Travel Like a Babe: Whiskey in Phoenix, Arizona

October 30, 2017 ~ Alison Kranz ~ Leave a comment

Well, it hasn’t been a year, but I still feel like a slacker for not posting about our April 2017 trip to Phoenix, Arizona, until now. As it’s starting to cool down into fall, I’m actually looking back on the desert heat with a sense of nostalgia, while simultaneously trying to remember all the amazing spots we checked out six months ago.

BARS

We’d gotten tips on a speakeasy called Melinda’s Alley, and it was so secret we couldn’t even find it the first time we tried! We finally found it on our second evening and were glad to discover they hadn’t been open the night before — making us feel slightly less lame.

The red light above the door is all that gives it away. If it’s on, they’re open.

And the red light continues inside.

Across the street and down the alley is another tucked away spot, Valley Bar, where they have a comprehensive list of Arizona whiskey. Oh, and we also got to play a few rounds of skeeball.

We spent a solid night sidled up to the bar at Honor Amongst Thieves, but only after stopping in downstairs for a drink at Stock and Stable.

RESTAURANTS

We got a tip from a bartender that Crudo served a mean brunch, so how could we say no? I nommed on a giant duck egg (among other tasty things). Don’t worry, their whiskey selection’s on point too.

NON-BOURBON EXPERIENCES

Hands down the highlight of our trip was connecting with Walter Productions, a Phoenix-based group that creates art cars and amazing experiences for Burning Man and beyond.

While we were in Arizona, we got to perch atop Big Red.

And we connected with them on the playa this year to host a “find your spirit animal” whiskey tasting inside their art car, Mona Lisa.

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Travel Like a Babe is a series focusing on whiskey travel tips for destinations around the globe.

Been to any of these spots? Have somewhere we need to check out next time we’re in town? Let us know in the comments.

Travel Like a Babe: Whiskey in Austin, Texas

December 9, 2016 ~ Alison Kranz ~ 2 Comments

When my fellow Babe and I spotted a cheap flight to Austin, Texas, we bought it and forgot about it. As November—and our flight—neared, we had no real agenda for our trip, so we turned it into a whiskey tour. What better way to travel?

DISTILLERIES

Since we didn’t rent a car, we weren’t able to make it to Garrison Brothers Distillery, which is about an hour out of town. But, this spot was highly recommended to us by many, so add it to your list if you find yourself in ATX.

BARS

With live music in the back patio and a full whiskey bar in the front, what’s not to love about The Blackheart? We tried some tasty Texas whiskey there in the form of Kooper Family Rye.

You may miss it at first, but follow the “Cocktails” sign to the lower level of this parking garage and enter into Garage Bar, a concrete oasis if there ever was one.

While underground, we tried some more Texas whiskey. This time Balcones Baby Blue.

While we are on the topic of nondescript entrances: Tucked away on the bustly and otherwise-bro-y 6th Street, you might miss Midnight Cowboy. But make sure you don’t by booking yourself a reservation and ringing the bell for Harry Craddock. Order a stirred cocktail and the bartender will wheel a bar cart over and make your drink table-side.

The Grackle and its whiskey wall are not to be missed. Located in East Austin, this bar is a haunt for industry folks. In fact, we ran into our bartender from Midnight Cowboy while we were there.

The Roosevelt Room has a cocktail menu that spans the decades, literally. You can pick from The Early Years (pre-1880), Turn of the Century (1880–1919), Prohibition (1920–1933), Post-Volstead (1933–1950s), Tiki (1950s–1970s), The Dark Ages (1950s–1990s) [Ed. note: lollll], and Modern Classics (2000s–Present). But, don’t worry, they have regular whiskey too.

RESTAURANTS

In addition to their stellar cocktails and whiskey selection (which is set against the backdrop of a sliding-ladder bar) Péché offers delicious food. Not usually an adventurous meat eater, I tried rabbit, boar, duck, octopus, and mussels and they were all divine. Check out this spread.

We’ll cheers to that.

There’s often a wait at Odd Duck, but never fear: Their brunch cocktail menu will tide you over until you are seated.

NON-BOOZY BOURBON EXPERIENCES

Austin is known for their hot sauce, but we stumbled upon this Kentucky brand in the Tears of Joy Hot Sauce Shop.

Be sure to poke into Uncommon Objects to peruse all sorts of tchotchkes, including a lot of old school whiskey memorabilia.

NON-BOURBON EXPERIENCES

Via 313 Pizza: What can I say? We were in Austin for five days and ate here three times. If that’s not an endorsement, I don’t know what is.
Street Art: Rad murals and other street art abound in Austin. Stroll around at your leisure and see what you stumble upon.

NOT PICTURED, BUT WORTH VISITING

Firehouse Hostel: Slide the secret bookshelf door and enter into a cozy, hidden bar
Small Victory: Yet another parking garage bar, though this one with less of a “garage” feel. Head up the nondescript staircase and find your urban sanctuary.

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Travel Like a Babe is a series focusing on whiskey travel tips for destinations around the globe.

Been to any of these spots? Have somewhere we need to check out next time we’re in town? Let us know in the comments.

Travel Like a Babe: Whiskey in San Francisco, California

May 11, 2016 ~ Alison Kranz ~ 1 Comment

Of course there’s no way to traverse the great whiskey expanse of San Francisco, California, in only one three-day weekend, but my fellow Babe and I headed out on the Megabus and did our best. Don’t worry: We’ll be back.

DISTILLERIES:

We’d been drooling over Seven Stills since we spotted them in Santa Cruz, and jumped at the chance to tour their recently expanded spot in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco.

We tasted their line up of whiskies plus their suite of bitters. All on point!

BARS:

Be a tourist and grab an Irish coffee to complement your breakfast at the Buena Vista Cafe. Just watch out for cream mustaches.

They’re so good you’ll also want to take one to go. And guess what? You can!

We stopped in at Beretta on a whim on our way to BART and ended up staying for a long while. The bartender made us drinks with a hint of magic, and found us the perfect whiskey to match our straight-laced style.

Located on the Embarcadero, Hard Water boasts an immense collection of whiskies. Anywhere that needs a ladder to access all their whiskey is all right by us.

At Nihon Whisky Lounge, try your best to make a selection from the 1,000+ whiskey options. It may seem overwhelming, but your waiter can guide your way. (Bonus tip: Have the chef make you a custom sushi roll. You won’t be disappointed.)

NON-BOURBON EXPERIENCES:

On a tip from a coworker, we swung “underground” to White Chapel, a gin-focused bar, and found none other than our Santa Cruz favorite: Venus Spirits’ Gin No. 02, aged to perfection in whiskey barrels.

If you can make it into the city on a Thursday evening, be sure to swing by the California Academy of Sciences for their weekly Nightlife event. No children allowed, only $12 to get in, and you can have a whiskey while you peruse the museum. We were too busy being astronauts and sleuths for drinks this time, though.

NOT PICTURED, BUT WORTH VISITING

Bourbon and Branch: This famed speakeasy is an Instagram-lover’s sad face, but a whiskey lover’s happy face. Make a reservation and be sure to meet Manny.

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Travel Like a Babe is a series focusing on whiskey travel tips for destinations around the globe.

Been to any of these spots? Have somewhere we need to check out next time we’re in town? Let us know in the comments.

Travel Like a Babe: Whiskey in Sunny San Diego, California

March 19, 2016April 28, 2016 ~ sacbourbonbabes ~ Leave a comment

Two weeks ago, I was fortunate to spend a week in sunny San Diego, which was such a nice vacation from the daily grind. I had a work trip for three days and paired a long three day weekend with my boyfriend for some sun, beer, tacos, and beach. Who wouldn’t want that?! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and weren’t quite ready to leave. We had our fair share of bourbon and beach experiences.

If you ever frequent the sun-filled city of San Diego, California, be sure to hit up some of these spots:

Bourbon

A must-visit is the Gaslamp District in downtown San Diego. We had some delectable drinks and eats at this cute urban bar called Garage Kitchen and Bar. The drink of choice for us was a Bulleit bourbon strawberry basil cocktail.

One of our next stops was to the Stone Brewing Taproom. Even though this is a brewery, they had a bourbon barrel beer that was killer, the Stone xS IPA at an 8.9% abv. Beer -aged in bourbon barrels does beer wonders.

We also frequented the South Park Abbey which was the neighborhood bar near our Airbnb. Of course, bourbon gingers at the South Park Abbey were a must.

Beaches

One of the best and beautiful parts of San Diego are the beaches. We frequented Coronado Beach where we watched the sunset two out of our three nights.

We also visited Mission Beach, where we enjoyed the sun and reading on the beach.

We ventured to Point Loma National Park and viewed the tide pools, surfers, the lighthouse, the whale lookout, and had just spectacular views of the city.

Beer

San Diego is also really well-known for its beer. We decided to do a couple of beer tastings starting at Ballast Point. They had a fabulous tasting menu.

We also visited Coronado Brewing, which had a great beer selection and nachos!

Tourist Tips

Some random tourist finds along the way are what made this trip so fun. Sometimes stumbling upon the fun and funky side of a city is the best. We found the elephant mural in Hilcrest, a cute budding side of town near Balboa Park!

We visited the Crest Cafe, a triple D–diners, drive-ins, and dives! They had a great brunch selection!

If you ever visit San Diego, be sure to try Oscars Mexican Food (in six days, I had it twice). The freshest tacos you will have by far!

Until next time SD! Hope you all get the opportunity to visit this beautiful places one time soon.

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Travel Like a Babe is a series focusing on whiskey travel tips for destinations around the globe.

Been to any of these spots? Have somewhere we need to check out next time we’re in town? Let us know in the comments.

Travel Like a Babe: Whiskey in Santa Cruz, California

January 24, 2016January 24, 2016 ~ Alison Kranz ~ 2 Comments

If you are Working Babes like us, you take advantage of any three-day weekend you get. So, in true Babe fashion we decided to skip town and head to Santa Cruz, California, for the long MLK Jr. Day weekend. And boy, are we glad we did.

We’d done a little research before setting out, but hadn’t had much luck in terms of Santa Cruz whiskey tips. Luckily, once we got to town we made friends with some locals who let us in on a few hot spots, and we figured it only fair to share the knowledge!

DISTILLERIES:

Venus Spirits was our main pre-meditated destination on our Santa Cruz adventure, thanks to a handy 7×7 article we stumbled across ahead of time. We reached out to Venus and the owner, Sean, offered to have us in for a tasting and tour.

We tried their suite of gins, agaves, and whiskeys, and had a hard time picking a favorite! They offer a rye and single malt whiskey (with bourbon coming soon), and their Gin No. 2 and El Ladrón Reposado are aged in whiskey barrels, giving them that amber color and hint of whiskey flavor.

Tastings are $15 a flight and you get to keep the glass.

BARS:

Our first night in town, we took a tip from our Airbnb hostess and headed to 515 Kitchen & Cocktails. Smartly, we also listened to the lady we sat next to at the bar who let us in on a little secret: We could tell the bartender what we liked in a cocktail and he’d make us a custom drink. Yes, please! They charge you for whatever alcohol you get, plus $3 for the creativity.

We ventured into Hoffman’s Downtown the next rainy afternoon, and the bartender treated us to a sample of Seven Stills’ Fluxuate and Chocasmoke. Hoffman’s stocks many other whiskey options as well, including local favorites from Venus Spirits.

If you want to take a break from the whiskey, check out Poet & Patriot. An Irish pub with live music, it’s a cozy spot to relax for a pint and a listen. Not to mention, they have the most interactive coasters we’ve ever seen.

Also check out: The Red Room. We enjoyed too many Michter’s while we were there to be bothered with pausing for pictures, but with over 100 whiskeys, this bar is worth a stop-in. Be sure to mosey downstairs for the more mellow crowd.

NON-BOOZY BOURBON EXPERIENCES:

Verve Coffee makes a mean whiskey latte using house-made Bulleit simple syrup.

Also check out: The inspiration for Verve’s whiskey latte, The Penny Ice Creamery, and their whiskey custard ice cream. We didn’t make it in to try the ice cream, but it’s on the list for next trip.

BONUS TRAVEL BABE TIP:

Pack your own Duke’s Meats jerky to tide you over in between meals, but don’t leave it where the cat can get it.

Travel Like a Babe is a series focusing on whiskey travel tips for destinations around the globe.

Been to any of these spots? Have somewhere we need to check out next time we’re in town? Let us know in the comments.