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​The craft beer movement has produced some surprising side effects for the brewery world; suddenly blueberries, cherries and chocolate are considered hops-friendly ingredients, giving beer a whole new aisle in your local liquor store. In fact, beer is so user friendly with food these days, we are thinking that a brew tasting of banana bread, sounds like a better match for our french toast than a Bloody Mary does.

Admittedly, only soft-core alcoholics traditionally suck down beer first thing in the morning (although vodka and champagne based drinks seem perfectly acceptable in American society, beer is often overlooked as a lunch or dinner accompaniment.) And we understand that coffee is the most coveted breakfast "brew," but what if, in a perfect world, beer and coffee combined forces? Welcome to the future where mixology starts to take on an entirely new meaning.

Considered one of Terrapin's "monster beers," (cookies are for kids) the Wake 'N' Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout (8.6%) is a very dark beer that they term a "coffee stout," meaning it's so thick and black it looks a lot like coffee in your cup. This brewery from Athens, Georgia teamed up with a neighborhood caffeine peddler, Jittery Joe's Coffee, who uses a premium blend of beans from Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Zimbabwe. Not usually what we think of when the words "wake n' bake" come to mind, but that's a breakfast topic for another day.
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Rollin Soles, the man some say put Oregon on the winemaking map.

​From the time Rollin Soles first laid eyes on Willamette (rhymes with dammit) Valley in 1979, he "fell totally in love with the place." By 1987, "feeling like one lucky cowboy," the Texan-bred Soles started Argyle Winery (joined soon after by partner Allen Holstein). Argyle's first Chardonnay landed on Wine Spectator's "Top 100 Wines of the World" list; since then Argyle has had its red wines and sparkling wines make the same list, the only winery to ever achieve this triple crown feat (red, white, sparkling).

Now in its 25th year, Argyle farms more than 600 acres of land spread over four vineyards in the Willamette Valley's Dundee Hills and Eola-Amity Hills. To commemorate this quarter century anniversary, Argyle has released a "Silver Series" trio of single vineyard 2009 Pinot Noir (available as a boxed set for $125 at argylewinery.com). It is also offering Big POP!, its inaugural vintage Argyle Library Brut that has been aging in the bottle for 25 years ($150, and disgorged on demand, post sale).

At the end of this post we'll let you know where you can purchase Argyle wines locally, and which restaurants and bars have it on their menus. First, however, we'll give you a taste of Rollin Soles, who is as interesting as the wines he makes. We got together at Confiteria Buenos Aires Bakery & Cafe over some coffee and facturas, and Oregon's most celebrated and most mustachioed winemaker talked about wine.
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All photos by Alex Rodriguez

During a preview last night of The Broken Shaker, Miami's first pop-up bar located at the Indian Creek Hotel, I became convinced of one thing: it's a shame this place will only be around for six months. You'll discover the same thing during the official grand opening on February 2.

There's a lush, cabana-tikki-esque exterior and an old-school antiqued interior. The owners, Gabriel Orta and Elad Zvi, didn't skip a beat when decorating the place "We couldn't afford wallpaper so we covered the walls with fabric," said Orta.

When you walk in, it's as if you've stepped into a time/space portal - I've never been to Cuba, but the interior of The Broken Shaker is how I picture an old, rustic bar on the beach with antique cooling fans, old radios, vintage games of cards, Scrabble and Dominos - it's retro to the max. Orta even built the cabinets.

The homey charm of the place is evident, even with an old black and white photo of Orta's grandmother sitting atop the the shelf.
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​You may have seen it the last time you went out clubbing or bar hopping; the sleek little cans of Mercy have slowly been making their way into the nooks and crannies of Miami's night scene since May 2011. According to Mercy's makers, it's a beverage that supposedly helps prevent hangovers. For every four alcoholic drinks, one 8.4 ounce can of Mercy is said to counter the after-effects.

How is it supposed to work? It's a nifty blend of amino acids, anti-oxidants and vitamins (most importantly, B1). When they work together, the power recipe helps the body replenish key nutrients and kicks the body's defenses into gear, allowing the chances of hangover symptoms like headaches and nausea to lessen.

Does it really work? Well, we have our doubts. Truth be told, Mercy is entering a world of other anti-hangover drinks out there that have the skeptics swarming, like NOHO and OKF Alcohol Doctor. We'll leave the experimentations up to you. At 60 calories a can and caffeine-free, the citrus flavored beverage can be found at lounges, hotels, and clubs around Miami. You can drink it before you go to sleep or include it in your drinks.

We'd prefer you to tell us what you think.

Behold a few cocktail recipes that will have "mercy" on your bodily temple.
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​Calling all sailors, pirates, bartenders, rum enthusiasts and drinkers of fine Caribbean spirits--there is a new rum in town: Brugal 1888.

The ultra-premium, extended aged stuff is the newest in the line of fine rums made by the Brugal family of the Dominican Republic.

What distinguishes Brugal 1888 from any other rum is the fact that it's finished -- or aged a second time -- in Sherry oak barrels imported from Spain, a deviation from their typical method of aging rum in American oak barrels used to make Bourbon.

It's dark amber-colored rum, with a slight hint of vanilla fragrance. Meant to be sipped and enjoyed over rocks or neat, it gets sweeter as it's consumed.
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Laine Doss

It must be Sunday.

​It's a beautiful Sunday morning. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and you have a long day ahead of you to do nothing at all. There's only one thing on the calendar -- brunch with friends. That also means a cold, spicy Bloody Mary. 

The origins of the bloody mary are hazy, but most believe it originated in the roaring 20's as a morning-after remedy for hangovers. A base bloody is simple -- vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, a little lemon juice, but that's merely the canvas upon which a truly artistic bartender begins his masterpiece.

Bloody marys in Miami range from sophisticated martinis to something that mostly resembles a salad bar.  GreenStreet in Coconut Grove won the 2011 BOM prize for best bloody mary. Here are ten others you should try. Think of it as ten Sundays worth of research.


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​You might remember the Natural Ice beer marketing campaign in which two fans attempted to make the first beer in space. But this is better. How about meteorite-infused wine?

Double-u, tee, eff. That's right, an Englishman by the name of Ian Hutcheon created Meteorito, the world's first wine aged with a meteorite. Hutcheon recently released the extraterrestrial vino at his winery, Hutcheon's Tremonte Vineyard, in the Cachapoal Valley, which is roughly 62 miles southwest of Santiago, Chile.
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The Macallan

George Espie, "master of wood" for the Macallan Scotch company.

​George Espie is the Macallan master of wood, which means (A) he is a Scotch fanatic and (B) he probably gets picked on a lot during recess on the corporate playground. What his title really means is he is responsible for managing the Macallan "Wood Policy" and delivering all cask requirements to the distillery in Scotland.

A major part of Espie's work involves negotiations that take place between the Macallan and Gonzalez Byass, one of the largest sherry producers in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. He's also a "keeper of the quaich" (the man has some seriously awesome titles), which is not a designation of his position on Harry Potter's Quidditch team, but an exclusive society with membership by invitation only, for people with a positive record of association with Scotch whisky.

We asked him if he had always wanted to be a master of wood (mostly because we couldn't resist the double entendre), but the more interesting details of Scotch evolution are in here too. Keep reading for a tutorial on how good Scotch becomes great Scotch.

Did you want to be the master of wood when you were growing up?
No. What I did do at a young age was join the Scotch Whisky Industry in 1970 and have worked in all aspects of whisky production. I joined Edrington in 1977, and in 1990 an opportunity arose for me to take over my current role, and I jumped at the chance.

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Lesley Elliott

Gabriel Orta in action at W's The Living Room.

​The Living Room at SoBe's W Hotel claims to offer any patron the cocktail of their dreams courtesy of a team of mixologists who are dedicated to making your evening of alcohol consumption a personalized experience. Named as one of Food & Wine Magazine's "50 Best Bars in America," the beverage program is directed by KNR Restaurant Group who manages these things for the W Hotel, and hired the cool kids at Bar Lab to help develop the cocktails.

Bar Lab is also about to open the city's first pop-up shop for consumption (well, the first post-prohibition) and happens to be the creator of our favorite company motto, "we mix shit up." All drinks are $16, no matter what they concoct (okay, if you ask for something aged or rare, you will have to pay extra, of course).

They do drink alchemy behind the bar, creating a range of infusions and flavored bitters using everything from grapefruit to lavender. While the menu does boast interesting creations such as a "Smokey Artichoke" with Mezcal, sweet vermouth, Cynar amaro and tobacco bitters, and a champagne cocktail called the "Chemista," topped with cucumber foam, the real reason we are here is to taste something beyond the ordinary, something made especially just for us.

We sat down at the bar and placed ourselves in the hands of Gabriel Orta, co-founder of Bar Lab, who truly loves his job and is fearless when it comes to ingredients. When he returned from the kitchen with a bunch of veggies in his arms, we honed in on some beautiful arugula, which he matched up with our chosen cocktail star, fennel, for a most refreshing and surprising drink we downed in record time. When liquor tastes good it goes down fast, and this went really, really fast. Beer bong fast.
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The Bar Lab via Twitter

The Broken Shaker is Bar Lab's new project

​Bar Lab is at it again, this time planning to open Miami Beach's first cocktail pop-up bar.

The Broken Shaker is set to open in about three weeks at the Indian Creek Hotel on Collins Avenue at 28th Street -- for only six months. We spoke with Bar Lab's Gabriel Orta, who didn't want to let the entire cat out of the bag about the Broken Shaker just yet.

What he did say, though, was quite intriguing -- especially because he and partner Elad Zvi are notorious for making innovative and delicious cocktails.
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