Tag: spirits

liquor, alcohol, distilled drinks

The Japanese Saké Bible by Brian Ashcraft, published by Tuttle

The Japanese Saké Bible | book review

Not only wine is worth drinking. Saké too. That is certainly Brian Ashcraft’s conviction. He tries to convey all his passion for sake and all his knowledge (or at least a good part of it)

A snifter glass with brandy

Cognac’s incredible success on export

There is a wine region in France that is really doing well at the moment. And that is Cognac. Sales increased in 2018 for the fifth consecutive year. 205 million bottles of cognac were exported.

A snifter glass with brandy

XXO, new category of cognac now official

Cognac has a new category: XXO. In 2017 Hennessy launched a prestigious Cognac which they named XXO. But the authorities were not happy about it as this category of Cognac didn’t exist. Thus, the sale

Two "fruity" gin and tonics

A quick 101 on making gin-and-tonic

I imagine hardly anyone needs an instruction on how to make a Gin-and-Tonic, or G-and-T. Could it be the world’s most popular drink? But there are different ways to do it. For example, in this

A snifter glass with a digestif

Cognac is doing well on the export markets

The French wine and spirits exports hit an all-time high in 2016. In total France exported wine and spirits at a value of 11.9 billion euros. This was an increase of 1.2% from the year

Bottle of Ricard pastis on a zinc bar in a cafe in Paris

Time for an aperitif?

Mixed drinks, or cocktails, are becoming more and more popular to drink as an aperitif and you can hardly open a food or wine magazine today without reading about it, or getting the bartender’s best

Bottle of Ricard pastis on a zinc bar in a cafe in Paris

Aperitif time, the best time of the day?

L’heure d’apéritif, the best moment of the day? Yes, at least those days when you are allowed an aperitif (which is not every day). Aperitif time is a quiet moment before dinner or mingling with

Where do all the pressed grapes go?

On August 1, it will cease to be mandatory for winemakers in France to deliver their pressed skins to a distillery. This means that growers now have several options for what to do with the

World’s biggest selling spirit brands in 2013

The world’s biggest selling spirits is a curious bunch of brands. Most likely you will have heard of no more than two or possibly three brands on the list. Most likely you will not be

Get a free ebook on Cognac by Nicolas Faith

If you want to know a little more about cognac you could do worse than getting yourself a free copy of Nicholas Faith’s Guide to Cognac. You can buy it printed on paper or get

A meeting with Vincent Boulard and with his calvados

Calvados can be a deliciously refreshing digestif, or a multi-faceted, complex post-dinner drink. Calvados is a kind of apple spirit, distilled cider, which really deserves to be appreciated more! With a fruit and freshness that

Calvados & Doves

A meeting with Vincent Boulard and with his calvados Calvados can be a deliciously refreshing digestif, or a multi-faceted, complex post-dinner drink. Calvados is a kind of apple spirit, distilled cider, which really deserves to

A snifter glass with brandy

The world’s biggest spirits brands 2012

Do you know which the world’s biggest selling spirit is? It is probably not at all what you think! There is actually quite a lot of myths around which is the world’s biggest selling spirits

What will be next? No-alcohol vodka?

Actually, that is exactly what the Swedish monopolist retailer Systembolaget has launched, but of the flavoured kind, called “snaps”, or aquavit if you prefer. Basically, aquavit is just a white spirit (vodka is a good

The world’s best selling vodka is…?

So is the world’s biggest selling vodka brand something one has heard of? Actually it is. The leading brand is Smirnoff that sells almost twice as much (24 M 9l cases) than the number two,

The world’s biggest selling whisky is…?

The world’s biggest selling whisky is not what one thinks. It is a “local” Indian brand called Bagpiper. The biggest “international” whisky is Johnnie Walker that comes third. Here is the top ten: Bagpiper, India

Midsummer – the peak of Scandinavian boozing

We only have numbers from Sweden but we suspect that the situation is similar in other Nordic countries. Midsummer is one of the most important Swedish holidays. Only Christmas can rival. Midsummer is a bank

Two "fruity" gin and tonics

A quick 101 on making gin-and-tonic

I imagine hardly anyone needs an instruction on how to make a Gin-and-Tonic, or G-and-T. Could it be the world’s most popular drink? But there

Bottle of Ricard pastis on a zinc bar in a cafe in Paris

Time for an aperitif?

Mixed drinks, or cocktails, are becoming more and more popular to drink as an aperitif and you can hardly open a food or wine magazine

Where do all the pressed grapes go?

On August 1, it will cease to be mandatory for winemakers in France to deliver their pressed skins to a distillery. This means that growers

Calvados & Doves

A meeting with Vincent Boulard and with his calvados Calvados can be a deliciously refreshing digestif, or a multi-faceted, complex post-dinner drink. Calvados is a

What will be next? No-alcohol vodka?

Actually, that is exactly what the Swedish monopolist retailer Systembolaget has launched, but of the flavoured kind, called “snaps”, or aquavit if you prefer. Basically,

Month-by-month archive

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER!

25,000 subscribers get wine news every month. You too?