Hey Bartender

I've received several questions over the past few weeks, so I thought that I'd answer a few for this week's post:

Brian, what is your all-time favorite drink (wine doesn't count)?

I'm going to assume that this question refers to my all-time favorite alcoholic beverage. The answer is pretty easy. I love Guinness Stout. I like beer a lot and I'm always trying new beers all the time. I just recently sampled a beer from Breckenridge Brewery called 471 IPA. It's a big beer with a lot of hoppiness. I enjoyed it, but there is absolutely no substitute for Guinness Stout. It's smooth and light with a hint of chocolate. You cannot go wrong by bringing me a Guinness Stout. I'm looking forward to trying the 250th Anniversary Stout brewed to commemorate 250 years of brewing one of the most recognizable products in the world and my all-time favorite drink -- Guinness Stout.

Can keg beer taste good?

This is an excellent question. Believe it or not, keg beer tastes better than bottled or canned beer. That's because keg beer doesn't require pasteurization or filtering before it's kegged. That means that most of the original flavor of the beer after it is brewed is retained. Beer that is bottled or canned must undergo pasteurization and filtering. The heat of the pasteurization process affects the taste of the finished product and filtering removes some of the aromatic ingredients. So, although you may like bottled beer, its kegged counterpart tastes much better.

Besides margarita mix, what is a good mixer with tequila?

Over the years, I've adopted the philosophy that you should use fresh ingredients whenever possible. The margarita is a perfect example of a cocktail that tastes better if you use fresh ingredients. Most sours mixes are basically water, sugar, lemon juice concentrate, lime juice concentrate, and preservatives. A lot of them don't taste very good. Recently, I discussed a cocktail called The St-Rita. This particular drink uses fresh lime juice instead of commercial sours mix. The combination of fresh lime juice and St-Germain is far more refreshing than sours mix. I'm sure that you'll enjoy it. Here's the recipe again: 1 1/2 shot of Tequila Blanco, 1 1/2 of St-Germain, and 1/2 shot of fresh-squeezed lime juice. Shake all of the ingredients with ice and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass or alternatively strain into a chilled martini glass. Once you've tried this cocktail, you will never go back to prepackaged sours mix.

Can you give me a list of low calorie drinks?

Here are ten alcoholic drinks and their approximate calorie counts: Wild Berry Cola (70 calories), Tropical Splash martini (75 calories), Mimosa (75 calories), light beer (95 calories), ultra light beer (64 calories), white wine spritzer (100 calories), rum and diet coke (100 calories), Bloody Mary (118 calories), Champagne (106 calories), and Port wine (128 calories).

What is a good cocktail that is not over-hyped -- something exotic and not well-known, but really good?

This is an awesome question. There are so many good cocktails out there that not many people know about. Here's a drink that is delicious, exotic, and long since forgotten. It's called the Orange Blossom. To make it, pour 1 1/2 ounces of dry gin, 1/2 ounce of Cointreau, and 1 1/2 ounces of fresh squeezed orange juice into a shaker filled with ice. Shake the ingredients and then strain them into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel and enjoy. Another cocktail that's good and not over-hyped is one that I developed last summer. It's called Raspberry Lemonade. To make this cocktail, muddle several mint leaves in the bottom of a tall cocktail glass, then fill the glass with ice. Then add 1 1/2 ounces of Stolichnaya Raspberry Vodka and 1/8 ounce of grenadine. Finally, fill the glass with fresh lemonade. Stir and enjoy.

Does red wine cause allergies? Can I do anything to prevent it?

Red wine does not cause allergies, however, red wines can trigger allergic reactions. Red wines contain sulfites and those who suffer from sulfite sensitivity can have an allergic reaction. This is not the only cause of an allergic reaction to red wine. The wine making process is very complex. There is a method to produce wine and a method to preserve it. Many additives are used during this process and any of those, including the grapes themselves, could be the cause of the reaction. Your doctor can administer the skin-prick test to determine which component causes the reaction. If there is no skin reaction, then you have a red wine intolerance rather than wine allergy. For those with an allergy to red wine, organic wines are an option. There are plenty of organic wine producers around the world. I've sampled a few and you can't taste the difference, but for those with allergies, organic wines are just what the doctor ordered.

That's it for this week. I hope that these questions and answers were helpful. If you have a question please email them to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . As always, drink responsibly. Until next time...prosit!!!

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