Ethan Fixell
Ethan Fixell
 

Ethan Fixell

 
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      Writer  •  Educator  •  Performer

 
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5 Uniquely Japanese Beers You Can Actually Buy in the U.S.
5 Uniquely Japanese Beers You Can Actually Buy in the U.S.

AS PUBLISHED BY THE DAILY MEAL

In Japan, unique ingredients define many of the country’s best beers. And thanks to America’s unquenchable thirst, more and more of these beers are being exported to the United States. I’ve traveled from northern Iwate all the way down to Ishikawa in search of beers made with special ingredients native to the Pacific island nation, and rounded up the best of those that can also be found in the United States. Seek out the following five delicious, intriguing brews to enjoy a taste of Nippon from the other side of the world.

We Had Maynard James Keenan Judge Two Master Sommeliers' Pairings of His Wines
We Had Maynard James Keenan Judge Two Master Sommeliers' Pairings of His Wines

AS PUBLISHED BY MUNCHIES

I’ve taken Maynard James Keenan to New York’s downtown restaurant Manhatta, where two Master Sommeliers have built a musical meal around his wines. To help us all get a better understanding of Keenan’s work, Chef Jason Pfeifer and John Ragan—Wine Director for Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group in New York City—have paired unique dishes with five of Caduceus Cellars’ cuvees. Meanwhile, Andy Myers—Wine Director for José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup in Washington DC, and a well-versed metalhead and musician himself—has curated a soundtrack for each course. Best of all, Keenan will have the chance to play critic for once in his over-scrutinized life, giving feedback on every pairing.

10 Ways To Pair Metallica's Blackened Whiskey With Each of Their Albums
10 Ways To Pair Metallica's Blackened Whiskey With Each of Their Albums

AS PUBLISHED BY KERRANG!

Metallica’s new whiskey is crafted by spirits legend Dave Pickerell (former master distiller for both Makers Mark and Whistle Pig who, sadly, only very recently passed away), and blasted with “black noise” via Metallica’s music while aging in black brandy barrels. The obvious musical accompaniment to drinking such a dram is, of course, a Metallica album – but which one?

Storied spirits journalist Ethan Fixell and tipsy Metallica fanboy Chris Krovatin sat down together and created a comprehensive pairing of Blackened drinks and Metallica albums.

 
 

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My bud @AaronGoldfarb and I are many things -- but among them, we are not good Jews. On this fifth night of Hanukkah, we shamefully celebrated with 33-year-old @Craigellachie Scotch whisky and a nose-to-tail pork feast that would bring my late Bubbie (RIP) to tears. With that said, it was an incredible meal -- one that only a joint like @TheCannibalNYC could pull off, and a whisky like #Craigellachie could accompany. The dram ain't cheap (be prepared to shell out thousands, if you can even find it), but is one of the most delicate, elegant Speyside single malts I've ever tasted, with a fruity, honeyed nose; gentle, cidery, nutty notes on the palate; and a smooth, creamy finish. Once again, I'm reminded why Craigellachie is one of my all-time favorite whisky producers -- not only in Scotland, but in the entire world. WARNING: Photos 2 and 3 are not for the weak-stomached, vegetarians, or anyone in the Fixell family. . #Craigellachie33 #ScotchWhisky #Whisky #WhiskyPairing #WhiskyTasting #Scotch #SingleMalt #SingleMaltWhisky #SpeysideWhisky #HighlandWhisky #Highlands #Speyside #NoseToTail #PigFeast #Pork #PigFeast #SucklingPig #TheCannibalNYC
WASHINGTON STATE, people! Lately I've been having a lot of fun exploring what America's northwestern-most wine region, the #ColumbiaValley, has to offer. The pioneers at @Columbia_Winery have been at it for 56 years, as the first premium winery in WA, and the first in the state to produce vineyard-designated wines. But in addition to their supreme AVA Series, the winery produces three entry level reds -- my favorite of which is their #Merlot, a restrained but modern take on the variety with dark berry aromas and mocha notes thanks to a good dose of oak. Accompanying this wine from the famed #HorseHeavenHills AVA is the debut album from Seattle, Washington-formed @BandOfHorses, Everything All The Time. Lush and intense, yet undeniably accessible, this record still features Mat Brooke (frontman Ben Bridwell's bandmate from Carissa's Wierd); in my opinion, no subsequent BoH release ever reached the same emotional depths. . #RhythmAndBooze #WashingtonState #WashingtonWine #WashingtonWines #WashingtonMerlot #ColumbiaWinery #ColumbiaValleyWine #BandofHorses #EverythingAllTheTime #BenBridwell #IndieRock #SeattleMusic #Seattle #NewWorldWines #NewWorldWine
Low-ABV beer is my jam. I hesitate to drink anything over 6%; beers above 7% get my panties in a bunch; and over 8%, I start to cry real, human tears. But what's a man looking for a crushable brew to do in the wintertime, when falling temperatures call for a richly flavored beverage to provide warmth? Enter the Vienna-style Lager: a light, amber beer with a subtle touch of toasty sweetness thanks to darker Munich and Vienna malts. Samuel Adams made it famous in the U.S., but Virgina's @DevilsBackboneBrewingCompany has long produced an excellent take on the style. The bready, nutty, homage to Old World beer has been the brewery's flagship for over a decade, but now it boasts a hip, redesigned label. The soundtrack as I sip is To Bury Within The Sound by Engine Down, a defunct Virginia band that was INCREDIBLY influential on my own musical journey. I'd always marveled at how the band managed to weave such a deep, dark heaviness into such delicate, nimble, guitar rock -- a balance perfect for this beer. (Fun fact: frontman @KeeleyDavis now plays in @ATDIMusic, another incredibly uber-important post-hardcore band!) . #DBBeer #DevilsBackboneBrew #DevilsBackbone #DevilsBackboneBrewery #VirginiaBeer #DrinkVirginia #VABeer #ViennaLager #Lager #LagerBeer #Fireplace #WinterBeer #EngineDown #PostHardcore #IndieRock #KeeleyDavis #LovittRecords #Virginia #DevilsBackboneViennaLager #MaltyBeer
Since beginning to teach my Intro to #CaliforniaWine class at @AstorCenter, I've been digging deeper into Cali's #CentralCoast. And @TalbottVineyards -- which sources fruit from their estate Sleepy Hollow Vineyard in Monterey County's Santa Lucia Highlands AVA -- is one of my favorites. You don't typically pair wine with ramen, but I knew Talbott's earthy, floral, Burgundian-style Pinot -- luscious, yet light -- would do great with this one. @RamenHood's vegan #RichAssBroth (their words, not mine) is packed with umami flavor thanks to Chefs @IlanHall and @RajamaFool's brilliant kelp- and shiitake mushroom-based recipe. @ChefsClubCounter brought the L.A.-based restaurant to NYC as a popup through January 19, and I couldn't be happier -- by taking the West Coast-inspired ramen to go, I can pair it at home with one of my favorite new California wines. . #TalbottVineyards #TalbottWinery #Talbott #PinotNoir #CentralCoastCA #CentralCoastWine #CentralCoastCalifornia #RamenHood #Vegan #VeganRamen #VeganFood #Vegetarian #VegetarianRamen #Ramen #RamenNoodles #ramen🍜
Sometimes you just need a good, cheap pizza wine. And for under $10, @9LivesWine (no relation to the cat food brand of the same name -- pheeeewwww...imagine that) has just the thing. Their #CabernetSauvignon from Central Valley, Chile, is a big, bold red with giant red fruit notes of strawberry and cherry, along with touches of tobacco and vanilla from new oak. A splash of Syrah provides hints of pepper and black tea in the finish. And at 13% ABV, it's about as straightforward as Cab gets -- perfect for crushing pies from your local pizza joint, like my neighborhood favorite, @VezzoThinCrust. Living in New York, the pizza choices are endless -- but I think Vezzo does the best thin crust pie in the city. Their savory #Shroomtown pie, topped with portobello, shiitake, button mushrooms and white truffle oil, is my consistent go-to. . #9Lives #9LivesWine #ChileWine #ChileanWine #ChileanCabernet #PizzaWine #Vezzo #VezzoPizza #PizzaParty #ThinCrust #ThinCrustPizza #NYPizza #NYCPizza #NewYorkPizza #PizzaTime #pizza🍕 #pizza
@StoneBrewing's new #TropicOfThunder lager is a paradox in every way. The name, the label, the style (a "tropical...lager"??) all scream self-contradiction. Is this beer flavorful and fruity, or crisp and clean? Powerful, or laid-back? Heavy or light? It's all of these things, really: a refreshing lager with a shocking amount of juicy flavor, thanks to Citra, Mosaic, and Cashmere hops -- the latter of which (a new variety) smells like cantaloupe. While crushing this brew, I'm listening to a band hailing from just south of Stone's headquarters in Escondido, CA, that plays with a similar level of absurdity: Goblin Cock's "Come with Me If You Want to Live!" is a fantastical, over-the-top heavy metal record masterminded by #LordPhallus (a.k.a Rob Crow of indie rock band Pinback). It's fast and slow; heavy and delicate; dead serious and seriously dumb. Fans of the Melvins will love this shit -- just as fans of tasty beer will love the brew. . #RhythmAndBooze #StoneBrewing #StoneBeer #StoneBrewingCo #StoneBrewingCompany #TropicOfThunder #Lager #HoppyLager #CraftLager #CraftBeer #GoblinCock #RobCrow #HeavyMetal #MetalAlbum #Metal #CashmereHops

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