Welcome to Cork's Jimmy Buffet Newsletter

It looks like the weather will finally clear in time for the shows on Thursday night and Saturday. We have a bunch of tastings lined up for both shows, and a wine tasting wedged in the middle for Friday. We’re loaded up on all the tequila, margarita mixes, and of course plenty of Corona and Landshark beer! If that wasn’t enough the 8-0 Boston Militia have their 1st playoff game at home at 6 PM on Saturday in Somerville, MA. I went to a game a couple of weeks ago and this is real tackle football and a lot of fun to watch. Check out their website at www.bostonmilitia.com to order tickets.

OK…so for day 1 of Jimmy Buffet, we have 2 liquor tastings lined up from 3 to 6 PM to help you pre-game for the show. Our pal Mr. “Bud”erworth will have the brand new Rum Jumbie for you to sample. This is a delicious new rum imported from St. Marten and comes in coconut, mango, vanilla, and pineapple flavors. This is Kat's new favorite spirit and she says, " Mmmmmm mmmmm good!" We also have John from Cabin Fever here to mix up some summery concoctions of this fabulous maple liqueur. So put on your flowered shirts, leis, and parrothead outfits and stop by on your way to the show.

Our friend John from Trio Wines will be here Friday night from 4 to 7 PM to sample you on some of his new wines. He will start off with an excellent Chardonnay from New Zealand called Cable Bay. This normally is a $25 Chard but we got a closeout price on it and it is a steal at $15.99. House Jam Chillen White and Smooth Red Wine will be next. These are great summer wines (you even chill the red!!) and at 2 for $16, great value wines as well. We end with 2 wines that are perfect for the grill. Bianchi Zinfandel is a nice spicy, jammy Zin and will pair perfectly with barbecue ribs. And for that big juicy steak we have Doolittle Farms Napa Valley Cabernet to end this outstanding tasting.

For day 2 of Jimmy Buffet we have (hopefully) one of the Bud girls to sample you on Margaritaville RTD cocktails and Landshark beer. We’re even going to break out our official Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker and make some frozen drinks for you as well!! This event is from 2 to 5 PM or until we run out of tequila!! So be sure to stop by for 1 or all of these tastings this weekend and be sure to check out the website (corksfinewine.com) for upcoming events. We even have new wine & beer t-shirts, mugs, and other crazy stuff for you.

Robert

Fight the liquor tax!! And Happy Father's Day!

Welcome to Cork’s Father’s Day newsletter. There is a ton of stuff going on here at Cork’s in the next couple of weeks. We have a Widmer/Redhook Tasting tonight. A geyser Peak/Sushi Tasting on Friday night. There are 3 concerts at Great Woods this week, with Buffet in for 2 shows next week. We have multiple tastings wrapped around both of those shows as well. We’ve got the Sox on a roll in inter-league action…the US Open at Bethpage and don’t forget the great local charity event (cvscharityclassic.com) down in RI put on by Billy Andrade and Brad Faxon. This is a great event, with world class golfers, and tickets are basically free if you go to CVS and buy batteries or shampoo. But you got to be quiet at the event as I am a Marshal and I’ll have to shush you if you’re boisterous.

Tonight’s (Thursday) beer tasting is from 4:30 to 7:30 and features some new beers from Widmer Brothers and Redhook. Redhook Slim Chance is a brand new low calorie-low carb- light beer out of Portsmouth, NH. Widmer Drop Top Amber Ale and Drifter Pale Ale were just released in MA from this excellent brewery out in Portland, OR. I’m sure they’ll mix in a couple of the “older” stuff from these 2 as well.

We have a special wine tasting lined up with Geyer Peak Winery out of California for this Friday. They have scheduled 1 of their fabulous supermodels from 4 to 7 PM and she’s bringing some sushi to pair with the wines. Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc is 1 of my favorite SB’s from CA and is the perfect, refreshing summer wine. She will also have the Chardonnay for you to sample as well. We will have free chopsticks with any purchase of Geyser Peak, and all who come to the tasting can throw their name in a hat for a Proctor Silex rice cooker. Since we are sourcing this tasting out those are the only wines she is scheduled to pour….I know what all you red drinkers are saying right now…what the heck...no reds? So we will gently persuade her to pour the Francis Coppola Merlot as well. Who knows maybe we can talk her into trying something else too.

As we all know our state and country are facing tough economic times. As a rule I try to stay out of all political and religious discussions, especially in these newsletters. But I do want to share a little info about the proposed 6.25 % tax on alcohol that I have been forwarded to by many of our distributors.

The 6.25% Sales Tax on Beverage Alcohol
Governor Deval Patrick is trying to convince the legislature to not only increase the existing sales tax from 5% to 6.25% but to apply it to many new sales categories. One of those proposed categories is Beverage Alcohol which is already heavily taxed on the state and federal levels in the form of an excise tax that is approximately 39% of the wholesale cost on a bottle of vodka. This tax is paid for by the wholesaler and passed on to us the retailer along with the wholesaler's mark-up, which we then mark-up to reach our retail price level. A sales tax at the point of purchase would then tax you the consumer for an item that has already been taxed and marked-up. It is a tax on a tax that w e are all to familiar with these days. Please help us stop this unnecessary, redundant taxation, e-mail your state representative and senator and tell them you do not support this initiative.

The link to contact your local politician is: www.mass.gov/legis/city_town.htm

Case of Beer $23.99 - Total tax = $10.39
Bottle of Wine $9.99 - Total tax = $3.55
Bottle of Vodka $19.99 - Total tax = $7.10

Now The State Wants You To Pay 20% More By Passing Into Law A New 6.25% A lcohol Tax

Call your Legislators TODAY
Massachusetts State House - 617-722-2000

OK…that’s out of the way back to the fun stuff. We do have a ton of great gift ideas for Dad’s Father’s Day present. From single malt scotches...to fine wines…to his favorite beer. Let’s hope this dreary weather breaks and that you all have a great weekend.

Robert

Back from the Milwaukee brewery...

Well I’m back from my Midwest trip and I brought lots of yummy, crazy cheeses for this Friday’s wine tasting! I hear things were pretty busy and wild last week with the Phish concert. The concert season is in full swing with 3 more shows coming up including Aerosmith and the Dropkick Murphy’s next Tuesday. Let’s see what else has been going on…The Sox beat the Yankees again…7-0 this season…wooohooo!!…the Lakers got beat...always a good thing…and the Militia look to cap off a perfect season and get ready for the playoffs.

We have our pal Bud from Atlantic Brewing here to sample you on the outstanding beers from Stone Brewing Co. tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30. He will have the IPA, Ruination IPA, Levitation, Arrogant Bastard, Smoked Porter, and Imperial Russian Stout for you to try. Speaking of Bud, and tastings, he set me up for a tour at Lakefront Brewery out in Milwaukee on Tuesday afternoon. Between wineries and breweries I’ve probably toured well over 50 of them, and this was the most fun I’ve ever had on a tour. It’s owned by two brothers...1 being the nerdy brewer and the other one…well...kind of a cross between a comedian and a drunk. For starters they give you a 12 oz. cup, and 4 tokens for what they say entitles you to a 6 0Z sample. Well they pretty much fill the glass all the way up, and ½ way through the tour he says beer break, this one is on me! He downed at least 3 bottles himself on the tour, and it was his 3rd tour of the day. 60 ounces of beer later …complete with him singing and mimicking the entire cast of Lavern and Shirley this was 1 fun tour. I strongly recommend checking them out if you’re ever in the area… (http://www.lakefrontbrewery.com/tour.html) This is a few video clips of Jim’s tour. We currently only carry their New Grist Gluten Free Beer, and the seasonal Pumpkin Ale but we will be bringing in more in the very near future.

Tommy Bolini will be taking his traveling show to Cork’s this Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. He will be featuring the delicious wines from Wild Horse out of Paso Robles. He will have the Chardonnay, the always highly rated Pinot Noir, and the Cabernet Sauvignon for you to taste. He will start the proceedings with Louis Bouillot Cremante de Bourgogne Grand Reserve. This is an excellent sparkling wine that I would put up against some of the better Champagnes out there, yet is only $16.99 per bottle. He will finish the tasting with a Strawberry Rhubarb Wine from Nashoba Valley Winery…hmmm I wonder if that pairs well with the funky Wisconsin cheeses I’m going to bring for the tasting. I guess you’ll have to come and find out!

Robert

It's Concert time!!

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. Well, the concert season at Great Woods is in full swing with a show tonight and Saturday night. We’re all wearing black and have our nails painted for the Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails concert tonight. And we’re saving our best tie-dye shirts for Saturday’s Phish show as well. So be sure to stop by and stock up for all your parking lot refreshments.

We have 2 beer tastings lined up for this week. On Thursday night from 4:30 to 7:30 PM we have our good friend Tim Coleman here to sample you on the great beers from Ipswich Ale Brewing Co. He will have the Ale, IPA, Oatmeal Stout, and the Summer beer for you to taste. Tim doesn’t know it yet, but we are going to twist his arm and have him taste the newest in the Southern Tier 22 oz lineup as well. It’s called Mokah and it’s a stout beer made with chocolate and coffee. This sounds soooo yummy, and if it’s anything like the Chokolat will fly out of here once you taste it.

It looks like my cousin Vinnie will be doing the Magic Hat beer tasting on Saturday from 1 to 4 PM. We had it booked with our buddy Josh (not our Josh) from Magic Hat but he skipped town on us. So Vinnie will pre-game you for the Phish concert with the usual crazy brews out of Burlington, VT. The lineup will be # 9, Lucky Kat, Odd Notion, and Wacko…sounds about right for the concert crowd. And you can also go to magichat.net and enter to win a trip for 2 to Amsterdam….hmmmm I wonder if Phish Heads would like Amsterdam?

We will not have a wine tasting this Friday night as I will be out in cow country for my daughter's graduation. Plus, I think we need a week off between Kevin “cone of silence” from last week, and the Tommy Bolini show scheduled for next Friday night.

I hope everybody has a great weekend I’ll see you all soon.

Robert