Category: France
-
Monks can’t make enough of this famous spirit. Can an alternative from S.F. replace it?
For the San Francisco Chronicle, I wrote about the Chartreuse shortage and how some bartenders are looking locally to Brucato Chaparral as a stand-in.
-
All the Cocktail and Drink Books from 2020 for Reading or Gifting
It's time for the annual Alcademics drink book round-up! Below are all the books that have come to my attention in 2020. I don't follow wine/beer closely so there are only a few in that section. The links below are to Amazon and to Bookshop.org. If you buy stuff after clicking on a link, I…
-
Domaine Du Tariquet Armagnac Distillery Visit
We walked all around this property, up on top of huge wine tanks (I’m scared of heights but I do it for you, dear reader), to a super modern bottling line, and then to the completely incongruously ridiculously small room in the middle of it all, where the single wood-fired armagnac still is slowly churning…
-
Armagnac Maison Gelas Visit
A visit to the stylish armagnac house of Gelas, where they’re making single-varietal bottlings and even barrel-finished armagnac.
-
Distillery Visit: Armagnac Delord
Armagnac Delord is located at the edge of the town of Lannepax in the Bas Armagnac region. It is one of just three armagnac houses that uses pot stills along with the typical armagnac continuous stills.
-
Distillery Visit: Domaine Boingneres Armagnac
A visit to armagnac house Domaine Boingneres with a nighttime dinner next to the still and a visit to the warehouse to drink from the barrels.
-
Distillery Visit: Chateau de Maniban Armagnac at Chateau Castarede
I had the chance to visit the Chateau Castarede, a 17th Century estate/castle in the Bas Armagnac region where they produce armagnac. Florence Castarède was our host for the day.
-
A Visit to a Cooperage in Armagnac
We drank tannins out of a puddle at this tiny barrel-maker’s property in Armagnac.