Although Savor Food and Wine Festival is on Saturday at the Tucson Botanical Gardens to fulfill all of your food and beverage desires, the $75 day of ticket price might be a bit rich for your blood. If that's the case, no worries—head on over to Ten Fifty-Five Brewing Co. at 3 p.m. for their second anniversary celebration.

With special small casks, seasonal Randalls and brand new beers to sample, Ten Fifty-Five made sure there was plenty to drink for the party. Fans of the brewery will also be happy to know that their popular Sugar Skull chocolate milk stout is making a comeback for the event too. It's not all about the beer, though, because Agustin Kitchen, Prep & Pastry and more are bringing food and a band and a DJ will be supplying the tunes.

Birthday festivities run from 3 p.m. on Feb. 7 until midnight at the brewery, located at 3810 East 44th Street Suite 315. 

So by now you probably know Johnny Gibson's Downtown Market and Independent Distillery will be opening in a couple months off of Arizona Avenue, breathing new life and plans for walkability into the area which functioned more as an alley in recent years. Both spaces will have joint use to a large patio area when they hope to open in April and a third space—a bar called HighWire Lounge—will share the patio as well.

Located at 14 South Arizona Avenue, if you choose to peek in now, you'll see a lot of construction and some exposed brick walls. However, part-owner and bartender Jacob Hise is looking to change that in the next two months, transforming the space into an upscale "subtle vintage circus" themed bar with approximately 20 spots at the bar, 20 in the lounge and 40 out on the patio, according to Hise. Local art will be displayed "like a gallery space" on the walls, as well as a six-foot Margaret Joplin sculpture on the patio.

As a former mixologist for Lodge on the Desert, Hise is looking to bring a premium concept to Tucson that it hasn't had before. For him, that means a molecular gastronomy take to cocktails using spirit brands folks know and love in conjunction with some small batch, micro-distilled liquor to expand people's horizons. 

"We want to go craft on the cocktails and not craft on the liquor," he says.

While much of the cocktail menu is being kept under wraps, Hise is also looking to include two Pueblo Vida draft beers, six more craft brews, and four wines on tap. Although there are a number of great bars already in the area and the downtown's first distillery going in right next door, Hise says he is happy to be surrounded by other great bars.

"It's good to be around other spots—it's why they put JC Penny's next to Macy's. It's spacial economics," he says. "It's not going to be either or."

As for the name, Hise says it's in reference to the difficulty trying to secure a location, with the original space located off of Council Street near 6th Avenue falling through before they received the Gibson Court offer.

"It's really been such a tightrope walk so it made sense," Hise says.

You can stay in the loop with developments on the HighWire space by following the bar on Facebook.

Although I may or may not have eaten a donut for breakfast from La Estrella, you still might be on the straight and narrow righteous diet path—following through on those New Year's resolutions. If you are, congrats, but even if you're not, it can't hurt to cut a few calories in your boozing regimen. 

When it comes to drinking, health definitely isn't a prominent concern for most people, despite the fact that the cocktail itself was invented to be medicinal. However, if rich craft beer and decadent cocktails are starting to load you down, consider the gin rickey: a mix of gin, lime juice, and soda water.

In one gin rickey, there are 115 calories, about 1 carbohydrate, and a negligible amount of sugar and sodium. Since it has lime juice, it even has a bit of vitamin C. Plus, compared to light beer, which has about 100 calories but 5 times the carbs, and red wine, which has both more calories and carbs, gin rickeys make a lot of sense.

More importantly, compared to the terrible taste of light beer, the gin rickey is the obvious choice. Lightly tart and very clean, it's good for both summer and winter. You can keep your rickey interesting by switching up the gin you choose, adding new flavors each time.

If you haven't learned by now that gin does not have to taste like a bunch of pine cones (though some people dig juniper-forward gin), try the gin from Farmers, Hendrick's, Juniper Green, or anything from St. George's line-up. Arizona Distilling Co.'s Desert Dry gin also has a killer (and award-winning) botanical blend including cardamom, coriander, lavender, and citrus that is so drinkable it can be enjoyed neat—something even I as a crazy gin lady hesitate to do.

Any bartender in town should be able to pour an ounce and a half of your gin of choice and juice half of a lime over ice and then top it off with soda water, so the drink is appropriate to call out even at a dive bar. You can also easily make this one at home once you've bought a bottle of your favorite gin.

However, if your resolution was to give up drinking, please disregard this post and, um, good luck with that.

The Arizona Craft Brewers Guild and local breweries like Dragoon have been soliciting Facebook followers and fans to sign a petition for the Arizona Beer Bill. The bill is looking to increase the current production limit placed on brewers so Arizona beer makers can try to compete with other breweries nationally.

Here's what the petition says in part:

The Arizona Beer Bill allows microbreweries to grow beyond the current 40,000 barrel limit without having to forfeit retail licenses they hold or let go employees. Doing so will promote growth in the industry while strengthening the three-tier regulatory system. The current microbrewery limits should be refined to reflect the incredible growth of this industry and the enormously positive economic impact of microbreweries. The Arizona Beer Bill ensures that microbreweries will not be penalized for their success.

According to the Arizona Beer Bill website, the bill's opponent is the Arizona Wine and Spirits Wholesale Association, which includes three of the state's beer, wine, and spirit wholesalers:

The AWSWA has cited concerns about how the bill would affect the integrity of the three-tier system, a concern they did not have when changes to the system last year positively affected farm wineries and microdistilleries, local industries that both the Guild and BWDA fully support. 

If you're interested in signing, you can view the petition online. Initial voting on the bill is likely to occur in late January or early February, according to the bill's website.

The brand new bar in Reilly Craft Pizza's basement has been open less than two weeks, but is already creating a buzz around town. With a four page craft cocktail menu filled with inventive drinks, the bar has been packed most nights since it's opened.

However, the team at Tough Luck Club is hoping for an especially busy night on Wednesday, Jan. 14 because they're hosting a fundraiser to help out fellow bartender Erick Evans. The Scott & Co. employee tore his ACL at work and will be out of commission while it heals which unfortunately means no income.

TLC bartender Niklas Morris says he and Stephen Ott will be behind the bar at TLC on Wednesday night mixing up one of Evans' specialties: the Messi Situation. The proceeds from that drink, which combines cachaça, Fernet, Averna, and cinnamon, will go to Evans, as well as 100% of the two working bartenders' tips from that night. 

You can stop by the bar from 5 p.m. until 2 a.m. on Wednesday to donate to Evans.

January is rushing by already so before you know it, it'll be time for Dillinger Days. On Jan. 23 and 24, the outlaw celebration will commence at Hotel Congress, bringing reenactments, live music, and a heavy dose of history to downtown Tucson.

However, the event's kick-off function will be a 1930s-inspired speakeasy party at the hotel. With themed bites from Cup Cafe and a steady flow of Whiskey del Bac and special Borderlands brews, as well as a cigar lounge, the event will attempt to transport guests to Dillinger's time. In terms of entertainment, a photo booth, vintage car and magic shows, and live music courtesy of Kings of Pleasure and Desert Melodies will keep attendees busy between the booze. 

The speakeasy will start at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23. Tickets can be bought online in advance for $25 with the proceeds going to the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation. 

Of course, that's not all that's in store for Dillinger Days this year. The following day at Hotel Congress will be jam-packed with historical skits, tours, and lectures as well as art, live music, and a beer garden featuring local beer. All of that and more will take place on Saturday, Jan. 24 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and it is free to attend.

Here's some footage from past Dillinger Days festivities in case you're a first-timer:

The local distilling world is about to get a bit bigger this spring when Independent Distillery fires up their fermenter and mash tun and still and starts cranking out locally made liquor downtown. Located off of Arizona Avenue between Congress Street and Broadway Boulevard next to the future Johnny Gibson Downtown Market, the distillery plans to open about the same time this spring as the market, which will share a large outdoor patio with the bar and distillery.

Although Hamilton Distillers have already made a name for Tucson craft liquor, the team behind Independent Distillery sees their project as a partner to Hamilton. Founder Don Northrup explains that he sees craft distilling as an up-and-coming market in Tucson that definitely has more room for growth.

"We love what they're doing at Hamilton and we're not trying to step on that," he says. "There's enough room for a few more distilleries in town even."

To that extent, Northrup says they won't be making single malt whiskey, which Hamilton is known for. However, the crew, which currently includes his wife Toby Hall and their friend Trevor Streng, will start by distilling vodka and a couple of styles of gin (with secret botanical composition) and then move on to aged spirits like bourbon and rum. Northrup says they also plan to make bitters.

Streng and Hall met initially through the service industry as coworkers and all three have worked in the industry locally for years. 

"This is what I know, but I knew I didn't want to do it for anyone else anymore," Northrup says. "We combined all of our experience and now we just want to have an impact on the community and to make a good product. There's a reason that we're here. This is our home."

The distillery team says they're excited to be downtown, which, until very recently when the state approved the issuance of a Series 18 craft distillers license, wasn't even possible. 

"The development that's going on in this area in the next year is going to be nuts," Hall says. "We're just happy to be a part of it."

That development Hall is referring to includes partially turning the Arizona Avenue corridor into a more pedestrian-friendly area with outdoor seating, storefronts, and less dumpsters, according to Streng. However, just being neighbors with currently operational local businesses that they plan on partnering with like Pueblo Vida Brewing Company makes the location ideal for them too.

You can stay up-to-date with the distillery's progress by checking out their Facebook page.

Local music lovers and barflys alike will be sad to hear that, as of Saturday, Jan. 31, the District Tavern will be closed for business—at least as its known now.

The District’s owner Noel Chester says the battle to keep her bar open in its current location actually began three and a half years ago when her landlord—downtown developer Scott Stiteler—sent Chester a memo saying her property had doubled in value.

Since then, according to Chester, the two have been going back and forth on numbers—raising her rent price from around $15 per square foot to $30 per square foot.

“He told me that if I couldn’t talk to him about that number, then we didn’t have anything to talk about,” Chester says.

Despite trying to negotiate, Chester says Stiteler informed her the 30-day negotiation period for her lease was up and she’d have to leave. After her attorney’s proposal that she stay in her current location on a month-to-month basis until Stiteler found a new tenant was denied on Dec. 17, Chester assumed the District was doomed to shutter.

“As far as I was concerned, it was finished,” she says.

However, this is, according to her, where things start to get pretty messy between them. On Christmas Eve, Chester says she received an email on behalf of Stiteler with a new deal. According to her, he would allow her to stay in her current location until March 23. However, under this agreement, she says he demanded that she leave her bartop in the building after she vacated, sign over the District’s business name and branding to Stiteler, and agree to a gag order so she would not speak to the press about the agreement.

“At best, I thought it was unethical to send that on Christmas Eve,” she says. “At worst, it was unspeakable.”

UPDATE: Upon reading the email mentioned, it was actually sent on Dec. 22. It also required a disparagement clause, not a gag order as previously reported— the key difference between the two being that a disparagement clause is a contract-specific term that prohibits speaking publicly in a negative manner.

Chester says she feels that Stiteler’s plan was to keep the District running—just without her.

“What they really want is my name, my bar top, and— I don’t know, come to your own conclusions, but it seems they want my business without me here,” she says. “I can’t say for sure, but I do know how it makes me feel.”

After that, Chester overheard that an employee at Good Oak Bar was saying that Stiteler would hire her to take Chester's place as future manager of the District. Chester says she then went into Good Oak and approached the employee.

"I told them that they will burn in hell before they get the District," she says. "It was a metaphor not a threat ... bad people go to hell."

Despite that, Chester hasn't had any resolution for her soon-to-close bar. She says when she opened her bar over a decade ago, Stiteler wasn’t her landlord and the entire feel of downtown was different then. As someone whose resume includes bartending at local spots like Hotel Congress since the ‘80s, she says she’s seen the city change.

“I know a little bit about downtown and what’s always been so extraordinary to me is that it’s so diverse,” Chester says. “To gentrify it and then say you’re making it better by pushing out diversity is worse than sad.”

Although Chester admits business has been slower for her in recent years, she doesn’t see the redevelopment of downtown as a main reason for that. She does, however, see the growing centralization of the city’s dining nightlife into one area as a bain for businesses on Fourth Avenue and beyond.

“There hasn’t been this population boom they thought there would be,” Chester says. “They’re draining clientele from one area to another now. What is that going to do? Who is that helping?”

After several attempts to reach Stiteler for comment, he did not return our calls. However, we hope we to talk with him in the future about his plans for The District space. As far as Chester, she says her plan now is to find a new job because she currently doesn’t have anywhere to move her bar.

Editor's Note: This post was changed from its original format to include new information.

Phoenix, Flagstaff, and even Lake Havasu certainly have their share of great local breweries, but according to BeerAdvocate, our state's hoppy pride and joy comes from Tucson.

Cool Material pulled stats from the well-known beer rating site and the results are in: Arizona's highest rated beer is the Dragoon IPA. The local brew got an average rating on 4.17 out of 5 on the site, giving it the lead. The site describes the IPA's flavor as "lots of pine and lots of bitterness." According to Dragoon, the beer is " a true West Coast IPA–it is pale in color, with bracing bitterness, high alcohol content (about 7.3% abv) and a fruity/floral/citrus hop aroma" that pairs well with both pho and pizza. Sold.

Unfortunately, even at 4.17 the beer doesn't make the top 250 highest rated brews in the country, which probably just means us Arizonans aren't voting enough on BeerAdvocate. It's also one of the two brews Dragoon distributes year round, which could explain its popularity over their other options. 

You might be at the point right now where you've had about as much Christmas stuff as you can possibly stand. Well, you'll want to make room for one more dose of holly jolly when you hear about Scott & Co.'s egg nog cocktail.

Blending traditional nog components like milk, cream, sugar, eggs, and a "liberal use of nutmeg" grated freshly into and on top of the cocktail, Ryan Sunderman says they like to pre-batch a large amount of the drink and whip it up in a blender to give it a light, airy, and frothy consistency. With El Dorado spiced rum for depth and richness and Amontillado sherry to add complexity and nuttiness, the finished product is rich, but still balanced and drinkable. 

As part of the bar's rotating line-up of weekend specials, you can get a cup of nog this Friday and Saturday for $4. Sunderman explains the craft bar introduced punch-style specials to offer guests something they can have cheaply and quickly.

"It's almost like an appetizer," Sunderman says.

Upcoming specials planned for Scott & Co. punches include a wassail and a mulled wine, but you can get the last of the egg nog this weekend. If you're interested in attempting to make your own tomorrow, you can approximate Scott & Co.'s recipe by blending these two Jeffrey Morgenthaler recipes.