Zak Stambor

Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey is one of three premium releases from the Dublin, Ireland, distillery.

Teeling Irish whiskey aims to challenge norms with barrel flavors

May 31, 2019 at 4:02 p.m.

It’s a delicate line. How do you craft something that’s recognizable yet wholly unique? That was the question Alex Chasko, along with Jack and Stephen Teeling, asked themselves when they...

Basil Hayden's Dark Rye is the first permanent addition to the whiskey-maker's lineup since its founding.

Basil Hayden’s adds rye with a hit of port, but don’t call it flavored whiskey

May 31, 2019 at 4:04 p.m.

Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye is a duck-billed platypus of a spirit that’s a combination of Kentucky rye, Canadian rye and California port. At first glance, you might dismiss it as...

Pouring the wine over the back of a spoon helps it float on top of the cocktail.

What to drink after a bone-chilling dog walk: New York sour

May 31, 2019 at 4:02 p.m.

The temperature outside was 7 degrees. It was a day to avoid venturing outside, a day you regret having a dog that needs a walk, a day that your glasses...

Ethel's Eye of Newt, a mustard liqueur from North Shore Distillery, makes a post-dinner sipper with a hint of a kick or a lively addition to classic cocktails.

Bratwurst with mustard inspires savory artisan spirit with a bite

May 31, 2019 at 4:01 p.m.

North Shore Distillery’s latest one-off spirit, Ethel’s Eye of Newt Cordial, is weird — even for a distillery that’s previously produced limited releases that have taken inspiration from mole poblano...

Jack Daniel’s moves into rye with whiskey that flips familiar taste profile

May 31, 2019 at 4:05 p.m.

Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey is like a movie you’ve watched dozens of times, a well-worn hoodie you’ve been throwing on during cool weekend days for a decade,...

Wild Botanical Gin is complex, with multiple dimensions. Its nose features juniper and pine notes, while the taste is mellow with hints of flowers and fruit. Try it on its own, with tonic or in a cocktail, such as this Bee's Knees,

From forest to bottle, Wild Botanical Gin uses foraged Irish ingredients

May 31, 2019 at 4:03 p.m.

Lately, my mind has been wandering off to Ireland’s County Wicklow, the area known as the Garden of Ireland. To be a bit more specific, I keep thinking about Glendalough,...

Kusanya Cafe is the kind of place where you can get a cup of coffee, check out the community board, print a school paper or simply jump on the internet. You'll see people huddled together over papers strewn across the wood tables or someone walking in simply to say hello to the small staff. Because the nonprofit cafe roasts its own coffee on-site in small batches, don't hesitate to order that lavender iced latte ($3.49) or a plain cup of coffee. The breakfast and lunch menu is lush with references to famous musicians, like the Lupe Tabasco breakfast sandwich ($2.29). It features a thin egg patty, with melted cheese and Sriracha on ciabatta, and you can add sausage, spinach and tomato for an extra charge. The cozy and brightly lit environment is exactly where you want to catch up on some work or meet up with friends. 825 W. 69th St., 773-675-4758, <a href="http://www.kusanyacafe.org/">kusanyacafe.org</a> — Grace Wong

Re-creating old whiskeys when you don’t quite know how they tasted

July 2, 2019 at 3:59 p.m.

Robin Coupar, senior brand manager for the fine whiskies portfolio at Campari America, knows how the distilleries that produced pre-Prohibition bourbons like Old Ripy and Bond & Lillard described their...

19th-century Viennese chef Franz Sacher would be pleased, I think, by the version of his eponymous chocolate cake served at Café Selmarie in Lincoln Square. First, the top of each slice of Sacher torte is decorated with his name, elegantly written in chocolate script. Second, the cake is a real looker: Layers of chocolate cake are mortared with raspberry preserve and chocolate buttercream; the whole thing is then frosted with more buttercream and wrapped in a smooth sheet of bittersweet chocolate — firm enough to be eaten on its own, if you like, with a fork. Third, every bite is delicious. The devil's food cake is firm and pleasant, while the raspberry offers a deep berry counterpoint to all the chocolate. $4.20. 4729 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-989-5595, <a href="http://cafeselmarie.com/" target="_blank">www.cafeselmarie.com</a>. — Bill Daley

Trip to a distillery led couple to open their own

June 2, 2018 at 6:28 p.m.

Mike and Amy Orlando were on one of the first tours that Le Claire, Iowa-based Mississippi River Distilling Co. ever gave of its facilities. Near the end of the tour,...

Distiller Robert Wallace works in the distillery.

A trip to Whiskey Acres, farm-turned-distillery in DeKalb

July 2, 2019 at 3:59 p.m.

The vision behind Whiskey Acres, a farm-to-bottle distillery in DeKalb County, is simple: to bring the concept of terroir, the taste and flavor imparted by the land, to distilled spirits....

Knob Creek released its 25th Anniversary Bourbon unblended, which means that each of the 300 or so barrels held a variation. "There are so many variables that contribute to the flavor of the liquid inside the barrel," says master distiller Fred Noe.

Knob Creek’s 25th anniversary bourbon comes in 300 versions

June 2, 2018 at 11:25 p.m.

When Knob Creek first hit store shelves in 1992, it was an anomaly. At a time when most bourbons were unremarkable — more suitable for cocktails than imbibing on their...

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