Federal is certainly a top shop. Just FYI on the bourbon front. Many of the “new” bourbon’s are really just products of the marketing team at major distillers. Two notable exceptions are Tuthilltown distillers...

For what it’s worth, my favorite Gin’s right now are Plymouth, Junipero (Anchor Brewing), and Bluecoat. Plymouth is the softest of the three and Junipero is quite the heavy hitter. I would also recommend more than a...

I think that sherry barrels are more traditional for Scotch, although it’s a trendy thing now for Scotch distillers to age in all kinds of barrels. Glenmorangie has a taster set of whiskies aged in port, sherry and (damn, I...

Rittenhouse or Old Overholt, are decent cheaper choices. I prefer the Rittenhouse. With regard to Irish, if there is truly a definitive difference when it comes to Irish whiskey, that difference is potstill. Potstills are stills...

I’m not sure how meaningful the distinction is beyond the “controlled origin” nature of the term bourbon, which legally can only be applied to whiskeys made in Bourbon County, KY, with a mash bill of least 51%...

Dock Street Amber was one of the first craft beers I tasted, after the Anchor, Sierra Nevada, and maybe Boulder beers. I liked the Amber quite a bit. Several years later, in the mid-90s, I came across Dock Street pilsner and...

Weinhard beers, for example. Since Pabst already uses Miller, CIty (or did) and The Lion for their beers, now- what’s one more deal? The ideal choice would be Fritz Maytag’s Anchor- since he’s discussed the...

of anything to try out. beside what we bought, they had michters 4yr out which we tried & i have had before & do not care for. pss—we stopped in at HOPE&ANCHOR for lunch. nice wet roast beast hero. boo on the otherwise nice...

distilled by Four Roses, and is a good example of their craft. Another Single Barrel that I really like is Rowan’s Creek. Very smooth for a Single Barrel, almost the anti-George T. Stagg. If you include Stagg, which is not a...

While Plymouth is my hands-down favorite gin, you might want to give Junípero a try. It’s a gin made by the Anchor Steam brewery and is a bit more agressive than Plymouth. You can find Junípero at Schneider’s near...

In New England, settlers did not have to distill grain mash to make whiskey. Barrels of hard cider were put outside during the winter. The water and any remaining apple pulp in the barrels froze, but the alcohol did not. This...

's China Gate - $$$ Charlie & Barney’s - $$ MCL - $$ the ones that get little to no attention anywhere: The Anchor Inn - $$$ Four Seasons - $$ China Palace - $$ Gibson’s Grill - $$$ Turuyama - $$$ El Sombrero - $$ Mi...

with whatever they might do to Ballantine Ale- short of letting a craft brewery do it. I’ve always pushed Fritz Maytag, since he’s mentioned the brand so much over the years. Maybe Anchor needs a...

afford me a distillation of which joints around town may be worth chasing down, and which not to bother about (given the price of gas). I’ll start the festivities by offering my choices. Noting that I’ve yet to make my...

’t believe I’ve never seen it before (for that matter, so was the avocado-caviar combination, giving the roe a creamy richness); this is caviar for people who don’t care for caviar. “Oysters and Beer”:...