A while back I was fortunate enough to score a bottle of Dave Phinney’s “Slaughterhouse” Whiskey. Dave Phinney as you may or may not know is the famed vintner who created “The Prisoner” an Über California wine blend. He then sold the company and now makes acclaimed wines from virtually all the major wine […]
Davidoff of Geneva’s Brookfield Place lounge is the culmination of the company’s latest efforts to honor their namesake’s forward-thinking legacy. Fittingly embedded inside the inspiringly modern Battery Park City neighborhood, it’s a living, breathing embodiment of Davidoff’s endeavor to both preserve and restyle the cigar experience within the framework of a brave new century. Upon […]
It’s a chilly Saturday night; all is eerily quiet on the Upper East Side. Not a soul on the sidewalk, and not a car on the street. I cross East 77th Street and immediately catch sight of two identical Jaguars with the engines running opposite a sign that reads: “Bar & Books: New York; Prague; […]
The Upper East Side is its own entity. It’s high-class (and high-rent, I might add), it’s old money, it’s calm, it’s sophisticated, and it’s old-fashioned; Club Macanudo is no exception to the Upper East Side norm. I walk up three blocks from the N train stop on 59th and 5th and hang a right past […]
Last month I had the pleasure of taking a day trip to Nassau Bahamas. My one and only plan was to visit the Graycliff Hotel to learn about their cigar making process, techniques and the quality that’s synonymous with the Graycliff brand. Graycliff Hotel was purchased by the Garzaroli family in 1973 and is the […]
Like many whiskey enthusiasts, I am always in search for the perfect value bourbon. My standby, for years now, has been Evan Williams 1783 — and it still is. But last week I dropped by Astor Wines on 4th st and happened upon McAfee’s Old No. 8. For $9, it’s about $11 below what I’m used […]
The Nat Sherman Townhouse stands as a calm safe haven of history and tradition in the perpetually fast-paced, tourist-infested, modern flurry that is Midtown Manhattan. It’s subtle and unassuming on the outside; a little two-story, three floor townhouse with a classic facade, sandwiched in between two behemoth modern skyscrapers, a bit like the Little’s house in […]
A few weeks after reviewing Burnside Bourbon, I was contacted by representatives of Indio Spirits Distillery in Portland, Oregon and asked if I wanted to review a few of their spirits. I agreed and along in the mail came a few (very beautiful) bottles of whiskey. Three in total, including their American, Rye, and Canadian […]
Hiram and Solomon Cigars gained considerable ground this passed year; Cigars & Spirits magazine recently featured them in their Top Ten Boutique Cigars of 2015, they had their first of what will hopefully be many events with us this month of March, and they recently released their first Connecticut wrapper cigar, and the star of […]
I recently had the privilege of being invited to a component tasting with Michael Herklots at the Nat Sherman Townhouse on Feb 10th. I’m a big fan of cigar education, and I knew that the component tasting would make for a unique educational experience, so I jumped at the opportunity to attend. I arrived at […]
A couple of weeks back I stopped by a local liquor store in Astoria and came across Burnside Bourbon. There are lots of new boutique distilleries releasing new products every week, but not many from my home town of Portland, Oregon, so I decided to give it a shot. And without further ado, here’s the review […]
Lee Ringleheim re-opened Circa Tabac as SoHo Cigar Bar with the goal of melding the best of the old with the best of the new. He succeeded. A few weeks ago, my dad and I made our way downtown to SoHo Cigar Bar for a special father/son smoke and dram. The cigar bar is nestled on Watts […]