There’s so much more I can write about in regards to my mostly
memorable vacation, but I have to end with the best bar I’ve ever
been to, the Aviary. If you consider yourself a cocktail connoisseur
and haven’t been there yet, you have to go – NOW. Pack your bag,
book a flight or put gas in your car and GO. The menu is incredible
and they’re doing things that no one has ever thought of before.
Brock and I decided to have their pick-three cocktail flights.
The first of my three drinks was the Zombie Panda, which has
tiny little ice spheres, smaller than marbles, made out of raspberry
liquor. That’s right, even the ice in this drink gets you drunk. It
was sweet and tart and, if I could have those little ice spheres in
every one of my summer drinks, I’d be the happiest girl in all of the
Midwest.
The second drink I ordered was also fantastic, but didn’t even
compare to my third. The Thai Iced Coffee is the most whimsical drink
that has ever existed. It was brought to me in a classic glass mug with
most of the yummy booze sitting on the bottom of the glass. On top of
the mug was the daintiest wisp of vanilla cotton candy. Our server ever
so gently poured dark rum over the cotton candy, letting it dissolve into
the drink. The combination of candy, cardamom, anise, milk and rum,
was the only way I could have ended my experience at The Aviary.
After that, we were lucky enough to be snuck into their rather
exclusive bar in the basement called The Office. I’m going to be really
mean here and keep that experience to myself because you have to go
and experience it yourself. There aren’t enough words
– and definitely not enough space – in this article to sing the praises
and the awe of what is the best hidden gem.
Chicago: the best vacation I’ve ever been on and the best drinks I’ve
ever had. I’m excited to go back and wish I could go tomorrow, but
until I do, I hope some of you get the idea. Go drink – skip the touristy
stuff and discover the Chicago that I found.
Tito’s
Story
H
i. I’m Tito Beveridge and I’m
the founder and owner of Tito’s
Handmade Vodka. I’m from San Antonio,
Texas. I went to Vanderbilt for a year, then
to UT (University of Texas at Austin).
I graduated with degrees in geology and
geophysics. I got into the oil and gas
business and did that in Texas, then down
in Venezuela and Colombia where I ran
heli-portable dynamite seismic crews.
When I came back to Texas, I started a
drilling company in Houston, got tired of
chasing the buck and decided to move back
to Austin.
I did groundwater geology there, got into
the mortgage business and it was when I
was in the mortgage business that I started
making flavored vodka for my friends for
28
A Zombie Panda at the Aviary.
Christmas presents.When rates went up a couple points in the
mortgage business, I started going to liquor stores and asking if
they’d buy my flavored vodkas. They said
“No, go look at all the dust on the shoulders of those bottles there”.
Then they said that if I could make it where it was smooth, where
you could drink it straight, then I might have something.
I tried to get some financing a couple of times and it didn’t work
out because they said I’d never get my permits; There’d never been a
legal distillery in Texas and they said I’d never get a distributor. So, I
ended up just taking the money I’d saved up while working overseas
and I racked up 19 credit cards to the tune of about $88,000.
I built a one-man distillery, a production still and just got myself
into business. I’d go out, make it, sell it, come back and make some
more. I was sleeping next to the still and you know, just kind of
boot-strapped it up.
At one point we received a phone call to come to the World
Spirits Competition. I was fixing a boiler, so I just sent a couple
bottles there. We ended up getting the double gold medal
– the unanimous judge’s choice – and that was up against 72 vodkas
from around the world including flavored vodkas. That helped spur
things along.
I appreciate ya’ll supporting Tito’s Handmade Vodka. It’s really
been a dream come true for me and it’s really due to all the word
of mouth that we’ve had. It’s all pretty much just been from people
going into liquor stores or bars and asking for it. So if you are in a
bar and they don’t have it, ask to speak to the bar manager.
Our distributors are on our website at Titosvodka.com.
Thank you very much.