From beer towers to stripper poles, the Bar Show had every gimmick imaginable, even this shameless tequila-shot ice slide. Open wide! (Photo: Michael Anstendig)

While we at the Feed generally promote spirituous discernment, the annual Bar Show reminds us what most watering holes are really all about: getting drunk, playing silly games, ogling hotties and maybe even getting laid. This unabashedly politically incorrect trade event at the Javits Center on June 14 and 15 was packed with often questionable booze, promo models in Daisy Duke shorts and “entertainment,” from flashy beer-pong sets to mechanical bulls. For anyone seeking to open a bar—speakeasy, biker bar, cowboy bar or strip club—this is your one-stop shop. For everyone else, it’s a spring-break regression in a professional disguise. Click through for the slide show and more depraved diversions. Read more »

The Germans descended upon Tribeca this week, celebrating the fruits of the 2008 riesling vintage—and what a vintage it is. This noble grape, which is expressed in endless riffs—from the stone dry to the honey sweet and everything in between—is the Rhineland’s aromatic gift to the drinking world. More than 30 producers brought their best, from the Mosel, Pfalz, Baden, Rheinhessen and Rheingau regions. There was also a smattering of wines from nearby Alsace in France (it was German back in the day), as well as Austria. Read more »

Lapostolle's Andrea Leon, on the vanguard of Chile's new winemaking generation. (Photo: Michael Anstendig)

Chilean wine fanciers were treated to a definitive sampling of the Andean nation’s 45 top producers at a walk-around tasting held last week at midtown’s Gotham Hall. While these vinos were once the faves strictly of college kids and tightwads, they’ve come up dramatically in quality, while still retaining budgetary appeal. Chile does well with most of the familiar varietals like cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, syrah, sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, but its own grape, carmenère, often called the “lost grape” of Bordeaux, holds the most intrigue and much promise. Read more »

Chef Stefan Richter of Top Chef season five, surrounded by ladies at an absinthe tasting that featured his creations. (Photo: Michael Anstendig)

The wormwood craze entered a new phase last night as absinthe starred in dishes created by Top Chef season five near-winner Stefan Richter (a step above Dr Pepper, wouldn’t you say?). The spirit, distilled with rosemary, sage, coriander and eucalyptus, added funky notes to his lobster bisque with dill and anise and found its way into fluorescent green Jell-O cubes that studded his Kumamoto oysters with fennel vinaigrette, at an event sponsored by the French absinthe Le Tourment Vert. The dishes were paired with elaborate absinthe-spiked cocktails dispensed by Steve Livigni and Daniel Nelson of the Doheny in downtown L.A. Read more »

At the New York Gin Symposium on Monday, top bartenders and cocktail chroniclers got a major dose of this fragrant spirit, as well as the inside scoop about its genesis, major styles and libationary uses. Read more »

The legendary Dale DeGroff makes a rare behind-the-bar appearance, showing those young'uns how it's done. (Photo: Michael Anstendig)

Probably unbeknownst to you, yesterday was the 203rd anniversary of the birth of the cocktail, and what better way to celebrate than by downing terrific tipples mixed by nearly two dozen top mixologists like Dale DeGroff, Gary Regan, Dave Wondrich, Audrey Saunders and other boozy luminaries. The bacchanalian extravaganza took place at Pranna, with the proceeds benefiting the Museum of the American Cocktail in New Orleans. Read more »

Count Niccolo Branca di Romanico holds court and a bottle of Fernet-Branca. (Photo: Michael Anstendig)

It took the urging of an actual aristocrat to get us to sip some Fernet-Branca, one of the most challenging liqueurs on any back bar. Count Branca, a debonair fifth-generation distiller, was in town to persuade elite mixologists why they should be pouring his amaro, whose unchanged, ultrasecret recipe dates back to 1845. Read more »

First-place winner Jonathan Pogash embraces third-placer Erin Williams, left, and second-placer Lisa Victoria Hare, right. (Photo: Michael Anstendig)

The sports world has the Olympics, elite bartenders have the World Cocktail Competition. This week, six of New York’s most ambitious mixologists competed for the honor of representing the Big Apple. The contenders were formidable: Marshall Altier (Insieme), Elba Giron (Bar Milano alumna), Lisa Victoria Hare (Von and Bobo), Jonathan Pogash (the World Bar) and Erin Williams (Remy Cointreau USA). Read more »

Intrigued by the promise of new and interesting booze, the Feed stepped lively into the scene earlier this week at the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America conference in Orlando. Indeed, spirits came at us from every direction, conveyed by models wearing Adam and Eve costumes, in frozen and even in whipped-cream forms. There was a gaggle of vodkas to sip, as well as fancy tequilas, not to mention liqueurs and tons of prepackaged cocktails. Some were great, others might be more appropriate for a frat party. In all, it was a major kick in the head. Sit tight. Many of these products are in New York or will be heading here soon.—Michael Anstendig

The title shot from the premiere of The Wine Makers, a Top Chef–styled show that will air on PBS in June. (Photo: Michael Anstendig)

The Feed will go to any length to bring you news from the front lines of boozeville, which is why we find ourselves at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Association’s big annual shindig down in Orlando. Hundreds of producers are here vying for retail distribution, and ultimately, direct access to your liver. The four-day alcohol-driven bacchanal got off to a smashing start with a teaser reel from The Wine Makers, a vino-soaked reality series slated to begin airing on PBS in June. It’s a dream come true for oenophiles who’ve sat through multiple seasons of Top Chef wondering, Why can’t they do that for wine?

Read more »