A Food, Spirits & Wine Blog

Santa was very good to me this past Christmas. It’s hard to pick my favorite gift, but if forced to do so, I’d have to choose the vertical wine tasting kit that Laurie got me, along with a full bottle of the same wine from Daou Vineyards. Here’s a quick recap of my tasting of these beautiful wines! There are many different ways to taste wines, but one of my favorite options is to conduct what’s known as a vertical tasting. These tastings include samples of the same wine from

I’m the first to admit that I often reach for store-bought pre-made and packaged items I could otherwise easily make, usually because I’m feeling lazy and don’t want to spend time in the kitchen doing it myself. It’s a loser move though, because it’s almost always more expensive, and it never tastes as good as the homemade version. It makes even less sense if the dish is a simple one that requires only a handful of ingredients and can be made in a few minutes – like homemade

Winter is the perfect season to settle in with a nice dram of whiskey for the evening! For me, that means taking my glass out on the lanai to enjoy the cool, humidity-free evenings of winter in a sweatshirt and sipping my whiskey slowly to warm me up a bit. OK, it’s still usually in the low 60’s or upper 50’s but definitely cool enough for the whiskey to take off the chill! Here are four my favorite whiskeys I’m drinking now! I’m using the same approach to learn about whiskey

In addition to looking forward to eating great food, I also look forward to perusing the wine lists at the restaurants we visit. But truth be told, the wine list is often either an afterthought for the restaurant, or an overthought, ridiculous tome with an overwhelming number of choices. To fix this problem, I’ve developed the necessary characteristics for the perfect restaurant wine list! Wine is a critical component to a great meal. When paired well with a dish, wine enhanc

I love a bit, or sometimes a lot, of spice and herbs in my cocktails. They often help transform a traditional, somewhat pedestrian cocktail into a unique one with unusual but absolutely delicious flavors. Here’s my take on a rum-based drink that makes use of some exotic spices to create a versatile cocktail perfect for any season of the year! One thing I love most about the spirits world is the literally unlimited variation of cocktails available. Choose your base spirit (vod