Our editors pick the best of the web’s booze writing. This week: Zacapa’s female master blender, wines that survive climate change, a craft beer trying to go national and more.
Resurrecting ancient wines that can survive climate change [The Atlantic]
As our world heats up, Spanish wine giant Bodegas Torres is tackling the inevitable by dabbling in growing grape varieties long thought of as extinct. It’s a quest to find varieties that will thrive in hot weather.
Once a craft beer darling, New Belgium Brewing is struggling to go from niche to national [Forbes]
Coloradoan craft brewer New Belgium is finding out that bigger is not necessarily better, as it tries to expand nationally. Facing falling revenue, staff resignations and a potential takeover by Big Beer, Forbes look at how a niche brand can successfully grow larger without losing its identity.
The men were terrible: Zacapa’s master rum blender, woman in a male-dominated industry [South China Morning Post]
Lorena Vasquez is Zacapa’s master blender. Here, she spills the beans on blending rums, ageing at different altitudes, and how she tackled chauvinism in the industry.
Edible scents make flavorful cocktails – and a lasting impression [PSFK]
Our sense of smell is most strongly connected to our memories, and two brothers behind a Vermont fragrance house are mining their lives to create aromatic cocktail scents that evoke flashbacks over flavours. With names like “Autumn Bonfire” and “Hiking the Long Trail”, these sprays are meant to elicit an experience rather than only make you think, “ginger.”
Just how many bitters do you need? Three top bartenders share their advice [Australian Bartender]
Some bartenders stop at three, others hoard them. Here are some thoughts on how many bitters is too many bitters, and which are the essential ones to have handy.
