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6 days ago | 
vinepair.com | Pete O'Connell
The Scotch whisky market boomed in 2021 and 2022. But following a period of substantial growth, 2024 proved to be a difficult year for the industry. According to The Spirits Business, Scotch exports dropped by 18 percent in the first half of 2024 when compared to the same period the year before. Bumps in domestic taxes and tightening regulations, pressure on consumer spending, and instabilities in the global trade market have put constraints on producers and customers alike.
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1 week ago | 
vinepair.com | Pete O'Connell
Nearly every shaken cocktail, classic or modern, contains some form of citrus — and nine times out of 10, that means lemon or lime. As a result, cocktail bars around the world churn through cases of limes each week. Typically, someone comes in early to prep, juicing lime after lime until there’s enough juice for service. The next day, the routine repeats. This is the ideal scenario — but it hasn’t always been the case.
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1 week ago | 
vinepair.com | Pete O'Connell
Walgreens holds a high seat at the round table of America’s pharmacy-convenience store hybrids. And while it boasts a solid selection of toothpaste, Haribo gummies, and Band-Aids, its beer aisle is another story. More often than not, it’s a sorry lineup of cheap, domestic macro swill, a handful of imports, the obligatory White Claw Variety Pack, and maybe a few sixers of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Essentially, the same stuff can be found at quite literally any other store that sells beer.
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1 week ago | 
vinepair.com | Pete O'Connell
On Monday, Scottish craft brewery BrewDog shuttered its Cincinnati outpost just a few months shy of the taproom’s six-year anniversary. The company broke the news in a Facebook post. “We’ve made the difficult decision to permanently close BrewDog Cincinnati,” the post reads.
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1 week ago | 
vinepair.com | Pete O'Connell
Whether it’s a bartender’s post-shift, wind-down drink, or a dive-bar-dwellers go-to to kick-start an evening, there’s a humble, “no BS” vibe to a beer and a shot that’s earned the pairing a level of respect from drinkers of all classes and creeds. While ordering two drinks at once can be a one-way ticket to over-intoxication, many beer-and- shot combos are timeless staples unique to different countries around the world that usually add up to more than the sum of their parts.
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2 weeks ago | 
vinepair.com | Pete O'Connell
Rum is a spirit category marked by nearly endless variables. Even though it’s always distilled from some form of sugar, rum can hail from anywhere across the globe, be aged in any type of cask, and distillers can employ myriad techniques to achieve desired flavor profiles — regional regulations permitting. Regardless of the differences between different rum styles, anyone shopping for a bottle needs to consider how they intend to enjoy it. Are you looking for something to sip neat?
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2 weeks ago | 
vinepair.com | Pete O'Connell
For a basic home bar setup, there are a few essentials: a jigger, mixing glass, shaker tin, bar spoon, strainer, hand juicer, and a few nice glasses. But beyond the bare necessities, there is a whole world of fancy gadgets that exist as wants, not needs. We’re not just talking about cocktail gear. There’s doodads for beer and wine, too, all designed to either solve trivial problems or to get the full potential out of a certain beverage. Popping a decades-old Napa Cab? A decanter might be in order.
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2 weeks ago | 
vinepair.com | Pete O'Connell
In February, rumors started circling about a potential new Eagle Rare expression. On Monday, Kentucky’s Buffalo Trace Distillery confirmed the news, announcing the highly-anticipated launch of Eagle Rare 12. According to a press release, the new bourbon will become a permanent fixture in the Eagle Rare portfolio. As its name suggests, the expression is aged for a minimum of 12 years in new, charred American oak barrels.
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2 weeks ago | 
vinepair.com | Pete O'Connell
Like any gig, bartending has its pros and cons. On one hand, bartenders get to meet new people every day, craft cocktails, and discover new spirits. On the other hand, it’s a job marked by long weekend shifts, being tethered to “the stick” for hours at a time, and physical pains ranging from thrown-out shoulders to sore feet. Beyond these pitfalls, arguably one of the biggest downsides of bartending is the toll it can take on a person’s social life.
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3 weeks ago | 
vinepair.com | Pete O'Connell
Every town in the country, regardless of size, has some entity in place to handle political affairs. Most have a mayor, while others rely on a city council. But when a town is so small that it doesn’t technically qualify as a “town,” who runs the show? Well, it depends. These places, formally known as unincorporated communities, often exist in rural areas or on the fringes of larger, established cities.
