You see it on the big screen and in many TV shows: stars sniff, swirl, and sip theatrically during tastings at beautiful wineries stateside and abroad. While the rolling hills of Napa-Sonoma and rows of vineyards in Tuscany may beckon, you also can enjoy such high-quality quaffing without the travel, maybe even in your own or a friendโs home, thanks to local sommeliers and wine experts hosting educational events and experiences.
Grinning and warmth come naturally when clutching an Irish coffee. Hands wrapped around a glass vessel filled with steaming coffee, soul-thawing Irish whiskey, and a dollop of thick cream floating on top means everything is as cozy and soul satisfying as it gets.
Weโve seen a resurgence of the espresso martini and other coffee cocktails over the last couple of years, thanks to bartenders and mixologists reinventing the basics when creating craft cocktails. Devin Stoll, director of business development for Southern Glazerโs Wine, Spirits and Beer of Northern Nevada in Reno, has witnessed the evolution of the coffee cocktail with a few modern twists.
Humans have invented a surprising number of ways to extract brown bean water from a coffee berry. To celebrate those innovations (imagine life without them!) and our local coffee lovers, we talked to four well-known locals to find out how they like their cups of joe and how they fell in love with it in the first place.
Decoding your morning brew.
On grocery store shelves and in coffeehouses across Reno-Tahoe, cold brew has secured a spot among other caffeinated constants, such as the cappuccino or matcha latte. Not to be confused with iced coffee โ hot drip coffee served over ice โ cold brew is here to stay, no matter the season.
Coffee starts out as a hard green cherry with barely any flavor. The process of roasting transforms it into the aromatic bean that produces our favorite morning beverage.
A beloved coffeehouse can feel like a safe haven. Whether itโs your favorite corner shop or a place where the beans are so delicious itโs worth the trek across town, coffeehouses are about more than whatโs served in the cup.
Yerba mate (pronounced ma-TAY) is a plant endemic to Paraguay and Argentina that also grows in southern Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, and Uruguay. Originally cultivated by the indigenous Guaranรญ, Tupi, and Quechua people, the caffeinated herb was commercialized by the colonizing Europeans after their arrival.
Chapel Tavern in Midtown Reno has been known to push creative boundaries. Now itโs happened once again with the installation of a complex cascading barrel-aging system called a solera (Spanish for โon the ground,โ referring to the transfer downward through barrels) designed to produce a custom cocktail experience.