by Sean Ludford | Feb 9, 2025 | Spirits, Uncategorized
Calvados is the world famous, and rightfully so, apple based Brandy from the Normandy region of France. Despite the station that Calvados enjoys among spirits aficionados it’s still sadly unknown among most American consumers. As a point of reference only about 200,000 bottles of Calvados are sold in the U.S. as compared to the 40 million bottles of Cognac consumed. That’s a staggering gap...
by Sean Ludford | Nov 12, 2024 | Beer, Food & Eating, Spirits, Wine
Pairing wine with your Thanksgiving dinner, whether it be traditional fare or your own twist, is always a challenge. Roasted turkey is straightforward enough, but the table is often filled with a wide range of flavors. Do yourself a favor and skip considering the sickening sweet dishes that find their way to the table when considering wine pairings. Nothing will pair well with candied...
by Sean Ludford | Jan 4, 2024 | Spirits
Scotland’s malt Whisky regions are a neat and tidy way of attempting to define style, but are these classic definitions still accurate or relevant? Clearly the case of Lowlands malts and their tradition of triple distillation as opposed to double distillation common in the remainder of Scotland greatly impacts the malt Whiskies of the region. However, this is a choice and not an inescapable...
by Sean Ludford | Aug 28, 2023 | Spirits
“Bottled-in-Bond” is a term seen on bottles of spirits – primarily Whiskey – in America. Many new Whiskey drinkers have written to BevX asking about its significance. Unlike nearly useless terms such as “craft” or “small batch” Bottled-in-Bond has real meaning, as well as historical importance. The term Bottled-in-Bond comes from the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897. In simple terms the Bottled-in-Bond Act states the...
by Sean Ludford | Feb 28, 2023 | Spirits
In a world that is becoming increasingly smaller with each year, you are hard-pressed to find yourself far away from an Irish Pub regardless of your location. Stuck in Manila? I can point you to a great Paddy bar. Ditto for Reykjavík, Rome, Bordeaux, Guadalajara, Munich, Brussels, Hong Kong, and just about anyplace that tolerates the fine art of drinking. The Irish Pub is...
by Sean Ludford | Aug 2, 2022 | Spirits
Rum is a chameleon-like spirit; light or dark, silly or contemplative, pure and “enhanced.” It is also an amazingly versatile spirit, mixing well and often with nearly every soft drink and juice and is likely responsible for a wildly disproportionate number of blender blade rotations and burn-outs, not to mention those lovely little cocktail umbrellas. The history of rum begins with its source ingredient,...
