The 2011 Vintage Port Seminar at Astra, hosted by Please the Palate was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. For those of you who don’t know Port, it is from the Douro Valley in Portugal. It is usually a sweet red wine, but can also come in dry, semi-dry and even white. Port is fortified wine with brandy added […]

The 2011 Vintage Port Seminar at Astra, hosted by Please the Palate was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. For those of you who don’t know Port, it is from the Douro Valley in Portugal. It is usually a sweet red wine, but can also come in dry, semi-dry and even white. Port is fortified wine with brandy added […]

Tomorrow, May 16th, is National Aperitif Day! Maison Lillet declared May 16th as this holiday to raise awareness of a great, yet underrated libation. All around the country aperitif lovers and newbies will celebrate the traditional French aperitif hour with Lillet. For those of you who don’t know, aperitif is a French word meaning ‘to  open,’ and is mainly used […]

Tomorrow, May 16th, is National Aperitif Day! Maison Lillet declared May 16th as this holiday to raise awareness of a great, yet underrated libation. All around the country aperitif lovers and newbies will celebrate the traditional French aperitif hour with Lillet. For those of you who don’t know, aperitif is a French word meaning ‘to  open,’ and is mainly used […]

Written by Travis Ballanger Two of my favorite things in the world are boats and booze. Really, I love them both equally very much. The brilliant people at Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises have created Thirsty Thursdays specifically to tease me. Every Thursday, May 23rd through September 4th, guests can enjoy the warm air aboard the spacious outdoor deck and brand […]

Union Square Wines & Spirits is full of wonderful wines, specialty spirits, and now every Friday in May, free Santa Teresa Rum Tastings, called Sipping Rum Fridays! This weekend, May 10th kicked off the first of four unique rum tastings targeting a specific theme. The first tasting was their 1796 Santa Teresa dark rum paired with chocolate for Mother’s Day! […]

Written by Travis Ballenger On Thursday, May 8th, I had the fantastic opportunity to see Real Arts Works (RAW) x Next2Shine Showcase concert series at Sounds of Brazil (SOB’s). If you don’t know, SOB’s is the place where young up and coming artists with great potential get their feet wet. Anyone who is anyone has played here. On Thursday, I […]

On Thursday, May 8th, I had the fantastic opportunity to see Real Arts Works (RAW) x Next2Shine Showcase concert series at Sounds of Brazil (SOB’s). If you don’t know, SOB’s is the place where young up and coming artists with great potential get their feet wet. Anyone who is anyone has played here. On Thursday, I felt like I was […]

Written by Travis Ballenger Vacation season is upon us and while it’s exciting to get away, it can be a total drag to figure out the details. Luckily, the people at Rocco Forte have taken care of that for us. Rocco Forte’s iconic Brown’s Hotel is celebrating its 175th Anniversary this year. To honor the hotel, now through December 1st, […]

Prepping for Summer is no fun at all, but enjoying the summertime is heaven. While many people are watching what they eat and amping up their workout regime, you can still indulge if you do it right. These cocktails aren’t your typical sugary and calorie-loaded concoctions…each cocktail below has a health component to it, whether it’s low calorie or made […]