Jonas Halpren

Beer & Brats Stew

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You can’t go wrong with beer and brats. Another way to enjoy this dynamic duo is to make a stew. It includes vegetables, so let’s call it healthy. You can try this same recipe with steak instead of brats; it tastes just as great.

Ingredients

    1 lb bratwurst
    5 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
    1 cup chopped savoy cabbage
    1 lb sliced white mushrooms
    1 onion
    2 carrots, peeled and sliced
    1 stalk

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The Pickle Back

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A trend that seems practically made for St. Patrick’s Day is the Pickle Back — a shot of Irish whiskey followed with a shot of pickle juice. It may sound strange, but it’s a phenomenon that’s hitting New York hot spots like the Breslin and the Randolph and making national news and getting attention.

And you know what? It actually is pretty amazing! I tried it with some Jameson and Krugerman Frischgurkens and the flavors … Read more

Skyy Infusions Ginger Review

If you crave the bite of ginger, you’ll love new Skyy Infusions Ginger. The ginger sits in the vodka for about two weeks, so it is nice and gingery. Not quite as sweet as a liqueur, cocktails made with Skyy Ginger are fresh and crisp.

Sky Infusions Ginger
(infused with ginger), 35% Alcohol, San Francisco, California

Appearance: Clear with slight orange tinge.

Nose: Aroma of candied ginger and fresh ginger with slight aroma of citrus … Read more

Highland Park 1968 Review

I was recently summoned to Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco’s Tenderloin to celebrate the debut of a very special Scotch whisky, Highland Park 1968. This 40 year-old single malt is the first in their Orcadian Limited Edition Series. To be released over the next 5 years, each bottling will consist of just 8 casks each, hand selected by Max MacFarlane–that’s just 1550 bottles world-wide.

Retailing at $3,999, Highland Park 1968 comes nicely appointed in … Read more

Carnival Cachaça Primer

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This article is timely, a celebration of the national drink of Brazil as the grand finale of Rio’s famed Carnival occurs. Cachaça isn’t well known in the United States but it is famed in its native Brazil, where the average citizen consumes almost two gallons a year for a nationwide total that exceeds 350 Million gallons per year. These impressive numbers make cachaça the third most consumed liquor in the world, behind vodka and soju.… Read more

Science of Cocktails

San Francisco’s famed science museum, the Exploratorium, recently transformed into a giant cocktail lab for an evening fundraiser.

Drink of the Week was on the scene for the event, The Science of Cocktails, which featured interactive exhibits and presentations demonstrating the physics, chemistry and biology of cocktails and drinking.

Being a cocktail event, San Francisco’s top mixologists were strategically placed around the museum serving up an amazing array of original cocktails. Heaven’s Dog, Alembic, 83 … Read more

Super Bowl XLIV Drinking Game

Today the New Orleans Saints meet the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. Many will root for their team with food and drink, so why not play a game. A drinking game. As always; drink responsibly, don’t over do it and never drink and drive.

We like to keep it simple here at Drink of the Week, so each take one shot (beer, booze, soda, water your choice!) at each of the following:

    The camera

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2010 NASFT Winter Fancy Food Show – San Francisco

San Francisco was host to the NASFT Winter Fancy Foods Show this past weekend and, wow, what a spread! There was miles of cheese, chocolate, oils, dips, coffee, liqueurs, ice cream, sauces, dips, salts (lots of salts) and a ton of other fancy food products from all over the world.

My favorite Irish Cheddar, spiked with whiskey or ale is pictured below:

Among the thousands of products on hand, there were plenty for the bar.

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Jim Meehan of PDT Mixing It Up on Jimmy Fallon

Jim mixes up gin and tonics and his “Tea-quila Highball” for Jimmy, John Oliver and the Roots:

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The Glenlivet Nàdurra Triumph 1991

New from the Glenlivet, comes a unique single malt created from a single-source grain Triumph Barley. Distilled non-chilled filtered and then aged 18 years in Speyside, this is the Glenlivet’s first ever single-varietal scotch.

The Glenlivet Nàdurra Triumph 1991 single malt has a light golden hue. Its nose is extremely smooth with a slight fruitiness and tones of butterscotch.

Aged 18 years, the Glenlivet Nàdurra Triumph 1991 is like velvet on the tongue. It has … Read more