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Scotland's Islay makes some of the most distinctive and immediately recognizable whisky in the world, from graceful and honeyed to richly peated, smoky and briny. The Barrel to Bottle crew teams up with the Whiskey Hotline in a guided tasting of all eight active distilleries on the Island, with lots of fun facts and Islay info along the way. Part I covers the less peaty distilleries: Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Bowmore and Kilchoman. Keep an eye out for Part II coming next week!

The cocktail we're featuring this time is of my own creation. The goal was to create a drink that does justice to the flavor profile of a lesser-known coffee drink, the Caffé Romano — espresso served with lemon peel. In putting it together, I played off of the proportions used in one of my favorite old classics, the Vieux Carré.

Black Friday in Chicago means heading to Binny's Lincoln Park for the annual release of one of the most collectible and desirable beers out there: Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout. This year's release includes eight unique versions: Original, Wheatwine, Reserve, Midnight Orange, Coffee Barleywine, Proprietor's, Vanilla and Bramble Rye. The Binny's crew got a sneak preview of the full lineup, and they run through their tasting notes, insider info and more in this week's Barrel to Bottle breaking news episode.

Get ready for this year’s release of Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout at Binny’s! This year marks another great lineup – check out our tasting notes here. On Black Friday (that’s Friday, November 23), all Binny’s locations will have an allocation of this limited annual release (details below) but as always, the main event is at Binny’s Lincoln Park. Here are all the details…

Goose Island invited us to stop by for a preview of the 2018 Bourbon County lineup. As per usual, they've created some incredible beers. It's going to be a long, anxious wait till Black Friday! Find all of the information you need on the Goose Island Black Friday release here.

Brunello – it’s one of the most iconic wines from Italy. On this admittedly geeky episode of Barrel to Bottle, Kristen leads the Binny’s team through this world-famous Tuscan sub-region and the grape that makes it great. The team talks sangiovese at its finest, tasting 2012 Donatello Cinelli Colombini Brunello di Montalcino and 2013 Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino. And stick around for the Q&A segment, when the team explains what makes a wine good for aging.

Sauternes has the unfortunate distinction of being a wine everyone loves, but few people actually drink. It suffers from the perception that wine must be dry to be fine. When it is drunk, it’s often paired exclusively with desserts, relegated to the end of the meal at restaurants with the cordials and liqueurs.

“Americans are allergic to bad vintages,” observed one person in Bordeaux during a recent trip. I couldn’t disagree. The view here is often absolute: a vintage is either good or bad. And people don’t want to drink “bad” vintages.

Join UV Vodka and the Score for a sampling and enter to win the ultimate day at Soldier Field! One lucky winner - and their friends - will get to tour the visitor's locker room, play a game of flag football on the field and have a post-game party at a local bar! And this all happens at Solider Field. Come on out to one of the following tastings to enter to win this one-of-a-kind experience!

Have you ever wondered what it's like to live the glamorous life of a Binny's Wine Buyer? Meet Barbara Hermann. For the last 30 years, Barb has spearheaded the wine buying program at Binny's Beverage Depot. She joins the Barrel to Bottle team to cover how the wine world has evolved over the decades, about her extensive travel around the globe, about the Good Old Days, and how she works as a consumer advocate to find the best wines at the best prices.