Image via

​Brenna Haysom is every mother's dream: She had a Harvard degree and a lucrative job in finance -- which she then quit to develop, with no pharmaceutical background whatsoever, an over-the-counter hangover remedy called Blowfish.

Gut Check was fortunate enough to receive a sample of Blowfish, and we risked life, limb and liver to see if it's the morning-after cure (er, the other kind of morning-after cure, we mean) it purports to be.

More >>

www.mastermindvodka.com

Mastermind vodka: Think about it.

​The farm-to-table movement has swept through restaurants nationwide. Farm-to-table booze, though? That's a trend Gut Check doesn't encounter very often. The folks at Pontoon Beach, Illinois-based Mastermind Vodka want to change that.

Business partners Carl Levering, Joel Berrye, Nick Roady and Dave Geertz opened the distillery last month. Their goal isn't simply to supply St. Louis with another libation. They want to support the area where they live and work, keeping production close to home.

Their slogan: "Better drinking through thinking." Strikingly similar to the wording on the Gut Check clan's coat of arms ("Better Drinking Than Thinking"), but our mother always maintained that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

More >>

Screenshot: www.cicerone.org

​With the ongoing boom in the craft-beer market, the once simple beer list (Bud? or Bud Light?) can seem as intimidating as the fustiest tome of Bordeaux verticals.

That's where a Cicerone -- or, if you like, a beer sommelier - can come in handy.

The Cicerone program is an independent (and trademarked, hence the capital C) service that certifies a small number of beer experts in three different levels: certified beer server, Certified Cicerone and Master Cicerone.

Local distributor Major Brands recently had three members of its staff complete the Certified Cicerone exam. Gut Check caught up with one of them, Mitch Turner, the director of training and development, to learn more about the program.

More >>

Jennifer Silverberg

PW Pizza bartender Renee Ludwig pours a pint from local Six Row Brewing.

​If you haven't had the chance to become acquainted with the craft-brewing scene in St. Louis yet, don't fret. Plenty of opportunities exist on the horizon to get a taste of what's brewing in your own back yard.

On Thursday, January 12, at 6:30 p.m., PW Pizza (2017 Chouteau Avenue; 314-241-7799) presents a Winter Warm-Up Beer Tasting hosted by Perennial Artisan Ales . And if the erratic weather patterns dictate the need for warmth, there's always plenty of room for the inner glow from a nice pint. Get a taste of Perennial's farmhouse ales, seasonal styles and cellaring varieties, as previewed last October by Gut Check, at the cost of $10 for four to five samplings. Call 314-621-1996 to reserve a spot while it's hot...or cold...or mildly tempered, whatever the case may be.

As another homage to the small-batch craft-beer baby boom, the Old Rock House (1200 South Seventh Street; 314-588-0505) presents the Live & Local St. Louis series, featuring free monthly concerts paired with a local beer on draught.

More >>

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 drink-slingers to suggest great cocktails to get you through the season. Some of them are holiday-themed, some traditional, some not so much, but they all share one common thread: delicious potency.

Stephen Fairbanks

Monarch's Spicy Nutcracker.

​Gumbo on the menu. Shrimp and grits, too. The Meters on the radio. A pecan liqueur, praline, behind the bar.

The influence of the Big Easy is strong at Monarch (7401 Manchester Road, Maplewood;314-644-3995). Shortly after last year's shift toward New Orleans cuisine, bartender Tyler Burns created a drink called the Spicy Nutcracker.

"It's kind of a takeoff on a Sazerac," says Burns, referencing the Nawlins-born liquid legend that has experienced a major resurgence in recent years.

Whereas the original requires an absinthe- or anise-flavored component, Burns takes a festive detour while remaining true to the drink's roots by adding the praline liqueur. The result is the perfect holiday cocktail to take the edge off of a St. Louis chill.

More >>

​As the comments on our first Kräftig post prove, there's no consensus on the new lager from William K. Busch. Opinions range from:

I just sat down and had the two beers, both equally horrible. They taste bland and smell like a watery pilsner. They should just stay at home and realize that disposable income cannot buy a good beer. Get original.

to:

Tried Kraftig Lager today and found it to be robust, flavorful, and very smooth and drinkable for an American Lager. I'm spoiled after living in Germany for 21 years....This Lager puts Budweiser to shame. Best American Lager I've had here.

Sly old Gut Check knows from long experience that when presented with conflicting opinions regarding alcoholic beverages, the proper course of action is as plain as "that thing" on Assistant Principal Hogarth's face: Raid the Gut Check International HQ petty cash stash, round up a colleague or three and get our drink on.

More >>

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 drink-slingers to suggest great cocktails to get you through the season. Some of them are holiday-themed, some traditional, some not so much, but they all share one common thread: delicious potency.

Mabel Suen

"The Grinch" at Mangia Italiano

​You're a mean one, St. Louis winter. But those who sympathize with Mr. Grinch can learn to love again thanks to bartender Jason Hutto at Mangia Italiano (3145 South Grand Boulevard; 314-664-8585). Gut Check headed down to the south side watering hole to cure the bitter, bleak-weather blues with this sweet minty treat.

After one slow, smooth sip of Hutto's holiday invention, the Grinch, Gut Check decided to pass the drink around for fellow barflies to enjoy as well. After all, isn't sharing and caring what this time of year is all about?

More >>

Image via

​Gut Check nearly fell out of our chair when we came across the headline "Study of the Day: Drinking Alcohol Fuels the Desire for Unsafe Sex." Finally! An explanation why, whenever we mix ourselves up a pitcher of white Russians, we always end up strapped naked to a trapeze hung from an overpass above the River Des Peres.

Then we read the abstract of the study -- published in the journal Addiction with the sexy-time title "Alcohol consumption and the intention to engage in unprotected sex: systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental studies" --and realized these scientists were talking about actual science.

More >>

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 drink-slingers to suggest great cocktails to get you through the season. Some of them are holiday-themed, some traditional, some not so much, but they all share one common thread: delicious potency.

Stephen Fairbanks

The final step in the Autumnal, straining over two large cubes of ice.

​

Signs of winter abound at Araka (131 Carondelet Plaza, Clayton; 314-725-6777). The valets can see their breath outside as they wait to park cars. Inside, the Blues game is on the television at the bar. And bar manager Tim Kosuge has the perfect libation to go with the season -- the Autumnal.

Oddly enough, this cold weather creation was inspired by a summer cocktail Kosuge had developed: the Falernum, a Caribbean-themed drink with white rum, accompanied by a traditional syrup of almond, clove, ginger and lime. As the weather turned cold, and Araka prepared its winter menu, Kosuge wanted a corresponding winter cocktail.

More >>

Laura Ann Miller

Inside Taste, one of America's best bars

​In a slideshow posted this week, Food & Wine magazine named Taste (4584 Laclede Avenue; 314-361-1200) one of the 50 best bars in America. A brief blurb does manage to mention "local hero" mixologist Ted Kilgore and of the dishes from chef Adam Altnether.

"Very cool," Kilgore tells Gut Check of the recognition.

"Adam [Altnether] texted me about it," Kilgore says. His initial reaction, he confesses, was confusion: "What is that?"

(Kilgore then recalled Food & Wine asking Taste for photographs a couple of months ago.)

Just today Gut Check revisited Kilgore's mixology magic, as he prepared a "Dear Elisabetta" for our Holiday Cocktail Countdown.