It’s certainly busy season around the restaurant. It’s great to see endless streams of happy folks from out of town coming in to enjoy themselves. And the corresponding bump in my paycheck is pretty damn nice, too. But I can’t help but feel a little envious. I’ve found myself researching…
Many of our life experiences have been enhanced by the internet. Just think about the days prior to Facebook when all we got were a few birthday cards and now we awake on our birthday to several dozen birthday wishes. Our wine experience is no different, the wealth of content…
Like a boozy BirchBox, Kat Rudberg’s brand-new subscription service, Crafted Taste, will send craft liquors, fresh ingredients, bar tools, and recipes direct to your door every month. With recipes from top bartenders all across the country and specialized liqueurs, syrups, and bitters, Rudberg has combined her love of travel and…
The Spot: Bar Crudo 3603 East Indian School Road 602-358-8666 www.crudoaz.com…
Beer: Salty Scot Brewery: Parallel 49 Style: Scotch Ale ABV: 7.5 percent Another week, another brewery shipping its beers to Arizona shelves. Parallel 49 isn’t your usual new entrant to the American craft beer landscape, however — namely because it’s not American at all. The brewery’s located in Vancouver, British…
We’re more than a little crazy about wine at the restaurant where I work. So, it stands to reason that some of the cocktails we have draw inspiration from the wine world. For example, we recently picked up several bottles of fino sherry. At first, I wasn’t sure what to…
It’s no secret that I’m a big supporter of Arizona wine. I feel like we are in the neonatal ICU in terms of birthing a vibrant wine industry here. There are currently almost 90 licensed and bonded wineries in Arizona, some of which buy grapes and make wine; others grow…
While we noticed Asian-inspired cocktails making a showing from both Clever Koi and The Gladly at Devour’s Bartending Competition, one Valley bartender is infusing the flavors of the East into every cocktail he makes. You can expect mango, rose, and coconut flavors from Anthony Felsianes’ brand new cocktail menu at…
The Spot: Angel’s Trumpet Ale House 810 North Second Street 602-252-2630 www.angelstrumpetalehouse.com…
Welcome, class, to today’s Latin lesson. Now, you may be thinking there’s no reason to learn a language that’s been out of use for hundreds of years — but you would be, as we say in Latin, in errare. If you knew Latin, for instance, you’d know that the phrase…
You may have noticed that Mardi Gras is just around the corner. It’s one of my favorite holidays to celebrate, largely because even if I’m not going to New Orleans, it’s a grand opportunity to celebrate the Big Easy’s rich cocktail culture…
Let’s face it, it’s been a rough week for Arizona, even with that veto. SB 1062 has made our fair state the butt of jokes across the country. Many of us are responding to pleas from our friends elsewhere to get out of here, what were we thinking, moving to…
Although a search for Mardi Gras cocktails could lead you on a dark path of artificial ingredients and goofy garnishes, Geoffrey Wilson of Chandler’s Barrelhouse is here to keep you from being led astray. While working with the legendary New Orleans bartender Chris McMillian, Wilson learned a fair amount about…
The Spot: Grassroots Kitchen & Tap 2119 East Camelback Road, Suite A21 602-368-8766 www.grassrootsaz.com…
Beer: Melange a Trois, Hop God and Apricot au Poivre Brewery: Nebraska Brewing Co. Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale, Belgian IPA, Saison ABV: 10.1 percent Before last week, the following list contained everything I knew about the state of Nebraska: They grow lots of corn. They have people whose job…
Recently at work, I found a bottle of amaretto in the back stock of liquor. A co-worker piped up, “Oh, yeah, that’s the almond-flavored liqueur, isn’t it?” I could only reply, “Au contraire, my friend! Everyone thinks it’s an almond liqueur, but it’s not.”…
What do you think of when you hear the words “port wine?” British gentlemen’s clubs? Cigars? Mikhail Gorbachev? I think of the delicious, sweet, fortified wine of the Douro River Valley of Portugal. Few wines are as rich in history and culture as Port, or Oporto, or Vinho do Porto,…
The Spot: The Watershed 5250 South Lake Shore Drive, Tempe 480-756-0508 www.watershedaz.com…
If you chose to devote your time to Beer Week events this past weekend rather than taking advantage of the impressive lineup of seminars and mixers put on by Cocktail Week, you messed up and we’re sorry. There are several days left before Cocktail Week comes to a close, so…
Beer: Beer Week Weizenbock Brewery: Four Peaks Brewing Co., Wanderlust Brewing Co., Mother Road Brewery, Huss Brewing Co., Ten Fifty-Five Brewing, Dragoon Brewing Co. Style: Weizenbock ABV: 7.5 percent Happy Beer Week, readers! You tired of beer yet? Me neither. This week’s brew encompasses the best that Arizona has to…
I do love a cocktail that involves showmanship. And few cocktails have quite the flair of this week’s Last Call, the Flame of Love martini. With a name like that, how could I resist making one for Valentine’s Day? The Flame of Love was created in 1970 for none other…
Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is upon us. Most people equate chocolate with this lovebird’s holiday, but chocolate has been widely available only since the 1500s. I’d like to assert wine’s place at the aphrodisiac table; after all, nobody strips down to their skivvies after too much chocolate…
