Author: Thirsty South

Dedicated to all things drinking well in the South.
Posted on

Near Wild Heaven (Beer That Is)

From a rooftop facing the heavens (and downtown Atlanta), Decatur’s own Wild Heaven Craft Beer celebrated the launch of their Invocation Belgian-style Golden Ale and Ode To Mercy Imperial Brown Ale in bottles. These two fine beers have been available on tap around Georgia and select spots in Alabama for many months now, and have gained quite a fan base, so seeing them in bottles is another good sign of support for our local beers. (Caveat: Wild Heaven is currently brewed – and bottled – at Thomas Creek Brewing in Greenville, South Carolina, but has plans to move production to their own brewery in Avondale Estates next year)

If you haven’t yet tried these beers, do yourself a favor and give them a shot (we especially dig the Invocation – delicious).

In other beer related news… next week is CRAFT BEER WEEK! (May 16-22)

Look for intersting specials at all your favorite beer bars around town (here’s a list of our favorites by the way, including The Porter, seen below). Cheers!

Posted on

Barrel Aged Cocktails: Ready For Primetime?

Atlanta is finally seeing the barrel aged cocktail wave that has been sweeping the country over the past several months, as Iberian Pig in Decatur and sister restaurant Double Zero in Sandy Springs have rolled out barrel aged cocktails – the “Blackthorn” at Iberian Pig (gin, Dubonnet Rouge and Kirschwasser) and a Negroni at Double Zero (gin, Campari, sweet vermouth). Can it be coincidence that a restaurant by the name of Zero Zero in San Francisco also recently started serving barrel aged Negronis to much fanfare?

Barrel aging is, of course, a key ingredient in creating great bourbon, rye, Scotch, wine… and is seeing more and more use in beer as well. Its use in cocktails seems to be catching fire recently, especially in places like San Francisco and Portland and Chicago and New York, and now … Atlanta. The time in the barrel, as little as a thirty days for many of these cocktails, as many as thirty plus years for several coveted whiskies, imparts color and flavor from the wood and, often, from the spirit that was previously aged in that barrel. For cocktails, it clearly gives the ingredients time to meld, and for the lower alcohol elements (like vermouth) to oxidize and develop characteristics you wouldn’t normally find out of the bottle. See Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s blog for some interesting experiments you can even try at home (if you are adventurous and have a few hundred spare bucks to spend).

So… who has tried a barrel aged cocktail? How did you think it compared to its unaged version? Any other bars in the South doing interesting things with barrel aging? Let us know!

Posted on

When in doubt…

When in doubt … post a photo and talk about Pappy Van Winkle. Yes, Pappy is a frequent topic of conversation around these parts. So, three things Pappy today.

First, I hadn’t seen this before, but our friend Jimmy at EatItAtlanta.com posted a link to Mr. Julian Van Winkle III making the “Julian” cocktail at Husk Bar in Charleston. (and here’s our previous take on the subject of a Pappy 15 Old Fashioned)

Second, a recent tasting of Pappy Van Winkle 15 year old vs. Pappy 20 year old confirmed our personal preference for the 15, especially on the value scale (the 15 runs for about $70, the 20 goes for about $120). A group of three all leaned to the 15 in blind preference – it’s a near perfect expression of bourbon in our book, though the 20 was just a touch behind. There are definitely a few folks who vehemently disagree with rating the 15 over the 20 – of course, to each his own.

Third, Old Rip Van Winkle seems to pop up in all sorts of random and unexpected places. Here he is at ROCK CITY in Chattanooga. SEE ROCK CITY! (notice the whiskey jug and the barrel in the foreground – they do pay attention to detail, those mischievous elves)