I’ve been wondering why sangria isn’t a more popular summertime drink in our wine-drenched state. Sangria’s a great party satisfier, refreshing, fruity and it’s easy to make a large batch.
When we moved to Oregon about 10 years ago, one of the allures of Salem was that we were still within distance of hearing the siren calls of Portland. So we imagined ourselves spending occasional weekends in the Rose City whenever we tired of our provincial roost. One of those places we hung out at […]
The cold weather snap may be gone, but the mood of the season and the lingering nip in the air has me craving warm winter cocktails. I’m not talking Aunt Sue’s eggnog, which I avoided like someone sneezing, or Irish whiskey either. With so many creative Oregon distilleries making flavored vodkas and gins such as Hood River Distillery’s Yazi Ginger Vodka, House Spirits’ Slabtown Whiskey and Ransom’s Old Tom Gin, it’s time to give the whiskey and gin toddy a distinctly Birkenstock makeover.
There’s nothing more distinctive about Oregon than the coffee-crazed culture here. And what could be more signature Portland than a marriage of coffee and spirits? Just leave it to the creative folks behind Portland’s Distillery Row, a handful of innovative small distilleries who are making handcrafted, locally distilled spirits in the inconspicuous neighborhood of small warehouses and light industrial buildings in Southeast Portland known as the lower east-side industrial district. With more than twenty unique liquors, the six independent distilleries make everything from vodkas, gins, rums and whiskeys, to the more specialized spirits such as absinthe, aquavit and flavored liqueurs. And now they’re brewing up distinctive batches of coffee-flavored spirits.