For Warmer Days Think IPAs by: Nathan Utley

Dear Beer Fans,
Winter’s grip has been weak this year. It is only the first of February and yet Spring is set to take the stage. This unexpected seasonal snafu has brought many premature changes to our everyday lives. Just this weekend, people all across the country found themselves reaching into their refrigerators for a refreshing beer; only to find that all of the brown ales and imperial porters they bought the week before are too heavy for such warm, sunny days.
But what will be suited seasonally to the Spring that’s already available in early February?  My friends, you need an IPA. A good India Pale Ale (abbreviated IPA) can be as bright and floral as an April afternoon.  Its hoppy notes and citrus bite not only quench one’s thirst but also pair brilliantly with the beloved grilled meats and spicy foods of the warmer months. The style was first produced in the 18th Century by George Hodgson of Bow Brewery, Essex, UK.  Three hundred years later, the IPA is known and loved by millions world wide.
In regards to the style’s availability, Spirits Lakeside currently offers twenty-four different IPA’s.  In the past few weeks at Spirits we have acquired six brand-new, seasonally themed IPA’s; these are the Saranac White IPA (6.0%), Red Hook Long Hammer IPA (6.5%), Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA (6.6%), Good People Snake Handler 2x IPA (9.3%), Samuel Adams Whitewater IPA (5.8%), and Founder’s Double Trouble Imperial IPA (9.4%).  These are just the beginning of our Spring arrivals.  As the season continues, we at Spirits will continue to expand our excellent selection.

Cheers,
Nathan

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The High Priest by: Tom Halladay

Greetings Jazz fans! Oops, wrong gig. Oh well… Let’s see where this takes us…

I have collected, enjoyed and played (on the radio- Jazz music) for over fifty years (RE: Jugs, Jukes and Jazz 8pm-10pm Sunday nights on WUAL 91.5). I have nurtured a deep personal relationship with the music of Mingus, Coltrane, Ellington and many more Jazz artists. Some are playful, some reflective, some spiritually inspiring and restorative. But none better for fun and surprise than Thelonious Monk. Continue reading

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Thanksgiving Food & Wine Pairings

When I think of Holiday foods the dishes that first come to mind are roasted poultry (turkey, chicken, squab and duck), baked ham, vegetables including squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn, fruit salad, cranberry sauce, yeast rolls, fruit and nut-filled breads, and of course, delicious desserts like pumpkin pie, pecan pie, chocolate pie, and fruit pies. Continue reading

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A Spirits Session by: Nathan Utley

This week I would like to take a look at the term “session beer” and what exactly the term means for you the beer drinker. Ever since Alabama increased the legal ABV (Alcohol By Volume) of beer sell-able in the state a lot of attention has been put on high gravity ales. I’d like to take a closer look at some beers that don’t fall into this category; lower alcohol brews that are fun to drink and easy on the palate. In short, session beer. Continue reading

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Gurkha, Testosterone Infused by: Tom Halladay

At the height of British Rule in India, colonial soldiers began to m make their own cigars from the local tobacco. The British military held the mountain fighters, known as Gurkhas, in high regard as fierce and loyal. The fondness of the British for these legendary Nepalese fighters inspired them to name these cigars “Gurkhas.” The “Gurkha” created more than a century ago has been reborn by K. Hansotia & Co. and proudly presented at Spirits at the Shops of Lake Tuscaloosa. Continue reading

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Does your wine speak to you? by: Matthew

Sounds like a silly question, but in a metaphorical sense it’s what we’re all looking for.  To be more specific, when we taste and subsequently assess a particular wine, the basis for our judgment can really be distilled into whether our sensory perceptions of the wine are intriguing enough to produce intellectual stimulation also.  Are we saying, “This wine tastes like a lot of other wines in this category, it’s what I expected”, or are we saying “This wine really reminds me of a flavor I tasted in great meal about five years ago”?  The difference may seem trivial for some, but a sensory perception of any profundity should, by definition, always provoke a deep mental connection in addition to one’s basic sense of taste.  Wine can arouse our minds through our sense of taste and smell (and touch maybe?) like few other things in the world.  Continue reading

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The Way We Were by: Tom Halladay

Can’t you just picture it? Dark and red and plush, ripe with the smells of whiskey, perfume and smoke. Ice-tinking women laughing and the sound of a tenor sax in from of a small combo in the corner. Continue reading

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A Dandy Duet by: Tom Halladay

A recent tip from yours truly highlighted the Perdomo Fresco. Allow me to expand on this line of great cigars available at Spirits Lakeside in Tuscaloosa. Tobacco grown for these outstanding cigars comes primarily from the fertile Nicaraguan valleys of Esteli, Condega and Jalapa. With the addition of fine corojo, connecticutt and maduro wrappers the Perdomo line of exquisitely crafted cigars are thoughtfully blended for your pleasure. Continue reading

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The Beers are Back in Town

Friends, as we at Spirits put away our shorts and reach for our favorite hoodies, the same goes for our beers. The South American and European Pale Lagers are fading away with summer and are being replaced with spiced beers like Blue Moon’s Harvest Pumpkin Ale and Ür-Marzen beers (Oktoberfests), like the traditional Spaten Oktoberfest and its American counterparts like Shiner Oktoberfest. These fall seasonals are tasty and spicy and often offer much more complexity than the light, thirst-quenching summer beers.

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An Italian Lunch

An Italian Lunch at the Home of Giacinto and Marina Brovia

Excerpt from “Reflections of a Wine Merchant” By: Neal Rosenthal

“Lunch was nourishing and tasty and simple, filled with dishes made from local products, including peaches from the Brovia farm that had been marinated in Barolo. We have dined together at that same table probably fifty times over the past quarter century. The rituals are always the same, while the menu rotates among a small but delicious meal that Marina Brovia has mastered. We always do our tasting first, seated in a room adjacent to the cantina. We start with the white Arneis and continue through the Dolcettos, on to the Barberas, with a quick stopover to consider the traditional Freisa with its occasional spritz… Continue reading

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