Holidays in a bottle: A gift guide (2)

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:56:23 -0700

• Part 2 of an ongoing holiday gift selection series. Go here for part one.Bourbon is the quintessential American spirit. Regulated by federal law as to content (at least 51% corn in the mash) and aging barrel composition (first-use American whi...

The return of Knob Creek Bourbon

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:26:55 -0700

The distiller's new marketing campaign poster.The creek no longer is dry. If it ever really was.In either case, I must say it's nice to have an unfettered supply of Knob Creek once more. The smooth, 100-proof Kentucky bourbon is among th...

Holidays in a bottle: A gift guide (1)

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:51:19 -0700

William M. Dowd photosUnless you've been busy all year searching out and sampling different spirits with an eye toward which you'll be giving friends and/or loved ones as holiday gifts, it probably is too late to do much research&n...

Japanese Space Beer finally on the market

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:14:37 -0700

I've been updating you since 2008 on the experiment to grow barley in space, then use it to make beer. Now it can be reported: Sapporo has gone to market with the new product. The Japanese brewer had been working with Okayama University a...

Israeli firm corrals a chunk of Drinks Americas

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:52:16 -0700

It's difficult to think of, oh, say Willie Nelson, as Israeli. Or Donald Trump. Or Kid Rock.But, in the global alcoholic beverage industry, ownership makes for strange bedfellows.Drinks Americas Holdings Ltd. has sold a chunk of its brands portfolio...

Beer Connoisseur Magazine to debut

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:15:53 -0700

Magazines may be going belly-up in many categories while the eocnomy stumbles along, but that isn’t stopping Lynn Davis. The founder and editor of Beer Connoisseur Magazine will see the new title debut on newsstands nationwide on Tuesday, De...

A Beer Drinker's Guide to Champagne

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:39:47 -0700

Holiday bubblies are here.Imagine this holiday scene.There you sit, in your latest ugly Christmas sweater that already has a splotch of holiday gravy on the front, wondering how to avoid looking like a schlub when you uncork the Champagn...

'Calistoga' approved as a wine designation

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:59:36 -0700

. Chalk up one more designation in the ever-more-complex world of U.S. wine labeling.Napa Valley winemakers have been cleared by the federal government to put the name "Calistoga" on wines made from grapes grown in that Californ...