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HIGH-PROOF SPIRITS are making the rounds at the local cocktail dens in our fair city: shots of overproof rum served with questionable judgment at last call, Navy strength gin making its way into martinis.  Building cocktails with these boozy potations presents an interesting challenge for bartenders who must muscle the... Read More

A DRINK WITH DONAL O’GALLACHOIRBrand Manager for Glendalough Irish Whiskey IF YOU HAVE YET TO meet Donal O’Gallachoir, you soon will.  This Irish-born brand ambassador and self-described whiskey nerd is spreading the gospel of his country’s original spirit: poitín (pronounced “potcheen”).  He recently moved to Boston and is finding a... Read More

Contrary to the general expectation that WHO, the World Health Organization, is imbued with objective medical science, once again it has issued a document, its world cancer report 2o14, that, in the section on alcohol, seems to me more a prohibitionistic, political polemic than dispassionate, professional and helpful.  This is... Read More

When Suzanne Schalow and Kate Baker opened Craft Beer Cellars in Belmont Center three-and-a-half years ago, they were dedicated, hard-working, knowlegdeable, and somewhat business savvy.  But the amiably driven co-owners never did expect the brew-nami of beer and steep fan-to-geek-to-business partner trajectories that have followed in the wake.  Today they... Read More

Among the most interesting and delicious but least understood Champagne categories on the market is the pure 1OO% Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs.  Softly textured and nuanced with aromatic complexity, Champagnes made exclusively with white grapes are not only highly reflective of their terroir origins but they can also often prove... Read More

IF YOU’VE CAUGHT the Boston cocktail community’s latest fad/tradition, you are well acquainted with the Daiquiri Time Out.  To the indoctrinated, taking a DTO is simply taking a break from your hectic life to sip on a Daiquiri.  A simple mixture of rum, fresh lime juice and sugar, the drink... Read More

IT TAKES THE INTREPID to plant on an active volcano.  After tasting what they’ve wrought, we’re glad they braved Etna, Europe’s largest, most active volcano.  At nearly 11,OOO feet (3322 meters) and massive in bulk, this ill-tempered giant not only dominates and constantly threatens northeastern Sicily, but also presents to... Read More

WITH THEIR pleasing aromatics, eye-catching colors and luscious flavors, fruit beers are popular both for their approachability and their individuality.  Brewers in Europe and beyond have long used fruits to add sweet, sour or tart flavors and aromas to their beers.  While there are some historic brewing styles, such as... Read More

THE GIN GIMLET THERE ARE MANY delightful cocktails that were born on the high seas, for which we can thank the British Royal Navy.Beginning in 1655 sailors were rationed half a pint of rum per day; in fancier quarters, the officers drank gin.  Resourceful officers found clever ways to dress... Read More