Thirsty yet?

Searching for Bobby Heugel: Anvil stars race around town in Reverse Pub Crawlcocktail fight

Whether you love the cocktails at Anvil, do anything to support a good cause or just want an excuse to drink, you'll want to keep your eyes peeled for Bobby Heugel and Peter Jahnke around town Wednesday.

Heugel and Jahnke are competing for charity and for glory as they spend 14 hours racing around town Wednesday. Dubbed the "Reverse Pub Crawl," instead of having drinkers move from bar to bar, the bartenders will be showing up at dozens of bars and restaurants around town, offering their signature craft cocktails to patrons for $20 each. The racing mixologists must stay at a bar until they find at least one willing buyer, and points are accrued by serving at as many locations as possible.

As Heugel describes it on his blog:

The inspiration for this lunacy started on a day in which I made cocktails in three different Houston bars. In what was likely a fit of sleep-deprived insanity, I began to wonder how many Houston bars it would be possible to make a cocktail in within 24 hours. I was mulling these thoughts over with fellow Anvil bartender, Peter Jahnke, the most sarcastic and competitive asshole I’ve ever met. In classic Jahnke fashion, Peter started talking a bunch of bartender smack about how he was sure he could get to more bars than I. You have to understand that usually Peter’s drunken rhetoric claims of cocktail supremacy revolves around tiki recipes, of which I am more than happy to yield to his Tahitian knowledge, but there was no way in Jose Cuervo Serving Hell that I was going to forfeit to these over-ambitious claims. Thus, the Reverse Pub Crawl Competition was born."

All funds raised by the reverse pub crawl will go towards a non-profit Heugel is starting, which will encourage bartenders to take a day off (and participate in events like this) in the hopes of raising money for clean water initiatives like charity: water.

You can find Bobby and Peter around town by following their Twitter accounts — if they walk into an empty bar or find no takers, they'll be asking to be rescued by their fans.

We hear they are starting this morning at Canopy at 11 a.m., and are including Poison Girl, The Usual, Antidote, Ninfa's on Navigation, Kata Robata, Hugo's, Queen Vic, Reef, Beavers, Feast, Grand Prize Bar and many, many more on their all-day quest for drink-making supremacy, which will end at 1:45 a.m. at Anvil, where the ultimate Reverse Pub Crawl Competition winner will be crowned.

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cheers to that

Texas bourbon named one of 2024's top 10 whiskies

Still Austin Whiskey Co. Red Corn Bourbon Whiskey

Still Austin Whiskey Co./Facebook

Now if only we could snag a bottle...as a Christmas gift, of course.

Three cheers for Still Austin Whiskey Co.! The distillery's Bottled in Bond Red Corn Bourbon Whiskey was recognized as one of Whisky Advocate'sTop 20 Most Exciting Whiskies of 2024.

Every year, Whisky Advocate's expert panelists rank hundreds of whiskies based on their quality, availability, value for the price, and "X-factor," meaning an excitement-inducing component like a unique flavor or an innovative idea. An international panel also reviews contenders through several blind taste tests without knowing each whisky's producer, origin, age, or price.

The magazine ranked Still Austin's five-year Red Corn Bourbon No. 7 on the list with a prestigious score of 94 points. The Red Corn whiskey, which was released in June 2024, has mash bill consisting of 36 percent Jimmy Red corn, 34 percent white corn, 25 percent rye, and 5 percent barley.

According to panelist Shane English, tasting notes start big and bold with cracked pepper, dusty leather, and cocktail cherries, before moving on to a palate of chile pepper, caramel, and buttery cornbread.

"Each sip is electric — the pepper gives this whiskey a zing balanced by poundcake and glazed doughnuts," English said. "Charred oak fades to chocolate, coffee, and pecan pie on the finish."

Still Austin had the only Texas product on the list, which was fitting given the brand's recent boasting that it could match any Kentucky Bourbon. As a game day stunt when the Texas Longhorns played the Kentucky Wildcats in November, Still Austin refilled empty Kentucky Bourbon bottles with its own Cask Strength Bourbon for just $1.

When the brand isn't playfully antagonizing Kentucky fans, its Red Corn Bourbon sells for a retail price of $85 per 750-milliliter bottle, falling nearly in the middle of the price category out of all 20 bourbons on the list, with eight others priced for less.

For additional context, none of the top five bourbons fall under a $100 price tag. In fact, the most expensive bottle on the 2024 list is the Angel's Envy 2023 Cask Strength Port Wine Barrel Finished Bourbon, which ranked No. 12 and retails for $230 per bottle.

"Our top 20 whiskies represent a curated collection that deserves your attention. Each whisky on the list stands out for its superb taste, representing the pinnacle of a year filled with remarkable tastings," said executive editor David Fleming in a release. "This list features whiskies offering exceptional value, leaders in their respective styles, and superbly made expressions that are well worth seeking out."

Whiskey Advocate's 2024 Whiskey of the Year is Laphroaig Elements 2.0 Cask Strength Scotch Single Malt, which earned 95 points and retails for $165 a bottle.

whiskey bourbon distilleries awards lists