The Covid19 world is new and different. So I’m taking the time out, in reverence to Social Distancing, to do some remote chats on Instagram Live. This is the first of many with my good friend Antonio Matta. He’s a great bartender, and manager with an astute interest in all things agave. We chat Metal, horror, and more.
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Ep 250 – Nicola Olianas: Making the Bitter so Sweet
Nicola Olianas eats and breathes hospitality. As an Italian native, his surroundings were always rooted in food and community. The lifestyle of learning, fostering communication, and appreciating nature were at the foundation of his journey. But as it can sometimes feel limiting, his insular Italian neighborhood couldn’t satisfy Nicola’s cultural and travel inspired appetite. After studying abroad and rooting his passion for hospitality with some academic feats, the greatest handshake yet occurred: forging his relationship with the Fratelli Branca family. We all know and love Fernet, but let’s dig a little deeper. We chat fatherhood, health, hosting, and more.
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Brandy is Dandy
Spirits like Cognac and Armagnac are world renowned treats. But did you know that they are Brandies just like Pisco or Calvados? In fact, most Cognac bottles used to read “Brandy de Cognac”. As the globally recognized cachet of “Cognac” grew, the verbiage was dropped. Brandy is a delicious category filled with rich cultural tradition and massively contrasting terroirs. I created the following infographic to help understand a bit more about Brandy across the globe. This is a good start, but there are even more varieties of Brandy…
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The Desert Spirits
The world of Agave (and non-agave) can be a quite convoluted one when you start to bring all of the other beautiful Mexican spirits into the mix. Here is an infographic that I created to disambiguate some of the major Mexican spirits categories.
