Malcolm Forbes once called a matchbook collection a lazy man’s journal.  I like to think of my cork collection as something similar.  I usually grab the corks when I had a good bottle and can remember excellent meals and wonderful bottles of wine with friends as I look over the corks I have collected over the years.  But I have to admit, the little buggers add up.  What do you do when your cork collection starts to overflow the container? Get a Bigger or a Second Container –  It’s always an option to get a bigger container and keep the storage going.  But perhaps ..read more

It can be imposing to be handed the wine list at some restaurants and if no one is ordering a cocktail, which would give you some time to figure out what to order, you have to move quick.  When you are pressed for time and really can’t study the list, you need some go-to strategies on how to order. Here are a few low risk ordering strategies for you to try the next time you need to pull a rabbit out of a hat, or a bottle of wine off a list. Your Server – While I am not normally a fan of asking the server for a wine recommendation due to the spotty levels of training unless you are in a t ..read more

One of the easy things to give is the gift of spirits.  This is especially true if you grab a bottle of something that you know hits the profile of your friend or even better is a special bottle, they might not have purchased for themselves.  Personally, I love to indulge in the bottle I shared with a friend, to create a memory around the gift as well, but this doesn’t always work out.  All of this works great if you know someone well, but what do you do for a business associate? There are plenty of special gifts that you can grab for a business friend that represents how you v ..read more

You might be like me and didn’t even know the word mixology existed a few years ago.  It makes total sense, but the idea of applying it to creation of a craft cocktail is new.  This is an exciting innovation to the area of professional drinking.  No more rack liquors and bulk manufactured mixes to slop together into an industrial cocktail.  It follows the fine dining trend.  Why would you precede a wonderful 10 course tasting menu with a cocktail better served at a frat party? What makes this new field of beverages different? To be frank, it isn’t really new, it is a ..read more

Interviews are already stress-filled events and the worries about how to handle yourself around dinner and having a drink can amp this up to nerve shattering levels.   It doesn’t have to be that way.  There are a few basic things to remember to change an interview dining experience from a thrill ride to a walk ..read more

Nothing sets the tone for a quality conversation more than the place. That means when picking the venue for your next meeting over a meal you need to think carefully as it communicates something about the nature of the meeting as well as your judgment. Should you pick your local bar, where everyone knows your ..read more

It is iconic, a group of people lounging around a table, swirling their wine idly, tossing around big and small ideas and laughing as the conversation wanders around.  For some, the swirling helps them think or it is the adult version of a fidget spinner to retain their attention.  But why do we swirl our ..read more

Malcolm Forbes once called a matchbook collection a lazy man’s journal.  I like to think of my cork collection as something similar.  I usually grab the corks when I had a good bottle and can remember excellent meals and wonderful bottles of wine with friends as I look over the corks I have collected over ..read more

It can be imposing to be handed the wine list at some restaurants and if no one is ordering a cocktail, which would give you some time to figure out what to order, you have to move quick.  When you are pressed for time and really can’t study the list, you need some go-to strategies ..read more

One of the easy things to give is the gift of spirits.  This is especially true if you grab a bottle of something that you know hits the profile of your friend or even better is a special bottle, they might not have purchased for themselves.  Personally, I love to indulge in the bottle I ..read more