William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Wonderful spirits for sipping straight or mixed in cocktails. Today I'm shifting gears and sharing my thoughts on a new small-batch vodka and gin by Azzurre Spirits . Azzurre Spirits was founded in 2014 . Unlike many vodkas and gins, Azzurre vodka and gin are distilled not from corn or grains, but from apples, grapes and sugar cane. Both the Azzurre Gin and Vodka are gluten free and contain no added sugar. Azzurre Spirits has a partnership with Victoria Distillers, located in Sidney, B.C. Victoria Distillers is one of Canada's oldest craft, small-batch spirit companies. They use the highest quality pure Canadian water. Owner Danny Pettit, named Azzurre in homage to the deep, rich colors of the Mediterranean Sea ('azzurro' translate to 'blue' in Italian). Their bold, standout iris logo indicates that Azzurre has a difference that you can "see/sea." Danny partnered with his daughter Angela, to launch the brand in Las Vegas in 2014. Both the Vo...

Listen to #TheWineMuse podcast: Wedding Wine and Cocktail Ideas   Spring and summer ring in the wedding season when brides and families all across the world scramble to put together beautiful receptions while staying within tight budgets. On this special June podcast " Wedding Wine and Cocktail Ideas " Hosts Linda Rez and William Pollard welcome Natalie Miglianni from Beautiful Booze to share her creative suggestions for serving wine and wine cocktails at weddings that will make your guests feel special.  They're easy, inexpensive, and you can make them ahead, but they still have the WOW factor. Beautiful Booze, photo courtesy Natalie Miglianni. Natalie is a displaced southerner now residing in Seattle, Washington. She is a home bartender, cocktail stylist, photographer, freelance writer, and recipe developer with a flair for discovering new and creative ways to use booze.  She believes that every occasion begins and ends with a beautiful drink! We ha...

Guest post by Juli Crompe. For someone who admittedly likes cocktails, PROOF was unexpectedly a whole new world. While I like to think I know something about spirits (having studied them a bit in college for an elective course), PROOF was proof to me (haha!) that the world of spirits and distilleries is growing much faster and is much more innovative than just a few short years ago. I never cared much for gin, or dark spirits, and find most liquor by itself to be more of a nuisance than a pleasure, but PROOF changed that for me in a big way. I decided "When in Rome..." and chose not to limit myself at this event based on what I've previously enjoyed, and opened myself up to the possibility of new liqueurs, spirits and flavors.

Guest Post by Juli Crompe. While the name of this blog suggests wine content, William and I recently had a chat about the explosion of distilleries in Washington state (and the Northwest) and decided it was worth a bit of attention. With the first annual PROOF Washington scheduled for June 15th, this is the perfect time to introduce yourself to some of the new, hot local distilleries. And if you purchase before June 7th, early bird pricing is in effect, saving you $5 per ticket! PROOF Washington will be held at The Foundry by Herban Feast (formerly known as Urban Enoteca), a hip, urban event space that will feature 40 distilleries and 12 local restaurants & food vendors sampling some delicious bites. Music will be spinning from KEXP's Greg Vandy & custom crafted cocktails will be shaken and stirred from expert local bartenders. At PROOF, you'll also be able to meet the men & women responsible for these libations, and learn about grains, barrel aging, fermentat...