Category Archives: Drinking

In the drinking category we chronicle the beverages, usually alcoholic, that we used to wash down our food. You’ll also meet some characters who specialize in making or promoting fine spirits.

Your Grand Tasting strategy for today

Posted on October 5, 2019 by Burnt My Fingers

Today, October 5, is the Grand Tasting of the Saratoga Wine & Food Festival. The VIP portion (sold out) starts at 11 with general admission (tickets still available) at noon. At last night’s elegant dinner, both the weather and the … Continue reading →

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Saratoga Wine & Food Festival reinvents itself

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Burnt My Fingers

We’ve reported from time to time on the Saratoga Wine & Food Festival, an event on the grounds of SPAC that used to happen the weekend after Labor Day. Watching Zak Pelaccio break down a pig, a burger bash in … Continue reading →

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Hepburn’s Choice is back at K&L Wines

Posted on January 1, 2019 by Burnt My Fingers

At the beginning of 2018 we bemoaned the lack of Hepburn’s Choice single malts in the inventory of K&L Wines, dubbed the best wine store in America by the Wall Street Journal. Good news! At the beginning of 2019 there … Continue reading →

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Genesee and Me

Posted on November 27, 2018 by Burnt My Fingers

I had never heard of the Genesee beer brand until I made a trip to upstate NY to visit my future in-laws, back in the early 1990s. Driving up Route 30 from Amsterdam, I saw a billboard with a bearded … Continue reading →

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Why whiskey? Why, indeed…

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Burnt My Fingers

Tom Fischer has one of those jobs that sounds fabulous but is no doubt exhausting in real life. As proprietor of Bourbon Blog, he travels the world making contacts with the distillers and distributors of rare spirits in order to … Continue reading →

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Maple madness at International Restaurant Show

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Burnt My Fingers

This week I was in New York City for the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show. It’s an opportunity for restaurant owners to check out new kitchen equipment, barware, dining room furnishings and such with demos from well-informed manufacturers’ reps. If … Continue reading →

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How to win at Saratoga Chowderfest

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Burnt My Fingers

Saratoga Chowderfest 2018 is in the books. But I suggest you bookmark this post (as well as similar advice published in 2017) and come back to it prior to next year’s event so you can make the most of your … Continue reading →

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Why beer drinkers are so angry these days

Posted on December 7, 2017 by Burnt My Fingers

Have you noticed the new sixpack holders? They’re like a cruel practical joke on beer drinkers. Instead of nestling just under the top of the cans, so it’s easy to hook in your finger and carry a sixpack, the loops … Continue reading →

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Recipe: Sweet Smoke Cocktail

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Burnt My Fingers

We have an excellent local bar called Hamlet & Ghost where I was introduced to the Don Lockwood, a cocktail combining  rye-heavy bourbon and smoky Islay Scotch. (Don Lockwood is the character Gene Kelly plays in Singin’ in the Rain; … Continue reading →

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Gun Hill Silvis: why good beer costs more

Posted on March 16, 2017 by Burnt My Fingers

The guys at my local beer store finally got me trained. They shoot me a text and I hop in my car like Pavlov’s dog’s chauffeur  to go stand in line half an hour for a rare release, and end … Continue reading →

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