Today is the 75th Anniversary of Repeal Day, a day of celebration and rejoicing of the end of one of this nations debacles in judgment, Prohibition. Although Prohibition only lasted for 13-14 years on a national level, it was in force for many decades prior in several states. Here in Maine it started in 1851.

I'm starting off my day with a business meeting of the Maine Winery Guild. Last year I kick-started the association into forming and this will be our third business meeting. Owners of most of Maine's 18+ wineries will be there. I also invited the owners of the State's micro-distilleries to attend, so we can decide whether to join the Maine Winery guild, or start a separate association. I know that after-wards a few of us will be celebrating Repeal Day by tasting each others products.

After that I'll be going back to the winery to bottle Cranberry Wine. The job just got much easier. When we bought the brewery equipment a large filter was part of the deal. We never got around to cleaning it up and using it until this week. It's four times the size of the one we were using before. With that much more surface area the pump works much faster and easier. So running a 500 gallon tank of wine through the filter takes only forty minutes, compared with 1/2 a day or more with the old filter. Wine needs to be filtered sevral times through finer and finer levels until it is crystal clear. So what took three days before, we can now due in one day before lunchtime. Mike was practically dancing with glee.

In the last of the photos below you can see the old filter, without its plates, in front of the much larger new one.

Over Thanksgiving week I spent eight days in NYC visiting family and friends, a mix of business and pleasure. Sometimes both at the same time, when I stopped by some of my favorite cocktail bars, to visit friends and try their new concoctions.

One of my favorite cocktail bars in NYC is PDT where I like chatting while I sip with Jim Meehan, Daniel Eun, Don Lee, David, Amanda, John, etc. The PDT Fall/Winter line-up of cocktails is impressive like always, although they have had a bit too much fame as of late, and they were packed every night. That's easy to do when you only have a dozen seats at the bar and a handful of tables. With no standing allowed, a full house is around 34 people, max.

Another favorite bar is the one at Porterhouse restaurant in the Times Warner building, where my good friend James Mennite holds the stick. While the restaurant may be busy, there's usually room at the bar to get one of James fabulous concoctions. His new fall cocktail with apple and ginger was a winner.

Tailor restaurant is an unusual place with lots of fun and tasty food in the molecular gastronomy style. The bar downstairs is even more fun, and Eben Freeman, a leading molecular mixologist, blew me away with many neat drinks, especially his Butternut Falernum. A luscious, warm tasting cocktail made with essence of butternut squash, falernum, and rum.

I went to quite a few other places and at times it was a blur. You name the fine cocktail bar in NYC, and I was probably there. Although I missed visiting Phil, Alex, and Joachim at Death & Company this trip due to utter exhaustion. As well as Jonathan Pogash, the Cocktail Guru, at the several bars he oversees.

I'll be back in NYC next week for a few days to interview a famous French distiller. He is releasing a new, premium liqueur and asked to meet with me so I could be one of the first in the US to try it. I also plan on visiting a few more cocktail bars so I can get up to date on what the cutting edge cocktails are. As well as getting recipes of never been released cocktails to share with you. It takes some heavy sweet talking at times to get a hold of new cocktail recipes, but it's worth it.

Have a fun Repeal Day. Stay safe, don't drink and drive, and remember: Quality over quantity.