Filtering by Tag: Distillery,Beer Dinner

Two Roads Brewing Company Launches Dinner Pairing Series- A New Brewery Experience

Events Features Brewery Ingredients Interview Tasting Menu Brewery Two Roads Brewing Company Craft Beer Spirits Distillery Interview Homepage beer Stratford

Andrew Dominick

If you’ve followed the evolution of Two Roads Brewing Company, it’s quite something. Since the main brewery opened in 2012, one thing they kept doing is continuing to evolve. Not including a laundry list of beer releases, Two Roads went onto open a second facility next to their Hop Yard six years ago that you now know as Area Two Experimental Brewing. Following Area Two and all their fun, funky small batch drops, and in no particular order, Two Roads got into making canned cocktails, non-alcoholic beer, distilling (we’ll have a few teasers on that), and they even purchased the former PizzaCo across the street and turned it into Two Roads Food Hall & Bar and next door, Two Roads Tee Box, a golf simulator, making it a full-blown “campus.”

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Mine Hill Distillery in Roxbury: Spirits Distilled + Bottled in Connecticut and a Cocktail Program Coming Soon

Features Interview Ingredients Distillery Spirits Litchfield County Roxbury Homepage

Andrew Dominick

Driving on Connecticut State Route 67 towards Roxbury, you’ll notice a handful of historic buildings that date back to the 1800s. What used to be a train station, cigar factory, lumber shed, general store, and a post office is now a distillery. And unless you’re up in that area, Mine Hill Distillery may have popped up on your radar in this very moment as you’re reading this.

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Two Cocktail Industry Veterans Open Connecticut Distilling In Waterbury

Features Spirits Distillery Cocktail Lounge Cocktails Homepage

James Gribbon

Connecticut has seen a bewildering explosion of craft breweries in our state since the early 2010s, but distilling? Not so much. We do have some very worthwhile options in the state, from Litchfield and the Hartford region, through the Rt. 8 corridor, and Fairfield County. The newest borrows the state’s name, alongside a few familiar faces in the industry.

In March of 2020 [ominous music plays] we brought you the birth announcement of our then-newest Connecticut distillery, Continuum, on the upper outskirts of Waterbury. What was old is now new again, and the cycle continues with Connecticut Distilling.

“We have new spirits, new recipes, new products like bourbon barrel aged maple syrup, new hours for the tasting room; it’s a brand new distillery,” said Stelios Stavrianos, who has partnered with well-known bartender and beverage industry founder, Dimitrios Zahariadis, otherwise known as the Cocktail Chemist, to create Connecticut Distilling.

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A Nutmegger’s Guide to Kentucky (Conn-tucky) Derby Cocktails

Features Cocktails Cocktail Recipe Recipe Kentucky Derby Mixology Distillery

Khalid Williams

Being from Connecticut means that you’re in the lucky position of having access to some of the best indulgences available- legendary lobster, outstanding oysters, Industry leading IPAS, and…wonderful bourbon whiskey?

Oh yes. Thanks to some amazing CT producers, you have the pride of Kentucky Spirits at your fingertips, and this primer is all you need to enjoy the derby in style and spirit.

A solid Kentucky Derby experience MUST contain the following (for those who choose to indulge in alcohol, of course):

  • Over the top hat

  • Good bourbon

  • Mint julep cocktail

The Mint Julep is mandatory. After this one, you’ll never have to be told again and will request them yourself. This is a drink that I suggest everyone know how to prepare themselves.

First things first, let’s understand what bourbon whiskey  is.

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40+ Spots To Celebrate Oktoberfest In Connecticut 2023

Events Features Holiday Oktoberfest Brewery CT Beer Events EVENT Festival Beer Dinner Beer Festival Homepage

April Guilbault

“Let’s get a drink”. “Come over for a drink!”. There’s nothing more convivial than sharing a drink together with a person or a whole group of favorite persons. And isn’t the ol’ saying -it’s 5 o’clock somewhere? Well, here’s a historical “reason” to raise your glasses high-Oktoberfest, the beloved, ancient event involving mouthwatering beers, so much (too much? never!) merriment and some fabulous lederhosen. Oktoberfest-ivities run pretty much the entire month of September and into October, so there are plenty of chances to raise that stein. And remember, we all put our lederhosen on one leg at a time. Prost!

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Cylinder Vodka: A Spirited Journey of Passion and Tenacity

Features Ingredients Cocktails Local Artisan Vodka Distillery

Khalid Williams

Crafted by a bartender with the industry in mind, Cylinder is what the Vodka Renaissance is all about- honestly produced spirits making thoughtfully crafted cocktails.

NEWS FLASH-We are in the midst of a vodka renaissance. Ironically, the most popular and highly consumed spirit in America has been ignored and sometimes dissed by bartenders. Ask a bartender what they're favorite vodka flavor is, and in past years you would get a wry smile and a one word response: "Gin."A New Day

Our cocktail revolution has now shined its creative light on vodka. Straight, non flavored spirit that's defined as "odorless, colorless and tasteless" has always been anything but, and skilled mixologists are using it as a canvas to allow complex flavor combinations shine. This is huge-it provides an entry point for all drinkers to get into thoughtfully produced cocktails and gives bartenders more freedom to get wonderfully weird.

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30+ Connecticut Local Canned Cocktails, Spritzers, + Hard Seltzers (2023 Guide)

Features Canned Cocktails Hard Seltzer Brewery Distillery Guide Homepage Highlight

Carly Terzigni

It’s summertime, which means that for many of us, it’s time to mix together a refreshing cocktail for the next barbecue, pool party, or trip out on the boat. But as we all know, as tasty as cocktails are, they can be a hassle to put together. By the time you get your base alcohol, your mixer, and any other ingredients assembled, half of the afternoon has already passed.

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SoNo 1420’s BLAZE Bartender Competition: Bartenders & Guests Wanted!

Features Events Bartender Competition Mixology Cocktails South Norwalk Distillery Homepage

CTbites Team

On September 19th Bartenders from across the state of Connecticut are invited to show off their creativity, craft and passion by participating in SoNo 1420’s BLAZE BARTENDER COMPETITION.

“We are looking for our next Great BLAZE WHISKY cocktail and would love to see you showcase your skills with our Cinnamon Flavored Whisky that has won Double Gold and Best in Class Finalist 2022 at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.”

BARTENDERS: Register here at BLAZEWHISKY.COM/COMPETITON by 9/12 to receive a complimentary 200 ml flask of Blaze along with other BLAZE Swag.

GUESTS: Swing by any of the locations below and cheer your favorite bartender on, and sample some great new cocktails.

The competition will take place on September 19th from 6-9 pm at the following locations:

Regional Competitions

Date: September 19, 2022

Time: 6-9 pm

Local Competitions Happening Near You At…

Oar+ Oak, Stratford

O’Neills Irish Pub, Norwalk

Stony Creek Brewery, Branford

Tomato Joe’s, Rocky Hill

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20+ Connecticut Local Canned Cocktails, Spritzers, + Hard Seltzers (2022 Guide)

Features Canned Cocktails Hard Seltzer Brewery Distillery Guide Homepage Highlight

April Guilbault

At the beach, at a picnic, on a boat, maybe a pool floaty shaped like a flamingo, in your backyard, or hell, even just sprawling on your favorite chaise. What do all these places have in common? They are spots where it would be a great opportunity to crack open a can of something refreshing and well, lightly, fabulously spiked or mixed. Yep, cocktails or spiked seltzers in a convenient can! Ready that index finger and pop into fizzy, fabulous libations made with fresh juices and your favorite alcoholic beverages. Take the party outside this season, pop those tops and keep it easy and fun.

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Friday Froth: Beer Dinners at Little Pub- Featuring New England Brewing

Features Friday Froth Beer CT Beer Beer Dinner Craft Beer Brewery

James Gribbon

Anyone who's ever hit happy hour and subsequently remembered they hadn't eaten dinner while staring into a beer at another location sometime around midnight can probably feel the pain of the next morning right now, as you're reading this. Remember that? Well, let's not let that happen again, or allow ourselves to slap late night drive-thru - the FlexTape of Shame - over the leaky bucket of our decisions.

What we need is food with our beers, whether we're adding plates to pitchers and pints at the taproom, or exploring flavor combinations at home. Inspiration struck while I was at my first beer pairing dinner in over two years at The Little Pub in Fairfield, hosted by Greg Radawich, director of brewing operations at New England Brewing Company in Woodbridge. I'll get into what you can have from the brewery and pub, plus a few more ideas to serve as springboards for your own dives into brews and foods.

And if you missed this beer dinner, Little Pub will be hosting another beer pairing dinner with Fat Orange Cat brewery at Little Pub, Fairfield on Tuesday, March 1.

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Continuum Distilling Opens In Waterbury With Craft Spirits Made From Beer

Ingredients Features Beer CT Beer Distillery Spirits Local Artisan

James Gribbon

Because they apparently didn't have enough on their plates with Black Hog brewing, Ordinary cocktail bar, OLMO, Caseus, and The Stack in New Haven, Jason and Tom Sobocinski and Tyler Jones have launched Continuum Distilling in Waterbury. The distillery logo features a hop surrounded by the tricorner symbol for recycling, an emblem of their process, which takes the often discarded "trimmings" from area breweries, and reduces them to an unusual, boozy essence.

I made it up to Continuum last weekend for their grand opening, and my first impression was that it shares a building with Brass Works Brewing. Neat! I'd had several Brass Works beers before, but I'd never been, so a single trip can be a BOGO for the efficiency-minded drinker on the go.

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CT Distilleries Share Their Favorite Holiday Cocktail Recipes

Features Ingredients Cocktails Recipe Entertaining Holiday Local Artisan Distillery Spirits Homepage

April Guilbault

’Tis the season for merriment annnnd with merriment usually comes festive cocktails. Knowing that Connecticut has some amazing small-batch distilleries, we would like to highlight some delicious cocktails utilizing these spirits to get your party going and get your guests dancing like ol’ Mr. Fezziwig. Enjoy these jovial creations at your next party or pick up a bottle of these local spirits as a great gift for hostesses, friends or family members. Spread the local love, raise those glasses and enjoy the holidays. Cue the merriment!

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Mine Hill Distillery in Roxbury: Spirits with a Sense of Past and Place (via CT Magazine)

Features Distillery Local Artisan Roxbury Cocktails Spirits

Connecticut Magazine

Time is an ingredient,” Elliott Davis says as he takes me on a tour of Mine Hill Distillery in Roxbury. The venture capitalist turned sheep farmer turned distillery owner is speaking literally. He’s referring to the way the rye, bourbon and other styles of whiskey produced at his distillery will be flavored by the passage of time as they sit aging for months and years in barrels. But he could also be speaking figuratively. Each drop of liquid produced at his distillery, which opened this fall, is inspired by the past.

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Stamford's Winter Wonderland Market & Beer Garden Opens Dec. 6th

Features Beer Beer Dinner CT Beer Pop-Up Bar Stamford

CTbites Team

Half Full Brewery and Mill River Park Collaborative announced today the return of Winter Wonderland Market & Beer Garden to Stamford, Conn.’s Mill River Park.  The Winter Wonderland is intended to celebrate and unite local residents and professionals through a diverse and expanded slate of programming, which will run from Friday, Dec. 6 through Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2020.

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SONO 1420, Small Batch Distillery Featuring Hemp Distilled Spirits, Opens in South Norwalk

Features Ingredients Openings South Norwalk SONO Distillery Cocktails Spirits Homepage

Kristin L. Wolfe

It was a vote of 14 to 20.

One hundred years ago in 1919 Connecticut State Senate couldn’t ratify the 18th Amendment which made Connecticut one of two states at the time to defeat prohibition. 

It was a real moment in history, and now a real moment for SONO 1420, the revolutionary new distillery making waves in the world of spirits. As far as everyone knows, they are THE only distillery around using hemp seed in its remarkable mash for whiskey as well as other parts of the plant for its flavorful and aromatic essence in gins, bourbons, and ryes.

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East Rock Brewing Company Opens In New Haven

Features New Haven Brewery Openings Beer Dinner CT Beer

James Gribbon

Pull back the hour hand on the clock of geologic time and the land in what was once New Haven begins to fill in. The sandstone rises up, glaciers come and go again in reverse, and the scenery levels off. The view across the water isn't Long Island - the glaciers pulled that land back with them - it's what will become Morocco. Now spin the clock forward again. The continents drift - ice, then not ice again - and the land erodes away until something seems to rise up again: the traprock scarp we know as East Rock. There's a lot of history here, and the newest bit to crop up is East Rock Brewing Company.

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Beers & Bites August 15th Tickets On Sale Featuring Skinny Pines & Chef Geoff Lazlo

Features CT Beer Beer Dinner Food Truck Stamford Events

Stephanie Webster

Half Full Brewery and CTBites are beyond excited to bring you this year's most creative and collaborative food and beer-pairing event series. Not to be missed, "Beers & Bites" 2018 pairs limited release beers from Half Full Brewery with totally off-menu food items from some of Fairfield County's best chefs and food truck operators. Tickets for our August 15th event with Skinny Pines pizza truck & Chef Geoff Lazlo are going fast, so get your tickets now! 

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Nibble: CT Food Events For April 29- May 6

Features Events Beer Dinner Pop-Up Dinner

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

The 5th Annual Ridgefield Gone Country BBQ Festival in Ridgefield starts Saturday May 5 at 11am and runs through Sunday 5pm. The Event will be held at the Historic Lounsbury House at 316 Main Street. Tickets: $10 for adults and $5 for students. Children under 12 are FREE.

Sunday, April 29th, Half Full Brewery is hosting a pig roast with Hoodoo Brown BBQ. Doors open at 12:00 for beers, starting at 1:00 Hoodoo will be serving up BBQ Wings (tossed in Red Bee Honey Sauce), and a Pig Roast that will feature a whole hog, apple-vinegar slaw, slider buns, cornbread, and mac and cheese. Reserve tickets here.

Tickets for The Schoolhouse at Cannondale’s Farm to Fork series go on sale May 1. Each evening includes a cocktail hour, a farm tour, and four locally sourced courses under the stars by Chef Tim LaBant. It takes place at Millstone Farm in Wilton, CT.

On Monday April 30, head over to Terrain Garden Café in Westport for “Dishing Local.” CTbites and the Westport Farmers Market welcome foodies to a food-focused evening and open forum in the terrain Garden Cafe. They’ll gather with some of the local food community's leading talents to discuss the latest trends, everyday eating, and tips and secrets from farmers and restaurateurs. This event is free and open to the public. Food and beverage available for purchase.

On Tuesday May 2, Fairfield Cheese Company presents “Cheese 102: Beyond the Basics with Arethusa Farm.” The class will expand on the basics and delve into cheese making, history, science, and more. Plus, taste plenty of cheeses and complementary wines. Tickets are $50 and the class runs from 7-9pm.

CLASP Homes 14th TASTE OF WESTPORT will take place on Thursday May 3 from 6-9pm at the Westport Inn. Enjoy samplings of specialty dishes from Amis, Harvest Wine Bar, Hummock Island Oysters, Pearl at Longshore, Saltwater, Bobby Q’s Cue & Co., Tablao, and more. There will be plenty to drink as well! Tickets are $75 prepaid, $85 at the door.

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Recap: Beers & Bites at Half Full Brewery with Knot Norms and Hapa Food Truck

Features Homepage Dinner Events Beer Dinner CT Beer CTbites Invites

Andrew Dominick

Did you ever hear the one about the food truck chef and the restaurant chef at a local brewery? 

Wait, that’s a real thing. There’s no punchline. 

What I’m talking about here is the first ever Beers & Bites event that was held on April 5, 2018 at Half Full Brewery in Stamford. Beers & Bites is a collaboration between CTbites, Half Full Brewery, local food trucks and chefs. 

The idea behind Beers & Bites is to team a food truck chef and a restaurant chef to collaborate on a menu that gets paired with Half Full’s thirst-quenching brews. Think of it as a beer dinner where you won’t leave feeling overstuffed; it’s just enough food and drink. For $50 you get four-courses, four beers (refills were common so it’s a little more than four), a commemorative Beers & Bites snifter glass, and a damn good time in a non-pretentious, not overcrowded taproom. 

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Nibble: CT Food Events for April 2-9

Features Events Wine Dinners Beer Dinner Homepage

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford hosts A Taste of History 2017 on Monday April 3 at 5pm.  The evening begins with a premier reception at 5pm and culminates with a food tasting, a cocktail tasting, music, a tour, and art inspired activities. 

Fermented beverages are prevalent, but what about fermented foods?  Learn about them and their health benefits at the Barrel Room in North Canton, CT on Monday April 3.  The class will cover foods like water kefir, milk kefir and kimchi. 

Connecticut Hops For Hope returns for its second benefit, Beers For Brittany, on Sunday, April 23rd. The event will be held at the brand new Counter Weight Brewing in Hamden, and 100% of ticket sales, in person donations, and on site raffle ticket sales will benefit Brittany Vellucci, a young woman fighting through brain cancer. Tickets go on sale tonight at 7p.m. RIGHT HERE. 

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