Central Track Contributor
Whiskey and Honey Were Practically Made For One Another. And Dallas Is Finally Realizing It.
Sugar is sweet. And we humans love it — so much so that our own bodies even convert crazy things like fruit into it. Just because it loves it so much. We use it in many different forms to make cocktails more palatable, too, even though, in the end, the whiskey gets magically transformed into the same chemical structures as the corn syrup in your Coca-Cola.
Speaking of corn syrup as a metaphor for everything that is wrong with mankind: What's the deal with us not taking sugar seriously? And, more specifically, sweetness in general?
Sugar can be classy, too, you guys. And there's no sweet nectar more palatable and underused than the one our buzzing insect friends produce.
To bastardize a Moneyball quote, it's hard not to be romantic about honey. Natural sweet nectar made from flowers and the hard work of local bees, it's ready to mix with almost any oppositely strong and dark alcohol.
Whiskey and honey are made for each other. They even look similar. Really, any alcohol with dark character works well with honey. For instance: My absolute favorite drink in town is a honey and absinthe concoction made from Bolsa Chef Graham Dodd's own bees' honey. Somehow, it's the cheapest drink on Bolsa's cocktail list. But it's not the only honey drink in town worth sipping.
The Bee Keeper at Bolsa
Absinthe, mezcal, and Chef Graham Dodd's own honey combine with Sonic ice (you know you call it that when you see it) to bring cocktails to next level on this one. Absinthe, in the traditional Parisian style, is dripped over a sugar cube through a special spoon, turning from an eerie green to a milky white in the process. Whatever chemical properties exists in honey prevent this magic color trick from occurring, but nevertheless, the sweetness works even better with absinthe's odd and memorable taste character.
Charlie Chaplin's “The Gold Rush” at the Texas Theatre
If you love talking film, the bar at the Texas Theatre is a fantastic place to meet interesting folks and hang out on a weekday. Order the new-to-the-menu drink called Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush and chat with bartender Joey about the trajectory of zombie movies through time as you ponder why Buffalo Trace and honey work so well together. You'll be sitting right next to the all-night in-house DJ — a vintage record player and a stack of beat up records. Have a Gold Rush to start, then order two doubles for you and your date to take into the movie. No matter where you sit, just say it's the exact seat Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested in. You owe it to yourself.
