Cozy Bars and Winter Cocktails
Close your eyes for a moment and picture this scene. It’s a chilly late-fall/early-winter evening. Already, a few flakes of snow have begun to dust the sidewalk.
View ArticleRomantic Drinks Heating Up Winter Nights
"Drink to me only with thine eyes,” wrote the 17th century English poet, Ben Johnson. In his epic poem, “To Celia,” Johnson proclaims a love so intense that he needs nothing more than her loving gaze.
View ArticleBack to the Classics
What goes around comes around, or so they say. That is certainly true of the trend in the local bar scene. “We've moved past the era of the oddly flavored martinis and into a more spirit-driven...
View ArticleMasterful Mixologists
Jerry Thomas, Ada Coleman, and Victor Bergeron – if you recognize the names and know what it is that these folks have in common, then you should be writing this feature rather than reading it. The...
View ArticleThe "Comeback" of Virginia Spirits
On a recent edition of River City Flavor (better known as The Flave, the River City’s only food, beverage, and restaurant radio show),* we asked a couple of the area’s premier bartenders to tell us...
View ArticleRaising the Bar: International Cocktails
Imagine you’re lounging in the middle of nowhere, about an hour outside of Reykjavik, Iceland, in the Silfra Bar, located in the modern ION Luxury Adventure Hotel. As you sip on a cocktail, no doubt...
View ArticleCozy Spots and Hot Drinks for Cold Winter Nights
It was a dark and stormy night. The snow was falling heavily. More than a half-foot was already on the ground. The streets were deserted. Supermarket shelves have been laid bare of milk, eggs, and...
View ArticleRaising the Bar: Moonshine Cocktails
Having grown up in Franklin County in Southwest Virginia, I was pretty excited when we decided to feature moonshine cocktails in this edition of Raising the Bar. You see, Franklin County is, without a...
View ArticleRaising the Bar – Tequila Cocktails
So, this guy walks into a bar and orders a tequila… You thought this was the lead-in to a joke, didn’t you? Funny thing about tequila. Just mention the word and some folks start laughing. Actually, I’m...
View ArticleRaising the Bar – Drinks on the Patio
I was walking down Cary Street one recent starlit evening, and I couldn’t help but overhear the lively conversations of diners sitting on the restaurant patios along the way. It was the relaxed, happy...
View ArticlePut Some Sparkle in Your Cocktails
The popularity of sparkling cocktails is bubbling over these days. True, sales of Champagne are rising, but the primary reason that sparkling cocktails are so popular has more to do with the current...
View ArticleLet’s Do Brunch Cocktails
“Richmonders love to get their brunch on,” said Dave Bender, owner of Caliente Restaurant. He should know. He’s been serving up some delicious brunches for nearly a dozen years. Just why is brunch so...
View ArticleRaising the Bar: New Virginia Spirits
It’s truly amazing to see how the whiskey distilleries have flourished throughout the state over the past few years. There are some excellent distilleries producing some very fine spirits. We asked a...
View ArticleRaising The Bar – Cocktail Trends
I’m constantly amazed at the professionalism of the city’s fantastic bartenders. For this issue, we went in search of some of the cool trends in cocktails. Each of the three bartenders with whom we...
View ArticleRaising the Bar - Beautiful Bars
“You look mahvelous!” I say that with much more sincerity than did Billy Crystal’s Fernando on Saturday Night Live. But, you know what? You really do…look mahvelous.
View ArticleRaising the Bar: A Taste of the Islands
Can you think of a better way to spend a lazy, hazy, crazy day of summer than by relaxing on an island and enjoying a refreshing island-style beverage? Well, we can’t provide the islands (unless you’re...
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