DRINK
Classic Tiki drinks still pack a good ol’ fashioned wallop. —Cory Jones, photos by Brooke Nipar
While you sit there chugging your PBR and Jack and Coke, a booze revival is happening right before your bleary, red eyes. Fueled by the resurgence of rum and the summer months, Tiki drinks are making a cocktail comeback even in bars that don’t put fake sand on their floor or refer to their beverages as “boat drinks.” So what the hell is a Tiki drink? According to Joi Brozek, a bartender at Waikiki Wally’s (yes, that’s a Tiki bar) in Manhattan, NY , “It’s a lot of rum, tropical ... MORE
When the temperature drops, look for something rich and malty.
"Autumn is a great season for serious beer drinkers," says Jes Dwyer, bartender at The Levee in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. That's because when the leaves change and football kicks off, beer lovers start thinking about chugging a new batch of autumn beers. While summer is the time for light lagers and hefeweizens, and winter is perfect for dark porters and stouts, autumn is the only time of year when you can put back a few pumpkin-flavored pints. "You always know it's fall when you can get an Oktoberfest or a pumpkin ... MORE
Irish whiskey goes down smooth any time of the year, green shirt or not.
Wait a feckin' second—it's not St. Patrick's Day. And hell, it's not even March. So why are we talking about Ireland's delicious brown liquid? Because the Irish “water of life” isn't just for the days when you wear a plastic green bowler hat and try to pronounce “shillelagh” after drinking too many car bombs. Often known as a “starter” whiskey because of its milder flavors and easy drinkability, Irish whiskey doesn't need to be mixed with Coke or soda to be enjoyed. According to Sarah Hays, a bartender at Peacock ... MORE
Bartender Kristen Bronson shares her favorite gin cocktails.
Can gin kick-start your kidneys and bladder? Sort of. Like its neutral cousin vodka, gin begins as a grain-based liquor, but it gains distinction with the infusion of juniper berries, an evergreen shrub used as medicine in times past to treat kidney and bladder diseases. Taken in large quantities, gin tends to cause issues with those organs but consumed as it should be, in small amounts, this is a refined spirit imbued with subtle herbal helpers. In fact, each distiller adds as many as a dozen flavor botanicals—ranging from orange ... MORE
Austin bartender Heidi Smith shares her favorite beers from across the pond.
The human love affair with beer was built over many pints. Five thousand years ago, the Chinese, Egyptians, and Mesopotamians first fermented grains to yield a froth pretty different from today’s pint. Ancient Greeks liked it so much, they drafted their own recipe, as did the Romans after them, then the Germans, Czechs, Belgians, and Irish. European brewing was born. Back in the Middle Ages, beer was more than just enjoyable; the “cooking” process rendered the liquid grain sterile, making it much safer to drink than water. These days, beer ... MORE
With the ban lifted, we peel back the myths about absinthe, the world’s most mysterious spirit, and give you the truth about the Green Fairy.
For a long time, absinthe was much like pot in Vancouver and health food in Alabama; it was legal for you to own and consume, but frowned upon to sell. The notorious spirit is distilled from a mixture of herbs and spices developed by the Swiss, and it’s known for its high alcohol content and distinct licorice fl avor. But what sets absinthe apart from vodka and gin—and the reason it was banned for nearly 100 years—is its use of wormwood, a little shrub that contains a supposedly mind-bending chemical ... MORE