Spirited Cocktails

The holidays can be so stressful. Family obligations, end-of-year tasks, and of course, shopping. But the shopping needn’t be all about the lines and crowds and useless junk. It can be about booze, too.

If you’re in the NYC area, be sure to check out the first annual Holiday Spirits Bazaar, brought to you by one of our favorite cocktail divas, The Dizzy Fizz. The Bazaar will highlight some of the best (and tastiest!) brands and products in the spirits world, giving you an opportunity to sample the good stuff, and also pick up the best gift you can give to a friend or loved-one: booze. Read More

As the holidays hurl towards us at breakneck speed, deciding what to get for that special someone (or your parents, your siblings, your boss, your co-worker, your doorman, your super, your postman, and so on, and so on) becomes a challenge. I’m here to help, though mainly just by way of taking advantage of other people’s hard work.

First – let me talk briefly about scotch. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure how scotch became the quintessential non-threatening, no meaning implied gift, but there it is. For some reason, Johnnie Walker Blue has taken hold as the guaranteed-to-impress brand. I actually do like Johnnie Blue, but let’s be honest – it’s a bit pricey, no? (At $150 per bottle, I’d say yes.) The folks at Chivas sent me a sample of Chivas Regal 18 to taste, as well as a sample of Johnnie Walker Blue for the sake of comparison. From my vantage point, they’re actually tough to compare, as they have very different flavor profiles. I find Chivas to be generally sweeter (in a caramel sort of way), with a nice smoky finish. With Johnnie Blue, the smokiness is more up front, and the sweetness that follows tastes more like bittersweet chocolate to me. Read More