A Balanced, Thirsty Life: Public To Do List

Life is busy. There’s work, of course. More importantly, there’s family. And friends. I like it best when writing for Thirsty South can be an extension of the things that are most important to me. A component of those things, rather than an impediment to those things. Grinding some coffee beans by hand as my kids eat breakfast each morning is a fine thing. Sharing a bottle of wine with friends is equally good. Darting out to a beer event just to stay on top of the scene? Not so much. So, while I hope to be as in the know as possible on “all things drinking well in the South,” the reality is that it’s a fool’s cause to try to actually be completely in the know (unless that is your real full time job). In that light, here is a list of things I’ve failed to do and to write about that should be done and written about in a perfect Thirsty South world (a public To Do List that will hopefully prod me into getting out and exploring and tasting and meeting folks doing cool things, as long as it fits within the rhythm of my life rather than disrupt that rhythm):

Beer:
Go meet David Stein, new brewmaster at Twain’s in Decatur
Go visit the folks at Red Hare Brewing in Marietta, GA
Go visit the cool little home of Jailhouse Brewing in Hampton, GA
Check out the expansion of SweetWater Brewing in Atlanta
Check out the expansion of Hop City‘s Growlertown…
…and The Beer Growler in Avondale Estates
Spend more time at The Brick Store… and The Porter… with friends

Likker:
Check out American Spirit Whiskey, based in Atlanta
Spend more time with Atlanta’s fine bartenders… and friends
Spend more time at H&F Bottle Shop… and making cocktails for friends

Juice:
Revisit Georgia wine country, a few times, there is good stuff going on up there

Coffee:
Get back to my favorites more often – Octane and Steady Hand especially
Keep doing the Clever routine at home with good locally roasted beans

Alas, it won’t be easy, but I’ll do my best to keep on living a happy, thirsty, balanced life. Cheers.

The Thirsty South (non) Holiday Gift Guide & Help for Searchers!

It seems every magazine, website, and person-on-the-street has assembled a handy gift guide to help you spend money this holiday season. We considered it, briefly, but in the spirit of the season, decided instead to give something back to our readers. We thought a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle for every reader might do the trick, but couldn’t find enough to cover everyone. Instead, we realized that so many people find their way to Thirsty South by searching for specific things on Google, or Bing, or Yahoo!, and that, in the past, we haven’t always had exactly what they were looking for. So, today, as our holiday gift to you, dear readers, for some of our most common actual queries (all in bold below) we will answer your question or at least try to point you in the right direction. The search terms that lead folks to Thirsty South tend to revolve around moonshine, Pappy Van Winkle, Perrine Prieur’s wine shop, and deep fried peanuts. Go figure. Here we go, in no particular order…

Thirsty South: yes, you found us, congratulations!

Deep Fried Peanuts / Southern Fried Peanuts / Shell n All Peanuts: well, we did feature this Southern delicacy as “the South’s greatest beer snack” – to actually find some, we suggest driving to your nearest suburb, continue on out into the countryside another 15 miles or so, then seek out the nearest gas station, which is where you will find deep fried peanuts in a bag hanging from a plastic chip bag holder. Related terms: best beer snacks, Uncle Bud’s deepfried peanuts, do you eat the shell of deep fried peanuts (yes, we do)

Legal Moonshine: there is such a thing as legal moonshine these days, though we feel the expression is a bit of an oxymoron, like honest politician, or female mailman (?). Nevertheless, there are several brands of “legal moonshine” out there – we recommend you try Ole Smoky Distillery out of the hills of eastern Tennessee or swing by Buffalo Trace in Kentucky for some of their legal “White Dog” if it’s “legal moonshine” you’re after. Related Terms: is there a legal form of moonshine, store bought moonshine

Popcorn Sutton’s Tennessee White Whiskey: this is of the decidedly-not-legal variety of moonshine, we mentioned it here, and you can learn more here or in the really excellent book called Chasing the White Dog. Some say Popcorn is still around if you look hard enough… Related Terms: mason jar moonshine, moonshine real thing

how long to store my moonshine in a oak barrel / hillbilly moonshine recipe: well, legally, we’re not going to help you out on this one, though we think the answer to the first question is “until you’re ready to drink it”

Pappy Van Winkle: we gotcha covered if you’re looking for info and pretty pictures, but do check out their website as well, and if you’re trying to find an actual bottle of the stuff to buy, good luck, call around to as many local liquor stores as you can find! Oh, and the answer to the second related term below is – “whichever one you have in front of you!” Related Terms: old rip van winkle if you can still find it, what is the best aged pappy van winkle?, pappy van winkle 23, old rip van winkle

Pappy’s Drinking Shirt: hmmm, no clue on this one, go ask Granny maybe?

how big is a small batch of vodka: isn’t this part of a famous Zen koan? Another question that can only be answered with a question…

Sweetwater Brewery Square Footage: wow, talk about specific searches, and why do you really want to know? But we actually did come close to answering that one in our tour of SweetWater Brewery!

flying with herbal incense: wow again, this must have something to do with SweetWater 420, right??

whats around Sweetwater brewery: see prior query, plenty of herbal incense maybe? The immediate area around SweetWater is mostly warehouses, industrial buildings, and a few random gallery spaces. It’s very close to the Buford Highway extension though, so a world of food choices is right down the road, as is all of midtown Atlanta.

H. Harper Station, Atlanta: a wonderful place for a drink (especially whiskey based cocktails) and some good food in Atlanta, we featured it here, and here’s their website. Related Terms: Daisy Buchanan (cocktail recipe towards the bottom here), harper bar atlanta

Beer Growler, Athens: a new shop that recently opened in Athens, GA, the first legal place in Georgia to buy freshly filled growlers-to-go of excellent craft beer (in modern times). We’re hoping the red tape in Atlanta can be cut through for something similarRelated Terms: beer growler new law GA

Perrine Prieur / Perrine’s Wine Shop: for some reason, we get a lot of people searching for Perrine’s Wine Shop. A first look when they opened was one of our first posts, and we continue to include them in our Thirsty Guide to Atlanta as a great place to buy a bottle of wine.

Shave and a Haircut Drink: hmmm, maybe people are searching for this place in New York, or maybe they want to find the recipe for this cocktail with a decidedly manly name, or maybe they really are just looking for our favorite place to get a shave and a haircut and a side of Jack Daniels, too… Related Terms: haircut Norman Rockwell, beer haircut atlanta, Norman Rockwell with a beer

Woodford Reserve Maple Wood Finish: we did indeed discuss this new release from Woodford Reserve, with mixed feelings, though in the end found it to be a nice (though very expensive) contributor to a fine cocktail. Related Terms: Woodford Reserve Maple, Woodford Reserve Masters Collection, maple wood bourbon

Local Three, Atlanta: a new kitchen and bar in Atlanta that is drawing a lot of interest, most likely due to the fact that the fine folks from Muss & Turner’s have something to do with it, and the fact that Elvis, the Dude, and plenty of pigs are omnipresent there. Related Terms: Local Three cocktail menu

Glass Bottle Chandelier: we’re guessing you weren’t looking for this featuring a lovely chandelier from the Bonny Doon tasting room in Santa Cruz – try this instead

Leon’s Full Service cocktail recipe: we’ve got at least one for you, the Witch Hunt (complete with a helpful video!), and here’s another from Imbibe Magazine. Related Terms: apple cardamom syrup (recipe included in our post), where to get a drink in Decatur Georgia (so many choices – Leon’s, Cakes & Ale, Iberian Pig, BrickStore Pub, and Mac McGee’s among our favorites)

Dahlonega Plateau: ah, the Dahlonega Plateau – home to Georgia’s best wine growing hills and chock full o’ minerals and tourist destinations. Related Terms: Georgia wine, Montaluce, Blackstock

13th colony distillery: A relatively new craft distillery in Georgia, we’ve got some tasting notes for you on their Southern Corn Whiskey, Vodka and Gin, and learn more hereRelated Terms: distillery in Georgia

Ale Yeah Hop City: two great Atlanta beer shops, not sure why you’d search for them simultaneously, but both are worth a visit (or two or three or more). Related Terms: craft beer Atlanta

While there are many more searches we could address, we’ll stop here in the interest of time – it is, after all, the holiday season, and we know you folks are busy. Dear readers, we do hope we have been able to answer some of your most perplexing questions, keep on searching Thirsty South style. Happy holidays!