Zak Stambor – Page 5 –

Distillery No. 209 is aging some of its gin in spent wine barrels, including the Sauvignon Blanc Barrel Reserve Gin left, and Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Reserve Gin, right.

Wine in your gin? Spirit picks up flavor while aging in used barrels

June 14, 2018 at 5:45 a.m.

San Francisco-based Distillery No. 209's decision to age gin in used wine barrels wasn't much of a stretch. After all, the distillery traces its roots to a vineyard. In 1999,...

Makes: 1 cocktail
Aromatic cocktail sprays from Alice & the Magician can transform your favorite drinks, like this Tell It To The Mountain from Jonas Koep, beverage director at the Ryland Inn in Whitehouse, N.J.
2 ounces dry gin
2 ounces New Zealand sauvignon blanc
3/4 ounce elderflower liqueur
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
Alice & the Magician Rosemary & Wild Honey cocktail spray
Combine all ingredients (except the cocktail spray) with ice in a shaker. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Mist with the spray; serve at once garnished with a rosemary sprig and lime wedge.
<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/drink/sc-cocktail-sprays-drink-food-0701-20160628-story.html">For more on cocktail sprays, see the story here</a>.

Watermelon adds thirst-quenching chill to summer cocktails

May 2, 2019 at 1:05 p.m.

To me, there's nothing quite as delicious in the summer than a sweet, juicy slice of watermelon. Not surprisingly, I have the fruit in my fridge all summer long. For...

19th-century Viennese chef Franz Sacher would be pleased, I think, by the version of his eponymous chocolate cake served at Café Selmarie in Lincoln Square. First, the top of each slice of Sacher torte is decorated with his name, elegantly written in chocolate script. Second, the cake is a real looker: Layers of chocolate cake are mortared with raspberry preserve and chocolate buttercream; the whole thing is then frosted with more buttercream and wrapped in a smooth sheet of bittersweet chocolate — firm enough to be eaten on its own, if you like, with a fork. Third, every bite is delicious. The devil's food cake is firm and pleasant, while the raspberry offers a deep berry counterpoint to all the chocolate. $4.20. 4729 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-989-5595, <a href="http://cafeselmarie.com/" target="_blank">www.cafeselmarie.com</a>. — Bill Daley

American craft brewers put their spin on Mexican lagers

June 10, 2018 at 10:25 a.m.

"Sometimes you just want a beer," says Shaun O'Sullivan, co-founder and brewmaster of 21st Amendment Brewery. While the San Francisco brewery produces plenty of well-regarded, complex beers like 21st Amendment...

Whiskey with a taste of Wyoming

June 10, 2018 at 12:12 p.m.

What's Wyoming's terroir? That's the question Brad and Kate Mead posed to David Defazio in 2006, when the husband and wife told Defazio of their plans to open a distillery...

The Camino de la Martinez uses reposado tequila in place of the classic Martinez recipe's aged gin. The tequila makes a happy companion to Dubonnet Rouge and maraschino liqueur. We also liked the drink with anejo tequila, such as Hornitos Black Barrel.

Change up your tequila cocktail with a Paloma, Martinez or Old-Fashioned

June 8, 2018 at 1:17 p.m.

It's easy to get stuck in a rut. To drink the same thing over and over. We've all been there. But just because Cinco de Mayo is only a few...

Arcade Brewery's Graveyard Shift, a coffee pale ale, highlights the chicory and citrus notes in the coffee.

Tasting the new wave of coffee beer

June 11, 2018 at 12:21 a.m.

Most beers made with coffee are stouts or porters — and there's a reason for that. Porters and stouts are made from dark roasted malt, which can produce bitter notes...

While many ultra-premium vodkas have a pleasant flavor, you might not even notice if the vodka is served chilled (thereby neutralizing the taste) or mixed into a cocktail.

Why ultra-premium vodkas might not be your best choice

June 11, 2018 at 3:29 a.m.

A few weeks ago, I tried a truly remarkable vodka. It was perfectly clear, clean and smooth, with a neutral aroma, and subtle citrus and cream flavors. It was just...

Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt Whisky, left, is refined and well-balanced with sweet and honeyed notes and a slightly smoky finish, while Coffey Grain Whisky is a thick, fatty whiskey with notes of sweet corn, nutty oak, fudge and banana.

Nikka: The Daniel Day-Lewis of Japanese whiskeys

June 11, 2018 at 6:38 a.m.

A lot of distilleries are like Jack Nicholson. They have a trademark style or approach that makes them immediately identifiable. And then there are distilleries like Japan-based Nikka Whisky Distilling,...

Jameson's new releases Caskmates, left, and Black Barrel are meant to be familiar but with different characteristics imparted by barrel choice. Black Barrel has more pronounced dried fruit and fudge notes. Caskmates has a thicker mouthfeel, with more chocolate, vanilla and coffee notes than traditional Jameson.

New Jameson a lot like the old Jameson, but with a few twists

June 11, 2018 at 7:31 a.m.

When did everything get so complicated? It used to be that when Oreo referred to a sandwich cookie, it consisted of two chocolate wafers with a sweet cream filling in...

A blend of three varieties of oranges, linden flowers, Ceylon cinnamon, cardamom and a host of other ingredients go into North Shore's Fireside Orange.

North Shore’s latest limited release spirit perfect for wintry days ahead

June 16, 2018 at 9:57 a.m.

Sonja Kassebaum, co-founder of North Shore Distillery, handed me a bottle of Fireside Orange, this year's one-off, single batch offering from the Lake Bluff spirits-maker, just a couple of hours...

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