It’s been a great year thus far for craft cocktails in Phoenix, making it pretty difficult to pin down just 10 drinks to mention. While original tiki drinks have made their way back into the scene in a big way, simplicity, with a focus on high-quality craft spirits, seems to…
The Spot: Delux 3146 East Camelback Road, Phoenix 602-522-2288 www.deluxburger.com The Hours: Happy Hour is offered Monday – Friday from 4 until 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. daily, though the sushi kitchen closes at midnight Sunday – Thursday…
Beer: RuinTen IPA Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. Style: Imperial IPA ABV: 10.8 percent When I was in college, I spent seven weeks studying German language and culture in the city of Regensburg, located in southern Bavaria. The experience, as those who’ve studied abroad are required to call such things, was…
It amuses me to no end to watch local news outlets treat summer in Phoenix like a newsworthy event. The Sonoran Desert gets hot in July? The hell you say! Give me something else to think about besides an oppressive climate. Give me a tropical cocktail by a pool surrounded…
Last night, 18 of Phoenix and Tucson’s best bartenders took to the stage at Sandbar in Chandler to compete in the Mai Tai Competition. The two winning drinks were chosen, along with their bartenders, to go to Kona, Hawaii to represent Arizona in the national Don’s Mai Tai Competition, named…
The Spot: Barrio Queen 7114 E Stetson Dr Scottsdale BarrioQueen.com…
Beer: Open Road Brewery: Mother Road Brewing Co. Style: English Summer Ale ABV: 5.8 percent Critiquing a beer’s appearance, aroma and flavor can tell you much about that particular brew, but little else. No, to truly know a beer, one must travel to the place it was brewed, see the…
I’ve long been amused by people’s culinary prejudices. Earlier this week, I had a discussion of the finer points of using raw egg in cocktails. As it so often happens, the people who hadn’t experienced egg-inclusive cocktails met the idea with a revulsed shudder. As anyone who has experienced a…
If you’re stuck in the no man’s land between being completely sick of shots of Fernet Branca and going for the gusto and switching to shots of bitters, you aren’t alone. Luckily, the wide world of digestifs, aperitifs, and whatever else you want to classify them as have something bitter,…
The Spot: Hula’s Modern Tiki 7213 E. 1st Ave., Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 970-4852 www.hulasmoderntiki.com…
Beers: Belo Ipe & Belo Sao Francisco Brewery: Cervejaria Wals Style: Quadrupel & Dubbel ABV: 11 percent & 7.5 percent I’d like to kick this week’s review off with a few contrasting images of Brazilians. The first is brought to you by the 7-1 blitzkrieg the German national squad delivered…
I’m having lots of fun with Old Tom gin lately. So much fun, in fact, that I had to do two weeks in a row of Old Tom cocktails…
If nostalgia is what you’re searching for in a bar, Magnum Cigar Bar pretty much feels like a step back in time. With a clientele of mostly old dudes puffing on cigars bought at the store next door, the vibe can certainly verge on boy’s club. The whiskey-centric back bar…
The Spot: Geisha A Go Go 7150 East Sixth Avenue, Scottsdale 480-699-0055 www.geishaagogo.com…
For decades, vodka was the “it” spirit. While there are a galaxy of flavored vodkas available, discerning drinkers have recently been turning to the original flavored vodka: gin. Now that modern drinkers no longer see gin as something to fear (largely thanks to cheap Windex-flavored gin and long-oxidized vermouth bottles…
On its own, the word mixology just feels pretentious. I get it. The image it evokes is of some bearded, bow-tied hipster bartender turning his nose up while shaking your $15 drink that’s basically an Old Fashioned with some berries and a weird savory component. In fact, I don’t think…
The Spot: El Chorro 5550 E. Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley, (480) 948-5170 www.elchorro.com The Hours: Summer happy happy hour food and drink specials are available from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday…
Beer: Oude Zuipers Brewery: Papago Brewing Co. Style: Tripel ABV: 11 percent “Daar zun meer oude zuipers dan oude dokters.” Translation: There are more old drunks than old doctors. It’s an old Flemish phrase you’re likely to find hanging on a sign or printed on a stained glass window in…
I’ve been on a serious iced coffee kick lately. A tall, cold glass of a brew as inky as midnight is a perfect pick-me-up on a stifling summer afternoon. For some time, I’ve been inhabiting various coffee houses, enjoying their variations on a theme. While I enjoy iced drip coffee,…
So you might have recently seen a cocktail on a menu featuring sloe gin. Maybe you’ve seen a bottle of it at your favorite liquor store. If that’s the case, you were likely intrigued by the liqueur’s deep red color. Sloe gin is a gin-based liqueur (or it should be),…
The Spot: Milagro Grill 4280 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix, 602-773-5844 www.milagrogrillaz.com…
Beer: Xingu Black Beer Brewery: Cervejaria Sul Brasileira Style: Schwarzbier ABV: 4.7 percent I’m not sure how it happened, but somewhere along the line casual beer drinkers got the wrong idea about dark beer. Every day, all across the land, you’ll find drinkers turning down black-colored brews because they think…
