We don’t have much of
an aperitif culture in these parts. “Pour the lady something vodka-spiked and
fruity and the gentleman a beer or iced vodka” seems to be the standard
approach. Which is a damn shame.
On the anniversary of his 400th column for the esteemed wine magazine, Decanter, veteran wine critic and former head of Christie's wine department Michael Broadbent had a few things to say about the current state of the wine biz.
I learned how to properly drink vodka from
the best, my Polish friends, so Angus Winchester’s eloquent defense of the
world’s ubiquitous white spirit came as no surprise. But amid the incessant
whine of bartenders forced to craft “blueberry vodka-tinis” and the like, it
was refreshing to hear the defenders of vodka on the “I Hate Vodka, I Love
Vodka” panel.
Just back from my
fourth straight edition of Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, undoubtedly
the premier celebration of the cocktail in North America and likely the world, I
paused to reflect upon the overall tone of the event. It was, I realized this
morning, somewhat different than in years past.
This story, over at
LushAngels.com, caused me to turn once again to one of my favorite topics,
namely the way cocktails (and other drinks) are priced in a bar or restaurant
setting. The study that prompted my musings is about the inevitability of a $20
Mai Tai, assuming that said drink will incorporate all the best ingredients. Go
ahead and read it; I’ll wait for you here.
It happened again to
me last week, this time at a beer specialty place. I was there with my
wife,
who was not in the mood for a beer, so we inquired as to their wine
selections
by the glass. The response was, to be generous, rather underwhelming – a
quartet
of supermarket wines any one of which we could have bought a bottle of
for not
much more than they were charging for a glass. And I was left wondering:
why?
Attention all Tales of
the Cocktail attendees. If you have interest in whisky in general, if you have
interest in Canadian whiskies in particular, or if you have interest in making
whisky cocktails, I strongly suggest you check out my Tales of the Cocktail
panel seminar, The Many Faces of Canadian Whisky, at 3:30 on Friday, July 23, in the Grand Ballroom South at the Royal
Sonesta Hotel.
Gin and summertime just seem to go together naturally, yet most bars and restaurants seem content to confining their gin usage to martinis and the occasional gin and tonic. Here are five ideas to spur gin sales:
Since it’s not
almost-officially summertime, a great season for the enjoyment of wheat beers,
I thought a down-and-dirty treatise on these beers was in order. So let’s go!
A veteran beer writer and brewing industry observer, Stephen Beaumont is the author of six books on beer and a leader in beer education for service industry professionals. He travels extensively, hosting beer tastings and beer dinners, and serves as beer consultant to a diverse range of hospitality companies.
Stephen Beaumont
