Booze Nooze

Check out my first guest post, by Barrie Lynn, The Cheese Impresario. You never know what can come of a chance meeting – read on to find out! I wanted to report in on The San Diego Spirits Festival where each day I presented my All-Wisconsin/All-Sartori Artisanal Cheese and Fine Bourbon Pairing Adventure Seminars.   […]

Clear Creek Distillery has been distilling since the mid-1980s, before anyone even thought about coining the term “craft distilling”. Steve McCarthy started making his from the fruit of his family orchards, after a trip to Europe gave him the idea. Brandies and eaux de vie were made as a way to use every bit of […]

Recently, I attended the San Diego Spirits Festival. It tends to be heavily focused on the big(ger) name brands, with a sprinkling of craft distillers. One of my favorites of the day was Short Mountain Distillery. Initially, I will admit that I had the same reaction some of you may have to seeing the word, […]

For four generations, Jason Barrett’s family has been keeping men’s suit jackets closed, one button at a time (well, depending on current fashion trends, maybe more, but I digress).  Because Jason’s color-blind, the family joke was that he could always make black buttons. The other thing he discovered he could make, at the age of […]

Get busy livin’, or get busy dyin’. -Andy Dufresne, Shawshank Redemption That’s probably one of my favorite movies and movie quotes.  And for Jack Summers, never were truer words spoken, the day his doctor said, “We think you have an Ependymoma”. Surviving not only the cancer scare (benign, thankfully), but also the surgery that could’ve […]

Ever wonder where a cashew comes from? That little Planters guy conjures them up with his cane?  Nope. They fall from a rainbow like Skittles? Wrong again! They actually grow on a tree inside a cashew apple.  Um, really?  The cashew nut is a bit sexier than its accessory fruit (but admittedly, not by much), […]

Some tales begin with, “it was a dark and stormy night”.  Some begin with, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. For my tale, it began with a Vieux Carre, made in its birthplace, New Orleans. I’m talking about Tales of the Cocktail, and this is my Tale. Tales of […]

What does the grandson of a whiskey bootlegger do, after running  a marketing company for more than 25 years,  that had clients among the world’s leading liquor companies?  Why, open his own distillery, of course.  Meet Keith Barnes, who founded Bainbridge Organic Distillers, with his son, Paul. One common thread I’ve found when talking to […]

I recently attended my first meeting of the San Diego Whisk(e)y Enthusiasts club.  What’s better than a room full of people that enjoy whiskey? Nothing I can think of!  This meeting was going to be a tasting of Colorado whiskey, so I thought that was a perfect way to get introduced to the group.  Little […]

So, here’s the thing: if you’ve read any spirits-related news lately, you may’ve seen articles on what the “coming” whiskey shortage or what I’m calling The Great Whiskey Freakout of 2014. Everyone from the mainstream outlets like the Wall Street Journal to respected experts like Chuck Cowdery and Fred Minnick have weighed in. Most of […]

It’s nearly Father’s Day and the web is awash with gift ideas. For the love of peat (or Pete, either way), try getting him something he might find helpful or useful  or might really like – craft spirits and related goods. A glass or two of the good stuff and he may even forgive your […]

For my birthday, I’d decided that sitting on my couch starting at the idiot box seemed like a fine idea. My friend’s birthday had been the day before, so we’d gone for dinner and drinks, but somehow overnight, I’d lost interest in my own birthday shenanigans.  Not taking, “Eh, I don’t feel like it,” for […]

If you drive through a small industrial complex, replete with roll-up doors and concrete, you might wonder what’s behind each door.  If you drove through the one Kill Devil Spirits Co. calls home, I can tell you what’s inside: a fun, informative tour and some great spirits – and oh, they make tasty moonshine and […]

So, you’ve taken my advice and decided to tip your toe into the craft liquor end of the pool.  Good for you!  To get started, you’ve Yelped a local establishment that serves cocktails and craft liquor. Don’t forget, a craft cocktail isn’t necessarily made with a craft liquor, so make sure to read the menu […]

When Steve Gubb and his wife went to St. Martin on a vacation, who knew the (eventual) end result would be making his own rum?  Fortunately for the American drinking public, that’s exactly what happened. When Steve came home from his tropical trip, his first thought was to import some of the rum he’d found […]

It’s quite possible that I’m writing this from a place of recently acquired wisdom.  OK, so it’s more than just quite possible.  A very long week with short sleep, a killer Pilates class in a room much hotter than normal, a minimal dinner of salad and my newest friend, gin.  Now, gin and I have […]

Wyoming is known for its wide open spaces and Yellowstone National Park.  But now, it has something new to boast: Wyoming Whiskey, its first and only distillery. When Brad and Kate Mead approached David Defazio about their idea to make bourbon, he felt like he’d been called in to the principal’s office, as they looked […]

What’s the most common rum drink you know?  I’m going to guess the ubiquitous, rum & Coke.  Basically, you’re hiding the rum in a syrupy soda because the rum by itself isn’t that great.  But guess what? Jersey Artisan Distilling Busted Barrel rum IS that good – you don’t need to hide it with other […]

When Renee took the tour at Tuthilltown Spirits, she was simply there to check out where the whiskey she’d tried was made. What she found was a lot more than a tasting and a tour! She found a great job that uses her past experience as a chef, bartender and stone mason and lets her […]

Who would guess that a rum-running Prohibition-age gangster would inspire someone to start making rum in Brooklyn nearly 100 years later?  Meet Bridget C. Firtle, founder and owner of The Noble Experiment NYC.  Her rum, Owney’s, is named after Owen Madden, a bit of an infamous character in 1920’s New York.  But Bridget is far […]

Not only does Troy Ball distill the “Keeper” kind of white whiskey, but she is a keeper.  Mother to three boys, two with special needs, she took care of her family until the boys were older and they qualified for assistance with their care.  Able to start something outside the home for herself, Troy wondered […]

Welcome to that awesome time of year. We’ve gotten through January, some of us more frozen than others. Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow, so we’re due for 6 more weeks of winter. Here are some tips that will hopefully at least get you through Valentine’s Day all warm and toasty, in one way or […]

Welcome back to Weird science, part 2. Last time you learned about the wonders of charcoal filtration and something called Ostwald ripening. If you missed it, what are you waiting for? Read it now!  Now that you’re all caught up, on we go…

Up until you started reading here at LikeYourLiquor, you might not have given too much thought to what’s in your glass. A vague idea of what distilling means, possibly what the ingredients are. But there’s some interesting science stuff going on right under your nose. Welcome to Weird Science, part 1! Check it out:

So just as the rest of the world is finally over their hangovers and dreading the arrival of the holiday credit card bills, the world’s largest population is about to kick off their new year’s celebration.  It’s Chinese New Year!  You’re probably saying to yourself, “What’s that have to do with craft liquor?” Well, keep […]

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.- Martin Luther King, Jr. 1963 More than 50 years after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech at the Lincoln Memorial, we are still celebrating his life and his iconic […]

I know 2014 has already begun, with what I’m sure is a plethora of well-meaning, earnestly-conceived resolutions.  Lose weight, quit smoking, eat more green things (thanks to Colorado, you can smoke ’em if ya got ’em).  What I heard was, “I’m pretty sure I’m swearing off of fun for awhile and it probably won’t last”.  […]

“Do you like being lied to?” No hands went up. “Are you sure?” This is how Greg Koch, CEO & Founder of Stone Brewing Company, opened his talk about innovation this morning. He went on to talk about the moment, at a dive bar in LA back in the late ’80s, when he realized that […]

In case giving  someone a bottle of craft spirits isn’t quite enough, check this stuff out.  (Feel free to mail me any of this stuff you’d like to!) Happy gifting! Who can go wrong with an advent calendar made from craft gin?? A personalized whiskey barrel for the person on your list that is all […]

It’s that time of year again, with the holiday party season in full swing.  Everyone has likely been to a party where the bar features that bottle of rum with the pirate on it, or knows someone who fancies themselves a whiskey connoisseur.  So, why not try something new this time?  Craft liquor can be […]

What your first date drink says about you New law for California distilleries – tasting rooms planned! American single-malt whiskies serve notice

Bitters: do you know where they came from? 7 things you should know about bourbon Lincoln Henderson: a life in whiskey  

Craft brewers explore a spirited new frontier Lessons from a rogue whiskey distiller A craft distillery worthy of the word “craft”