Barrel to Bottle, The Binny's Podcast

One episode just wasn't enough to cram in all the flavor-blasted products on Binny's shelves. So we're back with part two, focusing on spirits. Drink along at home with the following spirits: Cathead Honeysuckle Vodka Yu Gin Apologoue Persimmon Liqueur Tempus Fugit Crème de Noyaux Plantation Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum Chinola Passion Fruit Liqueur Jameson Orange Whiskey Leopold Bros. New York A...

We use the phrase "Flavor Blasted" a lot, usually in jest. But more and more, we are seeing products that are catering to fans of candy and desserts. Basically, almost everything is flavor blasted these days from beer to seltzers to ciders and meads. So many beers, ciders and meads have fruit in them; to the point where a "plain" beverage is the oddity. Drink along at home: Revolution Freedom of S...

We've assembled our wine, beer and spirits experts for another Q&A episode. No, we aren't out of ideas! We still get questions from listeners all the time, but our episodes always run too long and we can never fit them in. So we're dedicating an entire episode to getting to the bottom of some of your queries. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com ,...

Greg. Loves. Manhattans. That should be clear to most Barrel to Bottle listeners. Two years ago we did an episode called Vermouths and Manhattans where we tried a bunch of different vermouths and a few bitters, then we mixed up some Manhattans. The episode devolved into mixing and matching bitters and vermouths in whiskey. We promised to follow that up with a bitters tasting and we're finally gett...

Boxed wines have been around for decades, and they've always been popular without ever completely taking off. Boxed wines have long been associated with cheaper wines, and there are a lot of bargains still be had, but higher end wines are ending up in boxes now. Taste along at home with the following wines: Franzia Pinot Grigio GameBox Pinot Grigio 2020 Folonari Pinot Grigio Peter Vella Delicious...

IPAs can be a bit polarizing. Some people love them, some people hate them. Some people miss the classic bitter IPAs, while some people love searching out the latest hazy IPA with some new, experimental hop combo they've never had before. The good news is there's still plenty of IPA out there for all tastes. Drink along at home with the following beers: Lagunitas Stereohopic vol. 4 3 Floyd's 50 Mi...

It's March, which means it's once again time to talk about all things Irish, the new and the old. Last year we talked about some Irish whiskies and Irish creams and there have been even more innovations in the category. Will Roger be able to find something to replace his beloved Declan's Irish Cream? Drink along at home with the following: Guinness Draught Guinness Draught Zero Murphy's Irish Stou...

Geneviève Janssens and Chrissy Whittmann started in different places on their journey to becoming winemakers at Robert Mondavi and The Prisoner, respectively. They did both take similar paths to get there though, starting in the lab. Drink along at home with the following wines: Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2019 Unshackled Red Blend 2019 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Re...

Barrel to Bottle is your weekly dose of alcohol esoterica, and the Long Drink is a very deep dive into esoterica. The Long Drink, or Lonkero, was invented for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Finland. This simple, two-ingredient cocktail is easy to make, but you can now get them as a canned cocktail, or as a malt-based beverage.  Drink along at home with the following: Kyro Gin Fever Tree Grapefruit Sp...

Flagship February is a yearly opportunity to revisit some craft beer classics. These are the beers that keep the lights on for their respective breweries. They often reflect the period of craft beer history during which they were conceived. Some of these are relatively new flagship beers, while others have been going strong for decades. Flagship February started as a viral tweet and has grown into...

Maybe Dry January wasn't your thing, but you still want to cut back a little on the alcohol? Luckily, there have always been wines that were naturally low in alcohol, and infrequent contributor Jason brought five wines that are packed with flavor but not high too high in ABV. These are wines you can drink a couple of and not need to take a nap. These aren't gimmicky wines, they've always existed a...

Just how much more do you want to learn about the Barrel to Bottle Crew? If the answer is "lots" then this episode is for you. This is a Greg Episode, so he has compiled the list of questions both shallow and deep, alcohol-related and not.  If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to us on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram . If we answer y...

The temperatures are plummeting after a relatively warm start to the winter season. There's no better time to whip up some hot cocktails to get you through the grey winter days and long, dark winter nights. It's Quarantoddy Time! While many cocktail recipes have so many origin stories, riffs and variants but with Toddies, it really can be any spirit mixed with some sort of hot liquid. If you have...

Every year, Whisky Advocate releases their list of the Top 20 Whiskies of the Year. Invariably, we get many customers coming in looking for bottles on the list and unfortunately, we have to tell them "You can't have this", because we never had the bottle, or had six bottles months ago. This year is different, because you can get more than half of the Whisky Advocate Top 20 whiskies at a Binny's ne...

Pat is constantly extolling the virtues of aromatized wines. Finally, we have a guest who will actually agree with him and won't just make fun of him. Jake Parrott is a friend of the pod and the Whiskey Hotline and is also the national sales director of Haus Alpenz. What Jake sells, and Pat loves, is woefully esoteric. But Binny's customers, and Barrel to Bottle listeners, are enthusiasts. If you...

The end of the year means year-end lists. You've heard from the Binny's buyers over the last two weeks, now it's Barrel to Bottle's turn. The entire team has assembled with their favorites of 2021. Everyone was supposed to pick two, but of course that didn't happen. So thanks for listening to all these long episodes lately. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comment...

We're back for part two of Binny's Buyer's Picks for 2021.  This week, we welcome wine buyer Bill, beer buyer Kyle, cigar buyer Jack and specialty spirits buyer Brett. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to us on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram . If we answer your question during a podcast, you'll get a $20 Binny's Gift Card! If you...

The buying teams at Binny's try thousands of wines, beers and spirits over the course of a year. They pick the best of the best and always keep pocketbook in mind. Getting these very busy people to record a podcast is like herding cats, but Pat was able to get it done.  In part one we welcome Binny's Wine Director Barb Hermann, wine buyer Mike and spirits buyer Jeff.  If you have a question for th...

Last year on our Batch Cocktails episode, Pat and Chris made big batches of eggnog and aged them for 12 months. Now it's time to try them and hopefully not get sick. Additionally, Roger has cooked up a really easy cranberry simple syrup and has three cocktails to try out. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to us on Facebook , Twitt...

You may have heard that there's a Champagne shortage going on. First, we all drank too much of it during the early stages of the pandemic. Then supply chain issues caused even more problems. Luckily, Binny's crack team of buyers saw the writing on the wall early and made some big purchases for all of our thirsty customers around the holidays. Alicia has selected five Champagnes today that are avai...

Acclaimed actor William H. Macy is a bourbon fan. Luckily his neighbors are a distillery, specifically Woody Creek. They used one of his fields to grow potatoes for their vodka and that's how Bill became their spokesguy. David Matthews, master distiller at Woody Creek had a goal to make to make the best potato vodka in the world. Since then they've been able to get some aged whiskey out into the m...

The Barrel to Bottle crew is always excited to talk about wine, beer and spirits. Sometimes we talk too long and stuff gets cut out. Sometimes Pat brings seven different bottles when everyone else brings two. Sometimes we start riffing on cocktails and things get crazy. Enjoy this bonus episode of more Thanksgiving pairings. 

This year for Thanksgiving, the Barrel to Bottle crew wants to make it simple to buy beer, wine, and spirits for your feast. Instead of pairing individual drinks with dishes, we've selected some items that pair with nearly everything you might eat on Thanksgiving. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to us on Facebook , Twitter or In...

Greg 2.0 is the other Greg at the Binny's offices. He's a longtime listener and he jumped at the chance to come on the podcast. He wanted to share his passion for gin, specifically local gins that are more in the Modern American style. We're going to sample five gins today on their own, then mixed with tonic water. After that we'll determine which gins would work best in classic gin cocktails like...

This week, our guest is David Phillips, co-owner of Michael David Winery. While in town to run the Chicago Marathon, he stopped by the Barrel to Bottle Studio to talk about his popular winery and the Lodi AVA. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to us on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram . If we answer your question during a podcast,...