We had the good fortune to attend a cocktail mixing event at La Madia last week led by their mixologist, Jennifer Contraveos. Jennifer is a Chicago cocktail-ing star, winning regional and national competitions and being named one of the top mixers in the city by Metromix. Formerly the head mixer at Graze, she’s taken over the helm at La Madia. When we were taken into the back of La Madia’s busy dining room, we quickly......

The awesome holidays are coming one after another this August. Today is the 100th anniversary of the Root Beer Float, one of our favorite summer treats. Originally called a “black cow” (or a “brown cow, depending on who you believe), it was created by Frank Wisner in Cripple Creek, Colorado. Try out this Root Beer Float inspired cocktail, perfect for tonight’s dessert. Root Beer Float Practically all the root beer float cocktail recipes we could......

Tomorrow is National Rum Day. Normally we make fun of silly, profit-driven holidays designed by PR flacks, but in this case we’re totally on board. It may have something to do with the fact that we love drinking rum cocktails on mild summer days like this one. Here are a couple of drinks to try out on your friends this weekend! Cuba Libre The Cuba Libre is our favorite, simple rum-based cocktail. Invented during the......

Read an interesting article in Malt Advocate over the weekend. The theme of the story was about whisky (natch); specifically, the rise of "testosterone overload" in today's whisky drinker. A well-crafted whisky-based cocktail — or even cutting a dram with some water — has been largely pushed aside in favor of straight shots these days. There was once a time when sweeter, whisky-based cocktails were commonplace. We were sorely reminded of the article when we......

Today is National Piña Colada Day. Naturally it makes sense to focus on the Colada for this installment of "Properly Sauced." Originally, the piña colada was nothing more than ripe pineapple juice, either strained (colada) or unstrained (sin colar). Visitors to Pilsen's Fiesta del Sol sample it in this version annually. According to Wikipedia, the earliest known reference to the piña colada as a rum-based cocktail was in a Travel magazine article about Cuba from......

We all know how nuts everyone is about grilling during the summertime. But for us the best part of season is consuming frosty beverages. What's more invigorating after a hard day's work than sitting down with an ice-cold bottle of something in your hand? Today's New York Times has a pair of articles on favorite summertime beverages, and wouldn't you know that Chicago-area people figure in both of 'em (because if there are two......

Summer has hit us with a vengeance, and we’re on the lookout for drinks that taste good very cold and with lots of ice. Lillet Blanc is a French aperitif, based on white wine with various fruits and herbs added. It’s fairly sweet and is usually served by itself, on the rocks, with a large slice of orange – the citrus perfectly compliments the sweet, alcoholic drink. Speaking of alcohol, Lillet Blanc packs more of......

This is wheat ale weather, people. This evening from 6-9 p.m. at West Lakeview Liquors, Kalamazoo Brewing Company (popularly known as Bell's) will be tasting out the amber, wheat and hop solution brands. The Lincoln Park Young Professionals will do their best to tie status symbols together this evening with their summer wine festival at Howard Orloff Imports (1924 N. Paulina). Cost for the $35 per person event will grant you access to samples......

Just received notice from the folks behind that June 15 plate-to-plate competition between Stephanie Izard and Nick LaCasse at the Drawing Room at Le Passage. A second event — a VIP cocktail reception with the guest of honor — has been added for 9 p.m. that evening. The $40 per-person admission will include two complimentary seasonal cocktails created by Izard for the event. Furthermore, those who miss out on the dinner or reception can sample......

Tomorrow marks the start of the National Restaurant Association's annual trade show at McCormick Place. Happening simultaneously at the show is the inaugural International Wine Spirits and Beer Event. Senator John McCain is scheduled to address the show Monday. That should be an exciting speech . We'll be filing reports next week from the show, which runs through Tuesday. $75 must be the standard rate for culinary classes at the Alliance Francaise, because that's......

Recently, during our visit to RL Restaurant, we came across two old favorites that aren’t often found (at least in non-fusionized form) on restaurant cocktail menus: the Sidecar and the Champagne Cocktail. RL’s cocktail list is filled with old favorites, but any good bar should be able to make either of these drinks. Both drinks are slightly sweet but not cloying, and both are based on brandy, a liquor not often seen in modern cocktails.......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Frozen Yogurt, Frogurt, Whatever, It's Free Today marks the opening of the new Starfruit store in Wicker Park. Falling right in line with tax day, they're giving away free samples of kefir frozen yogurt while supplies last. 1745 W. Division $10.40 Celebration Pops for Champagne is hosting its annual 1040 Tax Relief Celebration today from......

North Shore Distillery's Sonja Kassebaum posted on her blog yesterday about her chance encounter with Katherine Anne Duncan of Katherine Anne Confections. Kassebaum created some amazing cocktails with the intention of pairing with Duncan's truffles, the results of which you'll find in her post. Kassebaum found the experience so inspiring she's thinking of planning an event with Duncan. Beer savant Bob Skilnik over at Beer (& More) in Food posted a wonderful recipe last......

With four different brands authorized for sale in the States, absinthe is poised to be the big spirit of the year. We've written about Lucid absinthe before, and we were able to get our hands on a bottle of Kübler, a Swiss absinthe now being sold locally. In addition to being a neutral nation during both world wars and making one hell of a pocket tool, Switzerland also originated absinthe. We figured that, for interested......

Hearts all across Chicago were broken last January when Zephyr closed its doors. We walked past its former space a few days ago and wouldn't you know, construction workers were busy building what looked to be another restaurant. Alas, it won't be Zephyr 2.0 but rather an Irish-style bar and restaurant (pictured), opening in March 2008 (to their best estimate). The workers didn't know what it was going to be called. New York Times writer......

In what's become an annual feature here at Chicagoist and a personal favorite, we canvassed the staff for some of their best recipes and put together a potluck of amazing proportions to fascinate your taste buds, amaze your family (even the ones entranced by the football games), and bring about peace on earth - or at least in your family - for a few hours through the miracle of tryptophan, simple starches, and sugar......