Information is everywhere, Insight is priceless

It's time to rescue champagne from New Year's Eve and the night your girlfriend's mom becomes your mother-in-law.

For my handlers at the Memphis Flyer, I tasted a single barrel reserve Blue Note Straight Bourbon Whiskey - because I'm a professional.

Roero Arneis: Write that down, it’s hard to find but worth remembering. Romans drink it like water, or soccer moms with chardonnay.

Sure, it's a little off-brand for the French, but you have to hand it to them, they don't do this sort of thing half-way.

In which I examine the hype around one of the most popular and classic cocktails and ask... really?

The El Draque is cocktail history, even if we're calling it the mojito now. But there is no reason to be a twit about the mint.

Cheap brandy is dangerous, but don't waste the good stuff on hangover cures or flambé. Hine is what Churchill drank, and he didn't skimp.

While I tend toward Mr. Burns auld scotch drink, this one surprised me. And the winner is...

Absinthe is strange medicine, born of strange times: Tonic, narcotic, subject to poetry and mob panic.

The long, lingering lunch cannot be replaced with zoom. Get well, bring it back.

Christmas this year will be weird, but it’s hard to drag an anchor like holiday tradition out of the mud. And it should be.

The guys might give you hell for hoisting a pint of cider, but sometimes the guys need to be told to get bent.

To wit: the 4717 guide to what your holiday beer choice says about you.

The Puritans up in Plymouth Rock ever had a happy gathering around the table. With anyone, least of all the Native Americans.

Japanese markets – while inventive – rarely seem to come up with much on their own that has a shelf life longer than the pre-teen fad.

Talisker, as its makers point out, is “made by the sea on the shore of the Isle of Skye.” And so it be.

Dropping in on world-class Crystal Bridges museum, I checked out the local beer for the Memphis Flyer.

With the seasons changing, this is a great fall beer - a local favorite when the weather turns a little cooler.

Granted, the branding seems a little off at first. But why not?