While California Pinot Noir isn’t new, Meiomi Pinot Noir proves that it can still be exciting. The Meiomi winemaking process artfully combines skill and intuition, drawing from the unique terroir of their vineyards throughout California wine country. The result is a remarkable wine that is “blue fruit”-forward (think blueberry and blackberry) with well-balanced notes of baking spices. As Jason…

Although rosé’s popularity peaks in the summertime, the pink wine’s roots prove it is more than a trendy seasonal beverage. The style dates back centuries, when the Greeks brought vines to Marseilles and rosé was created. It caught the attention of the Romans, who exported it through their trade routes. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the expansion of rail travel within France…

Albariño is a quintessential summer white wine. The popular Spanish grape variety tends to be light and refreshing with its ample acidity. It’s easy to drink on its own and an excellent companion to all kinds of seafood and appetizers. At a recent gathering, I was poured a glass of Albariño from Long Island’s North Fork, where the grape has taken root, as it has in Virginia and California, among…

Before the mezcal bars, jungle tasting menus, and all-night beach parties, Tulum’s drinking culture revolved around simple things: ice-cold beers, fresh lime, Coca-Cola, and whatever else could survive the Caribbean heat. Even now, caguamas — oversized bottles of Mexican lagers meant for sharing — still appear on tables long before sunset, sweating through buckets of ice while the humidity…

Elijah Craig is adding to its Single Barrel portfolio with a 21-year-old bourbon bottled at 94 proof. The release will be a limited edition offering alongside the two bottles in the existing, permanent Single Barrel lineup, which consists of a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old bourbon. The 21-year-old whiskey will be available at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience in Bardstown, Ky., beginning June…

Residents of the United States drank 7.8 billion gallons of booze in 2023, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). That same year — the latest of NIAAA’s available data — considerable slides in wine and beer consumption predicated a nearly 15 million-gallon dip in total alcohol consumption in the United States. Spirits was the only category to record growth,…

When ordering a classic cocktail, drinkers can anticipate how the beverage will likely taste. But as more craft cocktail bars open and drink programs lean into bespoke recipes, predicting the flavor of an unfamiliar menu item becomes a bit more difficult. Rather than relying on previous experiences with well-established concoctions like the Negroni or Old Fashioned, drinkers must consider the…

Tequila has been enjoying somewhat of a heyday in the U.S. of late. In addition to the long-established legacy brands, the tequila category is rife with young companies leveraging celebrities and influencers to get noticed. While LALO Tequila is a relatively new producer, its founders have made a concerted effort to do the opposite and set out to make quality juice without any of the bells and…

Generations are more or less made up. They’re a social construct, much like “time” and “the rule of law.” That doesn’t mean cultural norms aren’t shifting, and it certainly hasn’t stopped the beverage-alcohol industry from collectively freaking the hell out about it. But from Zoomer to Boomer and beyond, this generation stuff is kinda squishy. Seasons, on the other hand, are pretty real. In the…

This episode of The Buildout is brought to you by Farmer’s Gin. Whether you are building a bar, you currently are operating a bar, or you just run a bar at home, you need to have a Martini on your menu — and that Martini deserves Farmer’s Gin. Farmer’s Gin is created by the same amazing people that created Michter’s Bourbon. Every single bar deserves a great gin, and Farmer’s Gin is perfect for…

This episode of Wine 101 is brought to you by Meiomi. Springtime moments deserve to be more than ordinary, from those first few patio dinners to picnics in the park. Paired with Meiomi’s signature velvety texture and layers of dark berry, mocha, and toasted oak — it’s the perfect finish to your spring table. Visit Meiomi.com to find a bottle near you today. In 18th-century Bordeaux, when members…

Japanese whisky doesn’t have as long a history as other spirits categories. It more than makes up for its shortened timeline with a reputation for producing outstanding liquid, and this penchant for excellence makes Japan home to some of the whiskey world’s most desired bottles. It’s also yielded quite a few labels that require consumers to dig a little deeper into their wallet and splurge. The…

When it comes to making spirits, it’s tough to say one part of the process is most important. Grind grain poorly, and you get bad whiskey. Mistreat molasses or cane juice, and the result is subpar rum. And if you’re maturing spirits, cask type, warehousing, and aging climate all become major factors. But there’s almost always a beating heart (and visual centerpiece) at the center of any spirits…

It doesn’t get more laid back than a spritz. In its simplest form, it’s a combination of an apéritif (like St-Germain or the ever-popular Aperol) with sparkling wine and soda water. The cocktail comes together in an instant with no special tools required, making it a recipe that even the most inexperienced home bartender can master. But in this case, basic does not mean boring. Spritzes are…

When Sip & Guzzle snagged the top spot on the annual North America’s 50 Best list in April, it somehow felt like Shingo Gokan was finally getting his flowers. This may look like an odd statement if you’re familiar with Gokan’s career. After all, his curriculum vitae contains more floral arrangements than the average bodega. He was Tales of the Cocktail’s International Bartender of the Year in…

The article The Elijah Craig Branch Water appeared first on VinePair.

Tequila is often branded as the partygoers’ spirit, and data supports that reputation: Participants in a recent study linked the word “party” to tequila when considering the moods that certain spirits can elicit. But as VinePair’s spirits editor Aaron Goldfarb found while tasting hundreds of tequilas this year, producers are beginning to lean more into artisanal branding to rewrite the agave…

Sancerre is one of the most popular names in white wine. Though it may have experienced a bump in interest thanks to a cameo in Taylor Swift’s most recent documentary, the Loire Valley appellation’s star has long been on the rise. As Sauvignon Blanc became a staple on tables stateside over the past several decades, Sancerre quickly emerged as one of the premier regions for the grape, gaining…

When Champagne earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2015 for its hillsides, houses, and history-filled cellars, it not only codified the importance of the region and its unique winemaking practices, but it also set off a tourism boom. In the past decade, Reims and Épernay, two of Champagne’s best-known cities, have become hubs for wine enthusiasts. Restaurants, luxury hotels, and new winery…

Before craft beer there was only Big Beer. At first it was factory-made regional lagers that were ubiquitous to a certain area. Old Style in the Midwest, “Natty Boh” in Baltimore, Olympia in the Pacific Northwest, Pearl in Texas — it was what pretty much everyone in these places drank. By the 1960s, these regional favorites had started to be replaced by national powerhouses and you already know…

Four Roses Distillery will launch its oldest bourbon to date to inaugurate its new “ultra-premium” Anthology line this summer, the brand announced today. Anthology will be a series of annual, limited releases intended to honor the distillery’s nearly 140-year history. The series debuts with a 21-year-old, 124.9-proof bourbon named Chapter One: Origin, which will hit markets on July 10 at a…

In recent years, tequila sales have exploded in the U.S., but mezcal has lagged behind and the spirit still hasn’t yet caught its stride. Yes, mezcal continues to charm bartenders and aficionados, but the popularity of tequila raises the question of whether or not the “other” agave-based spirit will ever enjoy the same limelight. Scaling mezcal has its limitations. Producers rely on wild agave…

The bourbon cocktail canon runs deep with roots in one of the earliest known cocktails — the Old Fashioned — followed by classics like the Mint Julep and Boulevardier and modern entries including the Gold Rush and the Paper Plane. While these are all exemplary when made with a practiced hand, they are easy to overdo since their simplicity invites creative iteration and leads to countless riffs.…

While Merlot originated in Bordeaux, the grape grows well all around the world. Its cultivation now stretches from its homeland in Europe to the Pacific Northwest of the United States and the Southern Hemisphere. Merlot is often compared to Cabernet Sauvignon: The two go hand in hand because they are the most common varieties in Bordeaux and known for headlining the region’s world-class,…

Since Covid-19 took over the world in 2020, workplace culture, and in-office expectations, haven’t been the same. The rise of remote work led many companies to cut back on their real estate holdings, and as the “one central office where all employees work” model became less the norm, other work-related traditions started to fall away. One such tradition? Heading to a nearby bar with colleagues to…

Nine months after being named receiver of Uncle Nearest, Inc., Phillip G. Young, Jr., filed a non-binding letter of intent to sell the embattled whiskey brand this past Friday. The filing comes just three days after the case’s presiding judge denied founder Fawn Weaver’s motion to reverse the company’s receivership. Young will potentially hand all assets of the company — with the exception of…

It seemed like it wasn’t a question of if, but when, Voodoo Ranger’s parent company finally caught up to Blue Moon’s on corporate craft volume. And according to one long-running brewing industry magazine, the answer is now. But that answer appears to be wrong. And a miscommunication around New Belgium Brewery’s “total beverage” ambitions may be to blame. Every year around Memorial Day — that…

We’re in the age when the line between bar and restaurant is increasingly blurred. Not only do bars now offer stellar food programs and table service — they’re requiring reservations. The reservation climate of the 2020s has been nothing but volatile. Hopefuls wake up early in the morning to refresh Resy, OpenTable, and the like for a chance at snagging a seat and regularly end up disappointed.…

Beer still reigns as the country’s most consumed alcoholic beverage by volume, according to data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). In 2023 — the most recent year of data available — Americans drank 6.2 billion gallons of beer, a 3 percent dip in total consumption from 2022. Still, the category topped wine (887 million gallons) and spirits (734 million gallons)…

Fifty years ago, the Judgement of Paris played a major role in solidifying the prestige of Cabernet Sauvignon made in the United States. Soon after, a number of factors led American winemakers and consumers to develop a palate for big, jammy, teeth-kicking Cabs — a taste preference that eventually overwhelmed the market. But when sampling hundreds of bottles for this year’s list of the 30 Best…