Alicia Lohmar

Laurent-Perrier Brut, Pomme Café and Wine Bar

Alicia Lohmar​There it is, right there on the cocktail list in front of us. Rye Manhattan. We want one of those, on the rocks. Truth be told, that's what we feel like drinking most of the time. It's our drink. But we covered that ground already (Drink of the Week #6, Off Broadway) and we have ... More >>

Writer's Block Petite Sirah 2008, Anthonino's Taverna

Alicia Lohmar​We are hungry. We don't feel like cooking (and there isn't much in the fridge anyway). We don't want to get dressed up, don't want to go far and don't want to spend a fortune. The question before us is not a fanciful one, not, "Where should we go for dinner?" but, "How can we sol ... More >>

Swedish Fish Vodka, Farmhaus

Alicia Lohmar​First, a quick retraction. We wrote in this very column, just a little over a year ago, "...don't sully the time-honored occupation of respectable drinking by concocting all sorts of foolishness that ends in '-tini' and isn't 'gin martini' or that contains the words 'nipple' or 'bomb ... More >>

Hurricane, Café Ventana

Alicia Lohmar ​On our way out the door the other afternoon, we spied a squirrel taking a nap, sprawled on a low, fat tree branch in the backyard. Arms and legs hanging, belly stuffed with black walnuts, he was suspended directly above a woefully underused hammock. We felt a sharp pang of jealo ... More >>

Drink of the Week: 2007 Santa Ema Carménère, Sasha's on Shaw

We've taken over the couches in the back corner at our joint, Sasha's on Shaw, nicknamed Shawsha's. The bar's dark wood and dim lights are barely augmented by the flickering fire behind us, the votives set on the granite tabletops, a few neon signs. Last night, we got a text from one of our friends ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Edradour 10-Year-Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskey, Pi (Central West End)

The bartender at the new Central West End Pi looks like a cross between Matthew McConaughey and a young Paul Newman. He is smiling at us. We are having trouble remembering why we are standing there. Oh, yes, whiskey. Pi's whiskey selection is not only broad; it is also given a place of prominence. ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Barritt's Bermuda Stone Ginger Beer, Randall's Wines and Spirits

via​We knew we were pushing it. We'd spent the month of December eating too much sugar and drinking too much alcohol, being stressed out and overtired. On New Year's Eve, we should have toasted with champagne and gone home early. We knew it as we stood outside sucking cigarette smoke and icy air i ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Hot Chocolate at Bittersweet Bakery, Kakao and Rue Lafayette

We are contemplating the meager Christmas decorations we have managed to get up this year, which must be taken down and packed away again. This task will be made easier by the fact that most of the boxes still lie about the living room. We started the month with twinkly eyes and big plans. We would ... More >>

2009 in Review: October

​Waldo Jaquith, Wikimedia Commons​October saw the return of Drink of the Week, the column founded by Randall Roberts and continued by Kristie McClanahan that muses on life and libations. Alicia Lohmar is the new author, and we're thrilled to have her as part of the Gut Check family. The rest of ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Prince of Jalisco, Sanctuaria

Dave Pullig, Wikimedia Commons​In less than a month Kitchen Nightmares returns to Fox. British chef Gordon Ramsay will again shout, "This is ah-pooooooool-ing! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" at struggling restaurateurs. About half of those unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of R ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Duchesse de Bourgogne, Brasserie by Niche

​I adore French food. I love food in general, and that love affair really began during a college semester spent studying in France. I returned home plump as a Christmas goose's liver, despite walking or riding a bike nearly everywhere I went. I simply could not pass the elaborate window display o ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Bloody Mary, the Rock and Roll Craft Show at Third Degree Glass Factory

User "Fanghong," Wikimedia Commons​The Rock and Roll Craft Show is held the weekend after Thanksgiving as an alternative to the whole "Black Friday" mess -- an opportunity to get some Christmas shopping done, buying unique, handmade items and supporting local artisans, all while avoiding becoming ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Latte, Foam Coffee and Beer

Nicholas Phillips​The word "foam" connotes something insubstantial, ephemeral. It conjures up images of once-trendy foam parties at neon-lit nightclubs and poufs of carrot foam on top of elaborate plates at very fancy restaurants. This Foam, a new coffeehouse at Jefferson Avenue and Cherokee Stre ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Old Overholt Manhattan on the Rocks, Off Broadway

Hayford Peirce, Wikimedia Commons​Let's get this out of the way right off the bat: The Manhattan is a Classic Cocktail. If you are a lady wearing a stole and delicate little gloves or a gentleman in a skinny tie and a fedora, fine, but this homage is not for you. It's for my grandpa -- and probab ... More >>

Drink of the Week is Back!

Drink of the Week: Pastis Plenty, 33 Wine Shop & Tasting Bar

User "Chriusha," Wikimedia Commons​Supposedly the world is running out of bitters. Not bitter people, mind you, but the cocktail mixer. Specifically, Angostura bitters, those that come in the ubiquitous paper-wrapped bottle with the yellow plastic cap. Just a few years ago, such news wouldn't hav ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Tecate, The Tin Can Tavern & Grille (Morganford)

User "Tomascastelazo," Wikimedia Commons​To celebrate the Day of the Dead, I watched Death Wish 3 and drank Tecate at the Tin Can Tavern & Grille. Did I honor American culture more than I did Mexican? True: I ate shrimp drenched in barbecue sauce with hush puppies on the side and washed it do ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Pot for Two, London Tea Room Blend, The London Tea Room

​My companion is not a "tea room" kind of guy. In fact, he winced a little when I suggested the London Tea Room for lunch. Still, he plays along, even when I propose ordering tea for two. Knowing that black coffee is more his style, I resist the frou-frou flavored options in favor of the London T ... More >>

Drink of the Week: 2007 Farnese Trebbiano, The Terrace View

Ian FroebThe Terrace View in CityGarden​The cloud of existential funk that hangs over the jury-duty holding pen on a Monday morning is like a thick, black fog. Not one person wants to be in that room, least of all the people who work there. The sighing. The grumbling. The bitter, blank staring. T ... More >>

This Week in Gut Check, Regurgitated

Waldo Jaquith, Wikimedia Commons​News broke this week that Balaban's would return -- in Chesterfield, as a tapas bar and wine shop -- but the comeback that excited us most around here was that of Drink of the Week, now written by Alicia Lohmar. If you haven't yet, do check it out.Oh -- and if you ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Moët & Chandon White Star

Waldo Jaquith, Wikimedia Commons​Gut Check is thrilled to welcome back one of Riverfront Times' most popular columns, Drink of the Week -- and to introduce its new author, Alicia Lohmar.I had my first cocktail on a trip to Paris with my dad when I was sixteen. We were at a restaurant he called Po ... More >>