Cocktails

The 14 Best Spots to Get Cheap Food and Drinks on Cinco De Mayo in Dallas

It's certainly not a weekend for lightweights. Leave your fanny pack at the house and imbibe in many of the options around town as we collectively celebrate General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín's defeat of the French in 1862 in the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. Despite the fiesta, many ... More >>

Sundown at Granada's Prickly Pear Margs are Mediocre, but the Beer'll Do

I can't imagine the headache that the Sundown at Granada must be on weekends, because with patios like that, its Thursday through Sunday crowd must be hanging over the rooftop's railings. But for a lazy and breezy Wednesday evening, the atmosphere can't be beat. Fact: scientific research has proven ... More >>

Brad Hensarling's New Bar The Gold Standard Opens Today in Fort Worth

If you wanna talk cocktails in Fort Worth, you're likely speaking of one person and one person only: Brad Hensarling. The thirtysomething behind dive bar The Chat Room and creative cocktail den The Usual has almost single-handedly shaped the Cowtown craft drink scene, and today he expands his empir ... More >>

Pepper Smash Opens at Plano's Shops of Legacy

Chef Vijay Sadhu's cocktail-centric restaurant and bar Pepper Smash (7200 Bishop Road) soft-opened Monday in the same Shops at Legacy spot where his upscale-Indian venture Sutra closed in March after being open for less than a year. The bar program is the brainchild of Keith LaBonte, the mad scient ... More >>

The Dram Brings a Bit of Class to Henderson Avenue's Late-Night Scene

There are a lot of things that irritate me about clubs (long lines in the girls' bathroom, aggressively flirty dudes in Tapout tees), but the thing I hate the most is shitty, expensive drinks. Fourteen dollars for a poorly mixed gin and tonic made with well liquor that's guaranteed to produce a han ... More >>

Fedoras and $12 Drinks Don't Make the Bar

It's a relatively quiet Wednesday night at Deep Ellum's newest watering hole, Swallow Lounge (double entendre or just a hastily chosen name? You be the judge). I take a seat at the empty bar lined with bright red vinyl stools. Above the bar, back-lit swallows -- those little birds that adorn collarb ... More >>

Before a Caravan to New Orleans' Tales Of The Cocktail, Some Thoughts on Dallas Bartending

Tales of the Cocktail might be four months away, but Dallas-area mixologists are already well into planning for the event. Each year New Orleans hosts the event, which draws from an international base of cocktail enthusiasts who gather to talk booze, cross-pollinate creative ideas and get bombed. I ... More >>

The End May Be Near for "Mixology," So Maybe We Could Cool It with the Vests?

Catherine Downes​A few nights ago I ducked my head into the Dram (2918 N. Henderson Ave.), Dallas' newest drinking hot spot, tricked out in a sort of dark Victorian feel that is pretty stunning. It's an impressive space, and that night it was filled with all the cool kids who love to be the fi ... More >>

Smoke Guns and Cap'n Crunch at Four Lounge, the Cocktail Lounge for the Wizard in You

The barman procures a large glass jar from underneath the bar and pours in a few ounces of Sobieski vodka, followed by fresh-squeezed lime juice. Hickory chips are scooped from a glass jar and loaded into a hand-held smoking gun, then ignited with a small torch. Smoke fills the jar and infuses the ... More >>

Another Salt-Rimmed Sunday

Second Floor Freshens Up Brunch Cocktails

Kevin MarplePrickly pear margarita​Bloody Marys and mimosas are, clearly, classic brunch drinks. But if you're a frequent bruncher, the usual suspects may be becoming a bit of a snooze. I'm a brunch fan myself, which is why my ears pricked up when I heard the Second Floor is offering a prickly ... More >>

Celebrating the Day the Margarita Died (In the City That Killed It)

​Sunday is National Tequila Day, a "holiday" Dallasites can celebrate with extra exuberance as residents of the city that fucked up margaritas forever. Mariano Martinez birthed the margarita machine here, 40 years ago, after a frightening opening night nearly handed him his ass. Turns out his ... More >>

And Now an Interview With a Lady Who Flies Around America Testing Cocktails

​In Three-Course Meal, we usually interview local chefs over the course of three days. This week, we branch out a little. Check in tomorrow for more from our local cocktail ninja. Sly Cosmopoulos, 39, is the corporate mixologist for Republic National Distributing Company, a large liquor distr ... More >>

Dallas Drinkers Don't Like Dallas Drinks

With a drinks menu divided by historical era, The Cedars Social has provided local cocktailians with possibly the city's most sophisticated beverage selection. But the most inspired page of the well-crafted menu features cocktails created by mixologists elsewhere. ​"I like to call it a liquid ... More >>

Another National Day of Drinking (with Stronger Alcohol!)

Our advice: Don't order a margarita larger than a Big Gulp without a little help from your friends.​If you didn't get a chance to celebrate National Drink Wine Day last Friday, then you have another chance to have an extra happy happy hour today. Yes, folks, it's time to for another national ... More >>

Cocktails: So, You Think You Can Mix One Better Than Your Bartender?

​At many fine 19th-century restaurants, it wasn't unusual for diners to deviate significantly from the printed menu. Since it was assumed the chef stocked his larder with the same eggs, cheeses and vegetables that appeared in nearly every hoity-toity restaurant kitchen, eaters could reasonably ... More >>

Is Texas the Sleeping Giant
Of the Cocktail World?

​Pity those drinkers who were in search of an expertly made cocktail last night: All of the state's best mixologists were gathered on the pool deck at the Joule, drinking daiquiris and cheering on participants in the North Texas Bartenders Guild's Legacy Cocktail Competition. Sponsor Bacardi ... More >>

Perry's Steakhouse Offer Mini-Cocktails.
Now We Can Drink Four Times More, Right?

​Perry's Steakhouse, which I praised in last week's Dish column, isn't typically associated with dainty portions. On Fridays, when mammoth pork chops are sold for just $10.95, the exiting crowds, armed with giant rope-handled leftover bags, look like successful shoe shoppers. But Perry's has ... More >>

Starbucks Coffee a Cocktail Alternative?
What Have They Been Drinking?

Nothing soothes like a cup of coffee...except maybe a slug of booze.​Starbucks has joined the growing list of chains intent on bowdlerizing adult beverage traditions, suggesting today that flavored coffee's a good substitute for alcohol. Earlier this week, City of Ate chronicled the new low-c ... More >>

Low-Cal Cocktails: Didn't We Used to Just Call Those Shots?

You know, if you're worried about calories when drinking tequila, then you're not drinking enough tequila.​Margaritas are supposed to signify the pinnacle of lazy summer good-timing, but bartenders say drinkers are increasingly worrying about the cocktail's caloric content. Weighing in at mor ... More >>

Come On, Get Happy! We've Found 50 Local Bars That Will Help You Do Just That.

Westfork: Bottomless Brunch

singlesisters​Weekend brunch exists, in my estimation, to assuage the appetites of those who have slept in past the breakfast hour and now must hunt down food as quickly as possible to alleviate the hangover. To have brunch on a weekday might be a meal worthy only of derelicts and food writers. ... More >>

Handle The Proof: Sidecar

​In my school of thought--and keep in mind, it's not a very well attended school--cocktails born in the heyday of gentlemanly drinking are to be revered. Drinks such as martinis, old fashioned and the great sazerac came from an era when even the prettiest glass carried a big, stiff belt of alcohol ... More >>

Handle The Proof: Why I Hate The 'Mixology' Trend

​Nothing against Victor Tangos. Their bartenders make very good cocktails and they steadfastly--last I checked--refuse to use the word "mixologist." Their drink recipes, however, require precise measurements. Even though they wield this precision to create updated versions of the fizz, the Champag ... More >>

Gloria's vs Mattito's: Margarita Massacre

Alex Flores​Dallas has always seemed a little confused about margaritas--even though the cocktail was reputedly invented by a local (albeit during a Mexico vacation).Perhaps it's just a misunderstanding of semantics. You see, 'cocktail' is generally a drink consisting of three or more ingredients, ... More >>

Hash Over: Rum Causes Gas (And Fire), Chuy's Honors Fire, Free Pancakes For Kids And More

Jeff McInnis​You've mastered the mojito, drubbed the daiquiri and conquered the Cuba libre. You're ready to take your rum "mixology" to the next level. How about tossing in a dash of liquid nitrogen? Former Top Chef contestant Jeff McInnis will be slinging liquid nitrogen-infused Don Q rum cocktai ... More >>

Handle The Proof: Breaking The Mojito Rules

Patrick MichelsLazare's mojoto lineupThis current generation of American drinkers couldn't really care less about tradition. They shirk the classic cocktails in favor of trendy new flavors: pomegranate martinis, green tea margaritas, acai vodka and tonics or whatever the anti-oxidant of the month ha ... More >>

Lazare's Bar Hosts A Grand Opening, But Will Anyone Remember?

Anastasia JakseThe new mojitos: blueberry on the left, raspberry at right. "Blame it on the a-a-alcohol...," DJ Christopher Tracy puts his spin on Jamie Foxx and T-Pain's rap song amidst a forest of black and red balloons. Blame it on the alcohol, indeed. Or the 'any excuse to party' ethic that dri ... More >>

Handle The Proof: Losing Our Way In Margaritaville

pdphoto.orgThis is the sort of thing Dallas does to a margarita.Bartenders should be allowed to tweak cocktail recipes. Creativity, after all, is what sets one place apart from another.Thus when mixologizing a particular cocktail, some may prefer to make the drink stronger, some sweeter. One might a ... More >>

Salum's Offers Free Bites, Drink Specials

The raspberry martini, one of Salum bartender Leann Berry's specialty drinks.Some may consider the term silly, but Leann Berry is a proud mixologist. Whatever you call the bartender--right down to "hey, you"--say it to Berry during Salum's happy hour 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays.She' ... More >>

Handle The Proof: Mint Juleps

Few bartenders know how to make a decent mint julep and few people order the bourbon cocktail. There must be a connection.But which came first? It's a perfect cooler for blazing summer days (which seem unlikely to arrive anytime soon)--icy fresh, with a wicked punch--and one closely tied to the Amer ... More >>

A Big Mix-Up

Sweet and Lowdown

What is a good margarita?

Going South

What is a mint julep?

Best Martini

The Library at the Melrose Hotel

Best Belly Button Margarita

Ciudad

Best Salad

Tempura chili-citrus chicken salad at Cuba Libre

Comparing Apples

What are the trendiest drinks in Dallas?

Mystic Chords of Memory

The Burning Question crew looks back at 2002

Gender Specifics

Why do women and men drink different things?

Best Margarita (tie)

Blue Goose, Frankie's Margarita at Monica's Aca y Alla

Bob Hoofs North

The Plano version of Bob's Steak and Chophouse stays true to form--mysterious carrot and all

That Frozen Concoction

What's up with all the different margaritas?

Margarita Mix

What is top shelf?

Too Old-Fashioned

Does anybody drink classic cocktails anymore?

All Shaken Up

Do we prefer vodka or gin martinis?

Best martini

Parigi

Hot Dish

State of the bar address

It's scary, folks, but St. Pete's Dancing Marlin isn't a bad place to eat

Two for the road

Martini Ranch mixes dozens of variations of the world's most famous cocktail