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The Formal Wine Tasting
Previously I had written a rather playful article on the lighter side of casual wine tastings and the characters we meet at such fun-loving events. This time around, let’s address the more serious side of formal tastings. Before we dive
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The Industry Choice: Provide Service or Be Servile
The professional bartender of the Pre-Prohibition era was a respected and skilled tradesman, working only with preferred spirits, hand-cut (or hand-crushed) ice, fresh ingredients, house-made tonics, syrups, and tinctures. He was a manager, a bookkeeper, a quasi-psychologist, a storyteller and
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Support Your Local USBG Chapter
For the past year, I have been working with many of my beloved industry comrades to establish the Omaha-Lincoln chapter of the Unites States Bartenders’ Guild. For those who are not familiar, the USBG is our domestic branch of the
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The Story of Tito’s Vodka
Hi. I’m Tito Beveridge and I’m the founder and owner of Tito’s Handmade Vodka. I’m from San Antonio, Texas. I went to Vanderbilt for a year, then to UT (University of Texas at Austin). I graduated with degrees in geology
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The Craft of the Bar
Cocktails have always been big. Maybe not as big as beer or wine, but bartenders have never been short of orders for a mixed drink, and, understand me, that is all a cocktail is: a mixed drink consisting of at
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Favorite Summertime Cocktails
Like food and beer, the cocktail scene has gone through some dramatic revisions over the last couple of years. Craft cocktails are the latest rage, and that follows a big upswing in the popularity of infusions, bitters and other house
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The Modern Lemonade Stand
I am sure we have all worked a lemonade stand growing up with friends of ours. Mine consisted of Kool-Aid brand refreshments, whatever my friends and I could find scattered in the kitchen cupboards. We would sit and, if we
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Harnessing the Harvest: A Spring & Summer Infusion Guide
After months of plodding and dawdling, spring has finally arrived. For most, this signifies the end of wintertime doldrums or a fresh start with some new endeavor. The most sacred moment of the green season comes with those tenderest of
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One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer: The Gateway
Welcome to my new George Thorogood-inspired column, where instead of drinking alone/by ourselves, we will discuss various issues facing consumers and producers in the booze industry today. Quality over quantity is our mantra and the format will be loosely based
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The Wine Leading the Blind
Purchasing wine can be a daunting task. Restaurant lists and store shelves are loaded with seemingly endless brands and varieties from which to choose, and it is impossible to know about all of them. As a result we often find
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