Pat Brophy loves amaro, and so does our special guest, longtime Binny's wine buyer Bob Calamia. Amari are more than just bitter beverages that make Roger miserable, they serve a real, biological puprose. Pat samples out 11 amari with the Barrel to Bottle crew and the gastric juices get flowing. "If you ever accidentally drank your dad's cologne as a child and want to relive that experience..." - Roger Adamson
Roger had the pleasure of attending this year’s Bourbon County sneak peek, and he's happy to report there are some stunning releases in this year’s lineup. Here are his initial impressions, along with some suggested dessert pairings. We're looking forward to greeting all the thirsty devotees at Binny’s Lincoln Park on Black Friday!
Jean-Charles Boisset's visit to the Barrel to Bottle studios was a whirlwind. He couldn't be contained to just one episode, so we're releasing a bonus episode. Jean-Charles has also began dabbling in spirits, and he was nice enough to bring his three vodkas with him.
Ladies and gentlemen, bon jour from the heart of Burgundy! The Barrel to Bottle crew has welcomed many guests over the last few years, but none of them have been quite like Jean-Charles Boisset. Trying to summarize this episode couldn't possibly do it justice. This flamboyant Frenchman walks the Barrel to Bottle team through his sparkling offers from Burgundy, and his award winning California property, Raymond Estates and more.
A few weeks ago, the entire Whiskey Hotline crew joined Barrel to Bottle to pick out four new Binny's Handpicks from Old Elk Distillery. Now they're finally hitting stores.
As the Master Blender at Maison Ferrand, Alexandre Gabriel has been producing quality French spirts for 30 years. When he's not redefining Cognac and grape distillates with new and unique cooperage, he's preserving the incredible history of the Ferrand family.
At Barrel to Bottle, we're all about giving the people what they want. And what you wanted was more Rum. To start things off, Pat brings in five special rums for all the rum geeks out there. Do not sleep on these rums. Then, Roger "The Tiki King" Adamson prepares not one, not two, but four rum-based tiki drinks. If you'd like to impress your friends with your tiki cocktail skills, all the recipes are available on our blog ....
Garnacha, Grenache; no matter how you say it, it's the grape you love to hate; it's the grape that has it all and is well traveled. It's the Most Interesting Grape in the World. From Spain to Australia, Binny's resident Garnacha/Grenache-lover, Jason Palma, takes the Barrel to Bottle Crew on a tour of everything this grape can do. Stick around for a customer Q&A about wine etiquette at dinner parties.
Wine royalty visits the Barrel to Bottle studios once again. This week, it's Courtney Foley, winemaker at Chalk Hill Estate. She discusses the challenges of jumping from a 4,000 cases to a 40,000 case production facility, implementing a sparkling program across the Foley Portfolio, and what "Estate Bottled" means at Chalk Hill. We've got more hockey talk then we've ever had, too! Stick around for a customer Q&A about grape stomping.
The haze craze isn't just a phase. At long last and by popular request, we are tackling Hazy IPAs. Also known as New England IPAs. Or Juicy IPAs. Producer Jim, long just a background laugh, hops (pun!) on the mic to blind taste the Barrel to Bottle Crew on six Hazy IPAs. Will the holdouts finally be convinced of the validity of this style? Download to find out.
The industry has fallen in love with Binny’s Handpicked Casks, but how does the Whiskey Hotline pick spirits for the legendary program? This episode of Barrel to Bottle is your chance to be there for the handpicking process. The Whiskey Hotline is joined by Greg Metze, Master Distiller at Old Elk Distillery and formerly of Seagram’s Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, one of the world’s largest distilleries. Together they’ll pick four new barrels of Binny’s Handpicks. Listen for industry secret...
So it's come to this, another Barrel to Bottle Q&A episode. It's the holiday weekend and the Barrel to Bottle Crew felt like taking a break, luckily we've got a huge backlog of listener questions to tackle. Vacation, we had to get away
Did you know that Binny's can also help you plan the biggest moments of your life? Binny's event planner, Alex Tornai joins the Barrel to Bottle Crew as they throw out some common party-planning scenarios he might encounter. Alex also shares a few tips and secrets, then stick around for a customer Q&A question about an engagement whiskey bottle.
CAN. YOU. DIG. IT? Team Truly or Team White Claw? Since the last time the Barrel to Bottle crew covered this topic, cans have blown up. Binny's stores have stacks on stacks on stacks of hard seltzers, hard waters and canned cocktails, and there are new products every week. And don't forget about canned wines either! How did we get here? What are these things exactly? All of your questions will be answered, plus wind down your summer with some warm weather drink recs during the Customer Q&A. ...
Portugal: it's not just fortified sweet wines and inexpensive vinho verde. Barb traveled to Portugal and it left such an impression, so she had to share it with the Barrel to Bottle crew. From Dão to Douro and all points in between, Barb sampled a wide and diverse variety of wines and ate a lot of salted cod. Plus, the challenges of making Portuguese appealing to U.S. drinkers. Stick around for the Q&A segment and learn why white wine usually doesn't age as long as red wine. Taste along at h...
Are you ready to get FLAVOR BLASTED?! If you like bolder flavors, if you only vacation in Flavor Country, if you like things turned up to 11, then this is the episode for you! The Barrel to Bottle crew blind tastes four flavor-blasted whiskies and then follows that up with six flavor-blasted beers. Plus, how do they fare on the vaunted Flavor-Blasted Scale? You'll have to listen to find out! Plus in the Customer Q&A, Top 3 Desert Island Beers from the Barrel to Bottle crew.
Sometimes at Barrel to Bottle there's just too much good stuff for one episode. When you get someone like Greg Hall into the podcast studio, it's hard to stop asking him questions.
How do you follow up Bourbon County Stout? For Greg Hall, son of Goose Island founder John Hall, it started nearly 20 years ago during a trip to England. Ciders became a passion, but they took a backseat to the barrel-aged beer phenomenon. After leaving Goose Island, Greg founded Virtue Cider and began producing some of our bestselling ciders from the heart of Michigan apple country. Join the Barrel to Bottle crew as they taste Virtue Michigan Brut and Virtue Rosè. Stick around for the Q&A s...
In the sixty years since its founding, Rodney Strong Vineyards has grown to near ubiquity in the world of wine. Director of Winemaking Justin Seidenfeld joins Greg and Binny's Head of Wine Barbara Hermann to speak to the historic importance of the winery, including the founding for the Russian River Valley and Chalk Hill regions. He shares how he uses a modern, state of the art winery and vineyard management to produce classically styled, consistent wines in large enough quantities to be availab...
It's finally here: the long-awaited RUM episode. Pat breathlessly shares his passion for this often misunderstood spirits category, and although it's a podcast and you can't see it, Roger dressed up like a pirate. You'll learn all about the rich Caribbean and global history of rum, and all about rum's complicated production including what a "muck pit" is. Actually, it's exactly what you're imagining. The team tastes El Dorado 3 Year, El Dorado 15 year, Plantation Fiji, the shockingly funky Two J...
Barrel Sours are where it's at, right? Think again! Roger walks the team through the difference and highlights some excellent examples in an absurd lineup of American sours: beers tasted include Dogfish Head Sea Quench and Super Eight (which not only contains eight super foods, but can also be used to develop film), Logsdon Spontane Wilde (which Pat calls "one of the best American made sour beers" he's ever tasted) and The Convesion Series 2, Firestone Walker Paw2 Prints, Off Color The One Perce...
Even if you're not that into wine, you've probably heard of The Prisoner, which is just one of the many wines created by Dave Phinney. Dave shares his experience in wine making in California and beyond and shares tastes of Orin Swift wines Blank Stare, Mannequin, Slander and Abstract with the Barrel to Bottle team. Topics include the benefits of partnering with Gallo, the origin stories of some of his distinctive labels, balancing the dirty work of vineyard management and wine making with the in...
What started as a cool little Chicago darling has grown to become a global distilling presence: Koval. President and cofounder Sonat Birnecker Hart started Koval with her husband Robert, opting to buy a still instead of a house. Sonat walks the team through what it takes to grow the little guy: a lot of effort, knowledge and care. The team tastes Koval Bourbon and rye, and Koval gin and cranberry gin. Sonat covers the range, from an insider's view into distilling whiskies the brandy way, to the ...
Saison may be the easiest style of beer to brew - and the hardest to master. Roger walks the Barrel to Bottle team through this classic style, showcasing timeless examples including Saison Dupont, Brasserie Dupont Cuvee Dry Hop, Allagash Saison and Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale. Then the rest of the team mutines, opening some additional American craft examples, and hilarity ensues. Stick around for the Q&A segment for your chance to win a $20 if your question is answered on the podcast. Thi...
This week on Barrel to Bottle, a man whose name is synonymous with Napa Valley, Michael Mondavi. Michael shares his unique perspective in a conversation that's lighthearted but touches on some vital issues in the wine world and beyond: from natural, organic and biodynamic viticulture; labor shortages in an age when a legal, documented migrant workforce is scarce: the impact climate change is having on grape vines today; the changing role of the wine critic; to the timeless, refreshing taste of r...
World class whisky from a sub tropical climate? Kavalan makes it look easy. In this special Whiskey Hotline episode of Barrel to Bottle, Pat, Brett and Joe taste their way through Kavalan's offerings with Master Blender Ian Chang. Taiwan's first distillery has been running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since opening in 2006. Ian also teases Kavalan's upcoming triple pot distilled single malt gin, and helps the guys during the Q&A segment, featuring your question about barrel placement in rac...
Gin: it's a canvas for expression to distillers, a clutch tool to elevate cocktails for mixologists, and an excitingly diverse spirit for the Barrel to Bottle team to taste. Binny's Skokie Assistant Manager Shannon leads the podcast team through a tour of some of her recent gin discoveries: Boone County Jail Gin, Old Elk Distillery Dry Town Gin, Copper & Kings American Dry Gin, Few Spirits Bourbon Barrel Aged Gin, Sipsmith London Sloe Gin and the limited Hendrick's Midsummer Solstice. Stick ...
Old Forester is making a huge comeback, propelled by great new releases and the contributions of fresh blood including Master Taster Jackie Zykan. Jackie joins the Barrel to Bottle team to taste through some excellent bottles from Old Forester, including two now nearly unobtainable Binny's handpicks (a few bottles are still out there, so if you see one, buy it!) plus Old Fo's 1897 Bottled in Bond and their new 100 Proof Rye. Topics include tasting to a brand's profile, what is the mullet of bour...
Spain is more than old school! Just back from his trip to Spain, Binny's Oak Brook Wine Manager Jon Adam joins the Barrel to Bottle team to highlight wines from two thriving Spanish winemaking regions: Rueda and Ribera del Duero. The team tastes whites from Rueda: Jose Pariente Sauvignon Blanc, Naia Rueda and Naia Naiades; and reds from Ribera del Duero: Torres Celeste Crianza Blue Label, Protos Reserva and Vega Sicilia Valbuena. Stick around for the Q&A segment, when your questions are answ...
Director of Winemaking at Hess, David Guffy, is back on the Barrel to Bottle podcast. Topics include his love of malbec and cabernet, earthquakes and fires and his daily commute, the impact of elevation, and of course, winery dogs. The team tastes through a flight of Hess cabernet, including Hess Select, Hess Collection Allomi Vineyard, Hess Collection Mount Veeder, and the iconic The Lion. Stick around for the Q&A portion of the podcast, when David and the Barrel to Bottle Team share their ...
