Alcademics

Glossy Booze is a round-up of booze stories in magazines.

In the industry magazine Tasting Panel, I have a short write-up on the Ocho Tequila launch event in San Francisco, and a long piece on the evolving cocktail scene in Sacramento. (Oh, and I just noticed my report from last month about Tales of the Cocktail is online.)

Conde Nast Traveler (November) has two booze stories: One on in which bars and restaurants republican and democrat candidates eat, and a long travel piece on Kentucky Bourbon and the KY Bourbon Trail. The story also includes ratings and cocktails from the likes of Joel Baker of Bourbon & Branch, Brian Miller from Death & Co., and Adam Seger from Nacional 27. Oh look, the main body of the text is online already.

Playboy's November all-James-Bond-issue has a few bits and bits on booze: a mention of Drank Anti-Energy Drink, a blurb about Cabo Uno, and The Playboy Advisor takes on the difference between seltzer and soda water.

Men's Vogue, also with a Bond theme for November (I guess there must be a new movie coming out) has Lawrence Osbourne writing a full feature on Karlsson's potato vodka- probably the longest story on a single brand of vodka I've read in years. The story isn't online yet, but will probably show up in the archives next month.

Esquire packs a bunch of stories in different sections: Tom Chiarella reviews  The Wettest County in the World (a book I have at home but haven't started),Charles P. Pierce endorses Clontarf Irish Whiskey, and Ryan D'Agostino suggests drinking red wine with breakfast. Are they letting everyone write about booze now? Where's Wondrich? Oh here he is, discussing rinsing as a cocktail technique. 

Online at Esquire.com, they list 24 alcohol gifts including Wonrdich's book, Karlsson's vodka and a bunch of other spirits products, a few tools (meh), and only one thing that's sort of awesome- a USB beverage chiller! (It's the last item in the slideshow, so click backwards.)