Travis Dhonau and Lia Mathsen relax in the bar-side pool at Float Pool & Patio Bar in Galveston with a Blue Chair Bay Coconut Rum Boozy Smoothie. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds

Ice cream drinks grow up with a boozy kick

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General Manager Nick Stephenson places a strawberry on the rim of a chocolate-covered strawberry martini, which features infused strawberry vodka. Photo by Kelsey Walling

How bartenders are using fruits, flowers and veggies to enhance cocktails

For too long, chefs and restaurateurs have been hogging the garden.

In the past decade or more, they’ve seized on the slogans “Farm to Table” and “Garden to Table,” to the point one would think eating is all farms and gardens are for.

Well, guess what: All those fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs you’ve been hoarding aren’t just for tables. This is the era of “Farm to Bar” and “Garden to Bar,” and it’s every bit as tasty, if not more. [Read more…]

The Cookout cocktail at Stingaree Restaurant & Marina in Crystal Beach features tequila, rye whiskey and barbecue sauce. Photo by Kelsey Walling

Sauce and smoky flavors bring the outdoor barbecue to your glass

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Bartenders at Daiquiri Time Out, 2701 Market St. in Galveston, will be serving a cocktail made with egg whites this spring. The drink, Ashes to Ashes, is made with Magdalena rum with passion fruit juice and fresh lemon juice, egg white and strawberry syrup, then topped with an image printed with edible ink. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds

You can’t make a creamy cocktail without breaking a few eggs

Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister of England, might have made the best observation when she said, “It may be the cock that crows, but it’s the hen that lays the eggs.”

She was talking about gender contributions, of course, but she could just as well have been propped on a bar stool contemplating her mixed drink. [Read more…]

When Lent and Valentine’s Day collide, embrace the mocktail

February this year is going to be the most interesting of months for imbibers. [Read more…]

Many lovers of fine whiskey prefer to chill their drinks with ice spheres. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds

Cubes, spheres, pebbles or rocks — frozen water is elevating the cocktail

On Jan. 13, 1205, the temperature in London dropped so low the Thames froze thick enough to walk over and ale and wine in warehouses turned to solid ice and were sold by weight until they finally thawed.

From that day forward, the British regarded Jan. 13 as the coldest day of the year. As a historical side note, however, it was another 750 years before the British allowed ice in their cocktails. [Read more…]

Bartender Sage Sharp pours a Box of Chocolates cocktail at Preamble Lounge & Craft House in Webster. Photo by Stuart Villanueva

When drinking is like a box of chocolates

Chocolate has been popping up in cocktails for almost as long as there have been holidays. There is mention of chocolate liqueurs as early as the 1600s in France, and in this country, a beverage known as “chocolate wine” was popular during the 1700s. [Read more…]

How a long slandered spirit found favor again at the bar

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a most non-ordinary man named Dr. Pierre Ordinaire who created a green fairy. [Read more…]

The Harvey Wallbanger, a mid-century cocktail made with orange juice, vodka and Galliano, saw a slight bump in popularity during the hurricane with the same first name. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds

It’s too soon to name a drink after Harvey, but old standbys will do

What do hurricanes, tropical storms, cyclones and cocktails all have in common? Most come with a splash and often result in major headaches. [Read more…]

Kelly Railean, owner and master distiller of the Railean Distillery in San Leon, pours a Railean Distillers’ Jalapeño-Pineapple Margarita at the distillery’s Buccaneer Bar. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds

How the fermented juice of an agave plant became the liquid love of Texas

Tequila is living the American dream. Dirt poor to silver spoon.

Here’s something that began life in a scrappy, spike-covered, desert shrub, then acquired a long history of disreputable associations with bandits and border town roustabouts, yet somehow has become second only to oil as the liquid love of Texas. [Read more…]