Sipping With Smoth: Getting Guinness and Understanding Stouts
Approaching a stout can be off-putting for the average lager-swiller. The dark, roasted malt is as unfamiliar to most as a cup of black coffee is to a double-double drinker. Over the years, I’ve developed a deep love and respect for these black beverages, and…
Sipping With Smoth: Visiting Nicholson Ranch Winery in Sonoma
Let’s say you’re vacationing in California. A trip to the vineyards of Napa and Sonoma is basically a foregone conclusion, so the only real question is, “Where do I go to drink some damn good wine?” Let me help you out with one solid tip:…
Sipping With Smoth: Blind Luck at a Blind Whiskey Tasting
What happens when a group of friends find themselves with several bottles of whiskey and nothing to do on a Saturday night? Why, a blind whiskey tasting of course. Last year, by sheer coincidence, my close group of friends noticed we were each simultaneously in…
Sipping With Smoth: A Fine Wine Tasting at Toronto’s Fine Wine Reserve
When I turned 19 (the legal drinking age in Ontario) I wanted to celebrate like any normal person: by doing my first legal wine tasting. Thankfully, close family friends presented me with this opportunity, by purchasing two tickets for a “global wine tasting” at the…
Sipping With Smoth: Cocktails at the Bangkok Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Backpacking through Southeast Asia hardly conjures images of 5 star hotels. But during my time in Bangkok with my girlfriend Christine, we decided to take a step outside the norm, and imbibe in a cocktail from one of the most famous and luxurious hotels in…
Sipping With Smoth: Veuve Clicquot and the Perfect Risotto
The new year has long been an excuse for me to spend too much money on a bottle of champagne, and this year was no exception. The only difference was, I intended to share it with my girlfriend Christine, who had the terrible misfortune of…
Sipping With Smoth: Unlocking the Case for Rubicon’s ‘Cask Cabernet’
As much as I’d like to pretend otherwise, I’m essentially a budget wine shopper. Mostly I peruse the Vintage section for interesting bottles in the $20-$30 range, and I’ve even been known to stoop so low as to mingle with non-vintage wines in the $10-$15…
Sipping With Smoth: Sangria Sessions and Cigar Bars in Montreal
Occasionally, you have some alcohol throughout your day. Other times, you have some day throughout your alcohol. Last summer, on a trip to Old Montreal with my close friend (and premier drinking buddy), we experienced a healthy dose of the latter scenario. The weather was…
Sipping With Smoth: The Alcoholic Din of Tactical Nuclear Penguin
I enjoy strong liquor. I enjoy beer. Yet, rarely do I get to combine these two indulgences in one beverage. One of these few occasions was when my room mate and I indulged in the outrageous, bombastic, extremely expensive and highly alcoholic Scottish concoction Tactical…
Sipping With Smoth: Conversations Over Comped Cognac
Years ago, when I was merely an untutored student in the subtleties of drinking, I went to pick up my buddy from work at a local restaurant in my hometown. Despite being only a dishwasher, my friend always raved about the food, the management and the owner…