Binny's Blog

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

Guigal is the premiere producer in the Rhone and this week we're talking to Patrick Will, brand development director at their U.S. importer, Vintus.

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.

Resident wine guy Chris takes the Barrel to Bottle Crew through some of the lesser known appellations of the Rhone Valley.

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.