Ed Zotti

Dec 26, 2024 | thespectator.com | Roger Kimball |Ed Zotti |Ross Anderson |Charles Cornish-Dale

Last month we took a quick trip to Tuscany. Among the wines we sampled was Sassicaia, the fabled Cabernet blend from Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast. I said that the wine was an “instant sensation,” but an alert reader pointed out that it was only when it was sold commercially, in the late 1960s, that it took the wine world by storm. Before that, it was the private province of its creator, the marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who began experimenting with Bordeaux grapes in the 1940s.

Dec 26, 2024 | thespectator.com | Ed Zotti |Max Jeffery |Roger Kimball |Toby Young

It was January in Chicago and the forecast was for heavy snow followed by bitter cold — high time, I thought, for a shot of malört, the most undrinkable beverage on earth. Or so I’d always heard — and therein lies a tale I didn’t expect to tell. Chances are you’ve never heard of malört, formally known as Jeppson’s Malört, Carl Jeppson being the Swedish immigrant who invented the liqueur a century ago. However, it’s legendary in Chicago, where it’s commonly described as a rite of passage.

Dec 26, 2024 | thespectator.com | Ross Anderson |Toby Young |Ed Zotti |Roger Kimball

If you spent your holiday season right, you’re reading this magazine with a hangover, fueled by seasonal excesses in eggnog, wine, whisky and other alcoholic indulgences. January is the month to clean out, to convince yourself you’re going to start running regularly this year, burn off some of the holiday fat and detox your thoroughly tox’d body. However, just because you’re having a dry January doesn’t mean it should be a dreary one — and there are some great drinks to fuel you through it.

Nov 21, 2024 | thespectator.com | Marc Oestreich |Richard Dawkins |Lara Prendergast |Ed Zotti

It starts with the promise of skipping school — always an illicit thrill at nine years old. My son and I, seasoned truants, hop the early train to downtown Chicago for what I’ve convinced him is a real education. The day’s agenda: two of the city’s iconic museums — grand, intimidating and, up until recently, somewhat sacred. These sprawling neoclassical behemoths, both originally constructed for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, dot the waterfront like ancient ruins.

Sep 12, 2024 | thespectator.com | Ross Anderson |Ed Zotti |Roger Kimball |Charles Cornish-Dale

Barmen despise making mojitos. The descendant of various Caribbean rum-based cocktails, they only became truly popular in the early 2000s. It’s not that they’re that difficult or require too many ingredients — and they’re nothing compared to hellish drinks like the Ramos gin fizz — but the mojito has several qualities that, combined, make it intensely frustrating. Namely, the mojito is very refreshing, can be drunk quickly and looks pretty, and therefore one order will spark a rush of others.