Amy Zavatto

Amy Zavatto is the daughter of an old school Italian butcher who used to sell bay scallops alongside steaks, and is also the former Deputy Editor of Edible Brooklyn and Edible Manhattan. She holds her Level III Certification in Wine and Spirits from the WSET, and contributes to Imbibe, Whisky Advocate, SOMMJournal, Liquor.com, and others. She is the author of Forager's Cocktails: Botanical Mixology with Fresh, Natural Ingredients and The Architecture of the Cocktail. She's stomped around vineyards from the Finger Lakes to the Loire Valley and toured distilleries everywhere from Kentucky to Jalisco to the Highlands of Scotland. When not doing all those other things, Amy is the Director of the Long Island Merlot Alliance.

Cocktail of the Week: Desert Shandy

I love a Shandy. And, up until now, I was fairly well satisfied with just your average, work-a-day beer-n’-lemonade combo, if ever for its refreshing, low-alcohol “ahhhh” charms on a warm, sunny day. That is until I was ruined forevermore by talented barman, Eamon Rockey.

Movies on Tap

The sea change in craft beer production the world ’round has been a rising tide that shows no signs of draining out anytime soon. Last year saw the opening of 310 microbreweries and 99 brew pubs in the U.S. alone, according to the Brewers Association. Makes you thirsty just thinking about it, doesn’t it?

Hillrock’s New Single Malt Rocks the Glass

At last month’s Manhattan Cocktail Classic, a cowboy-hat wearing Dave Pickerell, Master Distiller for Hillrock Estate Distillery, gave me a “C’mere, kid!” crook of the head, beckoning me to something secret seeming. He pulled from his tuxedo jacket’s breast pocket a small, glass bottle full of an amber-hued liquid and grinned.

Wine We Loved at Brooklyn Uncorked: 2012 Macari Sauvignon Blanc

With temps in the 80s and 90s, I’m finding myself unendingly thirsty for local grapes. Over some Long Island fluke I’d picked up at the Southold Fish Market on my way back to NYC, I popped a Macari 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, which was great with my butter-seared fish with its crazy, straight-back notes of zingy lime, grapefruit, and tart apples.

The Good Stuff at Brooklyn Uncorked!

It’s time for one of my all-time favorite wine events of the year, Brooklyn Uncorked – a sipping and swirling smorgasbord of Long Island’s fab vinified offerings. But this year in particular is pretty special because it marks a moment in Long Island wine country history – the 40th Anniversary. A glass raised to that.

MCC Alert! Sippin’ NY State Crafty-Stylie with Tuthilltown’s Ralph Erenzo

Last Friday night, I was in Louisville, KY finishing up a week-long distillery trek at an awesome craft spirits sampler at the Distilled Spirits Epicenter. One week to the day later, I’ll get to see Mr. Ralph Erenzo, distiller and partner at Tuthilltown Spirits, again and sip on his lovely small-batch bourbons and such at the kick-off Manhattan Cocktail Classic Gala at the New York Public Library.

Up on the Roof, with a Glass Full of Gotham

It’s kind of appropriate that the Pod39 Hotel is housed in a former, landmarked Salvation Army building, because hanging out on its open-to-the-public rooftop cocktail lounge on a beautiful day (or night) is the kind of open-air rescue that a New Yorker needs every now and again.