Rachel Halpren

Seven Spectacular Italian White Wines For The Holidays

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Tonight marks the Feast of the Seven Fishes in some Italian families.  Others will choose to celebrate tomorrow.  But, it occurred to us that there will be a great deal of fish and seafood consumed in the next week as Christmas morphs into New Year’s.  Our own family traditions have come to include heaping amounts of San Francisco’s local dungeness crab. For Christmas, we make the local San Francisco seafood stew – Ciopinno – a … Read more

Goldwasser Review

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Thanks to my recent illness, we are bringing you our liqueur review late this week.  But, it actually works as this liqueur is absolutely perfect for the holidays!  It will help liven up any Hanukkah celebration, make the wait for Santa easier and add sparkle to your New Year’s cocktails.   

Danzig Goldwasser has one of the most storied histories in the wine and spirits world.  Goldwasser has been made at least since 1598 (and allegedly … Read more

Gifts For The Last Minute Shopper

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The holidays are upon us and almost over. We have come up with lists of wine, booze and books to buy friends and foes for the holidays. In you are in need of last minute gifts, check out our recommendations.

When money is no object and your friend has it all, check out the wines on Wine Lists To Make Santa Cry.

If you want a great wine but don’t want to break the … Read more

Five Strange Sparklers For Christmas

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In Twas The Night Before Christmas, it was sugerplums that danced in the children’s head. But, when I think of Christmas, I think of ham dancing across the dinner table. Ham seems to be as ubiquitous to Christmas as Turkey is to Thanksgiving. That got me thinking, what wines would go well with ham. Since Christmas is such a festive holiday, I wanted the wine to be festive as well. And, what could be more … Read more

Tequila Don Julio 1942 Review

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Believe it or not, Don Julio is actually a man.  A man who is still alive, living in Mexico and making Tequila!  While Don Julio has passed on the reins of the distillery to the next generation, he is still an active participant in the business.  I think that is pretty cool.  I am always impressed when a distiller or a winemaker is actively involved in it’s operations, especially, the person who started them.  No … Read more

Cocktail Books To Give For The Holidays

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There is no better gift to give this season that an amazing cocktail book.  These books are perfect for your favorite or not so favorite person.  And, the best thing is that these books keep on giving!  By teaching a person how to unleash their inner mixologist, these books benefit everyone in their life.  Really, who doesn’t like to be served a kick-ass cocktail when going to a friend’s barbeque or a co-worker’s cocktail party … Read more

Wines To Gift Without Breaking The Bank

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The holidays are here! Today is the second night of Hanukkah with Christmas and Kwanzaa just around the corner. Plus, don’t forget New Year’s! We know that the rush to buy gifts for family members, friends and co-workers is in full swing. One short week after that, the pressure is on to bring a great bottle of wine to your New Year’s party. These wines are a great answer to your holiday gift giving quandary … Read more

Camus XO Borderies Review

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Most years, I buy my Dad a nice bottle of Cognac for the holidays – it’s become a family tradition.  My Dad lives in Wisconsin where Brandy is a religion and what could be better than Brandy than really fine Cognac (or Armagnac).  But, truth be told, my Dad often enjoys his Korbel as much as fine Cognac.  Not only do Wisconsinites love Brandy, they love their Korbel. 

I am always on the lookout for … Read more

Campari Review

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A favorite of bartenders across the globe! We have heard that bartenders test the skills of another bartender based on the quality of his or her Negroni.

Campari is a bitter spirit that is made from over 60 herbs and spices. If you try hard, you can pick out a few. For me, the easiest one to spot is the quinine, which is one of the herbs that gives Campari its bitter quality. Campari has … Read more

5 Bottles To Buy Your Co-Workers

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We know that it’s time to pick up presents for your co-workers.  In our humble opinion, the best gift to buy is booze!   Who doesn’t like booze?  We also like wine, but this article is dedicated to booze.   We put together our top 5 picks for good booze that also happens to be priced right.  Good luck this holiday season.

Here are our top 5 for this holiday season:

    Svedka Vokda.  I will admit

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