Subject: Liquor and Spirits

• Single Barrel Theory

  March 30, 2006

• Burning Question: Is It OK To Drink From The Well?

  Yeah, yeah. Red state, blue state, Sunni versus Shiite, McCain battling against his "maverick" past--big deal.These are but minor little spats compared to the one issue that threatens to rend our social fabric, set brother against brother and perhaps even topple our sacred devotion to progress: in these troubled economic times, is it okay to drink from the well?

  December 5, 2008

• Hot Dish

  October 19, 1995

• Hot Dish

  May 2, 1996

• Fire and fury

  May 9, 1996

• Gogh on home

  April 3, 1997

• 10 Questions: Dan Tullio

  He serves as director of Canadian Club's brand heritage, which is as worthy a cause as any.And who better to promote the brand? He's been with the whisky distillery for a quarter of a century, played a prominent role in their advertising campaigns and still travels the world spreading news about Canadian whisky--even venturing into rival territory with trips to Scotland.Tullio loves talking about Canadian-style spirits and his particular brand.But don't tell anyone: he's a Detroit Red Wings fan.

  February 12, 2009

• Hash Over

  November 26, 1998

• Best lesbian drink

  September 21, 2000

• Burning Question: Why Don't Women Drink Whiskey?

  Candleroom bartender Kevin SteinA bartender told us years ago that the sexiest thing a woman can do in a bar is to order good scotch and sip it neat.Hmm...guess we're not the only ones a little past our prime.We seem to recall hearing this from a staff member at the old Whisky Bar--a rather appropriate setting, but also something we can't seem to confirm no matter how hard we rack whatever remains of our gray matter. Our editor keeps referring to "research"--apparently a well-known concept, for

  February 27, 2009

• Tippling Tips

  May 31, 2001

• The Not-So-Finer Things

  July 19, 2001

• Too Old-Fashioned

  August 16, 2001

• 10 Questions: Jay Liddell

  Patrick MichelsThe Dallas-based brand ambassador for Macallan's single malt Scotch line is charged with an important mission: introducing whisky to a younger generation...of drinking age, of course.Before moving to this city, he spent seven years in the Big Apple as an events manager (with a small but steady role in One Life to Live). He admits that he was a bourbon fanatic until someone introduced him to the water of life. Now this University of Florida grad drinks Scotch every day. It's the ki

  March 6, 2009

• Foreign Substances

  April 18, 2002

• That Frozen Concoction

  May 9, 2002

• Knocking Noggin

  December 26, 2002

• Comparing Apples

  September 11, 2003

• Best Place to Pretend You're Italian

  September 25, 2003

• Taste The Comedy

  December 4, 2008

• Savor This!

  February 28, 2008

• The Bird

  December 6, 2007

• Whiskey River

  September 20, 2007

• Give 'Em the Boot

  Why don't more people like Italian liqueurs?

  March 30, 2006

• Maltiple Choice

  What's wrong with blended Scotch?

  November 17, 2005

• Sweltering Belts

  What are the best summertime drinks?

  June 23, 2005

• Kowtow to Cacao

  Chocoholics unite at Gourmet Showcase 2005

  May 12, 2005

• Liquid Linguistics

  How much alcohol language do we need to know?

  February 3, 2005

• Best Way to Prove You're Secure With Your Masculinity

  Prickly pear margarita (Fireside Pies)

  October 14, 2004

• Best Liqueur You've Never Heard Of

  Mirto at Arcodoro & Pomodoro

  October 14, 2004

• Feels Like Old Times

  With Sammy Hagar back onstage, Van Halen trudges on

  September 23, 2004

• Taste Makes Waste

  Dave, is there an alcohol you won’t drink?

  March 25, 2004

• Biting the Appellation

  Is it right to produce alcohol in the wrong country?

  March 11, 2004

• Whisked Away

  Trinity Hall offers drinks and a history lesson

  January 8, 2004

• Gender Specifics

  Why do women and men drink different things?

  October 24, 2002

• Monk Spunk

  The Old Monk is mostly about beer, but its mussels aren't bad either

  May 2, 2002

• Two Fingers Too Much?

  Agave shortage drives up tequila prices

  April 12, 2001

• 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 American south. Not all that difficult to make, either...if you don't mind a little muddling.The julep consists of sugar, mint and a lot of bourbon. Obviously it's similar in nature to the wildly popular

  May 1, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Ultimat Vodka

  There was a time when basic vodkas roamed the barroom earth. They came in normal bottles--real glass when you stepped up to the Smirnoff or Stoli level. Clean, but with a warming, alcohol burn, they mixed readily into orange juice or ginger beer or whatever.But along came Bond (James Bond) and his "shaken, not stirred" vodka martini. Cocktails built around the odorless, colorless, tasteless spirit gained popularity about the same time. Suddenly--meaning over the next few decades--vodka stood at

  June 5, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Maker's Mark Bourbon

  Handle The Proof is our weekly exploration of spirits, cocktails and the culture of fine drinking.Despite the inroads of craft and single barrel brands, bourbon still suffers from somewhat of an image problem. Once when I ordered a round of Booker's in some Uptown bar, for example, a woman snapped her head around in disgust."Bourbon," she grimaced, "smells like old lawyers."Kevin Smith, master distiller for Maker's Mark, understands the impulse for comments like this. In the years after Prohibit

  June 12, 2009

• Handle The Proof: A Little Moonshine

  Brian StansberryMoonshine has a reputation not always deserved. Some people, after all, take pride in their craft, however illicit.Yeah, some of it reeks of burnt quinine and poisonous residue. The word brings to mind hardened heroes like Junior Johnson and others hauling jars of dubious spirit. And it's difficult not to think of Ozark (or Appalachian) backwoodsmen lazing on a porch surrounded by jugs bearing that notorious 'XXX.'Maybe I just learned too much from Looney Tunes...But over the yea

  June 26, 2009

• Handle The Proof: The Spirit Of '76

  Ben Franklin and John Adams, possibly discussing where to go for booze, in 1776.In the musical 1776, Stephen "Old Grape and Guts" Hopkins bursts into the Continental Congress' meeting room each morning demanding rum before getting down to the day's business. Of course, there may have been some license taken with his character, for John Adams claimed in later writings that the aged Rhode Island delegate never drank until 8 p.m.His drink of choice? Well, the musical got it right: rum. "It gave him

  July 3, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Dalmore Scotch

  ​One of the bigger disappointments, when I returned from Europe, was the noticeably absence of Dalmore on liquor store shelves. Their 12 year Highland single malt had always ranked as one of the best value brands out there.Of course, the distillery's "nose" (or master blender), Richard Paterson, says the idea that Scotch peaks at 12 years "is marketing shite"--he's Scottish--"that annoys me."True enough. The 'quality for price' target date varies from brand to brand, but no matter. Dalmore is

  July 31, 2009

• Girl Drink Drunk: Mad Men Edition

  ​What? You sick of all the Mad Men talk? About what a great show it is? Chances are that's only because you haven't watched it. Get on the scene, hoss, and catch the eff up! A few weeks ago (I took a week off; I know you've missed me), Jon Hamm and his cohorts premiered the long-awaited third season of AMC's mid-century modern drama for all of us die-hard fans waiting with bated breath...and cocktails.Oh yes, the cocktails. See, while Mad Men is known for its attention to detail from period-pe

  September 10, 2009

• Handle The Proof: What To Drink On A Day Like Today

  ​Great. The full force of Texas winter is upon us...for a day...in October.Another month and Europeans will start seeing mulled wine stands open. Decades ago these probably held a big, steaming pot of red wine spiced with cinnamon, vanilla, cloves and other seasonings. Nowadays, of course, you find commercial-sized stainless coffee pots.Not the same charm, but it's still good stuff: gluhwein in Germany, glogg in Scandinavian countries, svarak (pronounced sfarzhak) in the Czech Republic...Other

  October 9, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Which Liquors Burn?

  auntcrazy.com​You still see a flaming shot every once in awhile. For the most part, however, bars wisely consider the close proximity of of fire and alcohol to be a generally bad idea.Why? An Australian bar owner related a story about the time some riotous types ordered a round of B-52s and excitedly slammed glasses to the bar before drinking. The resulting fiery spray ignited bar napkins and a few nearby patrons. Local bartenders generally speak of incinerated eyebrows or other such minor dis

  October 16, 2009

• 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 and Singapore sling was about as silly as could get...well, except perhaps for the monkey gland.The sidecar came along in the midst of this creative spurt. It started, most say, with a bartender in P

  October 23, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Blended Scotch Whisky

  ​Generally when people sit down to discuss whisky, the conversation settles around the single malts of Islay, Speyside or the rare and unique brands from Campbeltown. But the overwhelming majority of scotch whisky sold around the world consists of blends--up to 50 different malts making up a single bottle. Indeed, the best known labels are blended: Ballantine's, Johnnie Walker, Teacher's, Dewar's, Famous Grouse and the like--which rather makes sense. Historian and novelist Reay Tannahill once

  November 6, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Texas Whisky

  ​Chip Tate and Stephen Germer for some reason decided the time was right for a craft Texas whiskey to hit the market. So they formed Balcones Distillery and set up along I-35, just south of Waco, amongst fields of heather and weathered peat bogs soaked by clear mountain springs...no, that doesn't sound right.But they were right--a craft whiskey movement is brewing, with distilleries in Oregon, New York and several places in between turning out classic rye, soft corn whiskeys and American versi

  November 13, 2009

• Drink By Numbers

  ​A reader using the name Foodbevlaw posted an interesting comment to Friday's Question of the Week: "Doucheries can almost always be identified by, and the numberb of Douchers are almost always proportional to, the number of premium tequilas in the back bar."Keep in mind the question at hand dealt with so-called "douche bags." But Foodbevlaw's response brings up another topic.Every so often a restaurant or bar touts its extensive selection of one particular alcohol. The late Nikita, for instan

  November 16, 2009