Recent content by Jake Parrott

Postcard Teas in London is well worth a visit to taste and buy, and their international shipping rates are often quite reasonable.

I heard from one of my friends in the Sudsteiermark, and they are looking at >50% losses.

Congrats. Tons of great recs in this thread. The days of real deals from booking flights and hotels together are pretty much over. If either of you enjoy cooking, particularly seafood, then getting an apartment is a must. Rental apartments (via AirBnB or the other usual suspects) are usually...

[Full disclosure: I work with this person's DC distributor.] Eric Seed of Haus Alpenz is getting ready to import a version of Dolin's Genepi, hopefully in the autumn some time.

Punt e Mes is "vermouth amaro," so of course it'll be more intense. Best way to drink it. Can't "skip the business." But if you find a retailer who will be nice to you, you might be able to skip one layer of markup. You can bottle in 750mL and 1.75L. "Standards of fill" in US Law parlance...

Basically right. You could also work with a distributor. The key point is to make sure you have a relationship with a bottler, since you cannot buy spirits in barrel without a DSP number.

If you can find the cask-strength one, it's gorgeous. Haven't tried the regular, 90 proof version yet.

Not even Noilly Prat rouge?

Sure, although my preference (not universal by any stretch) is that the Manhattan retain some amount of elegance. I also wish Carpano would allow the importation of their regular vermouth rosso (which is no longer Vermouth di Torino--the flagship for that D.O. is Cocchi, which I also sell in...

The 100 is too big and sweet to mesh well with a fleshy vermouth such as Dolin rouge. Don't get me wrong--Rittenhouse 100 is delicious. But I prefer it in an Old-Fashioned. Rittenhouse 80 is fragrant (it shows a bit younger than the 100), which works better in both Manhattans and Sazeracs, for...

Depends on the vermouth. Right now my favorite Manhattan is equal parts Rittenhouse 80 and Dolin rouge (full disclosure: I sell the latter in DC), Angostura bitters, stirred plenty (dilution is important here). Martini's rosato is kinda tasty, though Martini's process is designed to remove the...

Not as ethereal as some of the ones mentioned in the article, but local (to DC) importer Ed Addiss (Wine Traditions) brings in R. Dumont from the Aube. And it's lovely, and more affordable than Lassaigne.

Go to Cochon with a bagful of sherries.

Corpse Reviver #2. The original recipes called for "Kina Lillet," which was an orange-colored, sweet, wine-based aperitif with a healthy dose of quinine. The current Lillet blanc has about as much quinine as Miller Lite has...anything. Cocchi Americano (full disclosure--John and I are both...

Econometricians would never have planted some of the shit Syrah vine stock I saw in SA. Their vineyard Polanying would've been better.