Five Things You Didn't Know about Champagne
Filed Under Destination Features, Food History, Wines & Spirits France
Everyone loves champagne. This exquisite sparkling wine is known the world over as the wine par excellence for celebrating. But it's much more than that! Check below for 5 things you might not have realized about this famous bubbly. But before getting to those, let's recap what makes champagne champagne, and not just another sparkling wine. What Makes Champagne Champagne A sparkling wine has 3 basic rules it needs to… Read
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Top Five Foodie Finds on Our Northern Italy Culinary Tour
Filed Under Destination Features, Travel Tips, Wines & Spirits Italy
Northern Italy is one of Europe's most gastronomically rich and interesting places, and it is the perfect destination for a foodie tour of Italy. Bordered as it is by France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, and the Mediterranean Sea, you will find a wealth of gastronomic influences in a small geographical area. And that is not to mention the varied terrain. From the high peaks of the Alps to the fertile plains… Read
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The Best Labor Day Menu for 2021
Filed Under Kitchen Tips, Recipes, Special Occasions, What's Up at TIK, Wines & Spirits USA
Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer. Kids start back to school, the weather starts to turn, and fall is just around the corner. Every year Labor Day is one of my favorite holidays. Sure, my garden by this point looks horrid, as I've invariably let the weeds take over. And my kids are usually as unruly as the garden at this point, and I am ready to send… Read
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Piña Colada Recipe for National Piña Colada Day
Filed Under Destination Features, Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes, Wines & Spirits USA
Tomorrow, July 10, is national piña colada day, and in honor of it we're all about piña coladas, including an authentic recipe straight from Puerto Rico. Did you know that the piña colada was invented in Puerto Rico? That much is certain, although there is still a lot of debate over who specifically invented it. Most people think it was invented at the Caribe Hilton Hotel in the 1950's, but… Read
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Beer in the Windy City
Filed Under Destination Features, Travel Tips, Wines & Spirits USA
Today is National Beer Day, and in its honor we'll be talking about beer in our hometown, Chicago. The rise in the production, sales, and quality of so-called "craft" beers in the US in the past few decades, and particularly since the 1990's, has meant a corresponding increase in craft breweries and brewpubs, not to mention a plethora of amazing brews to try. When I was young and growing up… Read
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Types of Cocktails & Mixed Drinks
Filed Under Food History, Kitchen Tips, What's Up at TIK, Wines & Spirits
Happy National Cocktail Day! We don't think one really needs a reason to enjoy a nice cocktail, but we don't mind having one. So what exactly is a cocktail? A cocktail is a mixed alcoholic drink that includes one or more spirit and some type of mixer. Not very specific, is it? cocktail (noun): an alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit or several spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as… Read
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