Blog

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 home with Dac Red Blend, São Miguel do Sul, Pratts & Symington Post Scriptum de Chyrseia plus Caso do Valle Vinho Verde.

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! The flavor-blasted whiskeys: Pennington's Strawberry Rye Whiskey, Ballotin Bourbon Ball Flavored Whiskey, William Wolf Coffee Whiskey and Jefferson's Barrel-aged Manhattan. The flavor-blasted beers: Hopewell Clover Club, Goose Island Lost Palate, Founders Mas Agave, Central Waters Rum Barrel Aged Coconut Porter, Odd Side Ales Hipster Brunch Stout and Jackie O's You're In the Jungle Now, Baby! Plus in the Customer Q&A, Top 3 Desert Island Beers from the Barrel to Bottle crew.

The Flank Steak Salad is definitely a hearty meal, and a delightfully simple one to prepare. Just bear in mind that salting is essential to the recipe. Salting and seasoning the steak 30 minutes prior to grilling ensures that the meat absorbs the flavorful seasoning and remains juicy when served. And salting the vinaigrette intensifies the fruit notes of the red zin as well as softens the tangy cut of the dressing. What’s more, the salt in the vinaigrette dials down bitter notes, in turn enhancing the mild and crunchy savor of the baby greens.

How do you follow up Bourbon County Stout? For Gregory 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 in 2011 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 Rosé. Stick around for the Q&A segment, when the Barrel to Bottle Team (and Greg Hall!) share their favorite beers ever.

The key to achieving that crispy texture and luxuriously creamy center is to set yourself up for success. Allow the filet to come to room temperature. Pat the surface dry before cooking. Use a fish spatula as well as a 12-inch stainless steel pan whose surface area permits steam to flow away from your filet. Be sure that the pan is smoking hot. Smoking hot. All of this ensures the quick searing necessary to curl up and denature the proteins and crisp the skin before they have any chance to stick to the pan. Serve the filet over grilled asparagus and enjoy it with Clean Slate Riesling or Clark & Sheffield Sauvignon Blanc.

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 available everywhere. And he shares his experience tasting holy s*** wines. Wines tasted include Rodney Strong Charlotte's Home Sauvignon Blanc, Chalk Hill Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon and Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Stick around for the Q&A segment, where Justin answers your question about harvesting grapes.

Making fall-off-the-bone ribs is easier than you think. The secret? Set aside the time required. Wait an hour after rubbing the ribs before throwing them in the oven. It gives the meat enough time to absorb the flavorful seasoning - which we guarantee you’ll love. Take the time to cook the ribs at low temperatures. Those hours of slow cooking at low temperatures transform what was rough and tough into the fall-off-the bone and flavorful summer classic that you crave. And don’t skip the fifteen minutes of high heat - it oven-sears the meat, sealing the juices and caramelizing the rub. That sear leaves a sweet and spicy bark whose crunch is followed by a juicy burst of meaty nirvana.

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 James Doctor Bird and Foursquare Premise. Stick around for listener Q&A, when the team explains charcoal filtering and the Lincoln County process, and other bourbon myths.

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 Conversion Series 2, Firestone Walker Paw2 Prints, Off Color The One Percent, and finally, The Rare Barrel Wise Guise. Stick around for the Q&A segment, when the team shines light on the mysterious golden stout style.