It could be said that food is our most important love language. “Mother Nature isn’t just a circle of life, it’s a circle of love—and one to be most revered,” says Sylvia Ganier, who works diligently on her organic farm in Nashville, Tennessee. Cultivating food is labor-intensive work with a low monetary yield; it’s ultimately a labor of love.
Feeling the summer heat? Cool down with a refreshing glass of sparkling water mixed with some Tait Farm Raspberry Shrub. Shrubs—concentrated syrups that combine fruit, sugar, and vinegar—are resurging in popularity. Typically added to water or spirits, they’re turning up at trendy bars in creative cocktails as well as interesting non-alcoholic alternatives. Shrubs were first popular in England in the 17th and 18th centuries; it was a common way to preserve fruits before refrigeration. The term "shrub" is a variant of the word "shurb" from the Arabic word "sharāb" which means "to drink." Early colonists brought the beverage to America, to places like City Tavern in Philadelphia, where Tait Farm Raspberry Shrub offers a sip of history on its Colonial drinks menu.
Spirits Coast to Coast Distilleries from New York to Montana help each other's businesses thrive. By Katie DeTar Lalley Butte, Montana may seem a world apart from Rochester, New York. But when it comes to unique craft beverages, these cities—and others like them—collaborate with creativity. Out west the city of
Just by visiting Telluride, you put your body to the test. Can you withstand an altitude of 8,750 feet without getting altitude sickness? People who come to this popular mountain town are generally looking for the type of adrenaline-filled holiday that is packed with skiing, mountain biking and hiking, rather than lounging by a pool all day. It’s no wonder that the town’s cult cocktail, rightfully named “The Flatliner,”is made to get you tipsy yet keep you going for hours. Just don’t die (or pass out).
Named one of the “25 Most Influential Cocktail Personalities of the Past Century,” Jeff “Beachbum” Berry has written six books on vintage tiki drinks and cuisine, co-created the app Total Tiki for iPad and iPhone, is the owner of tiki bar Latitude 29 in New Orleans, and sells a line of tiki barware with Cocktail Kingdom. If that's not enough, his cocktail recipes have been printed in publications around the world, and it's safe to say he's an expert on rum.
Songwriter Jimmy Buffett coined the term “boat drinks” in his 1979 song by the same name. Otherwise known as cocktails garnished with umbrellas, and often containing rum and fruit juice, boat drinks are a summer staple—especially in the Gulf South. You'd be hard-pressed to find a restaurant or bar in neighboring Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama, that doesn't serve some type of rum-flavored drink. These warm Gulf waters and white sand beaches are the perfect backdrop for sipping a summer concoction.
