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Rounding Up the Best Rodeo Dining Deals in Houston

With the Rodeo headed to town starting this weekend, plenty of local restaurants are featuring dining deals all season long. We've rounded up some of the biggest steals below, many of which even include parking deals. (And as anyone who goes to the Rodeo will tell you, parking is by far the least en ... More >>

Get Your Head Spinning with a Dreidel Cocktail for Hanukkah

I'm always curious about seasonal traditions that aren't my own, especially for holidays I didn't grow up celebrating. While picking a college friend's brain about Hanukkah food and drink recipes, I randomly inquired about the possibility of a Hanukkah cocktail. "Well," she said, "I can't really th ... More >>

This Week in Food Blogs: Spicy Nuts and Tennessee-Style Barbecue

From the Gutt: Does every wine drinker's palate matter? That's the question posed this week by local wine blogger Tom Gutting, who writes that it's "silly to think that an 'expert' taster's opinion, such as that of Robert Parker or James Laube or James Suckling, should be given dictatorial deference ... More >>

Party Like It's 1799: The Rienzi Punch Party

When I was first approached with the opportunity to cover the MFAH's second annual punch party, I had my doubts about the quality of the libations. As a card-carrying Victorianist, I'm pretty much professionally obligated to scoff at the so-called merits of other historical eras in favor of promoti ... More >>

El Gran Malo Wins the LaB 5555 Mixology Contest at the Houston Museum of Natural Science

At first, I wasn't sure how a drink containing both gin and coconut milk was going to work out. The creamy base is terrific in curries, but in cocktails? Although I watched as 150 people lined up to taste the creation, I remained unconvinced of the Rangoon Social Club that bartenders Angel Belman an ... More >>

Build-A-Bar: Bärenjäger Honey Liqueur

Photo by Nicholas L. HallBears, bait, Battlestar Galactica.​A few days ago on Twitter, I commented on the strange turns my job has taken of late, migrating into areas that fall outside of my actual job description by a good margin. My friend Phaedra and I joked back and forth about it for a wh ... More >>

Build-A-Bar: Allspice Dram

Photo by Nicholas L. HallBack in the saddle, again, courtesy of the Tradewinds Toddy.​I'll excuse you for thinking this column was kaput. It's kind of felt that way. Between a hectic schedule over the past few months and a few cold-and-allergy related palate deaths, I've had neither the time n ... More >>

Five Cocktails You May Prefer to Mix at Home

Photo by John Kiely​Classic cocktails are called that, not because they're old, but because they are delicious. Most of them can be ordered at any well-stocked bar, and some of them--such as a Negroni, Sazerac, or Martini--can be ordered with swagger. However, there's some classic cocktails ... More >>

Spooky Booze: 5 Creepy Cocktails To Get You In The Halloween Spirit

Ahh, October: the time of year when we head to Frankel's/ Party Boy/ Stripper Depot to find our Halloween costumes, fat orange gourds sit outside at Kroger baking in the Houston sun, and every awful (by awful, I mean awesome) '80s horror movie is on AMC. I love everything about Halloween -- falling ... More >>

Pink Gin: Nobody Talks Bad about Plymouth

​In Belize, my friend Kiv taunted an Englishman for sipping a pink cocktail, in a waterside tavern. After some words ending with the trite "You and what army?" the man and his buddies - British SAS commandos on leave from jungle training -- promptly heaved Kiv over a railing, into the cholera ... More >>

Vermouth and the Lost Art of the Aperitif

​Many might think that vermouth should be covered by one of my excellent cocktail blogging colleagues like Nicholas Hall (as a fan of all things Italian, I loved his recent post on Fernet Branca). In the U.S. we only think of vermouth as a liqueur and an ingredient used in cocktails (and somet ... More >>

Build-A-Bar: Fernet Branca

Sometimes, the most boring containers have the most interesting contents.​Fernet Branca is not for everyone. In fact, I think there's a fair argument to be made that Fernet Branca is not for most people. It usually gets a visceral reaction on first taste. I've seen it firsthand. My reaction up ... More >>

Booze: The Southside Mystery

​The Southside cocktail is a quintessential, yet underrated hot weather cooler. It's a refreshingly light mix of gin, mint, lemon or lime, and sweetness, perfect for a summer's evening. The only uncertainty is its birthplace. The most popular claim is that the drink originated in Chicago, durin ... More >>

Upcoming Events

Photo courtesy of Tookie'sAll your honking finally paid off, folks!​It's a busy weekend across the city, from a pub crawl downtown to a flash mob in Clear Lake. But first things first, tickets are still available for the Hats Off to Hospitality gala this Sunday, June 26, at Haven. The gala wi ... More >>

Grand Prize Takes the Grand Prize (and Second Place, Too) at On The Rocks Cocktail Competition

Justin Burrow's tequila tiki cocktail, the Santa Maria Swizzle. See more photos in our slideshow.​Alba Huerta and Cedomil Slokar took home first and second place at last night's On The Rocks cocktail competition, scoring at $1,000 check for Huerta and a double victory for Grand Prize Bar. Both ... More >>

Southwest on Washington

Anyway you spell TQLA, it's fabulous.

Jones Soda Cocktails

Chris Frankel.​Everyone likes to talk about the great presents they receive over the holidays. What often goes unmentioned is the laundry list of crappy gifts out there. You know you got them, likely from some far-flung aunt who just can't believe that anyone wouldn't want a collection of salt ... More >>

Grand Prize's Vieux Carre

Stirred & Shaken: Grand Prize's Vieux Carre

Troy Fields​Compared to other big cities, Houston does not have a hipster problem - if you feel otherwise, either your definition is too broad or you just got off a Greyhound from somewhere like Odessa. Still, when neighborhood sports bar Ernie's closed and news broke that slightly more polish ... More >>

Vintage Cocktails: Tiki Drinks

Brittanie SheyBig Bamboo, served in vintage tall glasses.​Say "tiki drink" to someone unfamiliar with the cocktail style, and they'll often imagine a frozen daiquiri with an umbrella served at some bar where Jimmy Buffett is on repeat and all the patrons wear Tommy Bahama. But the truth is th ... More >>

The Corn N' Oil

​For weeks, we have resisted the urge to write about the Corn N' Oil. After all, this column should be a refuge from the daily stream of petroleum press about the Gulf becoming saturated with incompetence in addition to oil. But the barrage of Kevin Costner clips, BP CEO "Seriously did he just ... More >>

Bobby Heugel's Weekly Cocktail: The Champagne Cocktail

​The champagne cocktail is among the simplest and most enjoyable cocktails around. Those who have never had a champagne cocktail might scoff at the thought of ruining precious champagne with bitters and sugar, but this drink, which has existed for more than 200 years, has plenty to offer. The ... More >>

Bobby Heugel's Weekly Cocktail: The Old-Fashioned

​Despite being one of the world's most iconic cocktails, few drinks are more commonly misunderstood and incorrectly made than the Old-Fashioned. Yes, after four weeks, this cocktail column is finally going to touch a controversial drink. But before anyone angrily storms away to slam nine extre ... More >>

Bobby Heugel's Weekly Cocktail: The Vieux Carre

​People often ask bartenders what their favorite cocktail is, but a good bartender draw out patrons to find out what they like. Still, if there was ever a time for one cocktail to be noted above others, it would be now - following the Saints' Super Bowl victory, Mardi Gras, and the ongoing nationw ... More >>

CHARBAR'S MANHATTAN

Stirred and Shaken: Char Bar's Manhattan

Photo by Troy Fields​Back in 1936, the year Duke's of Hollywood Tailors opened downtown, there were no such things as woo-girls, light beer or house music. Going for a drink meant staking out a stool at a dimly lit bar and ordering a proper cocktail from a man with a white towel draped over hi ... More >>

Whiskey A-Go-Go at Poison Girl

Ever since acclaimed mixologist Bobby Heugel left Beaver's earlier this year, Houston has been eagerly awaiting the opening of his very own bar, Anvil, located on a precarious curve along Westheimer in Montrose.  Alongside Heugel's very unique creations (which are fresh, modern takes ... More >>

FLEMING'S OLD-FASHIONED

Mixing It Up

The world's best chefs have turned their attention to cocktails, with surprising results

Sparkling Leftovers

The five top-scoring champagne cocktails ranked on a scale of 1 to 10

People-Watchin'

The Westheimer Street Fest returns to its rightful home

The Art of the Drink

The Terrace's Cuervo Rox

Chiaroscuro at Churrascos

Churrascos' Pisco Sour

Stirred and Shaken

El Tiempo's Cuba Libre

Stirred and Shaken

Aries's Ernest Hemingway daiquiri

Stirred and Shaken

Brennan's Sazerac cocktail

Stirred and Shaken

La Strada's Fast Eddy

Stirred and Shaken

Champps Americana's Manhattan

Stirred and Shaken

La Griglia's champagne cocktail

Stirred and Shaken

Pesce's Scotch old-fashioned