During a visit earlier this summer to Produttori del Barbaresco, the famed wine cooperative in the village of Barbaresco, my host, Michela Cucca, brought up the event that really increased the winery’s notoriety, its reputation, and sales. It was in November 2016 when Wine Spectator announced, to the surprise of the winery, that one of its wines was picked as the fifth best wine released that year, the Produttori del Barbaresco 2011 Asili Riserva, a bottling from a single vineyard in what is probably Barbaresco’s most famous cru.
 
She said that phones immediately began ringing and ringing, with customers around the world hoping to purchase bottles of the wine, which was just $59 on release. It had already sold out, as all of its wines do, with nothing at all left even for the employees, but that great acclaim, from the most widely circulated American wine publication has had a huge residual impact for the reputation of the winery and subsequent sales. Cucca said that Wine Spectator has been the most important for them but some other outlets including James Suckling, Wine Advocate and Vinous influence sales along with the well-regarded British publication, Decanter, if less so. Interestingly, Italian publications have not been as influential in terms of impacting sales. Though the wine is produced in Italy, what Americans think about it – some subset of informed Americans, at least – really factors into the sales success of wines. The US is a rather big market, after all.

Squable is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. And one of the attractions is its informed work with spirituous beverages, featuring one of the top cocktail programs in the city. This is not surprising given the regular involvement of Bobby Heugel, who fostered the growth high-quality cocktails in Houston beginning with Anvil well over a decade ago. That excellence is easily noticeable. The contrast between the quality of the cocktails at Squable and those during a very recent visit to Julep was pretty stark to me, for example.
 
Those delicious libations at Squable’s are even more attractive during its happy hour at the bar from 4:00 to 6:00 from Tuesday through Friday, when the drinks are half-off. Justifiably popular, scoring a reservation for a Friday at the bar can be tough, but worth the effort. As a martini fan, I’ve had a few there over the recent years, and each been very satisfying. Maybe the best to order – it’s the biggest – is Terry’s Martini that comes adorned with a juicy, flavorful Sicilian Castelveltrano olive skewered on a toothpick and with a small container of pickled vegetables on the side. It arrives in a retro, pre-cocktail craze, V-shaped martini glass rather than the more fashionable Nick and Nora or coupe glasses. The reason seems simply for the size’ this is a big cocktail, filled just about the brim of that large glass. It’s a testament to the quality of the staff that it arrives fully filled, even away from the bar.
 
Available in gin and vodka versions, the gin one is the only true martini, of course. Balanced, if with the requisite alcoholic bite, it is a delicious, cool, almost alchemic meld of two London dry gins and a couple dry vermouths. Most surprising to me, is that this is pre-made in batches. It is neither stirred nor shaken, the pouring for the batches doing the mixing trick. Just $10, too, during happy hour, which seems amazing these days.
 
I had to ask for the recipe, for an individual version. Making a batch of these at home might prove dangerous. The waiter nicely teamed with the bar staff to write out a recipe for a single martini.
 
Terry’s Martini
 
Ford’s London Dry Gin – 2 ounces
Hayman’s Navy Strength Royal Dock Gin – 1 ounce
Dolin Dry Vermouth – ½ ounce
Cocchi Vermouth di Torino Extra Dry – ½ ounce
Castelvetrano olive – for garnish
 
I've got some restocking of the liquor cabinet to do.

To note, the Hayman’s is 104-proof, and with four ounces of alcohol in this, it packs even more wallop than a typical martini though it won’t taste like it if made properly.