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by PINK LADY WE OFTEN THINK of Juleps as the provenance of mint, bourbon, warm weather, and the Kentucky Derby, but Julep drinking wasn’t always this way.  From the turn of the 19th century through the Civil War, the Mint Julep was a staple of everywhere, everyday drinking.  The beverage... Read More

by HARVEY FINKEL, MD THE RISKS AND BENEFITS of alcohol consumption vis-à-vis cancer remain murky, confusing, and conflicted.  We all can agree that heavy drinking is unhealthy, and most believe the great weight of scientific evidence developed during the last 3O years strongly suggesting light or moderate drinking is healthful,... Read More

by SANDY BLOCK, MW IT’S NO SECRET that Chardonnay’s growth has stalled and that it’s perceived as losing ground in the market, particularly among younger consumers who profess a preference for Sauvignon Blanc.  Chardonnay, however, is anything but monolithic.  Handled properly it shows subtle differences in soil, climate, weather, and... Read More

by KIRSTEN AMANN Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the holidays are here, which means the busiest few weeks of the year are upon us.  We’ve searched far and wide to create this tidy list of gifts items that will appeal to the time-crunched shoppers streaming into your store.  From serious... Read More

by HARVEY FINKEL PELAYO DE LA MATA, the 13th Marqués de Vargas, wears three vinous hats, heading wine estates in three distinct traditional regions of Spain, each producing notable estate-grown wines in modern wineries.  The three-headed marqués, a youthful and active 71, enlivened my day with a recent visit, bearing... Read More

by PINK LADY AS THE COOL WINTER months set in, our thoughts inevitably turn to darker spirits.  Who can resist a little barrel-aged something when hunkering down in front of the fireplace?  The snow may not arrive in full force until January, but as the leaves make their final turn... Read More

by ANDY CROUCH FALLS BRINGS US another opportunity to contemplate some under-valued beer styles.  We don’t know whether the India Pale Ale craze may be fad or lasting trend but it dominates the scene at the moment.  The current consumer movement towards hoppy, hazy beers shows no signs of abating... Read More

by HARVEY FINKEL THERE SEEM to be no dismal vintages any more in Bordeaux, and perhaps surprisingly too many hailed with superlatives. But the latter are, to me, usually over-extracted, dense, and lacking in grace – echoes of wines made with more enthusiasm than finesse in northern California. Now, however,... Read More

by PINK LADY A CURIOUS BLEND of Scotch, sloe gin, citrus, and absinthe, The Modern Cocktail is one of those drinks that is greater than the sum of its parts.  This seems to be the case for several Scotch whisky cocktails: the Blood & Sand, for example, which mixes Scotch,... Read More