Poison of Choice

In the middle ages in Europe when local economies were driven as much by barter as by hard currency, food found its way into the wages of everyday laborers as much, if not more often, than precious metals. Some fiefdoms ended up having to deal with drunk workers because many of them were paid in high-quantity spirits like beer. After all, alcohol kept for a long time and could be parceled out in discreet packages like bottles, bags and jugs. For your average feudal worker, an ale today had more value than a coin to be spent tomorrow. And why not get a little sloshed when there's wood to be cut and fields to be plowed? An alcohol buzz is distracting, pleasantly or otherwise. Though we today aren't permitted to drink on the job, there are plenty of us who would gladly take the opportunity to do so.

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Crane Lake is very much a budget table wine label. It's one of Frank Franzia's labels, part of his Classic California group, and owned by Bronco, best known as the makers of Charles Shaw wines, the "Two Buck Chuck" wines sold exclusively through Trader Joe's. I've been seeing Crane Lake at the local RiteAid at two bottles for $7.00, and I have to confess, I turned my nose up, after a less than positive experience with Charles Shaw wines. All of the Crane Lake wines (but not Crane Lake Down Under) are California wines. Read more

This is the second part of a two part series on Crane Lake wines; this one is on the Red wines. The first part was on the white wines, and you can find it here. Crane Lake is a budget tier table wine, one of the Bronco wine labels owned by Frank Franzia, part of his Classic California group. Bronco is best known as the makers of Charles Shaw wines, the "Two Buck Chuck" wines sold by Trader Joe's. These are all California wines. Read more

I've been seeing Crane Lake wines at the local RiteAid for three or four months now, at the bargain price of two bottles for $7.00. I confess that, after a less than stellar experience with Charles Shaw, I turned up my nose. But when this interestingly honest label turned up at the local Bargain Grocery Outlet, well, for $3.99, I figured why not? Read more

With the holidays in full swing and everyone getting into holiday party mode, it's no doubt the lists for food and drinks to serve are growing rapidly. Champagne is one of those tried and true drinks, especially popular for toasting at the start of the new year. And while adding ingredients to this bubbly beverage can turn it various champagne cocktails, it may also be used in food recipes perfect for entertaining. Thanks to websites like epicurious.com (one of my favorite websites for recipes) you can find more uses for bubbly than just drinking. This tasty shrimp appetizer is surprisingly easy to make, delicious and beautiful when plated.

Marinated Shrimp with Champagne Beurre Blanc

Sauce Base: Read more

I've written about American Rye as the quintessentially American whisky. I'm particularly fond of Rittenhouse Rye, and have a distinct fondness for Old Overholt. The other day, we tried Jim Beam's "Yellow Label" Rye. It's a bit more expensive than Old Overholt, which in turn is a bit more than Rittenhouse Rye. Read more

Ohhh the Long Island Iced Tea. While a tasty beverage, it apparently has quite the reputation considering everytime I order one, I get a look from everyone around me. You know, that look like "wow, bad day, huh?" Or "Yikes, drink much?" I find it pretty amusing since to me, alcohol is alcohol and you can still enjoy a drink like this one, without turning into a raging alcoholic. It helps as well, that most of the bars I've ordered a Long Island Iced Tea in, have a serving limit. Pretty smart idea considering the ingredients. Read more

Vodka is special. I love vodka in most of its incarnations. Cocktails made with the perfect infused vodkas offer flaver and verve. Best of all are icy little shots of pure vodka consumed with the spicy little Russian dumplings from the place down the street, or lovingly crafted vodka martinis in perfectly chilled glasses, with an extra olive for accent. The Russians have known that vodka was special for centuries, and icy little shots of vodka tossed back with vigor have served to ward off melancholy, and warm those long winter nights.

Prized for its purity, and the ease of infusing the spirits with various flavors, vodka has been traditionally flavored and aromatized with rowan, mint, fruit, nuts, acorns, sage, peppercorns, and nearly any other pleasing or interesting flavor you can imagine. (Including bacon, but that's another post.) Read more

Everyone knows weddings are supposed to be toasted with gallons of bubbly Champagne. But let’s face it, it’s not the cheapest of drinks. Especially when you are footing the bill. What if you don’t like Champagne, or if you don’t drink? Instead of serving up glasses of bubbly, why not try cocktails? The great thing about cocktails is there is a mix for every season and every mood, and they do not even need to be alcoholic. Plus they are a lot cheaper than traditional Champagne- What could be better?

Hot Weddings

These cocktails are light and refreshing. Perfect served over ice for sunny, warm weddings to cool you down.

Lemon Pie

This lemon flavored cocktail is the perfect treat for a zesty, citrus boost. Read more

Glenfiddich distillery is releasing fifty very special bottles of 50-year old single malt. scotch regionsThat's right, I said fifty year old single malt. The whisky in question has been stored in two oak casks in Glenfiddich's distillery warehouse in Banffshire, Scotland since its original production. Glenfiddich will release just fifty bottles of the scotch each year for the next ten years. The scotch is contained in a numbered hand-made blown glass bottle, decorated with Scottish silver. The bottle arrives in a hand-stiched leather case and is accompanied by a leather-bound book about the history of the scotch, with room for the lucky owner's own comments. Read more