How to Make a Hanky Panky Cocktail

Here I go again with drinks with weird names. Hanky Panky? It manages to be hopelessly outdated, yet still carries a lurid aura with it. The origin of the drink’s name is a bit more innocent. It goes back to the early 20th century, at the American Bar in London’s…

Sam Pillsbury Answers the Question: Why Arizona Wine?

Why Arizona wine? In 2000 — the year I planted my first vineyard at the end of a lonely, dusty road in Cochise County, 12 miles south of Willcox — one of the 10 Best ‘How to Lose Money’ jokes on Saturday Night Live was: Plant a Vineyard In Arizona…

Pig & Pickle in Scottsdale: Happy Hour Report Card

The Spot: Pig & Pickle 2922 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale 480-990-1407 www.pigandpickle.com See Also: – Bink’s Midtown in Phoenix: Happy Hour Report Card – Scottsdale’s Pig & Pickle a Culinary Power to the People – Perk Eatery and Barrio Cafe Scheduled for Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in May…

Ten FIDY, Oskar Blues, and the Canned Beer Apocalypse

Beer: Ten FIDY Brewery: Oskar Blues Brewery Style: Imperial Stout ABV: 10.5 percent As we inch ever closer to the third-annual AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival, our discussion of aluminum cylinders continues, and it’s only right that, at this point, we bring up Oskar Blues. See also: – 2013 AmeriCAN…

How To Make the Best Mint Julep, Ever.

This weekend, brace your livers for impact. Sunday is Cinco de Drinko Mayo. Thankfully, I already have that base covered with how to make an awesome margarita. But first, it’s time to get out your ludicrously oversized hats for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. If it’s time for the Derby,…

O Beautiful Beer: 21st Amendment’s Bitter American

Beer: Bitter American Brewery: 21st Amendment Brewery Style: American Pale Ale ABV: 4.4 percent Welcome back to Craft Beer OTW, where our discussion of canned craft beer continues. Now, it’s come to my attention that despite my very convincing proselytizing on canned craft beer’s behalf, there are still plenty of…

Bink’s Midtown in Phoenix: Happy Hour Report Card

The Spot: Bink’s Midtown 2320 East Osborn Road, Phoenix 602-388-4874 www.binksmidtown.com See Also: – Scratch in Downtown Phoenix: Happy Hour Report Card – Sam Pillsbury Spills on the Reason He Landed in Arizona, and Launches a Wine Column for Chow Bella – Bink’s Midtown Is a Must (Especially When It…

Cigar City Jai Alai: Take It in the Can

Beer: Jai Alai Brewery: Cigar City Brewing Co. Style: American IPA ABV: 7.5 percent The journey from brew kettle to drinking vessel is long and hard, and not all beer gets there in perfect condition. To taste right, a beer must battle many foes along the way: diacetyl, a yeast…

How to Make a Great Moscow Mule

Around the bar, it seems that this season’s official cocktail is the Moscow Mule. Over the past few weeks, its popularity has skyrocketed. I’m a little surprised that people often say I make a really good one. It’s such a simple drink, anyone should be able to put together a…

Class of ’88 Barleywine: A Taste of Craft Beer’s Past

beerpulse.com Beer: Class of ’88 Barleywine Brewery: Deschutes Brewery/North Coast Brewing Co./Rogue Ales Style: American Barleywine ABV: 10 percent Hello, out there! Today, we step into the WayBack Machine to take a look at craft beer’s past, all the way back to the year 1988. Times were good — Prozac…

Bonjour Vietnam in Downtown Phoenix: Happy Hour Report Card

The Spot: Bonjour Vietnam 202 North Central Avenue 602-252-1223 www.hotelsancarlos.com/dining See Also: – La Condesa in Phoenix: Happy Hour Report Card – Pallets, a Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese Restaurant, Opens on Roosevelt Row – 10 Favorite Vietnamese Restaurants in Greater Phoenix The Hours: Happy Hour is offered Monday through Friday…

Income Tax Cocktail: Just What You Need This Weekend

Certain times of the year call for certain beverages. You have your Christmas egg nog, margaritas aplenty for Cinco de Drinko, and countless other excuses through the year to knock back a drink. One day that needs no excuse is, of course, April 15. The mere mention strikes dread in…

La Condesa in Phoenix: Happy Hour Report Card

The Spot: La Condesa 1919 North 16th Street 602-254-6330 www.lacondesatacoshop.com See Also: – 10 Best Margaritas in Metro Phoenix – Dick’s Hideaway: Happy Hour Report Card – The Hunt for Fresh Mexican Coconut in Metro Phoenix Is Over The Hours: Happy Hour is offered Monday through Friday from 3 until…

Rough Draft’s Barrel-Aged Freudian Sip: Your Subconscious Will Love It

mustlovebeer.com Beer: Barrel-Aged Freudian Sip Brewery: Rough Draft Brewing Co. Style: American Strong Ale ABV: 10 percent Around 1901, Sigmund Freud came out with his book The Psychopathology of Everyday Life. In it, he described a number of verbal “slips” — errors that seem trivial but may actually reveal repressed…

The Cove Trattoria: Happy Hour Report Card

The Spot: Cove Trattoria, 7001 North Scottsdale Road, #128, Paradise Valley, 480-951-8273, www.thecovescottsdale.com. Editor’s Note: This post has been edited from its original version to reflect the fact that happy hour beers are actually $3 at Cove Trattoria, rather than what we previously reported. We regret our error. See Also:…