Category: Holidays

It’s been quipped that all Scottish food was originally based on a dare. Along the same lines, we might say that St Patrick’s Day is based on a tradition of kidnapping. Although you may know that St. Patrick lived in Ireland, the part of the story that’s often left out is that he was actually from a wealthy Romano-British family, and was kidnapped by Irish raiders. Which sounds perhaps a bit more in the rugged and heroic Irish spirit. The kidnapping theme was continued later, when Americans kidnapped the official celebration of Irish culture and heritage, and turned it into a day to wear silly green hats and stumble the streets of Boston or Chicago in search of green beer. The fact that a considerable amount of drinking seems to take place on St. Patrick’s Day should not be surprising; historically the Irish have tended to take a lot of pride in their drinking ability. Which is probably why there are so many fine Irish whiskeys and beers to toast St Patrick’s day. Below are a few we have on hand. They’re magically delicious!

Campaigns like this one by Anheuser- Busch may offend some, but put some humor in a sometimes touchy subject

As we head into the homestretch of the holiday season, many of us have our eye on finally letting loose on New Year’s Eve, and wrapping it all up so we can make a fresh start in the new year. Two obvious components of a good New Year’s Eve celebration are some good bubbly and a good toast, and we’ve already pointed out that we have plenty of both high-end and lower-priced bubbly, and even suggested some classic toasts. But equally important – on a holiday which for many is almost entirely about drinking – is drinking responsibly. The Michigan Liquor Control Commission has provided a handy guide this year called Responsible Party Host Tips (269KB, PDF) that offers plenty of suggestions for responsible party planning. But the basic guidelines for responsible hosting are simple: Stay clear-headed yourself, don’t over-serve, have plenty of food and and non-alcohol beverages on hand, plan some designated drivers, and stop serving an hour before the party is ending. One clever idea is to check keys when you check coats. That way, you get to see each guest face-to-face before they leave, so you can help them make a responsible decision about whether or not they’re ready for the road. Real friends who care about each other should take no offense in this, any adult who drinks with any regularity should be well aware that when we drink we are our own worst judge of the shape we’re in, and trusting in the concern of our friends could literally save a life! And there’s no reason to be a stick in the mud about the whole thing, although campaigns like the Anheuser-Busch Wanna Go Home with Me Tonight? campaign generate a little controversy, they put a humorous spin on a sometimes uncomfortable topic. On another humorous note, P.J. O’Rourke said in his book Modern Manners “Never Refuse Wine. It is an odd but universally held opinion that anyone who doesn’t drink must be an alcoholic.” There’s probably a strange truth in that, so for those of you who for some reason feel socially excluded without something that looks like a drink in your hand, we have some non-alcohol beer and bubbly on hand in the store. See below.

If you’re old enough, you may remember a time when if you wanted to enjoy some bubbly for under thirty or more dollars, you’d have to accept the fact that you’d be imbibing a soda-pop like concoction that was likely to give you a headache while you drank it, rather than the day after. Thankfully, those days are long gone, and there are many exceptional sparklers available for under twenty dollars. We featured some of our higher-end sparkling wines and Champagnes a couple of weeks ago, but as we head into the home stretch of the holidays, we thought we’d highlight some of our less expensive bubbly. For many of us, the two weeks around Christmas and New Years are a minefield of office parties, social obligations and gifting that can really challenge your holiday cheer. A quality sparkling wine can offer a single simple solution to all of these holiday checklists. Going to a party? Take along a couple of nice Cavas from Spain. Need an inexpensive but festive gift to show your appreciation to all the people in the cube farm? It would be nice to put a bottle of Moët & Chandon or Pommery on everyone’s desk, but we don’t all work for Goldman Sachs, and at a mere seven or eight dollars a pop, you can make a lot of corks pop, while bringing a lot of smiles without breaking the bank. Below are nine exceptional sparkling wines, all for under twenty dollars. And while these are all highly-rated sparkling wines on their own, they’re affordable enough that they can pull double duty for a deliciously refreshing Mimosa. And there’s bound to be a morning or two during the hectic holidays where that’s going to sound like a really good idea!