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The Booze Blog

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10.28.11 · 5:38 PM

The gold standard: Wine label contest winners

Any sommelier or wine shop owner will tell you: Don’t judge a wine by its label. It’s great advice, not that we can heed it. Just like books, cereal boxes, magazines and beer cans, we tend to react to what we see on the outside, even if the inside has little or nothing to do with the splashy image and enticing font out front. If my peanut butter Puffins came in the Count Chocula box, would I still buy them? ... Read more...

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10.26.11 · 12:41 PM

Are two bastards better than one?

Ask anyone. I’m a Stone whore. Have been since I first tried their IPA during a screening of The Big Lebowski at a buddy’s house. I’ve pretty much tried every product of theirs I could get my hands on—Levitation Ale, Ruination IPA, Smoked Porter, Cali-Belgique IPA, Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, Imperial Russian Stout—and have rarely been disappointed. Their emphasis on the hop, and finding ways to tweak it for maximum flavor, keep me coming back every time. Their signature product, Arrogant ... Read more...

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10.17.11 · 11:26 AM

Do tons of raspberries equal a great beer?

Beer and fruit. I have to admit I found the notion appalling … until I actually tried my first one. It was at a beer festival in Santa Maria, California, in the mid-‘90s, and it was a blueberry-flavored concoction from a brewery in San Luis Obispo, California. I glanced askew at the beer maids offering me a glass. After all, I get more than enough enjoyment out of a glass of beer, be it a lager, pale ale, stout or ... Read more...

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10.13.11 · 4:01 PM

Revisiting an old chum … with claws

I fondly remember my first taste of Newcastle Brown Ale. I was in Santa Barbara in the mid-’90s to see a screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, hosted by ex-Python member John Cleese. My buddies and I had some time to kill before the show and went to a bar for a few drinks, and we thought an English ale would be appropriate for the occasion. By the third or fourth Newcastle, I was hooked. It was smoother ... Read more...

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10.8.11 · 10 AM

In a Willett state of mind at the Freakin’ Frog

A crowd of whisky aficionados gathered at the Freakin’ Frog last week to share the joys of one of the country’s finest whisky lines—Willett. Many had already tried Willett products, but they attended anyway. That right there should tell you something. Organized by Freakin’ Frog owner Adam Carmer, the tasting consisted of seven Willett products, each higher in alcohol content than the last. And the tasting started at 90 proof. As Hunter Chavanne, whose family owns and runs the Kentucky ... Read more...

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10.7.11 · 1:27 PM

Oh, the drinks we’ve loved

Oh, to be young and foolish and drunk. Putting together the Weekly’s Booze Issue brought back pleasant and painful memories of nights hitting up bars and days knocking back pints. And it brought up nostalgia (with a healthy dose of embarrassment) for our drinks of yore—the strong, silly, budget-friendly beverages we drank before we knew better. What did you drink back in the day? During my time at the University of Arizona, my friends and I would put our end-of-the-keg ... Read more...

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Featured Cocktail

Cocktail of the Week May 15, 2013
by Sabrina Chapman

The Golden Pillar: An architectural cocktail built for XS

This Sunday, XS nightclub celebrates the grand reopening of its after-dark pool party, Night Swim. Along with the bash comes a new offering of signature cocktails served by the pitcher, ...
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