Licorice Alcohol

Licorice AlcoholWe recently hosted our monthly “Booze Group” and held a tasting of licorice alcohol, paired with Greek food. The most commonly known licorice-tasting drinks are Ouzo, Sambuca, Pastis, Pernod and Absinthe. Others include Arak, Anisette/Anis, Raki, Aguardiente and Xtabentun. Read on for details of the anise-flavored booze we tasted, and the menu. Continue reading

Smoke on the Boulevard

Smoke on the Boulevard CocktailOur new favorite cocktail is Smoke on the Boulevard, which we first tasted at Hell’s Kitchen at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Next, we ordered it again at Hell’s Kitchen in Lake Tahoe. We so adore this cocktail, Dave purchased a smoking gun kit, so we could make it at home. We adjusted the name to Smoke on the Water since our backyard, where Dave does the smoking, is on a little lake. As well, we both like the Deep Purple song of the same name, which tells the tale of a casino fire in Switzerland. Fitting, because of the Vegas connection. Read on for the recipe.

Continue reading

Pineau des Charentes

Pineau des CharentesAre you looking for something different and delicious this holiday season? Pineau des Charentes will be in some mighty fine cocktails at our place. What is it? Produced exclusively in France’s Cognac region, PdC is a fortified wine made of fresh grape juice and blended with Cognac. Classified as a wine, you will more likely find this unique beverage behind a bar than in a wine cellar. Read on for more information.

Continue reading

Welcome to Spirits

American Whiskey tastingIn the last year, we started to enjoy more cocktails in addition to wine. We even formed a small “booze group” with our Covid pod for new tasting experiences. For example, we expanded our taste portfolio to include Amaro, Japanese whisky and other spirts. While we’ve been posting photos of these new adventures on Instagram, now seems like the perfect time to create a new category on Write for Wine. Welcome to Spirits! Continue reading