Beverages

Thanks for Drinking: Craft Beer Sales Rise Despite Sluggish Overall Market

The Brewers Association has just released this year's numbers on U.S. beer sales. If you prefer Manifesto Eagle Rock Wit to Blue Moon (which is owned by MillerCoors) the news is good. Beer sales slowed overall, slipping 1.3% by volume. Within the craft beer industry numbers continued to rise with a ... More >>

American Distilling Institute's 2012 Artisan Spirits Awards Winners

In certain glossy magazine and high-end spirits competition circles, a vodka's photogenic front-page appeal is as important as what's inside the bottle in determining its award-winning value. But with the American Distilling Institute's annual Artisan American Spirits Awards, which were released las ... More >>

L.A.'s Craft Beer Revolution Has Golden State's Jason Bernstein Raising His Pint Glass

5 Best Martinis In Los Angeles

The handful of establishments that made our 5 Best Martinis in L.A. list are not notable for their martini happy hours, Kim Kardashian-friendly accommodations or cute cocktail names. They simply make a fine martini. Vodka or gin, dealer's choice or your choice, depending on how you like to roll on a ... More >>

Drink This Now: Nik's New Orleans-Style Iced Coffee at Single Origin Coffee

Iced coffee might not be at the top of your list of things to drink during these cold mornings, but for those of you who drink cold brews the way Apple fanboys and girls line up and wait for the mothership's newest gadget - that is, in rain or shine - "Nik's Cold Brew" at Single Origin Coffee is a N ... More >>

Amelia Ceja of Ceja Vineyards on Wine With Mexican Food

You've picked out a good Cabernet. What should you serve with it? Beans -- Mexican beans. That's what Amelia Morán Ceja would do. Ceja is the first Mexican-American woman to head a wine production company, Ceja Vineyards. "People never thought to pair wine with Mexican food until we came along," s ... More >>

5 Best Margaritas In L.A.

Ten years ago -- maybe even five years in Happy Hour time -- compiling the 5 Best Margaritas in L.A. would have been a syrupy lime mix task. Now we're awash in so many small batch tequilas and fresh-squeezed lime promises on cocktail menus that the idea of a $100 margarita is somehow (?) not terrib ... More >>

The Barista Who Compared a Coffee to Her Ex-Boyfriends Other Winners at the South West Regional Barista Competition

While some of us were reaching for copious amounts of coffee yesterday to cope with the loss of the hour, the city of Santa Cruz had its fill of caffeine. Over the weekend, more than 40 baristas from California, Hawaii, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado converged onto the beachside tow ... More >>

Happy Hour: Vinoteca Farfalla in Los Feliz

The Place: Vinoteca Farfalla, 1968 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Angeles; (323) 661-8070. The Hours: 4-7 p.m. every day. The Deals: Wines for $5 and $6, beers for $3 and $4, and discounts on the entire menu. The Digs: You might expect Vinoteca Farfalla, a wine bar about equidistant from hot spots The Alc ... More >>

Coca-Cola Freestyle: The Soda Machine of the Future ( the Past)

We have seen it, the promised land. The soda dispenser of the future. A machine so sleek it should be in a technology museum and so smart it can dispense more sodas than you can imagine. If you haven't tasted Peach Mello Yello or Raspberry Coke Zero, have you truly lived? We don't normally go gaga ... More >>

Coffee Common at TED2012: Or, What $7,500 Buys You, Besides Priceless Inspiration

The annual TED conference starts this week at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center for the lucky and the monied who can afford to spend $7,500 to hear inspirational talks by amazing individuals whose titles belie the impact of their work (i.e., "Vulnerability Researcher" Brené Brown; "Expert" John ... More >>

Q & A With Christina Machamer: Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay, Heading to Napa Her Anti-Establishment Wine Tasting Tips

After winning season four of Hell's Kitchen, Christina Machamer became sous chef at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant at the London West Hollywood. But these days, she's traded the rapid-fire kitchen life to become the wine educator and resident chef -- albeit one with limited kitchen opportunities -- at B ... More >>

Colorado Wine Company Celebrates 7 Years

There is no seven-year itch for the Colorado Wine Company. The Eagle Rock wine shop is more popular than ever with customers who are drawn to owner Jen Morgan and John Nugent's all-inclusive approach to selling wine and the unpretentious vibe of their weekly wine tastings. "I would say it's our rel ... More >>

Preview of Handsome Coffee Roasters' Coffee Bar Grand Opening Feb. 15

If you ask Michael Phillips, one of the three co-founders of Handsome Coffee Roasters, how it feels to be opening Handsome Coffee's very own coffee bar on Feb. 15 hosting Handsome Coffee's grand opening party for its very own coffee bar on February 15 (the shop may be officially open to the public s ... More >>

Top 5 Pink Sparkling Wines for Valentine's Day (or Any Day, Really)

Bubbles are the spot-on match for Valentine's Day, and not just the holiday: Champagne and sparkling wine have the ability to elevate even the most ordinary moment. Kick that special moment up notches (Thanks Emeril!) with a rosé. From pale pink to rubyesque, rosé's signature light red color seems ... More >>

10 Best Beer Bars In Los Angeles

With craft beer L.A.'s current unyielding obsession, it seems crazier than a 55% ABV beer that four short years ago that we were celebrating, along with dozens of tube sock-clad homebrew club sorts, the first local bars to land coveted cask-conditioned ales on tap. My how that fedora-topped draft be ... More >>

Ben Flajnik: Winemaker First, TV's The Bachelor Second

Sonoma MagazineIn the vineyard with The Bachelor and partners​Most people dream of quitting their day job to be on TV. ABC's The Bachelor Ben Flajnik says his reality star turn is a means to an end: His heart is in winemaking. (He auditioned for The Bachelorette originally as a way to pursue ... More >>

Meteorito Wine Is Out of This World, Literally

Sure, that nice vintage Cabernet Sauvignon you have sitting in your wine cellar may have notes of dark chocolate and hints of sweet cherries, but does it really taste out of this world? No? Well then, you may want to head to Chile for the Meteorito, a red wine that is infused with the potentially ... More >>

LudoBites 8: The Wine List

LudoBites 8 (with its eminently more sane booking policy) debuted last night, which means a new wine list curated by Domaine LA along with chef Ludo and his wife, Krissy. The big news: the wine list now includes beer and cider (a Normandy cide from Domaine du Manoir in Montreuil, France, to be preci ... More >>

Pinot Days Is Back: How To Fit 80 Wine Producers Into An Airport Hangar A Special Discount

JGarbeeThe Pinot Days Aftermath At Barker Hanger​With so many wine festivals and tastings out there these days, forking over $60 ($54 with the 10% discount code for LA Weekly readers below) seems somewhat excessive for your everyday Chardonnay and Merlot pours. But this is Pinot Days, the ann ... More >>

Glass of Red Wine a Day Could Keep Breast Cancer Away, Says New Cedars-Sinai Research

RadarOnlineDoctor's orders.​Does drinking wine affect a girl's odds for breast cancer? Battle of the studies! Just a couple months ago, Harvard University released some buzz-killing stats showing that "women who drink just four small glasses of wine a week increase their risk of developing br ... More >>

Handsome Coffee Roasters Officially Opening Next Month

Handsome Coffee Roasters hoped to open their Downtown coffee bar right before the holidays, but what was supposed to be an early holiday present to coffee fiends is now a Valentine's Day gift to their fellow coffee lovers instead. According to Handsome Coffee's press release, their coffee bar will ... More >>

Top Hops: Best 5 New Craft Beer Bars of 2011

Over the past few years, sales of mass-produced beer (Bud, Miller, Coors and the like) are down along with housing, investments and other barometers of economic growth. Guess what is not down? Craft breweries. Craft beer bars. Craft beer sales. According to the Brewers Association, which represents ... More >>

Cocktail Book Of The Week: The PDT Cocktail Book A Classic Champagne Cocktail Recipe

With New Year's Eve looming, we're forgoing our usual cookbook of the week in favor of the libation version. Not just any cocktail book, but The PDT Cocktail Book by Jim Meehan and illustrator Chris Gall, the only beverage book that made it into our Best of 2011 "cookbook" list. Yeah, we're already ... More >>

Tony "Tonx" Konecny Launches Roastery Promises to Stay Out of the Way

T. NguyenTony "Tonx" Konecny​Tony "Tonx" Konecny is a bit like the Forrest Gump of recent specialty coffee history: if you look hard enough, chances are you'd find him somewhere on the scene, sipping coffee quietly in the background, observing the events he helped frame. And, even as he is ta ... More >>

10 Best Coffee Shops in Los Angeles

T. NguyenCoffee Commissary​It used to be that you just needed one hand to count all the truly outstanding coffee shops in Los Angeles. Now, thanks to a recent surge of brave coffee geeks-turned-entrepreneurs, you need both hands to tick off all the stellar shops in the city, and maybe that is ... More >>

Far Bar in Little Tokyo: 2011 Most Improved Craft Beer Bar in L.A.

Far Bar Little TokyoSample glasses of craft beer​In a sign of the craft beer times, Far Bar opened in 2006 as a cocktail bar. Over the ensuing five years, it has morphed into a beer and cocktails bar and, in 2011, thanks to the commitment of co-owners Don Tahara and Mike Gin along with manage ... More >>

Boxed Wine That Doesn't Suck: Thinking Inside The Box With Colorado Wine Company

Kathy A. McDonaldDrink wine from inside the box​'Tis the season for imbibing. However with the economy being what it is, 'tis also the season to look for bargains when it comes to holiday wine drinking. For the budget conscious wine buyer, boxed wines are a bargain alternative. However, many b ... More >>

DTLA Barista Throwdown Happening on Monday

T. NguyenA cappuccino and truffle at Demitasse Cafe.​We're not at all convinced that baristas are the new mixologists. We're not even convinced about the word "mixologist," which we can only say after suppressing our gag reflex. Nonetheless, Bobak Roshan's Demitasse Cafe will, on Monday, host ... More >>

Q & A with David Larsen of Haven Gastropub Brewery: Beer Geeks in Pasadena, Adventures in Dry Pork Your Brewmaster as Ukekele Player

Orange County's Haven Gastropub has a reputation for rather maniacally obtaining their mercurial selection of craft brews. On one occasion, Beverage Director Wil Dee took a Smokey and the Bandit-style run up to San Francisco to bootleg a vanload from 21st Amendment Brewery, which has no wholesale d ... More >>

Wine Gifts From The Other Guy, Courtesy Of Your Humble Grower

Ah, the holiday party wine gifting season. That time of year when you'll inevitably spot a bottle of Shafer Hillside Select sporting a shiny red bow among the hostess gifts -- right as you hand over a $19.99 Cabernet you snagged off the Ralph's weekly special list on the way to the boss' house (but ... More >>

Best Afternoon Tea: The Langham Huntington Hotel

Augustus Gloop would never make it out alive. What makes Pasadena's Langham Huntington Hotel the best choice for afternoon tea can be summed up in one word: chocolate. On Sundays from noon to 5 p.m., the hotel's regular tea service, smashing in itself, is replaced by an all-chocolate afternoon tea. ... More >>

The Ristretto: The Lame Duck of Coffee

There was possibly a time, a decade or two ago, when walking into a café and ordering a ristretto instead of an espresso meant something. A bold, strong, tasty version of espresso, maybe. Whatever it meant, it appeared to mean the same thing to the barista and the customer. That time has passed. ... More >>

Dripp "Coffee Boutique" Opens: Intelligentsia Turkish Coffee in Chino Hills

DrippThe interior of Dripp's coffee boutique in Chino Hills.​A few years ago, Rabih Sater was working in the energy industry. A few years ago, the country was mired in a Great Recession, and the energy industry, like most other industries then (and now), slowed down considerably. Rather than ... More >>

Winemaker Q & A With Joel Peterson: On His First Thanksgiving Wine, Atomic Bombs Alice Waters

Joel PetersonThe Young Wine Fiend, Peterson, And His Mom (Center), 1955​Joel Peterson, founder of Ravenswood Winery, isn't exactly the sort of winemaker to veer off the conversation track into lilting conversations about the similarities between playing the bagpipes and making wine. Rather, Pe ... More >>

5 Best New L.A. Coffee Shops: Wake Up

R.E.~/FlickrPourover coffee at Cafe Dulce.​Until recently, coffee barely registered a note in the many love songs to the foods and drinks that have made Los Angeles proud. Sure, great shops like Groundwork Coffee and Jones Coffee Roasters certainly existed here and there, but it was only in th ... More >>

Handsome Coffee Roasters Opening in December

R.E.~/FlickrHandsome Coffee Roasters coffee​ For the coffee lovers in the city, Handsome Coffee Roasters presents an early holiday gift: a December opening date. The coffee company founded by 2010 World Barista Champion Michael Phillips, Tyler Wells, and Chris Owens -- all of whom left top po ... More >>

AeroShot Coffee Inhaler: Snort the Caffeine

Q A With Eva's Gabriella Mlynarczyk: On Leaving NYC Cocktail Life For L.A. The Coastal Mixology Differences

GMlynarczykGabriella Flaming An Orange Peel​What does a former New York City mixologist think of life on the L.A. cocktail circuit? Gabriella Mlynarczyk, now at Eva after nearly 15 years on the New York scene (most recently, she was behind the now-closed Manhattan speakeasy Woodson and Ford), ... More >>

Top 5 Beers from L.A. Beer Week 2011

Far Bar2011 L.A. Beer Week ​ L.A. Beer Week was a 14-day nonstop party that required four days of recovery. But what a blast. Dozens of events at beer bars across Los Angeles were packed with beer fans, new and old alike. After some reflection, we made our picks for the five best beers we tast ... More >>

Mr. Boston's Official Bartender's Guide: How's The 75th Anniversary Edition? A Headless Horseman Halloween Cocktail Recipe

JGarbeeMr Boston's Then (Left) And Now​With more editions than we can guesstimate, the 75th anniversary edition of Mr. Boston's Official Bartender's Guide arrived on our desk with little fanfare (on our end, at least). After all, the book's signature minimalist layout and no-frills recipes are ... More >>

Rum Society: Connoisseurship Made Accessible

On the last Tuesday of every month, downtown's Caña Rum Bar hosts Rum Society, a members-only tasting event that features a rum expert, a rum company representative, and access to some of the finest small-batch rums in the world. September's event featured two plantation rums from Cognac Ferrand, a ... More >>

The Phenomenal Finish to 2011 L.A. Beer Week: Kern River Brewing Company at Far Bar L.A.B.W. Closing Festival at Union Station

Cambria GriffithOfficial 2011 L.A. Beer Week Souvenir Glass​ The spectacular closing weekend of the 2011 L.A. Beer Week features Far Bar hosting gold-medal winning Kern River Brewing Saturday, followed by the L.A. Beer Week Closing Festival featuring over 70 brewers at historic Union Station o ... More >>

Q & A With Far Bar's Jimmy Smith: Little Tokyo's Craft Beer Scene, How Beer Brings People Together Little Tokyo's Beer Week Coming Out Party

Far BarJapanese craft beers available at Little Tokyo's Far Bar ​For decades, Little Tokyo has been a destination for its history, food and art venues alike. But in the last year, Little Tokyo has put itself on the radar for another, more unlikely offering--craft beer. And as the second half o ... More >>

How to Deconstruct a Beer: Firestone XV Anniversary

Firestone Walker Brewing Company, three-time World Beer Cup champion and just named "Mid-Sized Brewery of the Year" at the Great American Beer Festival for an unprecedented third time, is hosting the most innovative event at this year's L.A. Beer Week: "Deconstructed LA." Sean Z. Paxton (aka the H ... More >>

LA Beer Week 2011: Opening Night Kicks Off at Naja's

We love the fact that LA Beer Week is actually two weeks. From the kick off party at Naja's Place on tonight, October 10, through the closing beer festival at Union Station on Sunday October 23, this is an L.A. beer lover's dream month. Each and every day, multiple bars will be hosting "Event Nigh ... More >>

BAM!!! Beer, Art & Music Festival in Santa Monica This Sunday

Brewing craft beer is an art. That's why the name changed from microbrew to craft brew. The Second Annual BAM Fest (Beer, Art & Music Festival) will be held in Santa Monica on this Sunday, October 9, from 1-6 p.m. BAM celebrates the trifecta of locally produced art, music and, most importantly ... More >>

The Top 5 IPAs in the World

Here is the Cliffs Notes version of the three sweetest letters in craft brewing: IPA. The Brits, loving themselves some pale ale, would load up a big, slow ship full of the country's favorite liquid, and send it off to that not-so-tiny colony known as India. Problem was, the beer would go bad by ... More >>

Two Local Brewers Win Big at the Great American Beer Festival

Jason E. KaplanThe crowds converge on GABF​ Over a dozen L.A.-area craft brewers traveled to Denver last week to compete in the 30th annual Great American Beer Festival -- arguably the oldest and most prestigious national beer competition outside of Europe. This year, 526 breweries submitted 3 ... More >>

5 Ways to Make a Damn Good Cup of Coffee

R.E.~/Flickr​ "Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love" was French diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand's perfect cup of coffee. And ours too. Fortunately, that black, hot, pure, sweet cup of coffee requires only the right tool, great beans, water, and the willingn ... More >>