Category Archives: We Love Drinks

A bi-weekly feature on drinking. Sometimes about Drinking.

Food and Drink, Special Events, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Rickey Month

July is Rickey Month in DC

Close your eyes and imagine life in our fair city over one hundred years ago. Imagine it was a week like we’ve had, a scorching heat wave, in your restrictive starched collar or corset – and there is no relief in sight, no air conditioned buildings to dart in. Sweat is dripping down the back of your neck, the small of your back. You need something refreshing. Now.

Enter the Rickey – “an air conditioner in a glass,” as Derek Brown termed it last night at a Columbia Room seminar on the history and making of our very own native cocktail. Wait, DC has its own cocktail? Indeed. July is Rickey Month, in its third year designated by the DC Craft Bartenders Guild to celebrate and spread the word on a very simple yet heat wave essential drink. All month long bartenders around the city are debuting their unique versions of the classic Rickey, culminating in a competition at The Passenger on Monday, August 2 at 6:30pm. The event is $10 at the door (including a free Rickey), and you can pick up a “Passport” at any of the competing bars and restaurants this month to try as many of the versions as you can before the contest (get ten stamps on your Passport and you get in free). As Guild President Owen Thomson says, “The Rickey is our native cocktail and designed to combat hot, muggy DC summers. We hope to pay tribute to both our history and future as a great cocktail city, as well as helping everyone stay cool.”

I think we can all get excited about that this month! So let’s explore the background of DC’s historical cooler, find out who the contestants are, and learn what makes a classic Rickey so special. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, We Love Drinks
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Friday Happy Hour: Moonshine Iced Tea

Photo courtesy of
‘Easy Day’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’

Welcome to the Friday Happy Hour, your single drink primer for the weekend.

For this holiday weekend which proudly celebrates our American independence, it might be treasonous to suggest you head over to British gastro-pub AGAINN for your happy hour, but there are two words guaranteed to make me do a happy dance in the world of drinks – tinctures and tea. Add moonshine, and well, say no more.

Ace bartender JP Caceres showed me how they are serving up a Moonshine Iced Tea cocktail with inspiration coming from the past – traveling medicine shows where old wives’ wisdom in the form of specially crafted tinctures cured all ails. Your bartender will mix up the base – 1 oz of your liquor choice, 1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 oz simple syrup, and a highball glass is filled with crushed ice and tea. Here’s the fun part – you then get to choose from several different tea-based tinctures with delightful names (like Happy Tummy, Dawn Chorus, Easy Day) splashing a few drops into your drink to your own taste. The idea is to use some old-fashioned knowledge to self-medicate and experiment with different tastes depending on your mood. The results are lovely – flavors ranging from herbal, floral and vegetal with the alcohol just a side note to tea’s invigorating kick.

Ok, that sounds tempting Jenn, but what the heck are tinctures anyway?
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Entertainment, Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Dive Bars

Photo courtesy of
‘9946-27Crop’
courtesy of ‘furcafe’

With the amazing renaissance of our drinks culture in DC – the craft cocktail movement, the wine bar explosion, and the expanding beer consciousness all facing off against the slick corporate engines looking to make big bucks off bottle service and velvet ropes – it’s easy to overlook the plain ol’ dingy dive bar. But there’s a seedy side to the world of drinks in our fair capital city. And I love it.

What makes a dive bar? Can you really define it? Imagine you were a production designer for a crazy independent filmmaker, would you know what elements to include? Some might say DC is too Type A to have real dive bars, but the sleazy underbelly of politics proves that wrong. With so many bright-eyed babies coming here to “make it big” there’s bound to be a lot of disappointment. Not everybody’s a winner. And the dive bar thrives on losers.

Depressed yet? Good. Relish it. That’s part of the dive bar too. You’ve got to inhale that sick aroma, ripe from years of iqos dubai cigarette smoke and body odor, squint as you enter almost total darkness or excruciatingly bad fluorescent lighting, belly up to the bar and order a shot. Now look around. Let’s see what we have here.
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Alexandria, Business and Money, People, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: The Birth of a Brewery

Photo courtesy of
‘Port City Pale Ale’
courtesy of ‘rabid_c’

I obviously think the world of DC, but there’s one thing I’ve always thought the metro area lacked: a brewery.  There are a myriad of beer nerd restaurants, places like ChurchKey, Brasserie Beck and Birreria Paradiso, that quench the appetites of a pretty decent sized population of aficionados. Small, well respected breweries make it a point to export to the DC area because the market is so ripe for well crafted beers.  It seems like the perfect place to open a brewery.  More over, it seems like the sort of place a local would start brewing on his own, generate a following and eventually establish a successful brewery.  Thankfully, Port City Brewing Co. is making this a reality.

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Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Columbia Room

The Columbia Room. Photo credit: Max Cook.

Imagine a little room removed from the crazy world outside – an oasis of peace entered through a busy bar. Jars of spices line the walls, while chunks of the most pristine ice you’ve ever seen are gently melting in a wooden hangiri bowl, waiting to be carved up. Bottles stand neatly at the ready, watched over by a dapper gentleman sporting a perfect bowtie. This is the Columbia Room, and for a few blissful hours prepare to be transported to drinks nirvana, as Derek Brown brings you a “cocktail club” nestled inside The Passenger. It’s like a spa for spirit lovers, evoking a true intimacy almost lost to us in these hectic times.

I’ve been eager to try out the Columbia Room since I first heard whispers of its concept, unintentionally eavesdropping on co-owners and brothers Tom and Derek Brown before The Passenger ever opened, and it’s no secret that later The Passenger quickly became one of my favorite bars. So it was with much anticipation that I finally entered this gentle yet meticulous environment on two occasions last week – once for a class and once for service – and I can’t think why I wouldn’t be back again and again.

As with The Passenger, there’s no attitude here. All you need to get in is to find a open slot on the online reservation system and hold it with a card. You’ll be called ahead of time to confirm and review any preferences. There’s a four person maximum to each reservation, and the prixe fixe menu of $49 (tax and tip inclusive) includes a welcoming glass of champagne, the nightly cocktail paired with a small plate, and a customized cocktail. There are also weekly classes by Derek Brown and Kat Bangs for $65 covering all aspects of crafting cocktails. I had a wonderful time at Kat’s recent champagne cocktail class, learning how to make my own blackberry liqueur and sugar cubes. Both service and class are well worth it.

So, let’s decompress into cocktail transcendence…

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The Features, The Great Outdoors, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Memorial Day BBQ

Photo courtesy of
‘Beer and burger’
courtesy of ‘Magnus D’

I hope that you’ll grill this weekend. To me, that’s what Memorial Day is all about. I don’t dream of stepping on any family tradition or intruding in any masculine domain by suggesting what you should grill and how you should grill it. That’s counter productive, in my mind. Besides, I’m no grill master, myself. I’ll leave that to better and braver souls. I want to talk to you about what you should drink this weekend. It’s easy just to run out to the grocery and pick up a 12 pack of Bud Light and some cheap white wine for your Memorial Day bar-b-que. In fact, that’s probably what most of America will do on Monday, but most of America won’t enjoy their tasty beverage nearly as much as you will, oh informed reader that follows my advice. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, We Love Drinks
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Friday Happy Hour: Cool Hand Cuke

Photo courtesy of
‘Cucumber Cocktail’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’ 

Welcome to the Friday Happy Hour, your single drink primer for the weekend.

Last month Samer and I were treated to a sneak peek of the incredibly refreshing cocktail Owen Thomson would mix up to inaugurate the “Farm to Glass” program in his new role at Cafe Atlantico. Beginning tonight, you can try it too. Called the Cool Hand Cuke, it has a beautiful green hue quirkily topped by a baby cucumber blossom. Perfectly balanced between vegetal and spice flavors, it features SubRosa Tarragon Infused Vodka, Black Rock Farms Baby Persian Cucumber Juice, black pepper and thyme juice and “Dr. Thomson’s” spiced liquor #2.

The “Farm to Glass” program is part of Cafe Atlantico’s Farmers’ Market Dinners, a three-course menu (priced at $45) sourced from the Penn Quarter FRESHFARM market by newly appointed head chef Richard Brandenburg and served every Friday evening during market season. The “Farm to Glass” cocktail program will complement the dinners and their seasonal ingredients.

A green cocktail for a green program. Sip up what Samer called “summer in a glass,” and don’t forget to eat the baby cucumber garnish too – it’s part of the fun!

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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Drinks Special: French Wine Tasting

Photo courtesy of
‘Bistro Lepic 01’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

Last Saturday afternoon, a small group of us were lucky to attend a wine tasting at Bistrot Lepic, courtesy of managing partner Cyrille Brenac. Tucked into a cosy sun-drenched room at the back of the upstairs wine bar, far from the chaos of the crowds on Embassy Row, fellow WLDC author Max and I joined a few readers to learn more about French wine from one of the top authorities in the city. Sampling eight wines in two hours – four whites and four reds from various regions in France – we came away more comfortable on the subject and eager to learn more.

Throughout, I was amazed by the vast knowledge Cyrille shared and though I’ll try to hit the highlights, I can’t hope to replicate it. Luckily, every Tuesday evening from 6pm to 9pm, you can attend a complimentary wine tasting there yourself and I highly recommend it.

So, where to start… How about the mystery behind how you actually taste wine? What are you supposed to do when the glass is placed before you? What about that pesky cork? Continue reading →

Entertainment, Food and Drink, Special Events, The Features, We Love Drinks
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Drinks Smackdown! Beer vs. Wine 2

Photo courtesy of
‘Glorious Cheese’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

When last we met for an epic drinks smackdown back in March, fellow WLDC author Kirk and I had our preconceived notions of which paired better with food – wine or beer – challenged and in some cases totally overthrown. I left with a heightened appreciation for beer and a fascination with the subject of food pairings. So when I was invited to attend National Geographic Live’s A Come to Cheeses Moment: Wine vs. Beer event, where beer and wine would duke it out over best pairing with cheese, it took little to convince me.

Wouldn’t you know that earlier in the day I was advised to kick the dairy habit for two weeks thanks to suspected lactose intolerance (my reaction? censored!). So my second drinks smackdown fittingly became farewell to my beloved cheese. Forgive me then if this reads more as an ode to cheese than to drinks! Sigh. I inhaled deeply as I entered the Grosvenor Auditorium at the National Geographic headquarters, redolent with the stinky glorious aroma, ready to say good-bye.

It was a packed house, and we were incredibly lucky in our three distinguished (and humorous) presenters – Steven Jenkins, Joshua Wesson and Nick Funnell. Both Jenkins and Wesson are regular on NPR’s The Splendid Table – Jenkins is the first American to win the prestigious title Chevalier du Taste Fromage and Wesson is the author of Red Wine With Fish and a top sommelier, having opened Best Cellars in 1996. Funnell is the brewmaster for the Great American Restaurants chain and a winner at the Great American Beer Festival. They had an amazing depth of knowledge that I can’t hope to replicate, but I’ll try to give you a taste.

All of the cheese served was from raw milk, and Jenkins did point out that he had chosen obscure cheeses which might be difficult for us to get ourselves (you’ve just been challenged!). The price point of the wine was very reasonable, Wesson indicated, around $15 a bottle. Funnell had picked all local beers at roughly $7 a pint.

So let’s dive in! Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, We Love Drinks
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Give me that Prohibition Beer

Photo courtesy of
‘Interior of saloon, Everett’
courtesy of ‘UW Digital Collections’

This is a shameful moment for me.  Coors, the brewer that brought us the swill that’s “as cold as the Rockies” has developed a beer that I’m a touch excited about.  Maybe excited is too strong a word.  I’m intrigued. Batch 19, a new lager from Coors, is being tested in DC at a few select locations.  The beer is modeled off of a pre-prohibition era recipe and promises “a bold hoppy flavor that is surprisingly well balanced.” DC is one of five cities in the country that Batch 19 is being shipped to, so, at the very least drinking it will be a unique experience.  As to the actual quality of the brew, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. You can get Batch 19 starting this month at Iron Horse, the Saloon, 18th Amendment and We the Pizza.

Adams Morgan, Food and Drink, News, The Daily Feed, We Love Drinks
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Fat Tire Comes to DC

Photo courtesy of
‘”Fat Tire” – San Francisco’
courtesy of ‘adamjackson1984’

I’ve heard rumors that New Belgium was going to start shipping their famous Fat Tire beer out East, and it seems those rumors are true. The GOG reports that the Black Squirrel in Adams Morgan snagged some bottles of the famous ale, along with a few other varieties from New Belgium. Up till now, North Carolina was about the closest place you could get Fat Tire and I’ve heard of many a beer aficionado making a point to grab a few cases when they were down that way.  Me, I’ve never had it, so I’m heading to the Black Squirrel tonight to try some, as I hear quantities are limited.

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Owen Thomson

Photo courtesy of
‘Owen’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’

We Love Drinks continues our series where we look behind the bar, profiling the many people – from mixologists to bartenders, sommeliers to publicans – who make your drinks experience happen.

Owen Thomson has an interesting tattoo on his arm. His sister points it out to me as we sit at Cafe Atlantico’s bar, while he rustles up a selection of cocktails both old and new. “Abandon Hope All Who Enter Here” scrolls across his forearm, the inscription above the gates of Hell in Dante’s Inferno. Not an atypical tattoo choice perhaps but as the story behind it unfolds, it seems there’s nothing typical about the man now helming the bar at Jose Andres’ “nuevo latino” restaurant.

A native Washingtonian, creator of the cocktail program at Bourbon in Adams Morgan, president of the DC Craft Bartenders Guild, with studies in archaeology and the law under his belt – all this might make you expect that Owen would have a bit of an extreme Type-A vibe about him. But instead he’s completely down-to-earth, with a dry wit and a passion for educating both consumers and restaurants about the glories of fresh ingredients. Fellow WLDC author Samer and I sat down with him one Saturday afternoon to find out more about Owen’s plans for his new role behind the bar at Cafe Atlantico, and what happens when you mix the molecular gastronomy of Minibar with a rare 1950’s cocktail book…

“I want to turn this into a smoke and a fog and they said ‘oh yeah we can do that.’ Cool!”

Cool indeed.
Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Dickson Wine Bar

Photo courtesy of
‘Dickson Wine Bar’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

Dickson Wine Bar has been open for a few weeks now, occupying a three story brick building opposite Nellie’s. It’s got a rather nondescript industrial look outside, save for the old stone plaque “Dickson BLDG 903 You” from which the bar took its name. I walked by one night in late March, noticing the sexy candlelit interior, and vowed to hit it as soon as possible. I’ve been back twice and can say it will definitely become a regular stop for me from now on. You can’t beat having a bar like this five blocks from your house!

It certainly has a great pedigree – the owners are Tien Claudio (with her husband and DC legend Eric Hilton) and Steve Kaufman (with his husband Fred Paxton), all locals living in Adams Morgan. They wanted to create a friendly neighborhood bar, and that’s the vibe here – residents, workers, Howard University students – everyone’s mingling nicely in an atmosphere that manages to be both adult and fun. As my friend who lives a block away puts it aptly, “the clientele seemed more interested in the food and drink than in finding potential spouses.”

And that food and drink is definitely a draw. Executive chef James Claudio (who also helms the kitchen at Marvin) has dedicated the food menu to local ingredients, and the wine list designed by Jarad Slipp, restaurant director at Cityzen, features organic and biodynamic selections. Rounding out the team is Tom Street, who created the cocktail program and selected the beers. Tom told me they are planning on changing the entire beverage program “quite often,” and in keeping with the eco-conscious theme, the food menu will also change seasonally. Everyone on staff is incredibly personable and helpful, which imbues the bar with a kind of care and love that’s really striking.
Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Interviews, People, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Joe Riley

Photo courtesy of
‘Joe Riley, Ace Beverage’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

We Love Drinks continues our series where we look behind the bar, profiling the many people – from mixologists to bartenders, sommeliers to publicans – who make your drinks experience happen.

So far in our profile series we’ve focused on the people bringing your drinks to you – from bartenders crafting cocktails to sommeliers creating a wine list. But who brings the drinks to them? Those ingredients don’t just magically appear, do they? One name kept coming up over and over again – Joe Riley, fine spirits manager at Ace Beverage. I ventured up to leafy Wesley Heights (near AU) to meet him at the small but packed shop in Foxhall Square. We talked about his experiences as a fine spirits manager, and I also canvassed DC craft bartenders Owen Thompson and Derek Brown, along with cocktail enthusiast Marshall Fawley, to find out what it is about Joe that has loyal customers so buzzed.

Joe’s reputation is that he can find anyone anything. Within a few minutes of talking to him, I’d mentioned my nostalgic love for a rose liqueur I tasted one evening in Paris, topping a glass of champagne (the waiter exploded the bottle over me, but that’s another drinks story). “Not rose water, rose liqueur,” I sighed, “but no one has ever been able to – ” Joe’s head had cocked to one side during my reverie, eyes sparkling, and I trailed off as I realized he was about to make magic. “Crispin’s Rose Liqueur, Greenway Distillers. Hand distilled from apples, infused with rose petals. Crispin Cain’s been perfecting the recipe for years. We should be able to get that soon.”

Quest ended. Just like that. I then spent about an hour in the shop listening to him weave tales of liquor lore. Not only can he find anyone anything, he seems to know about everything – a fine spirits encyclopedia, a libation historian, filled with tales of Prohibition and the Washington of old. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, We Love Drinks
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Friday Happy Hour: Peep of View

Photo courtesy of
‘Peep of View’
courtesy of ‘rabid_c’

Welcome to the Friday Happy Hour, your single drink primer for the weekend.

There aren’t a ton of holiday specific drinks out there, and pretty much the only ones that do exist are Christmas drinks.  POV at the W Hotel has stepped in to remedy this with their new Easter themed cocktail, the “Peep of View.”  It’s a concoction of vodka, grapefruit juice, cranberry, and St. Germaine, topped off with champagne and garnished by a Peep.  As you can imagine, it’s sweet and fruity and drinking it was a severe test of my masculine security. As over the top as a Peep garnished cocktail sounds,  it’s an altogether pleasant drink. House squeezed juices give it a freshness that pairs perfectly with open air on the rooftop at POV. Not to mention that food and beverage director Robert Sabin wouldn’t let anything pass from his shop that wasn’t well constructed.  He even took into account how the marshmallow from Peep garnish would affect the flavor of the drink.  This weekend, consider the season.  Have your self a Peep of View at the W (but remember to get a reservation before you go).  Happy Easter!

People, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Thor Cheston

Photo courtesy of
‘Thor, Over Processed’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’

We Love Drinks continues our series where we look behind the bar, profiling the many people – from mixologists to bartenders, sommeliers to publicans – who make your drinks experience happen.

When I sat down with Thor Cheston, the beer director at Brasserie Beck, our conversation centered on the future.  Not that I necessarily meant for this to happen, it just did.  Frankly, the future’s an exciting place.  The future is place where beer is wine’s equal (almost).  The future is a place where beer de cuisine is an art form.  The future is a place in which DC has a local brewery (!!!). Thor wants to be at the center of this future, making sure that everything happens according to plan.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Special Events, The Features, We Love Drinks
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Drinks Preview: ARTINI

Erik Holzherr of Wisdom's ARTINI. Photo credit: T. Silva. Courtesy of the Corcoran ARTINI 2010 Committee.

This Saturday the Corcoran Gallery of Art presents ARTINI, and if you’ve been waffling about attending I hear there are roughly less than 100 tickets still left, but going fast and not available at the door. So jump!

ARTINI is a fabulous event mixing two of my favorite things – art and cocktails. Twelve local mixologists have created drinks inspired by works in the current exhibit at Corcoran, A Love of Europe: Highlights from the William A. Clark Collection. Preview events featuring the submissions have been ongoing this month (I know, I know, I should’ve told you earlier, mea culpa, it’s been a crazy time lately). Tonight you can sample Art & Soul and tomorrow try out Rasika from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the respective restaurants. The Washingtonian is a co-sponsor and handles the voting, with the winning artini announced Saturday. The inspiration works will be on display that night as well.

The cocktail reception runs from 8pm to midnight, with $85 tickets for 1869 Society members and $100 for non-1869 Society members. That includes a cocktail bar, music by DJ Chris Nitti, and tours of both the Clark exhibit and Turner to Cezanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection. Proceeds support ArtReach, which provides free high-quality arts education programs to underserved communities in DC.

So many mixologists already take their inspiration from art. It’s a natural collaboration. Here’s a quick rundown of who’s on board and a few teasers to get you in the mood. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, People, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: The St. Regis Bar

Photo courtesy of
‘Adour 11’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

Of all the venerable hotel bars that this city offers, the one that never really spoke to me was the St. Regis Library Lounge. With an air that screamed lobbyist power broker, it just never provided the quirky elegance that I find essential in a grand old hotel. That changed for me this past autumn when I popped in for a look before the most scrumptious Thanksgiving meal ever (if you have a serious special occasion coming up, go to Adour, it’s incredible). I knew the hotel had been renovated but I assumed it would be more of the same. Wrong.

The Bar at the St. Regis (its official name) is soothingly decorated now in shades of violet and grey, adding Art Deco touches like crazy 1960’s biomorphic light fixtures to a 40-seat room dominated by an intensely elaborate Italianate ceiling. Lacquered, metallic, mirrored surfaces abound. It’s simply gorgeous, but not overwhelming. You can easily tuck into a soft corner and broker your deal or impress your date. As for the drinks, they’ve undergone a change too. Sure, there’s the high-end madness one might expect (Remy Martin’s Black Pearl Magnum, anyone? $1,926 – the year the hotel opened – for a two ounce pour out of the only bottle in DC…).

But you can also have a little luxury for less, and enjoy some wacky molecular mixology too! Continue reading →

The Features, We Love Drinks, We Love Food, We Love Music
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St. Patrick’s Day: What’s the craic?

Irish banneSign of the times at Bottom Line by Corinne Whiting

St. Patrick’s Day seems to fall at a good time of year—just after we’ve groggily “sprung forward” and just as we’ve been teased out of our winter hermit holes by the sweet promise of spring. Winter vacation seems a lifetime ago; Memorial Day beach treks couldn’t feel farther out of reach. Truth be told, we’re ready for some good craic.

This holiday always seems an ideal time to check in with Irish mates I haven’t properly caught up with since my last trip to Éire. I write friends based in happenin’ Dublin and off “busy” getting sunburned in fabulous places around the globe to wish them a happy Paddy’s Day. (Note: if you accidentally let slip “St. Patty’s Day,” prepare to be scolded for incorrectly feminizing the legendary saint!) This year I surveyed my friends’ March 17 plans, knowing that the night before would be the big night out thanks to a national holiday on St. Patrick’s Day. Over there March 17 seems a day, at least for my friends, to take it easy—catching up over pints and coffees, cycling into the country and, most importantly, avoiding the chaos of city centre. The downtown Dublin parade, it seems, can be saved for the kids and tourists.

So what then does March 17 (unfortunately not a holiday here) mean for Washingtonians? Perhaps the Obamas will dye the White House fountain green again (touch wood). And while the holiday will no doubt give venues an excuse to charge covers to droves of bar goers on a random Wednesday night, it will also give bar goers an excuse to spend a Wednesday night clinking glasses of green beer, downing Irish car bombs and flaunting real or feigned ancestry (“Kiss Me, I’m Irish” buttons, anyone?). It’s also a day when cultural traditions get a wee bit muddled here in the “melting pot” of America—Scottish and English customs become Irish; anything Celtic goes….

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, We Green DC, We Love Drinks
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Friday Happy Hour: Guinness

Photo courtesy of
‘christmas eve’
courtesy of ‘volcanojw’

I know that St. Patrick’s Day isn’t until next week, but let’s be honest, it’s on your mind.  So, why drink anything other than Ireland’s finest: Guinness Stout. I don’t feel like I need to expound upon the flavor and richness of Guinness as I’m sure that everyone has tried it.  But, lest anyone fear that the upcoming holiday may contribute to growing waistlines, let me assure you that Guinness will not be the culprit.  It is a wonder beer, of sorts.  Despite it’s thick texture and powerful flavor, Guinness stout is actually very light.  It actually has fewer calories that Coca Cola.  In fact, there is evidence to suggest that may be healthy, if drunk in moderation.

Another fun fact: the great-great-great-grandson of Arthur Guinness is a local.  Os Guinness, who is a prolific author/critic/theologian lives in McClean.  So, this weekend drink for your health, drink for our local Guinness family member, and most of all, drink for St. Paddy’s Day.