Binny's Blog

A sweet, nutty, spicy, and potent concoction that not only tastes like but goes down as easily as a big slice of nutty kringle. It also has the comforting, warming, Bourbon forward profile of a perfect fall or winter sipper.

It’s the spooky time of year, so it’s time to talk about Halloween beers and Halloween cocktails. A cocktail episode means that Greg and Pat get to hang out while Roger makes them cocktails. And Chris will make his own while spending way too much time crafting the garnish.

Birria, the deeply soul satisfying Mexican dish of tender slow cooked meat served with a rich savory consommé, has found new life in the hip Instagram-able form of quesatacos. They are attractive and delicious but those in the know didn’t need a trend to remind us of this classic dish from Jalisco (Tequila’s origin as well).

El Diablo cocktail, an unconventional blend of Tequila, Crème de Cassis, lime and ginger beer. It’s a surprisingly delicious cocktail recipe invented by Vic Bergeron aka Trader Vic. We use Añejo Tequila, Jules Theuriet Cassis and Fever Tree ginger beer.

Roger put some real time and effort into this week’s episode of Barrel to Bottle, all about Czech Pilsners. He’s also asking Greg to be on his best behavior since he usually doesn’t like these kinds of beers. Roger has long encouraged listeners to check out lagers and more and more local breweries are making pilsners, so it’s never been easier to czech these beers out.

This dish is a buttery, mushroomy delight featuring the nutty goodness of Sicily’s famed fortified wine, Marsala. Serve it with pasta, roasted or mashed potatoes and a veggie contorno or two. Pull the cork on a nice Sicilian red made from Nero d’Avola or try a crisp white like Grillo, Inzolia or Catarratto for a memorable pairing.

In the pre-prohibition era, Brandy was a go to spirit for cocktails. In fact, many of the Whiskey-based cocktails you know and love were once made with Brandy, usually Cognac. While this mixologist readily confesses to the penchant modern barkeeps and imbibers have for fetishizing pre-prohibition recipes, excellent Brandy cocktails still languish in comparison to their Whiskey-based counterparts.

Uruguay is a wine region you may have not heard of before. Luckily, we have two special guests to introduce you to this category. Alec Griffiths, export manager of Bodega Garzón came all the way from Uruguay to do the podcast. Also joining Alicia is Bill Newton, Binny’s wine buyer for Uruguay.

We have twelve…yes twelve…100 proof bourbons to sample today on Barrel to Bottle. Pat just couldn’t help himself; once he started picking, he just couldn’t bear to leave something out. Once again, we’re blind tasting, which is the best way to taste anything.

Join The Whiskey Hotline and Journeyman founder Bill Welter for a virtual tasting of the Southwest Michigan distillery's whiskies.