Category: trips
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A Visit to the Fernet-Branca Distillery in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Back in April I visited the Fernet-Branca distillery outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Some of you may remember me tweeting about it. Well, it's about time I gave it the formal write-up. Fernet-Branca owns two distilleries: the main one in Milan, Italy, and this one in Buenos Aires. In past years there used to be…
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A Visit to the Nordic Food Lab in Copenhagen
This February I was lucky to be invited to visit the Nordic Food Lab, which is located on a boat floating in a harbor off Copenhagen. It was formerly the research lab of the world's top-rated restaurant NOMA, and I believe they still have a close relationship and work together on projects. The lab is…
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2012: My Year in Boozy Travel
I decided to add up all the trips I took in 2012 and compare it to last year's travel, and it appears this year I was a total slacker. I took a mere 17 trips this year (22 last year), and flew only 90,000 miles in the air, compared with 150,000 last year. I visited…
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A Few Things Learned in the Agave Fields in Mexico
On my recent trip with the Tahona Society, we visited took ATVs into the agave fields and "helped" harvest some agave. There, Olmeca Altos tequila Master Distiller Jesus Hernandez filled me in on some details about agave I didn't know, so I thought I'd share them: The quiote, the giant asparagus-shaped sprout that shoots up from…
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A Visit to the Sauza Distillery in Tequila, Mexico
Today on the Tahona Society trip to the tequila regions of Mexico we visited the distillery of Sauza. Yesterday’s visit to La Fortaleza was an example of the most primitive/traditional production methods for tequila. Today at Sauza we say the most high-tech. I last visited Sauza about a year ago, and that post on Alcademics…
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La Fortaleza Distillery Visit
Yesterday I visited the La Fortaleza distillery. This tiny distillery makes 100% tahona tequila, in the heart of the city of Tequila in the Lowlands. The distillery was rebuilt in a 100 year old distillery site by Guillermo Sauza, 5th-generation Sauza family. His grandfather sold Sauza to the company who sold it to Jim Beam.…
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The Surprisingly Interesting History and Production of Tabasco Pepper Sauce
This spring I went to Avery Island, Louisiana, to see how Tabasco pepper sauce is made. Avery Island isn't really an island, but more of a dry mound (a salt dome) surrounded by wetlands. It's about 165 feet high and that makes it the tallest point in the Gulf Coast. The island is owned entirely…
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I Peated in your Scotch: A Trip to Laphroaig
In June I took a short trip to Islay, Scotland to see how Laphroaig single-malt scotch whisky is made. Islay is an island off the coast of Scotland known for its smoky, peaty whiskies. What Laphroaig does differently from other scotch producers, as you'll read, is: Floor maltings Separation of malt flavoring (with peat smoke)…
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Brown-Forman Cooperage Pics and Videos
The Brown-Forman Cooperage is located in Louisville, Kentucky. There they make the barrels for Jack Daniels and their other brands. Below are some pictures from my visit. You can read about what I saw in my story for CLASS Magazine here. Below are a couple of videos. The first is the machine that puts hoops…
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Buffalo Trace Distillery Visit
This spring I visited 8 American whiskey distilleries, including Buffalo Trace. Buffalo Trace is owned by the Sazerac company. They make Buffalo Trace, Blanton's, Elmer T. Lee, Eagle Rare, Van Winkle, and other whiskey brands, plus the make/own/import other spirits including Rain vodka, Puebla Viejo tequila, and Glenfarclass scotch. Unlike most of the other American…