For many of us, college involved as much hitting the bottle as it did hitting the books. At Tipsy Tech, a 10-week course on the history and practice of cocktail mixology, such behavior is actually encouraged. Beginning Tuesday, Feb. 21, craft cocktail authority David Alan will offer students an extensive libation education, covering the history of the cocktail, the "noble experiment" of Prohibition, the modern-day cocktail renaissance, and everything in between. Learn how spirits from brandy to mezcal are made, as well as the proper tools and techniques to concoct the best possible cocktail. more ›

While sifting through restaurant emails this afternoon, we noticed an event tonight we'd initially overlooked: a cocktail, champagne, and dessert pairing evening at one of our favorite spots, UT-area fine dining beacon The Carillon. Tickets are $32.50 per person and the event kicks off at 6pm (in about three hours.) Better late than never? more ›

In an announcement sure to make everyone from Circle C to Oak Hill grin, the Alamo Drafthouse finally affixed an opening date to the eight-screen Slaughter Lane location that has been in the works for over two years. Dubbed simply (and cheekily) Alamo Slaughter, the cinema will open on Thursday, March 22nd - just around the time that most of you emerge from post-SXSW hibernation. The theater will fill a longstanding movie (and bar) void in Southwest Austin, and will anchor a new shopping area at MoPac and Slaughter that looks likely to include more restaurants and shops in the future. more ›

Texas in general, and Austin specifically, has attracted lots of national attention on the food front as of late -- thank you, Top Chef: Texas, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, and The New York Times, to name a few. But now the Lone Star State is beginning to create a little buzz on the cocktail scene, as well. We're no longer just margaritas and micheladas, which is why Sasha Petraske, one of the fellows at the forefront of the current cocktail renaissance, has teamed up with Bohanan's Restaurant and Bar to create the first-ever San Antonio Cocktail Conference. The organizers liken the event to such industry heavy-hitters as the Manhattan Cocktail Classic and New Orleans' Tales of the Cocktail. more ›

For over two decades, the Austin Museum of Art has hosted one of the true highlights of the fall gala event season. La Dolce Vita is now 22, and while the wines, foods, and entertainers are ever-changing, the event's star attraction is the Laguna Gloria settling. To put it plainly, the scope of this event is far larger that most sip-and-stroll tastings, with clusters of restaurants, wine tables, entertainment stages, and cocktail lounges spread throughout the vast and beautiful museum grounds. Attendance is always high, but there's so much to do, see, and eat that it can actually be challenging to get to all of it in the allotted three hours. more ›

FINO's semi-spontaneous late night events are a big hit with the cocktail set, and they've just sent word of a new, last-minute addition. Tomorrow from 9pm-midnight, FINO Bar Manager Josh Loving and Houston legend Bobby Heugel of Anvil will collaborate behind the bar.

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When Bill Norris announced on Twitter that he was moving on from Haddington's and had an "exciting new opportunity" ahead, cocktail-o-philes were abuzz with where he would land next. more ›

After a gestation period of nearly two years, David Bull's triple threat of Congress, Bar Congress, and Second opened in the final days of 2010 to near universal acclaim. Since then, the formal space Congress has found itself the recipient of the Austin American-Statesman's only current five-star review, and the forward-thinking Bar Congress has been spotted on the pages of Imbibe and Esquire, among others.

Leading the charge on the beverage side of the Congress project are beverage director June Rodil (who we'll speak with later this week) and bar manager Adam Bryan. Bryan relocated from Portland several years ago, and worked with Lambert's and East Side Show Room before taking the reins at Bar Congress late last year. We recently discussed the bar's six-month anniversary, the challenges of craft cocktail creation, and...coconuts. more ›

It wasn't so long ago that Texas spirits pretty much started and ended with Tito's. But while Mr. Beveridge and his company produce a vodka we can all be proud of, Texas now boasts a much larger array of spirits that showcase new ideas, bold flavors, and the ongoing search for something new and unique that has boosted local and craft spirit sales across the country. On Friday, Launch787 and Google Places are throwing a party called "MIX" to celebrate Texas Cocktails, and all you need to attend is a ticket. more ›

Haddington's is already well-known as a spot for artisan drinks thanks to bartender extraordinaire Bill Norris, but they've decided to have some fun this summer by honoring some of the world's best cocktail books. In June, the bar will feature drinks from The Savoy Cocktail Book. The book focuses on Prohibition-era drinks, and include the following spirited combinations: more ›

Malverde, the sleek bar just upstairs from La Condesa, is currently addressing the plight of money-challenged Austin drinkers. Beer, wine, sangria and signature cocktails are 1/2 off from 5-7pm, Thursday-Saturday. Many of the drinks are top-flight. more ›

You know how your significant other told you they don't really care if you do anything for Valentine's Day? It probably wouldn't hurt to plan something anyway. Even with February 14 less than a week away, Austin still has lots of dinner options for you and your special someone. (Reservations are recommended except where noted.) more ›

Break out your spats and bowler hat, Annie's Café & Bar is bringing "Winter in New Orleans" to Austin with 1920s-style jazz and a French Quarter-inspired menu. This four-week series began Thursday, January 20 and continues January 27, February 3 and 17 from 7pm to 10pm. more ›

This Sunday evening at Lustre Pearl, eleven of Austin's best drink slingers will shake, stir, mix and muddle their way toward world domination. The two bartenders with the most inventive concoctions in Sunday's competition will move on to the 42BELOW Cocktail World Cup regional finals in New York, with a chance to compete for the top prize in New Zealand. more ›

On an appropriately drizzly, dark evening, Haddingtons British-inspired tavern quietly opened for dinner after months of anticipation. From the red plaid wallpaper in the back bar to the vintage taxidermy dioramas in the main dining room, Haddingtons feels like somewhere you might end up after a day spent hunting duck in the English countryside. In fact, duck is a recurring feature on the thoughtful, carefully researched menu from Executive Chef Zack Northcutt -- from the Foie Gras Sausage with Pear Relish ($8) to the Duck Liver Mousse Toast Pot ($3) to the Duck Meatloaf ($14). Bartender extraordinaire Bill Norris even "fowled up" the cocktail menu with a tasty Duck Fat Sazerac cocktail -- duck fat-infused rye, Peychaud's Bitters and an absinthe rinse served cold and neat ($9). more ›

We hope you are reading this on your phone or laptop somewhere outdoors, because this weather is not to be missed. Since we can't all just quit our jobs and spend every waking minute on a patio somewhere with a cold beverage in hand, we have to settle for the next best thing: happy hour at Paggi House. more ›

Local cocktail impresario Dave Alan knows a thing or two about alcohol any time of year, but come winter, he takes a walk on the wild side. more ›

Not to point out the obvious Austinites, but did you know that the holidays are here? Of course you did. That's why you've traded your morning breakfast for gingerbread lattes! Your ironic Christmas sweaters are ready to be donned. Your television repeatedly offers goofy Chevy Chase and/or Tim Allen flicks. There's just one thing missing, and I think you know what it is: your holiday spirit(s). more ›

Raise your hand if you've ever enjoyed a Mojito, a Mai Tai, a Dacquiri or a warm cup of egg nog (real egg nog, folks). Did you know you have Columbus, in large part, to thank for those rum-spiked libations? In typical Euro-enterprising fashion, Columbus brought sugar cane cuttings to the Caribbean islands on his second major voyage. The tropical climate agreed with the crop, and shortly after, a sugar cane industry was born: hooray, sugar! more ›

Tito Beveridge of Tito's Handmade Vodka gives The Informed Drink the scoop on time-honored recipes, how he got started, and accidentally making green vodka one time. more ›

Though it may come as a surprise to many, The Informed Drinker is something of a wino. For as long as she can remember, wine seemed to be the logical complement to any classy affair. Date with husband: wine. Dinner party: wine. Ladies' lunch with Leslie after absolutely exhausting morning shopping for hats and matching thong bikini bottoms: Waiter, your finest vintage, please. However, the longer The Informed Drinker lives in Austin, the more she realizes that things like gin and rum can be classy, too. Tequila needn't be consumed after licking salt off one's wrist. Vodka needn't be inserted into a cherry Jello. In other words, alcohol can be sipped and savored, rather than dashing it away as quickly as possible in frat party-like fashion. Since The Informed Drinker has far less familiarity with spirits than her dear, fermented grape however, she has called in a team of experts to help her study these more serious alcohols. First up: Armando Zapata, tequila expert. more ›

When the final drop of vodka was poured, the last martini glass set down, and the last votes tallied, the 6th Annual Austin Cocktail Throwdown announced a winner Thursday evening. Ladies and gentlemen: Nate Wales of La Condesa has taken the prize. more ›

A few weeks back, The Informed Drinker spoke to FINO'S Bill Norris, one of Austin's best-known bar darlings. Last June, his protégé Dave Alan—one of two gentlemen behind Austin's local cocktail catering operation, Tipsy Texan—took over the bar at Annies on Congress. Originally a quaint lunch spot/bakery and catering service, Annies has recently expanded into a bustling Euro-bistro café and happy hour destination. more ›

As students of alcohol history know, the production and importation of absinthe was illegal here in the United States until very recently: December 2007. Thanks to the Prohibitionists (seriously, thanks guys), the stuff had been banned Stateside since 1912, due to health concerns that its high alcohol content and compositional character caused madness. But who's madder than a drunk Austinite? No one, that's who. more ›

The Informed Drinker is Austinist's new cocktail column. Each week, the city's bartenders tell us what to drink when. If you haven't already, check out last week's inaugural column on East Side Show Room. When it comes to Austin business establishments, FINO is kind of like the Meryl Streep of bars. What praise hasn't already been lavished? What can FINO not do? A stellar brunch. A cunning cocktail menu. Nice waiters, even. It speaks to FINO's spotless reputation that we willingly let Bill Norris, resident mixologist, use us as guinea pigs on the weekends for his divine cocktail inventions. more ›

After so many months of crude summer drinking—$1 beers, jello shots, that new canned champagne at Whole Foods—the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival swoops in just in time to give Austinites a quick shot of taste. Bubbles and Boots, a preview event for the famed Wine & Food Fest, will be held tonight at Kodosky Lounge at the Long Center from 6 to 8 p.m., and while our taste buds may have been dumbed down from far too many cheap mixes and various alcohol-laced popsicles, our eyes still know a quality lineup when we see one. more ›

Open less than a month, East Side Show Room has managed to make Austin's hipsters, foodies, and interior décor enthusiasts all terribly weak at the knees. The vibe. The precious entrees. The steampunk-meets-Amelie aesthetic. Oh, and they support local farms! (Of course they support local farms). Can you help ESSR's diners from becoming near-evangelical? more ›

You'll have to hustle to make it tonight, but every Thursday in June from 8pm-midnight the Belmont and Daily Juice are teaming up on the Belmont Patio to present cocktail culture at its freshest featuring original juice cocktail recipes and music by The Juice Crew. more ›

Forget tasting menus with wine pairings, the Peacock kicks off a monthly "Second Tuesday" tomorrow featuring a cocktail menu with food pairings. more ›