The Wine Voyage

Table of Contents - What Is Absinthe? - A Very Short History - How Absinthe Is Made - The Louche: Absinthe's Signature Ritual - Absinthe Compared to Other Anise Spirits - How to Taste Absinthe - Bringing Absinthe Into a Team Event - Buying and Storing Absinthe - Further Reading Absinthe might be the most misunderstood spirit on any back bar. Ask a room what they know about it and you'll hear some version of the same three things: it makes you hallucinate, it was banned for a century, and Van Gogh cut off his ear because of it. None of that holds up under any real scrutiny, and I think the myth-making around absinthe is actually the reason so few people have tasted it properly. It gets treated like a novelty shot or a dare instead of what it actually is — a genuinely well-made, herbal, complex spirit with a real production tradition behind it. This guide separates the history from the legend, explains what absinthe actually is and how it's properly served, and covers how to ...

Table of Contents - What Is Absinthe? - A Very Short History - How Absinthe Is Made - The Louche: Absinthe's Signature Ritual - Absinthe Compared to Other Anise Spirits - How to Taste Absinthe - Bringing Absinthe Into a Team Event - Buying and Storing Absinthe - Further Reading Absinthe might be the most misunderstood spirit on any back bar. Ask a room what they know about it and you'll hear some version of the same three things: it makes you hallucinate, it was banned for a century, and Van Gogh cut off his ear because of it. None of that holds up under any real scrutiny, and I think the myth-making around absinthe is actually the reason so few people have tasted it properly. It gets treated like a novelty shot or a dare instead of what it actually is — a genuinely well-made, herbal, complex spirit with a real production tradition behind it. This guide separates the history from the legend, explains what absinthe actually is and how it's properly served, and covers how to ...

Table of Contents - What Is Campari? - How Campari Is Made - Campari vs. Aperol - How to Actually Taste Campari - Building a Group Tasting Around Campari - Why Campari Belongs in a Team Tasting - Planning a Campari-Focused Event - Bringing It Into a Corporate Event - Further Reading Campari is one of those bottles that sits on nearly every home bar cart and gets used for exactly one thing: Negronis. That's not wrong, but it undersells what Campari actually is. It's the original Italian bitter, the drink that built the entire category, and most people who reach for it have never actually tasted it on its own to understand what it's doing in the glass. This guide covers what Campari actually is, how it's made, how it compares to its lighter, more famous cousin Aperol, and how to build it into a real group tasting instead of just another round of Negronis. What Is Campari? Campari is a deep ruby-red Italian bitter liqueur, created in 1860 by Gaspare Campari in Novara and r...

Table of Contents - What Is Campari? - How Campari Is Made - Campari vs. Aperol - How to Actually Taste Campari - Building a Group Tasting Around Campari - Why Campari Belongs in a Team Tasting - Planning a Campari-Focused Event - Bringing It Into a Corporate Event - Further Reading Campari is one of those bottles that sits on nearly every home bar cart and gets used for exactly one thing: Negronis. That's not wrong, but it undersells what Campari actually is. It's the original Italian bitter, the drink that built the entire category, and most people who reach for it have never actually tasted it on its own to understand what it's doing in the glass. This guide covers what Campari actually is, how it's made, how it compares to its lighter, more famous cousin Aperol, and how to build it into a real group tasting instead of just another round of Negronis. What Is Campari? Campari is a deep ruby-red Italian bitter liqueur, created in 1860 by Gaspare Campari in Novara and r...

Table of Contents - What Is Nerello Mascalese? - Why the Volcano Matters - The Pinot Noir Comparison, Explained - What Does Nerello Mascalese Taste Like? - Nerello Mascalese vs. Pinot Noir at a Glance - Key Producers and Regions on Etna - Food Pairings for Nerello Mascalese - Running a Nerello Mascalese Tasting for a Group - Bringing a Nerello Mascalese Tasting to Your Team - Further Reading I still remember the first time I poured Nerello Mascalese for a group that expected "big Sicilian red" and got something pale, perfumed, and almost delicate instead. The room went quiet for a second, then someone asked, "Wait, is this from Sicily?" That reaction is basically the whole pitch for this grape — it upends every assumption people bring to the table about what wine from a hot Mediterranean island is supposed to taste like, and that gap between expectation and reality is exactly what makes it such a great teaching wine. This guide covers what Nerello Mascalese actually...

Table of Contents - What Is Nerello Mascalese? - Why the Volcano Matters - The Pinot Noir Comparison, Explained - What Does Nerello Mascalese Taste Like? - Nerello Mascalese vs. Pinot Noir at a Glance - Key Producers and Regions on Etna - Food Pairings for Nerello Mascalese - Running a Nerello Mascalese Tasting for a Group - Bringing a Nerello Mascalese Tasting to Your Team - Further Reading I still remember the first time I poured Nerello Mascalese for a group that expected "big Sicilian red" and got something pale, perfumed, and almost delicate instead. The room went quiet for a second, then someone asked, "Wait, is this from Sicily?" That reaction is basically the whole pitch for this grape — it upends every assumption people bring to the table about what wine from a hot Mediterranean island is supposed to taste like, and that gap between expectation and reality is exactly what makes it such a great teaching wine. This guide covers what Nerello Mascalese actually...