The Beer: Refuge IPA The Brewery: Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. Location: Gilbert Stats: 7.2% ABV, 75 IBU In the Valley of the Sun, there are few things more refreshing than a crisp, clean beer with a nice dry finish. And that’s exactly what you get in Arizona Wilderness’ Refuge IPA, an artfully crafted…
Each week we venture to a new restaurant to check out what the spot has to offer during our favorite time of day — happy hour. Whether it’s affordable appetizers, delicious drinks, jaw-dropping deals, or none of the above, we’ll check out the situation and report back. The Spot: Duck…
The Parlor’s bar manager Michael Allmandinger sat down with us a few weeks ago, he did so with a list titled “Amaro 101: An Introduction to Italian Amari.” It includes 18 bitter, Italian apertifs and digestifs. But that’s not all. “Currently we have….” he trails off, twisting around in his…
The Beer: Humphrey’s Hefe The Brewery: Lumberyard Brewing Co. Location: Flagstaff, AZ Style: Hefeweizen Beer Style: The beer style hefeweizen literally translates to “yeast wheat” and is a style of beer made with, according to German brewing law, at least 50 percent wheat malt and produced with the yeast still…
It’s been said that the mint julep is perfect when temperatures are between 70 and 100 degrees. That’s when it does its job best — the job of cooling, soothing, and satisfying. “And it’s pretty much always between 70 and 100 in Phoenix,” says Micah Olson, co-owner at Okra, Central…
The Beer: Shake The Brewer: Boulder Beer Company Location: Boulder, Colorado Did someone say “chocolate” and “shake” in the same sentence? About beer? Shake is a chocolate porter created by the Boulder Beer Company of Colorado. This beer starts out with aromas of rich chocolate, or more specifically, pleasantly bitter cacao. Background…
The Spot: The Montauk 4360 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale 480-994-1888 www.themontaukaz.com The Hours: Happy hour is from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Perfect For: When your wanderlust shouts, “Take me to the Hamptons!” but your bank account replies, “Best I can do is Scottsdale!” The Interior: When East…
At one point toward the middle of our interview with Joshua James — he was leaning against a stool, arms crossed, calmly answering question after question about the specs on this or that ingredient — we went in for a sip of Clever Koi’s House Dirty Martini. Crisp, briny, evoking…
The Beer: Devil’s Ale The Brewery: SanTan Brewing Company Location: Chandler, Arizona Football season is in full swing and, of course, football means tailgating. If you’re going to tailgate, you might as well do so with a well-balanced, easy-drinking ale made right here in town. SanTan Brewing Company’s Devil’s Ale is a logical…
The Spot: Twisted Grove 8220 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale (480) 699-0811 www.twistedgrove.com The Hours: Happy hour is from 3 to 6 p.m. daily, and offered throughout the restaurant. Perfect For: Getting together with your parents, particularly if you prefer to do that with a stiff drink in your hand. The…
Imagine a 3,000-mile bartending tour across the United States that favors Riverside over Los Angeles, stops in Santa Fe instead of Austin, and chooses Jackson, Boise, and Salt Lake City over Seattle, New Orleans, and the Big Apple. Imagine it’s thrown by reputable cocktail personality and barman Erick Castro of…
The Spot: Valley Bar 130 North Central Avenue (602) 368-3121 valleybarphx.com The Hours: Monday-Friday, 5-7 p.m., and all night on Sundays (6 p.m. to close). Perfect For: Cocktails and bar games with your favorite hipster. Maybe bring your friend with the “Love Phoenix or Leave Phoenix” bumper sticker on her…
Because it’s so un-fussily titled, “Vodka Ice Cream” could conjure up three possible realities in your mind. We saw it on the menu at the recently re-opened Milk Bar, Downtown Phoenix’s new-ish Polish bar and restaurant, and wondered what would come of such a union. Like, you know, “Could it…
Prescott, located about two hours north of Phoenix, welcomed its first wine tasting room last weekend during Prescott Winery’s four-day grand opening event. Filled with live music, small bites, and unique Arizona wines, the quaint winery was crowded with locals and visitors. Located several blocks from Prescott’s historic Whiskey Row,…
Mark your calendars, beer lovers, because you’re not going to want to miss New Times’ second annual NovemBEER Festival. This year, we’ve rounded up nearly 50 breweries for the celebration of craft beer and brewing, which means you’ll have a selection of more than 120 beer options from which to choose. Sounds good, right?…
Each week we venture to a new restaurant to check out what the spot has to offer during our favorite time of day — happy hour. Whether it’s affordable appetizers, delicious drinks, jaw-dropping deals, or none of the above, we’ll check out the situation and report back. The Spot: Distrito…
Ever tried sloe Gin? (It’s a sort of reddish-purple color — not clear — if you’re trying to picture it.) If so, then you’ve most likely you’ve had it in a sloe gin fizz (sloe gin, lemon juice, egg white, sugar to taste) since you certainly didn’t order it neat,…
Now in its fourth year of production, the recently released Page Springs 2014 Super Arizona features a few changes from last year’s bottling. An elusive and subtly complex wine, Super Arizona is an excellent representation of why Arizona winemaking is becoming more exciting by the year. It’s easy to draw…
We’re far from the first to predict that sotol is going to be the next big thing. In fact, both sotol and it’s sister spirit, bacanora (a Sonoran spirit that, mind you, will likely become the new sotol), have been awaiting star treatment all summer. Agave-hounds with ears to the…
The Spot: North Italia 4925 North 40th Street 602-324-5600 www.northitaliarestaurant.com The Hours: Happy hour is from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and all day on Sunday Perfect for: Sharing a bottle of wine and some light snacks The Interior: With soaring ceilings and a open-air design, North Italia…
From mulled wine to sangria, wine has been a part of the classic cocktail repertoire for quite some time. And though wine cocktails may not be especially new to the beverage world, wine cocktails currently are trending across the Valley. From syrups to infusions of dessert wine, local bartenders are…
Lately, we’ve noticed a trend: Cocktails in which the bartender could have used gin or vodka but opted instead for white rum. It’s an interesting choice, so we wanted to know, are these clear spirits really interchangeable? And if so, does white rum that can be enjoyed neat actually exist?…
