If you love wine and haven’t been able to afford to fill up that beautiful
Ikea 12 bottle wine rack you got last year then you are going to love this…

Imagine getting a huge discount on wine next week when Spencer and Daniels Wine outlet, a hidden gem of a wine shop on Polk St., does their first ever 20% off case sale (June 28th-July 5th) . This eclectic Wine Shop is notorious for getting rock bottom wine prices.  They once sold two buck chuck at 99 cents and a week later brought in a truck load of rare Chilean and Argentinean wines at 40% off.  And, Starting next week, their craziness continues when they will be giving 20% off any mix and match 12 bottle cases just in time for your July 4th weekend. Keep in mind that SnD carries several bottles of $1.99 wine. So, 20% off of 12 bottles of $1.99 wine makes your $20 spot go really far. Stock your wine racks full for once! Oh, and did I mention their wine is really delicious?  www.spenceranddaniels.com

Spencer and Daniels Wine Outlet
1541 Polk Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-345-1637
www.spenceranddaniels.com

We’re offering you a special discount on all your tickets to the festivities this weekend!

Drink Me Magazine and Pinot Days have partnered to offer our mailing list members a 10% discount on all of the festival’s spectacular events. Just enter the discount code DRINKMESF10 when ordering tickets from the Pinot Days web site and you will receive an immediate 10% discount on all events. This year’s Pinot Days Grand Festival is on Sunday, June 27th from 1-5pm at the Festival Pavilion in the Fort Mason Center, San Francisco.

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by Chris from WhiskyWall

We traditionally think whisky (or whiskey) comes from Scotland, Ireland or the United States.  OK, maybe from our neighbors to the north too – Canada.  However, June saw another entry into the single malt whisky world from of all places…India.  Yes, that is right India.  Amrut distillery based in Bangalore India released 5 new expressions here in the United States.  The whisky nerds here in the U.S. were clamoring for it prior to the release date, including me.  I ended up preordering a bottle just in case.

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By Brian Yaeger
( article from issue 8 )

First and foremost, there is one primary way to discuss and grade a beer and that’s by how much you like it or don’t. Seriously, it’s either thumbs up, thumbs down, or if you’re wishy-washy, thumbs sideways.

But to really get down to the multifaceted ways of appreciating a beer, you can begin to smell for aromas ranging from earthy to spicy to toasty. You can size up its body based on a billowy head or the web-like lacing it leaves on the glass. You can turn into a math nerd and quantify numbers such as original or final gravity, which dictate its percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV) or how hoppy it is based on its international bitter units (IBU). But whereas all those factors build up to the beer’s overall character and, essentially, flavor, one characterization gets paid the shortest shrift.  Color. (more…)

The good people over at Combier Liqueur d’Orange have put together a clever (and super fun) shaking contest.  Developed with the idea that all bartenders have developed their own style of shaking your cocktails – some funny, some sexy, and some completely ridiculous, the Shakerfaces.com site brings you the best of the best.  You can tell a lot about a bartender by the way they shake.  The contest has only one week left, so be sure to check it out and vote for your favorite.

…with The Balvenie. In the Times of Big Whiskies it is Nice to Return to Some Balance:
by Chris from WhiskyWall

Let’s face it, there has been a movement towards big, over-the-top scotch whiskies lately.  Bruichladdich’s Octomore releases (versions 1.1, 2.1 and 2.2) boasting 140 parts per million of pure peat power bottled at a whopping 62.5%ABV – and if you’re not sure what all that means – trust me – its big, its hot and its peaty!  Not to be outdone by the much anticipated Ardbeg Supernova 2010, officially released on May 31^st, which also makes sure to point out that it is a big boy of peat – over 100 parts per million of peat bottled at 60.8%ABV. And its not easy to find as many retail shops are still pacing in circles like an expecting father, waiting for their allocation of the Supernova to arrive. Having had the pleasure of tasting both, I humbly label both as pure unadulterated excess.  While these monsters of scotch whisky are fun to take for a spin once in awhile, they’re not something that you can casually sit back and relax with. (more…)

More from Kevin over at SF City Dish…

1) World Cup Soccer Party/Buffet at Iluna Basque

In our last issue, we had artist Aaron Rutten create this Dionysus masterpiece for our article about Alcohol of the Gods… In his blog post here, he shows us exactly how he created the piece…  (we covered him up a bit for the print version)

More from SF CityDish….

1) SummerTini at The Galleria