Whether observing Dry January, No Alcohol November or just honoring the body with a timeout from booze, many are going dry for a day—or a lifetime. While drinking without alcohol has long meant saccharine sodas, tired spritzes, or a lime, and some sparkling water today craft mocktails have come of age. Now spirit-free options are…

Every summer it seems our Heartwood palates turn to agave spirits, particularly tequila. Maybe that’s because,  July 24th,  National Tequila Day is on the horizon. Maybe it’s because tequila seems so right for the coming Seattle sunshine. Or maybe, it’s just because the bar team at Heartwood Provisions needs an excuse. After all, the men…

Part of what makes Heartwood so special is the fundamental pairing program in place here. Since the beginning, Chef Varin Keokitvon and Beverage Director Amanda Reed have worked closely together to develop dishes and drinks that riff off each other—it’s food with drink, not food and drink. With a program like this, Reed has had…

It’s the annual Negroni Week and bartenders across the United States are shaking up gin, campari, and vermouth—and giving back. The week long event, which runs June 4th to the 10th, uses cocktailing to raise money for a range of nonprofits. Since launching in 2013, Negroni Week has raised nearly $1.5 million dollars for charity….

Beverage Director Amanda Reed loves rum. Asking her to choose the best is like asking what her favorite wine is. That, or the fact that the categories of rum are so different, may explain why our downtown Seattle restaurant has more than 40 rums on the menu. A Rum Primer Fundamentally, rum is a liquor…

Recently, beverage director Amanda Reed was thinking spring drinking and Beaujolais—the light, red-fruited, gamay from France—came to mind. If the flavors of fresh strawberries and earthy mushrooms work so beautifully in those wines, she imagined they’d work well in a cocktail too. So, she added some grassy rhum agricole and savory fennel and a fresh…