DRINK
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 Bar & Grill in Corvallis, OR, “Most of the Irish ... MORE
Drink mellow reposados straight; save woody añejos for after dinner. If you must have a margarita, choose one featuring the bright, clean flavors of a silver tequila—and make sure it’s of the non-frozen variety.
You’re at a bar and it’s a few drinks past midnight when your friend yells, “Tequila shots!” Flashbacks of college come and you’re reminded of that astringent, putrid-tasting, hangover-inducing liquid that could only (barely) be saved by licking salt off skin and sucking on lime. All that work, so little pleasure. By now you should know better. Tequila (like canned beer and grappa) can be added to the list of libations you thought sucked as an undergrad, but now realize can be not only palatable, but actually enjoyable. These days there’s a greater range of high-quality tequila than ever before. ... 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 peel to coriander, cassia, fennel, and the like—to give gin ... 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 is made of four primary ingredients: barley, hops, water, and ... 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 called thujone. That’s not the whole story behind the ban. ... MORE
