Beverages

Maryland House's Gin Rickey: Hump-Day Cocktail Suggestion

As evidenced by the multitude of cocktails consumed throughout the course of Baz Luhrmann's new spectacle, The Great Gatsby, Prohibition didn't exactly halt the consumption of alcoholic beverages. In fact, the alcohol ban inspired drinkers to get creative. One such creative drinker was Col. Joseph ... More >>

The Wine Merchant, Ltd. to Host a Champagne Class Monday

Think you know champagne? Do you understand the importance of an assemblage? Or how to make a fine cuvée? On Monday, May 13, The Wine Merchant, Ltd. (20 S. Hanley Road, Clayton; 314-863-6282) is hosting a special champagne class where guests can learn all about the beloved bubbly brew. The class w ... More >>

8 Great St. Louis Brunch Spots For Mother's Day This Weekend

Of all the greeting-card company holidays manufactured over the years, Mother's Day remains one we're perennially endeared toward...cause let's face it, moms deserves their own holiday. Make Mom's day with a meal at any of these eight St. Louis restaurants, which offer outstanding brunch selections ... More >>

Farmhaus Hosting Shane Wine Cellars Dinner on May 8

Seats remain for the first wine dinner at Kevin Willmann's acclaimed Farmhaus (3257 Ivanhoe Avenue; 314-647-3800) next Wednesday, May 8. The dinner will pair four courses with wines from Shane Wine Cellars. Shane owner and winemaker Shane Finley will attend the event. In an e-mail to Gut Check, Far ... More >>

Milagro Modern Mexican's Craig Bielke: Featured Bartender of the Week

The agave has been juiced, the limes have been purchased and the tequila has been stocked. Milagro Modern Mexican (20 Allen Avenue, Webster Groves; 314-962-4300) is ready to make hundreds of margaritas in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. Milagro isn't hosting a garish Cinco party, but as the winner of ... More >>

Sanctuaria's Mint Julep: Gut Check's Hump-Day Cocktail Suggestion

Wednesday. Hump Day. Congrats, you've made it halfway through the work week! Unfortunately, you still have two days to go. Dunno about you, but in order to survive the midweek blues, we're going to need a drink. Which brings us to our Wednesday Gut Check feature: "Gut Check's Hump-Day Cocktail S ... More >>

Chipotle Adds Patrón Margaritas to Menus Today [RECIPE]

Gut Check's inbox runneth over with press releases: local restaurant news, bizarre and enticing fast-food and junk-food, area food events...just to name a few. Last week we received a press release announcing a chain restaurant would be introducing a new Patrón margarita to St. Louis locations. T ... More >>

Hop On Over to Two Beer Festivals This Weekend

It seems that once Spring arrives, it's time to bust out some brews. And we are so down with that. This Saturday, April 27, Global Brew Tap House & Lounge (112 South Buchanan Street Suite 1, Edwardsville; 618-307-5858) will host the Edwardsville Spring Beer Festival and Ferguson Brewing Company (41 ... More >>

Sample Craft Brews at Inaugural Belleville Ale Fest Saturday

Belleville, Illinois, is jumping on the craft-beer bandwagon. The small city to the east of the big river is hosting its inaugural craft-beer festival this Saturday, April 20, from noon to 4 p.m at the Belleville Crossing shopping center. Gut Check spoke with John Lengerman, the executive director ... More >>

Salt's Tim Rabior: Featured Bartender of the Week

Welcome to Girl Walks Into a Bar, a weekly Gut Check feature that spotlights local bars and bartenders. This week, Kaitlin Steinberg profiles Tim Rabior of Salt. Below is a Q&A with Rabior, followed by the recipe for a "Green Goddess." Tim Rabior has blond highlights and sunglasses that never lea ... More >>

Taste's Kyle Mathis: Winner of Iron Fork's Mixology Competition and Featured Bartender of the Week

Welcome to Girl Walks Into a Bar, a weekly Gut Check feature that spotlights local bars and bartenders. This week, Kaitlin Steinberg profiles Kyle Mathis of Taste. Below is a Q&A with Mathis, followed by the recipe for Another Hop Pun. We know, we know. We just interviewed a bartender from Taste (4 ... More >>

Mixologist Matt Seiter Serves Drinks From Sanctuaria Cocktail Book Tonight at Taste

Mohawked mixologist and Sanctuaria (4198 Manchester Avenue; 314-535-9700) bar manager Matt Seiter will be mixing drinks from his recently released book Sanctuaria: The Dive Bar of Cocktails: How We Rewrote the Rules and Recipes One Cocktail at a Time at Taste tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. Seiter has alr ... More >>

The Ritz-Carlton's Monica Schepis Couldn't Stand Her "Big Girl" Job -- Bartending Is Her True Calling

Welcome to Girl Walks Into a Bar, a weekly Gut Check feature that spotlights local bars and bartenders. This week, Kaitlin Steinberg profiles Monica Schepis of the the Lobby Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton. Below is a Q&A with Schepis, followed by her own recipe for a Gooey Butter Cake Martini. The Lo ... More >>

Randall's to Hold Irish Whiskey Tasting

Do you need a reminder? You do not need a reminder. Gut Check, however, needs a lede. So: St. Patrick's Day is Sunday. To get you in the mood, Randall's Wines and Spirits (14201 Manchester Road, Ballwin; 636-527-1002) is holding a "meeting" of its Whisk(e)y Club on this evening at 7 p.m. This month ... More >>

The Six Best Craft Beer Makers in St. Louis

Gut Check has been looking back on the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis 2012, but we're also keeping an eye on the Best of St. Louis 2013 by nominating finalists for our awards this fall. With the craft beer scene exploding across the Midwest and the recent opening of the beer emporium Flying Sauc ... More >>

Mad Buffalo Distillery Makes Moonshine Eco-Friendly

"Sustainable" and "moonshine" aren't often heard in the same sentence, but Mad Buffalo Brewing Company is hoping to make its sustainably produced Thunderbeast Storm Moonshine a household name. Chris Burnette and his family founded Mad Buffalo in November 2011 on ShawneeBend Farm in Union, Missouri ... More >>

March 2013 Issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine Features Four St. Louis Wine Bars

Gut Check loves us some wine. Yesterday was National Wine Day, and let's just say we did the holiday proud. Aside from guzzling glasses of grape, we, on occasion, like to read about wine, too. Imagine our delight, then, upon learning that four St. Louis wine bars are featured in the March 2013 issue ... More >>

FTC Cracks Down on Four Loko; Frat Boys Everywhere Weep

If you're one of the few poor souls who have no taste buds and therefore love Four Loko, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is worried about you. On February 12, the FTC reached an agreement with Phusion Projects, LLC, makers of Four Loko, a carbonated, fruity malt beverage. Phusion is now required ... More >>

The Wine Merchant: A 12-Year-Old Bordeaux You Can Afford?

Gut Check loves good Bordeaux and cheap wine, which meant we were plenty juiced when we opened our e-newsletter from the Wine Merchant, Ltd. (20 S. Hanley Road, Clayton; 314-863-6282) and learned the store was expecting a shipment of 2000 Château du Moulin Rose Côtes de Castillon this week. It's ... More >>

Schnucks Offers 15 Percent Off 6 Bottles of Wine on Wednesdays

Last week Gut Check shared a list of a half-dozen wine values you could find at your neighborhood Schnucks. Why six? Because Schnucks will knock 10 percent off the price if you buy six bottles -- any six bottles -- of wine. See also: - Six Solid Wine Values from the Shelves at Schnucks Well, the g ... More >>

Six Solid Wine Values from the Shelves at Schnucks

A lot of people feel intimidated about shopping for wine at a wine store. Gut Check understands this -- for the uninitiated, darkening the doorway of a retailer that specializes in wine can be as daunting as walking onto a used-car lot: What are they going to try to sell me? How will I know if they' ... More >>

Livery Company Debuts its Inaugural Cocktail Menu

In July, Livery Company (3211 Cherokee Street) opened in the Cherokee Arts District, combining the charms of a dimly lit dive with a speakeasy-style vibe. The casual atmosphere accompanies a similarly paced development - the bar rolled out its first seasonal cocktail menu this fall.

Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau Party

Great Values in St. Louis Wines: The Wine & Cheese Place

Given Gut Check's never-ending quest for obsession with great wine values, we figured it'd be a good idea to check in from time to time with local merchants. They pick a wine they consider to be an excellent values, and we get our drank on and talk about it. The goal is to identify wines that 1) off ... More >>

Missouri's Mount Pleasant Winery Featured in November Issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine

Mount Pleasant Winery (5634 High Street, Augusta, Missouri; 800-467-9463) based in Augusta, Missouri, recently received some national praise. Wine Enthusiast, the de facto national magazine for wine lovers, has rated ten selections from the winery, which is located less than 50 miles outside St. Lou ... More >>

Fitz's Collaborates with Kaldi's and Pi Pizzeria To Brew Specialty Sodas

Fitz's American Grill & Bottling Works (6605 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-726-9555) has teamed up with two other local companies, Kaldi's Coffee Roasting Company (multiple locations) and Pi Pizzeria (multiple locations), to form a soda collaborative. Fitz's owner Michael Alter, who return ... More >>

The Jellinator: A Test of the Ultimate Jell-O Shot Maker

So. You need to make some Jell-O shots. A lot of Jell-O shots. First, you'll need to boil some water, add about a cup of vodka, and a packet of Jell-O mix. Cut to a black-and-white film reel of a woman spilling piping hot, alcohol-infused Jell-O juice from the pot everywhere! What a disaster! Is th ... More >>

Taste Hosts Visiting Mixologists for Impromptu Thursday Happy Hour

Into Gut Check's e-mailbox popped an announcement from Taste (4584 Laclede Avenue; 314-361-1200), inviting us to a spur-of-the-moment happy hour guest-bartended by visiting mixologists Phoebe Esmon and Christian R. Gaal. Truth be told, it doesn't take a carpetbagging cocktail shaker to lure Gut Che ... More >>

First Look: Comet Coffee

See also: Slideshow: A First Look at Comet Coffee Comet Coffee Opens in Highlands Plaza Today There's coffee, and then there's coffee. The former is typically cheap and exists to get us through the day, while the latter is responsible for swoons and weakened knees at the simple utterance of "Blue ... More >>

The Eight Bars With the Best Beer Selections in St. Louis

Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2011 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this RFT Music series, we're beeboping and scattin' our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. This week: The bars with the b ... More >>

Taco Bell Test Markets MTN Dew A.M. Breakfast Cocktail, Gut Check Proposes Ten Alternatives

This week, Reddit reported that select Taco Bell locations are test marketing a new breakfast cocktail comprised of one part orange juice, one part Mountain Dew. Dubbed "MTN Dew A.M.," the drink is described as a "mixology" of the two beverages, proving that Taco Bell has no idea what "mixology" mea ... More >>

Ten Best Food Events This Weekend: May 11-13

Friday (May 11): Food Truck Friday @ Tower Grove Park The season's first Food Truck Friday brings the the St. Louis Food Truck Association along with other vendors to Tower Grove Park for plenty of tasty meals on wheels. The list of vendors includes the likes of Seoul Taco, 2 Girls 4 Wheels, Go G ... More >>

Buffalo-Wing-Flavored Soda, Wine Perfume Hit Shelves Despite Nobody Asking For Either

All right, so the end of days might be nigh. Is that an overreaction to learning that a buffalo-wing-flavored soda recently hit the market, as did a line of perfumes scented to smell like wine varieties? OK, perhaps it's a slight overreaction, but come on, when solid food becomes inspiration for lib ... More >>

The Nine Best Wine Bars in St. Louis

Gut Check has been looking back on the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis 2011, but we're also keeping an eye on the Best of St. Louis 2012 by nominating finalists for our awards this fall. To see hundreds more winners and finalists, suggest your own contenders and download the Riverfront Times Best ... More >>

Q&A With New Metro East Craft Brewery East Wind Brewing Company

St. Louis is up to its ears in microbreweries. Everywhere you turn, there's a festival, tour or tap house promoting all the hops you can drink. So is all hope lost if you have the urge to brew? Luckily, even within this saturated market, drinkers and brewers alike are welcoming to brewers who are tr ... More >>

Q: What do you call a restaurant-winery combo in Chesterfield? A: Tame old tame old.

Trying and Failing to Conquer the Beer Margarita at El Maguey

There isn't much Gut Check is willing to thank the Jersey Shore for popularizing, but hey, we do love crazy, bizarre, unholy food and drink combinations. Not-so-recently (like two years ago), Jersey Shore cast-members were photographed drinking frozen margaritas with upturned Corona bottles garnishi ... More >>

The Crossing Introduces New Wine Bar

Last year, Jim Fiala transformed the back dining room of his Central West End spot Liluma (236 North Euclid Avenue; 314-361-7771) into Liluma Side Door, a more casual, small plates-focused restaurant-within-a-restaurant. Now, Fiala is introducing something similar at The Crossing (7823 Forsyth Boule ... More >>

Whole Foods Market's Spanish Wine Special and Taste and Tweet Event

Now through May 15 Whole Foods Market (1601 South Brentwood Boulevard; 314-968-7744) is offering a sale on Spanish wines, featuring twelve wines from eleven different regions of Spain. To further hype promote the sale, the Whole Foods location in Brentwood will be hosting a Taste and Tweet Spanish ... More >>

The Seven Best Brewpubs in St. Louis

Gut Check has been looking back on the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis 2011, but we're also keeping an eye on the Best of St. Louis 2012 by nominating finalists for our awards this fall. To see hundreds more winners and finalists, suggest your own contenders and download the Riverfront Times Best ... More >>

Dear Jessica Simpson: Name Your Baby After These Grape Varieties, Not Zinfandel

Gut Check isn't above browsing the celebrity gossip, but we saw this juicy tidbit via Grub Street rather than our usual supermarket tabloids: Jessica Simpson -- did she sing? we honestly can't remember why she's famous in the first place -- and her fiance considered naming their soon-to-arrive child ... More >>

Cleveland-Heath's Elijah Barnes: Featured Bartender of the Week

Welcome to Girl Walks Into a Bar, a weekly Gut Check feature that spotlights local bars and bartenders. This week, Stacy Anderson profiles Cleveland-Heath's Elijah Barnes. Below is a Q&A with Barnes, followed by his recipe for the Sazerac Cocktail. Cleveland-Heath (106 North Main Street, Edwardsvil ... More >>

Holiday Cocktail Countdown #4: Milagro's Spicy Chocolate Martini

Like any red-blooded American, Gut Check uses liquid medication to cope with holiday stress. Not only does a good winter cocktail make it possible to tolerate family members, say, inquiring about your procreation plans, it helps keep you warm, too. From now until Christmas, we're calling upon local ... More >>

Holiday Cocktail Countdown #15: Katie's Pizzeria's Blood Orange Martini

Like any red-blooded American, Gut Check uses liquid medication to cope with holiday stress. Not only does a good winter cocktail make it possible to tolerate family members, say, inquiring about your procreation plans, it helps keep you warm, too. From now until Christmas, we're calling upon local ... More >>

Tea (and Lunch) for Two at London Tea Room

Robin WheelerA proper tomato soup and grilled cheese lunch for a rainy day.​ The Place: The London Tea Room (1520 Washington Ave., 241-6556), the cheeky British tea house and cafe across from the City Museum. The Lunch: As the weather turned drizzly and gray, the mood turns to tea. When it fee ... More >>

Owner Scott Carey Discusses New Sump Coffee

Ian FroebSump Coffee in south city​I noted last week that a new coffeehouse called Sump Coffee will be opening at 3700 South Jefferson Avenue in south city. Today, I had a chance to speak with owner Scott Carey, who returned to his hometown of St. Louis last year after spending time in both Berkel ... More >>

Wine of the Week: The Velvet Devil Merlot at Copia Urban Winery & Market

Gut Check loves us some wine. We want a bottle with bang and a bang for our buck, so every week we will visit a local wine shop, where an expert will recommend a good-value wine priced under $15. We'll drink some and tell you whether we want to continue -- because the only time Gut Check has our nos ... More >>

Wine of the Week: Villa des Anges Cabernet Sauvignon from the Wine and Cheese Place

Gut Check loves us some wine. We want a bottle with bang and a bang for our buck, so every week we will visit a local wine shop, where an expert will recommend a good-value wine priced under $15. We'll drink some and tell you whether we want to continue -- because the only time Gut Check has our nos ... More >>

Bobby Flay's Spicy Mango Six Other Diet Pepsis No One Wants

Thanks, Bobby Flay. The Spicy Mango Diet Pepsi and Pineapple Chipotle Diet Pepsi you commissioned for your "Tacos & Tequila" event last weekend most certainly increased the Patron consumption. At least PepsiCo had the good sense to not put these flavors on the mass market. They already have enough ... More >>

Gut Check Visits Saint Louis Cellars' Fall Fling

Gut Check loves us some wine. We want a bottle with bang and a bang for our buck, so every week we will visit a local wine shop, where an expert will recommend a good-value wine priced under $15. We'll drink some and tell you whether we want to continue -- because the only time Gut Check has our nos ... More >>