Travel
One of the best reasons to take a trip is to see how people in other cultures eat and drink — and to join in the fun. Our travel section includes trip reports from all over the world, with deep dives into the vineyards, breweries, distilleries, and bars you’ll find there.
Top Travel Posts:
A Visit to the Don Julio Tequila Distillery
Where to Drink in Asheville, North Carolina
A Visit to Suntory’s Yamazaki Distillery
Harvest in Chile’s Casablanca Valley – A Dusty Paradise
Revisiting the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, 2018
A Visit to Jack Daniel’s Distillery
Exploring Port Wine: Touring Porto and the Douro Valley
Drinking the Costa del Sol – A Trip from Barcelona, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal
Since 2020, Raj Bhakta’s eponymous second act in spirits has built a reputation as one of the most interesting companies in alcohol. First came Bhakta’s vintage blended Armagnac, which carried a 50 year age statement and included liquid dating back to 1868. Next up were single vintages, more brandies (including calvados), a finished bourbon, and…
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The vibrant, artsy town of Asheville, North Carolina is synonymous with craft beer, but breweries aren’t the only place in town to quench your thirst. While beer may have put the city on the tourist map decades ago, that popularity has spawned a vibrant bar scene that’s as diverse and dynamic as the town’s craft…
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Our final day in Cognac took us to one of my all-time favorite producers, Camus, which is a smaller producer but considerably larger than Maison Ferrand. (Camus grows its own grapes for about 35-40 percent of its production.) Camus is unique in that is centered around Borderies, the north-of-the-river part of Cognac that showcases a…
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After a whirlwind day with a small producer, I thought we should contrast that with one of the biggest producers in the Cognac business. At last count Rémy Martin was the #2 producer of Cognac, battling out for that spot with Martell and Courvousier, who are all neck and neck and tend to hand the…
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To know Cognac the spirit is to know Cognac the place. Cognac is the product of a minuscule region, rigorously protected by law and produced here and only here for centuries. This tiny town in the west of France is fully built by, for, and around the production of the world’s most famous brandy. “Without…
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Texas has a reputation for friendliness — as long as you aren’t driving on the highway, at least — but few places I’ve visited in the wine world were as downright inviting as C.L. Butaud. Butaud is a husband-and-wife operation headed by Randy and Brooke Hester. After stints in wine distribution and sales, both of…
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I’ve spent countless hours traversing the wineries of California, but the operation at Texas-based William Chris surprised me right away, with its focus on hospitality, a wide range of tasting experiences, and — most critically — a huge ability to get people in and out of the place, often by the busload (a very rare…
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Garrison Brothers may not be the largest distillery in the world (or even in Texas), but damn if it isn’t one of the friendliest. Pull into Garrison Brothers’ Hye-based facility and you’ll find yourself immediately immersed in something more akin to a bourbon-soaked playground than a stuffy distillery experience. Wholly unserious, your experience begins on…
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I’ve been going to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival since the 1990s. Located each year in downtown Bardstown, Kentucky, the Festival is the largest such event actually held in the Bourbon Capital of the World. And allow me to be the umpteenth Bardstown local (or former local) to say: Things have changed, and that’s a lot…
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When Barrow’s Intense Ginger Liqueur opened a new Brooklyn distillery in May 2019, founder Josh Morton was adamant about creating a full bar and tasting room experience for visitors: cocktails, spirits served neat, seasonal specials, and even a full bottle shop. But under New York law, virtually all craft distillers in the state with retail…
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