Binny's Blog

You bought some absinthe for a cocktail, but now what do you do with the rest of the bottle?

Matteo Meletti joins Barrel to Bottle to discuss his family's 155 year history of making amaro.

Our resident loud amaro lover Pat is back to torture Roger with twelve different Amari, running the gamut from extremely bitter to refreshing and subdued.

How did an outwardly Italian man end up in Eugene, Oregon making amaro? Find out as we talk with Elixir Spirits co-founder Andrea Loreto.

Last week it was new wines, this week it's new spirits. Pat once again overdid it and brought too many new items for us to sample.

We love a good tasting experiment on Barrel to Bottle, so this week we're making Manhattans. A lot of Manhattans. So many Manhattans that we can't keep track of how many we're making. We tried 21 different bitters to see which one makes the best Manhattan.

Pat is constantly extolling the virtues of aromatized wines. Finally, we have a guest who will actually agree with him and won’t just make fun of him. Jake Parrott is a friend of the pod and the Whiskey Hotline and is also the national sales director of Haus Alpenz. What Jake sells, and Pat loves, is woefully esoteric. But Binny’s customers, and Barrel to Bottle listeners, are enthusiasts.

Originally, the Sazerac cocktail was made with French brandy. In 1873, the recipe for the Sazerac Cocktail was altered to replace the French brandy with American Rye whiskey. We decided to recreate the original with Hennessy Cognac - plus ginger syrup, a few dashes of barrel aged bitters, and of course, a heavy absinthe rinse.

Luce Del Sol is Italian for sunlight - and this cocktail reminds us of just that. It is full of lemon candy and floral flavors. The amaro adds a light bitterness that is just enough to round out the sweetness of the Limoncello. Best enjoyed as a post-dinner treat.