RISE Brewing Co.: The Nitro Cold Brew Coffee Company You Need to Know

Listen, as your average New Yorker, the ritual of morning coffee (and, let’s face it, afternoon coffee) has become deeply ingrained into my everyday life. And just like airlines who proudly proclaim at the end of a flight, “We know you have many choices when you fly, so thanks for flying Airline XYZ,” I know that you have A TON of options when you need your cup o’ joe — whether you’re zipping into a coffee shop or purchasing it at the grocery store to drink at home.

I mean, I used to order at the Starbucks near my old office in Times Square purely out of convenience. (Nothing against ’em, I just found myself on autopilot after four years.) But now that I work remotely, we’ve started to up our coffee game in the same way that we care about cocktails, beer, and wine.

Enter RISE Brewing Co., whose nitro cold brew coffee has become my on-the-go coffee of choice. With its current roundup of coffee cocktail collaborations across the country and delicious products, here is why it’s going to be your next coffee obsession.

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The Communion: Cha McCoy’s Wine Pairing Series You Don’t Want to Miss

It’s happened to the best of us at one point or another: you’re perusing the wine list in a restaurant, only to discover that you don’t know a thing about any of the wines listed. Languedoc-Roussillon? Gewürztraminer? Blaufränkisch? What is this gibberish? Help!!

Enter The Communion, Cha McCoy’s unpretentious pop-up wine pairing series. The events, which are all about demystifying wines and pairing them with local cuisine, have been garnering serious buzz: she’s recently been featured in Food & Wine and New York Magazine.

I had the good fortune to attend one of her events in Québec City at the Women in Travel Summit this May, and can safely say I came away from The Communion armed with lasting memories and new friends. Here’s why you, too, need to grab a seat at the table.

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Visit Carlsberg: A Tour of Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen

There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Julianne visiting a brewery in whatever country she’s in. Since touring both the Heineken Experience and the Guinness Storehouse last year, I’ve become, shall I say, *really* into beer tours. So it should come as no surprise that Visit Carlsberg was one of the first stops we made on our trip to Copenhagen in February 2018.

Without further ado, here’s the 411 on how you can take part in this fantastic Danish ex-beer-erience.

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Book Review: “A Drinkable Feast: A Cocktail Companion to 1920s Paris” by Philip Greene

"A Drinkable Feast" by Philip Greene perfectly captures the cocktails of 1920s Paris.

If I could be transported back in time to anywhere in the world, it would be 1920s Paris. The City of Light was the epicenter of the cultural, literary, and artistic worlds during the Roaring Twenties, drawing everyone from Picasso and Dalí to Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald to its boulevards. (Besides, my favorite actress — Audrey Hepburn — once remarked, “Paris is always a good idea,” and I’m inclined to believe her.)

I may not have a magical car-turned-time machine to get there à la Owen Wilson in “Midnight in Paris,” but I have found the next best thing: Philip Greene’s newest book, “A Drinkable Feast: A Cocktail Companion to 1920s Paris,” released on October 16. Here’s why it needs to be on your bookshelf, whether you’re a Hemingway scholar or a home bartender.

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5 Fantastic Jersey City Bars You Need To Visit

Departed Soles Brewing Company is one of the best places to drink in Jersey City, NJ.

Jersey City is sometimes referred to as “the sixth borough of New York City,” and after visiting last fall, I finally understood why. With its stellar restaurants — Razza! Short Grain! — and no-nonsense watering holes, the second-most-populous city in New Jersey can hold its own when it comes to food and drinks.

My friend Erin of 10 Miles Behind Me took me on a thorough tour of Jersey City’s bars last fall, and hot diggity dog does this city have some incredible drinking options. To people who live there, that’s about as surprising as New Jersey-born Meryl Streep starring in yet another film, but to me, it completely blew my mind. Here are five fantastic bars you need to visit on your next trip to Jersey City, NJ.

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Missions and Martinis: A Night Out at Spyscape, NYC’s New Spy Museum

Dodge lasers in Special Ops at Spyscape, NYC's new spy museum.

I’ve always secretly wanted to be a spy. (Guess it’s not so secret any more, right, Internet?) Given the nature of blogging, though — I’m sharing my experiences for the whole darn world to read — I’m guessing I won’t be on any intelligence agency’s shortlist when it comes time to recruit new secret agents.

Still, I’ve done my fair share of reciting lines from James Bond films, examining John le Carré novels, binge-watching The Americans, and stealing French fries from my mom when she isn’t looking. Which, of course, means I’ve got a few spy skills up my sleeve.

So when I heard that a new spy museum called Spyscape was opening in Manhattan, my ears perked up. And when I learned that Spyscape hosts a special “Missions and Martinis” experience on Thursday nights, I was sold. Here’s the inside scoop on Spyscape, NYC’s new 60,000-square-foot spy museum and experience.

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Booze News: Coney Island Brewery’s Freak Week is Here!

Coney Island Brewery's fifth annual Freak Week returns September 17-22, 2018.

As beer-loving Brooklynites, it’s a complete mystery how we didn’t discover Coney Island Brewery until this April. (Seriously, how did this take a whopping five years of New York City living?!) Nevertheless, we’ve been happily sipping on their brews all summer long.

As summer draws to a close — although the weather gods may beg to differ — it turns out that the fall season is moving full speed ahead at Coney Island Brewery. They’ve got a stellar lineup of specialty beers coming your way during their annual Freak Week, which runs from September 17-22, 2018.

So what’s the deal with these new brews? And how can you join in on all of the fun? Here’s the 411 on everything you need to know about Coney Island Brewery’s 2018 Freak Week.

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Where to Eat and Drink in Québec City Right Now

A long time ago in my college days of yore, a friend returned from winter break with tales of a strange land up north. “They speak French, but it’s not in Europe,” he waved his hands wildly. “They have this one hotel that looks like a huge castle, and there’s fries with these cheese things and gravy. And get this — they have another hotel made completely of ice!” Suffice it to say that I’ve been dreaming about Québec City ever since.

Flash forward fifteen years later: when I learned that the annual Women in Travel Summit was taking place in Québec City in 2018, I knew it was the perfect time to go. Québec City — and its hip food and drink scene — surpassed my expectations, and I can’t wait to share all these spots with you. So without further ado, here’s your ultimate guide to where to eat and drink in Québec City.

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Second Time Around: What To Do on Your Second Trip to Amsterdam

Brouwerij 't IJ is a great brewery serving delicious craft beer in Amsterdam, Holland, the Netherlands.

A certain blonde gentleman with a penchant for European travel — perhaps you’ve heard of him? — often shares this advice in his guidebooks: “Your trip to [insert European country] is like a complex play — it’s easier to follow and really appreciate on a second viewing.”

(Spoiler alert: it’s Rick Steves, of course.)

Keeping this sentiment in mind, I had several questions about what my second trip to Amsterdam would be like. Would visiting at the height of the summer make us want to scram from Amsterdam? Would I manage to avoid head-on collisions with one of their 881,000+ bicycles? And, most importantly, would I be able to stuff myself with as much stroopwafel and beer as I had last time?!? Inquiring minds needed to know.

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Where To Drink in Copenhagen Right Now

Strom is one of the best bars in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Denmark is a pretty magical place: it’s not only known as the inspiration for the happiest place on Earth (Walt Disney can thank Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens for that), it actually is the happiest place on Earth. That’s no joke — the Scandinavian country ranked first in the world in the United Nations’ World Happiness Report in 2013, 2014, and 2016.

So it should come as no surprise that with such happy people (which we all know equals people who are highly satisfied with their beers and their bars, right?), Denmark’s capital city has an abundance of fantastic drinking options to try.

With Hamlet’s eternal question in mind, then – “To drink or not to drink,” of course — here are the best places to drink in Copenhagen right now.

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