spirits

Meadmaker Bottles A Taste Of Maine With Roots In South Africa

ELIZA BARCLAY — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 19:16:00 +0000

A few years ago, your best chance of tasting mead might have been at a Renaissance Fair. We're going to wager the enduring memory is of overpowering sweetness and little desire for a second glass.

But a new generation of meadmakers is updating the ancient craft to produce a more drinkable product, closer to wine than a cloyingly sweet liquor.

Japanese Sake Makers Shake Off Tradition, Try Brewing Craft Beer

editor — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 07:33:00 +0000

Until recently, if you ordered Japanese beer, there weren't many to choose from. Before the industry was deregulated in the 1990s, four major brewers — Asahi, Suntory, Sapporo and Kirin – controlled the manufacture of Japanese beer.

But the major brands' domination is ebbing, for reasons that have as much to do with Japan's ancient history as with its evolving palates. And now some traditional sake brewers are ditching the tradition and trying their hand at craft beer brewing.

From a dusty country road about 100 miles north of Tokyo rises the white-washed facade of a sake brewery.

How Oregon's Prized Pinot Noir Grapes Will Take The Heat Of Climate Change

editor — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 19:48:00 +0000

Some grapes like it hot.

But for growers of Pinot Noir, mild summers tempered by chilly nights and fresh ocean air make for award-winning, fortune-finding wines. Such a climate has turned Oregon into a producer of some of the world's most highly regarded Pinot Noir.

Want To Control Your Alcohol Intake? Ask For A Different Glass

editor — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:46:00 +0000

Downed a few too many drinks at the office happy hour? The shape of the glass may be at fault — at least in part — for encouraging drinkers to overindulge. The reason, scientists say, is simple: A curved glass interferes with the ability to judge alcohol intake.

"When drinking alcohol, most of us pace ourselves," explains Angela Attwood.

President Obama's Tour Bus Rolls With White House Home Brew

Bill Chappell — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 18:19:00 +0000

It seemed normal enough when President Obama chatted with a coffee shop patron about beer in Iowa Tuesday. The president has shown he's a fan of beer — and it's the most politically expedient, "everyman" beverage a candidate can drink.

New rum in Louisiana called 'Sweet Crude'

The Associated Press — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 16:53:48 +0000

Two oil company landmen have an off-hours business in Broussard as the Rank Wildcat Spirits Distillery, crafting a rum they named Sweet Crude.

The Advertiser reports that 26-year-old Cole Leblanc welded the still together, and 35-year-old David Meaux — who also is a lawyer — dealt with all the paperwork.

Urban Education Smackdown, Ernie K-Doe, Specialty Cocktails and National Voice-Over Seminar

Diane Mack — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:56:02 +0000

Today on Inside the Arts we'll visit with playwright Jim Fitzmorris as he steps into the boxing ring with the Governor... we'll peek inside the acclaimed new biography by New Orleans writer Ben Sandmel, Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of New Orleans... we'll tap into the demand for specialty cocktails, and give you tips on how to perfect your signature voice.

Inside the Arts airs Tuesdays at 1 p.m. and Thursdays at 7:35 a.m.

Celebrate Bastille Day

Richard McCarthy — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Today is Bastille Day. In celebration, head over to the West Bank. You can drive on an avenue named for a French head of State, Charles De Gaulle. He actually visited New Orleans in 1960. And while you are there, why not pop over to the Gretna Farmers Market to purchase a bottle of Henry Amato’s orange wine. With it, you can prepare a refreshing French cocktail in honor of the occasion.

Three Beers To Cheer Your Summer Suppers

Scott Simon — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 09:51:00 +0000

When the mercury's soaring, a cold, refreshing beer can be the best part of summer. As part of our occasional Taste of Summer series, we asked beer expert Graham Haverfield to recommend a few of his seasonal favorites.

Haverfield is the beer director for the Wine Library in Springfield Township, N.J. He's also a certified cicerone, or beer server. "Summer beers are typically lighter in body, they're typically a little lower in alcohol," he tells NPR's Scott Simon.

His first pick is Last Chance IPA, from Weyerbacher Brewing Company.