Courtesy of Rodney Hu.

Arizona Distilling Co. has released its locally-made Copper City Bourbon.

If you've seen the historic-looking Copper City Bourbon bottle springing up around town at your favorite watering holes, like Casey Moore's, Little Woody and even Tucson's historic Club Congress, you probably didn't get a chance to read the back label. If you did, you'd have read the story of the Copper City Brewery, which was shut down during prohibition, and how Arizona Distilling Co. is keeping it local and reviving the history of the defunct beer-maker in making locally-produced spirits.

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Courtesy of starchefs.com

Steve Olson moderating a panel on building a wine team

Steve Olson

Chef Salad is taking a detour this week and next, interviewing four of the country's leading beverage industry experts, all of whom will be speakers at seminars held at the Hotel Valley Ho for the second annual Arizona Cocktail Week, February 16-22. Their excitement about cocktail culture is infectious and their knowledge of wine, spirits, cocktails and the history behind them is beyond impressive.

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-- Small-Batch Spirits Dazzle at Micah Olson's Bar Crudo
-- AZ Cocktail Week Kicks Off Feb. 16. Expect a Carnival, Competition and Seminars. Better Line Up a Designated Driver.

Geeky? You bet! But they're also down-to-earth hospitality types who started out behind the bar (Olson excepted) and still love being there. Today, you'll hear from Steve Olson (background after the jump). Come back Tuesday for Charlotte Voisey's take on bartenders versus mixologists and how Prohibition affected cocktail culture.

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Because you're happy. Because you're sad. Because you just got promoted. Because you just got fired. Because you're lonely. Because you're out with friends. Because your girlfriend just dumped you. Because you're trying to get laid. Because you're golfing. Because you're at the game. Because a steak just doesn't taste right without a martini. Because JÄGER BOMBS, BRO! Because it's Saturday night. Because you're hung over from Saturday night. Because you need to. Because you want to.

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- Drynuary: A Mid-Month Update

There are many, many reasons to have a drink. What a month without alcohol shows you, mostly, is that there really aren't that many reasons not to.

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Love is in the air -- and as with other airborne pathogens, you'd prefer to keep a safe distance. For the Hallmark haters and the Valentine adverse, Chow Bella has put together a list of the 5 least romantic cocktails around. Order one for yourself or send some over as a gritty gesture to the PDA couple at the bar -either way, the satisfaction will feel a lot like stepping on Cupid's arrow.

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- Dwayne Allen of Rum Bar Gives a Tasty Tutorial on Rum

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SASSI

Valentine's Day is approaching and to get you in the lovey-dovey mood, Chow Bella has picked out ten local love potions around the Valley. Try a few or try them all, just be sure not to leave an impromptu message on your ex's phone -- after all, alcohol love makes us do crazy things.

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--Fourteen Valley Restaurants to Take Your Sweetie Pie to on Valentine's Day
--Matthew Weston of the Royal Palms in Phoenix Talks Dessert Wines

SASSI - Amore Smooch- $16

The Amore Smooch is by far SASSI's most seductive cocktail. Godiva White liqueur, Svedka Cherry Vodka, and Crème de Cacao are served in a stemless martini glass filled with crushed ice and 2 fresh rose petals, then garnished with 3 Svedka Cherry Vodka-infused cherries, half dipped in chocolate. Amore Smooch? Try, Amore Full-On Make Out Session.

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Buchanan

Chrysa Robertson making limoncello

Italians are nuts for limoncello, a sweet, bright lemon liqueur traditionally served chilled as an after-dinner digestif. They drink it in restaurants and make it at home, using family recipes passed down for generations. In the last few years (and possibly owing to cocktail culture's interest in tradition), house-made limoncello has been popping up in upscale Italian restaurants and other chef-driven, cocktail-centric eateries -- around the U.S.

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-- Phoenix Cold Snap Is Over But What Are the Repercussions For Local Farmers and the Restaurants Who Buy From Them?

So it's no wonder that Chrysa Robertson -- one of our first home-town chefs to make local-seasonal-organic her mantra -- whips up batches of limoncello every winter at Italian-inflected Rancho Pinot. She says it's easy as pie -- easier, actually -- requiring little more than citrus peeling expertise and patience.

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Carly's Bistro

Hot rum cider

When temperatures in Phoenix are lower than they are in Anchorage, Alaska - you know it's time for a drink. Fortunately, these three Phoenix based bars are serving up drinks both hot and heavy - perfect for the over 21 in need of a solution to the under 21 (well, it feels that way) weather.

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Hot Rum Cider at Carly's Bistro
Stop by this Roosevelt Row restaurant for a seasonal pick-me-up of hot rum cider. This downtown drink, garnished with a fresh apple slice and served in a warm mug, is perfect for wrapping your hands around as you watch the gallery foot traffic. For more information visit Carly's online.

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Zach Fowle

Richie Moe

Fizzy cocktails are nothing new. The Tom Collins, gin and tonic, French 75, Champagne cocktail and good old rum and Coke have been tickling noses for decades, if not centuries. But these days, bartenders in New York and San Francisco are making house-carbonated cocktails, and to hear them tell it, the results are way more interesting than simply adding a little splash of sparkle -- in the form of soda water, soda pop, tonic water or Champagne -- to a drink.

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-- Eight Beer Cocktails in Metro Phoenix
-- Rich Heider Whips Up Heavenly Hot Chocolate Cocktails at Market Street Kitchen

The trick is to carbonate the entire cocktail, not just pour something carbonated into it. Molecular mixologist and envelope-pusher Richie Moe of Citizen Public House loves taking on the next big thing, so he and his right hand man Brandon Casey plan to unveil their first carbonated and bottled cocktail on New Year's Eve. Here's what they have in mind.

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Astor House

Cinnabar Coast

Attention holiday hosts: there's still a chance to wow your guests this season with a little help from the Astor House. The cozy dinning spot tucked away in the Coronado district of Central Phoenix is offering an intimate cocktail class this Saturday at 4 p.m. led by house bartender Blaise Faber.

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- Make Puerto Rican Egg Nog Now, Enjoy It Later
Astor House: Stellar Sandwiches and a Laid-Back Vibe

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Buchanan

Seasonal berry-infused vodka percolating at Searsucker

Flavoring spirits by soaking herbs, spices and fruits in them is nothing new. In fact, the practice is almost as old as distilling itself. But in the last four or five years, since cocktails went craft, infused booze (flavored with anything and everything, including meat) is big and getting bigger. It's not a flash-in-the-pan fad but a keeper for one simple reason: infusions add complexity to a cocktail.

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8 Beer Cocktails in Metro Phoenix
Just in Time for Christmas, J&G Steakhouse Resurrects the Tom & Jerry

When it comes to infused booze, Searsucker in Scottsdale has got it going on, offering eight infusions on its cocktail menu, many of them making their way into signature cocktails ($12), all of them available to be sipped neat or mixed in other boozy beverages for an extra flavor dimension ($11). The infusion that got my undivided attention? Buttered popcorn tequila, which falls into the super-trendy subcategory known as "fat-washed."

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