Blue is Better in the Bahamas . . . Mother Nature dipped into her color palette and painted a symphony in blue major.  You can’t help but relax when you’re surrounded by that much blue.  And the Bahamian people...

My year in wine retail was a valuable learning experience. I tasted a ton of wines, I learned a lot about the retail wine world, what sells in America, and what the American public likes to drink....

My family is German. I grew up drinking beer. Not Skittles, rainbow-of-fruit-flavors beer. Not bitter, more-hops-than-a-rabbit beer. Not coffee colada beer. Not Sriracha donut beer. Beer flavored beer. Spaten, Paulaner, Erdinger. Goooood. The entire category of Weißbier...

St. Patrick, the invisible. I’ve never been much of a St. Patrick’s Day fan. As a kid, I would always forget to wear green and inevitably someone would pinch me. Apparently, you’re supposed to wear green on...

Earlier this week, I was at the library (aka Total Wine) doing some “research”, and I passed a display of Pura Still Alcoholic Water. I’ve been seeing this stuff more and more often. First, it was all...

This was Week 2 of my WSET Spirits class.  We talked about brandy and bitters, and officially entered the realm of the obscure. Bitters are a category of spirits that are made from various herbs, the blends...

  I spent the better part of my day researching the history of the Cognac trade in the 16th century.  And as much as I love history, I gotta tell you, it’s not exactly edge-of-your-seat material (I...

I’m a Cornhusker by birth.  I hail from the great Big Red state of Nebraska.  I always get a little homesick for Nebraska this time of year.  College football is in full swing (GO BIG RED!), the corn is...

Can you be homesick for a place that’s not home?  Because I’m really missing Bavaria lately. And it has everything to do with my über-craving for a Radi (a giant white radish from Germany).  I keep twitching my...

I’ve been in a road coma, courtesy of the State of Pennsylvania, for the past 8 hours . . . give or take a potty stop.  We spent Spring Break in Niagara Falls.  I know, I know....