Category: Atlanta

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Winner, Winner, Whiskey Dinner

I have a confession. Until last night, I had never been to a “whiskey dinner.” Heck, I’ve rarely ever had whiskey with my dinner. Cocktails? Sure. Wine or beer? Most definitely. But whiskey? Neat? At my house, the whiskey typically comes either before or after dinner, not during dinner. (However, “whiskey breakfast” is an altogether different story… )

Well, I must now confess that whiskey can work wonderfully well with dinner. The right whiskey. With the right food. Ideally, in the right restaurant so I don’t have to do all the thinking about what dish goes well with what whiskey myself. And it does require thinking. Whiskey pairing across multiple courses is not as easy as wine or beer pairing, so a thoughtful chef can make a big difference.

I don’t often drink whiskey with my dinner, but when I do, I prefer to be at Empire State South drinking High West whiskey. Yeah, that’s how I roll.

So what about this particular whiskey dinner made it work? First, High West happens to distill (and bottle) some simply wonderful whiskies. Second, the range of their whiskies, from the clarity and slightly yeasty tropical fruit of the Silver Western Oat, to the deep caramel spice of the 21 year old rye, really allows for some intriguing pairings across multiple courses – from light seafood to hearty wabbit (yes, wabbit) to rich dessert. There really aren’t many American distilleries that could provide that type of range at such a high level. Third, we were in the very capable hands of a kitchen and (sous) chef who really dig whiskey and food as happy partners. The real mark of a successful pairing dinner is in how well the dishes and the drinks complement each other and reach a sum greater than their individual parts, and course after course in this meal hit that mark.

I won’t bore you with the details (but, really, the braised rabbit shoulder and ricotta cavatelli with the Double Rye was brilliant, as was the 21 year old rye with the muscovado flan, and…), but this meal showed me that whiskey dinners can be every bit as good as great wine or beer pairing dinners. And if you happen to see another pairing of High West and Empire State South? Winner, winner, whiskey dinner.

Random scenes from the dinner follow, including a few entertaining moments from High West head honcho David Perkins, who presented “10 Things You Really Should Know About Whiskey.”


Thing #10… on the origin of whiskey, or something about men in frocks huddling together closely on a boat…


Thing #7…. I have no idea what this was about, but seeing a squirrel drinking beer will always get the crowd hyped.


Thing #6… this had something to do with High West’s new OMG Pure Rye, but all I could think about was how that guy on the pole could really use a few rounds of rye himself.

Image at top: “The Vicious Circle” – a lovely riff by bartender Kelly Thorn on an Algonquin, with a bit of rye in the background behind some Dolin blanc vermouth, blanc de blancs sparkling wine, pineapple juice, and a touch of caraway.

Full Disclosure: I was at this event as a guest of the distillery.

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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.

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The Eater Atlanta Cocktail HEAT MAP

Be sure to check out the hot-off-the-virtual-presses Eater Atlanta Cocktail Heat Map, penned by yours truly. It’s a selection of ten great places to grab a cocktail RIGHT NOW, this very instant, pronto, before they lose their impressive heads of steam. Alright, you can wait until next week, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

And, by they way, Eater Atlanta is a great place to stay on top of all that’s going on in the world of Atlanta dining, including the ever important topic of Sh!t People Steal. We kid you not.

 

 

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The State of the Atlanta Sipping Scene

Thirsty South has been covering the Atlanta drinking scene for a year now, and we must say that the state of the Atlanta sipping scene is STRONG. Whether you care about coffee, beer, wine, or cocktails, the past year has seen many good things. Here’s our take on the latest and greatest, with as many bad puns as we can fit in.

Coffee Is Roasting Hot, Percolating Wildly, Brewing Beautifully

If you need proof of how good, serious coffee is taking hold of this city, just consider that this past week Octane opened up the latest addition to its expanding empire: a new shop in Grant Park (check out their awesome espresso machine), joining the flagship Octane on the Westside and the mini-Octane “Pocket Bar” at the Bank of America Plaza as beacons of light in the haze of not-receding-fast-enough Starbucks-induced coffee coma. Meanwhile, Steady Hand Pour House is rocking and rolling and settling in nicely over in Emory Village. Empire State South is kicking what has to be the best coffee-bar-inside-an-award-winning-restaurant this side of the Mississippi. And Jason Dominy over at Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters is emerging as one of craft coffee’s leading evangelists, with “coffee ambushes” all over town converting unsuspecting onlookers into Clever Coffee Dripping devotees. All praise the bean. On the downside? Why can’t there be at least one great coffee bar in Buckhead? (Octane, here’s your neighborhood for store number four)

Beer Is Hoppin’ and Growling Ferociously

The beer scene, even more than coffee, has truly gone insane (in a good way) over the past year. No one would have guessed a year ago that fresh growler fills would be available all over Atlanta, from Whole Foods to Hop City to Ale Yeah! to The Beer Growler and what seems like another new place every other week or so. The Beer Growler got growlers going in Athens last December and Hop City led the charge here in Atlanta, and there’s no stopping the trend now. It seems inconceivable that Ale Yeah! wasn’t even around this time last year, but now Atlanta has multiple world class beer shops (Ale Yeah! and Hop City in particular) to join its world class beer bars (The Brickstore and The Porter in particular).  And places like Tower and Green’s have continued to step up with great selections of their own. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s bars and restaurants are putting more effort into their beer lists and supporting our local brewers more than ever. Speaking of… Jailhouse, Red Hare, O’Dempsey’s, Wild Heaven, Monday Night Brewing all hopped heavily onto the scene in the past year. Are you serious?!? This is crazy growth, and thankfully a lot of great beer is being churned out by these local upstarts who are standing proud next to stalwarts like Terrapin and SweetWater. Wild Heaven probably made the biggest splash, and their Avondale Estates brewery will be a welcome addition once they get it up and running, but Jailhouse is showing that they can also play with the big boys and make some of Georgia’s most adventurous beers.

GA Wine Is Winning, Atlanta Wine Shops (& Lists) Are Bubbly & Sparkling

The past year has seen some of Georgia’s wineries continue to impress in competitions and tastings, gaining broader awareness for their quality. Yonah Mountain got some great press for kicking Napa butt in a blind tasting. Wolf Mountain and Frogtown picked up a bunch of gold medals in Los Angeles and from the Tasters Guild International competitions, among many others. Closer to home, on the retail front, exciting boutique wine shops seem to be sprouting up all over town. Perrine’s, Le Caveau and H&F Bottle Shop all opened up in the past year, and all offer passionate perspectives and impeccable selections. They are everything that Total Wine is not, thank goodness. On the wine list side of things, Empire State South (again!?) introduced one of Atlanta’s most exciting lists, full of impressive Burgundy, Riesling and grower Champagne. Who could ask for anything more?

Cocktail Culture Is Strong, the Competition Is Stiff & Spirited

Getting a well made drink around town is easier than ever. Again, restaurants have shown that a bit of attention to their bar program can really pay off. And a spirited community of barkeeps (AKA mixologists) is stoking the collective talent and enthusiasm all around town.  H. Harper Station is our pick for the most noteworthy newcomer on the cocktail front, thanks to Jerry Slater and crew’s purposeful punch bowls and bourbon bravado. Barrel-aged cocktails hit the scene at Iberian Pig and Double Zero. And while Greg Best and team continue to set Holeman & Finch apart from the rest, Miller Union, Cakes & Ale, Abattoir, Leon’s, 4th & Swift, The Sound Table and Pura Vida all continue to churn out serious stuff from behind the bar. It’s a great list, but we could probably name ten more right behind them. Oh, and best use of shochu in a cocktail? Miso Izakaya, hands down. The only regret? That Pappy Van Winkle is just too damn hard to keep in stock.

In summary, it’s easy to see that the sipping scene is sizzling in Atlanta. The public is thirsty for excellence in all its forms, and thankfully we have purveyors, brewers, baristas and more ready to quench that thirst. We’ll drink to that.

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Monday Night Brewing Goin Crazy

Cheers to Atlanta’s own Monday Night Brewing for rolling out their first big time batches of Eye Patch Ale and Drafty Kilt Scotch Ale NEXT WEEK. These guys have been building up to this day for a while now, chronicling the process for public consumption, and you can be among the first to taste these new beers from the keg. Hop City (a Thirsty South favorite) will kick it off on August 8 with growler fills at 5:30PM. Leon’s Full Service in Decatur (another Thirsty South favorite) jumps in the following night, August 9, behind the bar at 6pm. Best wishes to Monday Night Brewing as they take another step towards beer greatness. Check their website for other launch events, or follow them on Twitter.