This isn’t goodbye. Well, actually it kind of is. I’m moving to London for a year to work on depleting their wine and beer supplies. Over the past three and a half years I’ve been lucky to gain thousands of new drinking buddies, including you. We’ve shared countless bottles of wine, glasses of scotch and enough cocktails to inebriate the lower half of Manhattan and parts of Queens. And then, of course, there were the...... [continue]

Recently, we've noticed we were wandering the wine store aisles trying to find that next new, thrilling wine (the kind we'd be thinking about for days) and we'd pick a bottle off the shelf and turn it around. Not for marketers' flowery language ("soft velvet texture"), but for something much more telling - a statement of philosophy in winemaking, grape growing and business standards. We were looking to see who imported this wine. There are...... [continue]

There are many things that get us in the holiday spirit. But none of them work as nicely as stiff cocktail. Being that Thanksgiving is the official kick-start to festive season, it seems only right to welcome it with a beverage that will put some color in our cheeks and some jolly in our step. So while we have the Pinot Noir all ready to go with our turkey, here are some cranberry cocktails to...... [continue]

We’re probably not alone in the fact that we love wines from Burgundy but really can’t afford them. A great 1er (premiere) cru Gevrey Chambertain could cost us around $35 - $50, and while on special occasions they can be worth every cent, the reality is that we don’t get to have them as much as we like. But there is good news. Perhaps we owe a shout out to mother nature or maybe we... [continue]

Corkscrews. That’s what we’re talking about; get your mind out of the gutter for a second (just for a second as we’re sure we’ll throw in a hooker reference eventually). Corkscrews come in all shapes and sizes. From the rabbit to a flynut or even the gas-injected powered option, there is literally a corkscrew for everyone. But do all these fancy contraptions really make our lives easier or are they just another esoteric wine gadget... [continue]

For those who have yet to experience the joy of a raclette grill, may this be your lucky season. Raclette, named after the cheese that is melted in it, is what happens when fondue meets Korean BBQ. The basic structure of the raclette machine is a handy compartment used to melt cheese tucked neatly under a large, flat top grill (pictured left). The grill is covered with an array of meats and vegetables and the... [continue]

Probably the best way we can describe Snooth, a unique wine database that recently launched online, would be if the illegitimate web-child of Google and Facebook went to wine school. Or, more simply, it’s a ridiculously large database of wine that allows you to do really cool things and share it with your friends. Technically, Snooth is a self-described, “web based social shopping experience that is simplifying how people select, interact with and purchase their... [continue]

As a kid, apple juice was a daily enjoyment. As an adult, it’s been relegated to the few short weeks where the air gets a little cooler and the layers of clothes a little thicker. And soon enough memories of apple picking start to float in our heads. The craving hit us early Friday morning. We stopped off at the Green Market in Union Square on the way to work and picked up a little... [continue]

We love it when we see the creativity of spirits mixology applied to beer - within reason of course. While there is a simple purity in a frosty pint of beer, sometimes it’s fun to play around. Our latest beer-tail to add to the collection, the Black and Blue, is case and point. It mixes things up just a little but doesn’t adulterate our brew. We tried the Black and Blue at the Blue Point... [continue]

We expect a lot from our beer. It needs to be refreshing. It needs to be bold and flavorful. And it needs to keep us as excited on the last sip as we were when the first pass crossed our lips. For us, a truly great beer is the one that keeps going after most beers have stopped. So when we came across Endurance Pale Ale on tap at Drop Off Service in the East... [continue]

We’re not going to spend this space waxing poetic about the farewell to summer and how sad we all are to say goodbye. Folks tend to be so negative on Labor Day – it’s not like the summer immediately ends on the 4th of September. But if this “impending doomsday to summer” is enough to get people to party like they mean it, then we fully support the cause. Now we know we are... [continue]

When a cocktail is delicious and easy to make, it’s worth talking about. Often times we get overly ambitious with our mixology skills and the results can be drinks that are undrinkable, even for professional lushes like us. Perhaps that’s why we fell in love with the Honey Bee. This cocktail is light and refreshing with just a subtle hint of sweetness and involves nothing more than a shaker and a few easy to find... [continue]

This time of year was always bittersweet for us. The summer was winding down and those carefree, lazy afternoons become numbered. However there was something energizing about beginning a new school year. Maybe it was the excitment of picking out new fall clothes, backpacks and a hot pink Jem Trapper-Keeper (we were partial to Smurfs and Snorks as well). Now we've traded in our colorful binders for the standard issue white with the handy clear... [continue]

Last week was a friendly reminder of what it feels like to live in a rainforest. The scorching high heat coupled with humidity that reached the steam levels of the Russian Baths on East 9th street, had us retreating to air-conditioning. In these conditions you need something refreshing to keep you going and when water with lemon just isn’t strong enough, may we suggest these thirst quenching wines… 2005 Teruzzi and Puthod Vernaccia, Italy This... [continue]

We don’t know if you heard or not, but apparently the “sexiest event of the year is back and better than ever.” That seems to be an awfully big promise but considering the dangerous combination of wine, chocolate and adult toys, the Erotic Wine Tasting Soiree at Babeland NYC, has the potential to really heat up. The promotions for the event suggest that this is for the fun, adventurous and not faint of heart. If... [continue]

Perhaps our favorite expression we learned in a recent visit to Rioja, in Spain, is “cojonudo.” It may be slightly vulgar as the etymology of the word has something to do with balls, cojonas, but that is not the only reason we like it. The word is used is to describe something that is really…really good. For example, the banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery can easily be described as cojonudo. As a writer, it is... [continue]

It’s not to say that Rioja wines have ever gone away, but they never seem to be top of mind. We’re willing to take partial responsibility for this (no more than 34%). Perhaps we may have pigeon-holed the region to uncomplicated, cherry-vanilla red wines. It wasn’t done maliciously, but all the wines we’ve had only perpetuated this perception. We didn’t think badly of them, but they didn’t keep us wanting more. That’s the dangerous thing... [continue]

Who doesn’t make a mistake every now and then? To err is human, right? But what matters in the end is if you get called out on it. When (if) you do, you should probably apologize and make right. Well, we got called out last week. To celebrate National Beer Month we decided to feature a beer that we thought was pretty good, Red Hook Sunrye Summer Ale. Now we don’t expect every reader to... [continue]

As you may have heard, July is American Beer Month, and we’re in full celebration mode here at Gothamist. Not that we really need a reason to throw back all sorts of delicious, nationally crafted microbrews but the occasion serves as a handy reminder to try something new and explore what’s out there. So exploring we have done. The fruits of our pursuit have been quite abundant but there is one beer that has stood... [continue]

A fact for you: the average American lives within ten miles of a craft brewery. That’s right, only ten itsy, bitsy miles separate us from the artistry and craftsmanship of fermentation. As New Yorkers we are particularly lucky, with about 20 breweries in the city and surrounding neighborhoods. That basically means that there is no excuse for downing Coors Light, unless beer pong is involved, of course. This little nugget of information is particularly relevant... [continue]