Hookah. Coffee. Tea. And now, cocktails?

Espresso Art Café, at 921 E. University Blvd., may be a dream come true for 21-year-old-plus college students.

What was once a lounge where student groups (such as the UA Young Democrats,) would hold meetings is now Castilian Spring, a speakeasy-style bar in the back room of Espresso Art. Jazz music, dimmed lights, old-fashioned wood furnishings and sculptures and mini-statues on the highest shelf of the liquor cabinets make for an underground, prohibition-era feel.

The bartender on Wednesday night, Tyler Dunn, muddled lemon and cucumber with crushed ice before adding tequila, lemon juice and a mixer to the glass. He then shook it and poured a neon green drink in a martini glass adding two slices of lemon, a nice final touch to his work of art.

The small bar specializes in cocktails with most of their juices freshly squeezed to order. Dunn said most of their cocktails are "dark and stormy" and contain bourbons, like in the pre-prohibition times. Though their menu is still a work in progress, the current draft includes daquiris, margaritas, and a Brazilian rum-based drink called caipirinha among other mixed drinks.

Dunn said when the bar isn't too crowded, he enjoys experimenting with drinks based on what liquors and flavors the customer likes.

"What kind of cocktail can we come up with together?" Dunn said. "I think that that's a lot of fun."

The bar is also working on creating infusions with natural ingredients and their alcohol.

The only disappointing thing about the bar is they don't have beer on tap, just bottles. This is partially because of space and partially because it's easier to rotate their selection if they're not selling a certain kind.

Happy hour is from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, a perfect time for day drinking after class.

The guys from Borderlands Brewing Co., located at 119 E. Toole Ave., spent the holiday season replacing their old fermenting tanks with much bigger ones so you can enjoy more beer, and now more often.

“We’re just real excited to get back up and running again,” said Mike Mallozzi, co-owner of the brewery.

The brewery will be open this Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. with live music from Gabriel Sullivan and Joe Novelli. There will also be a food truck in the parking lot.

Blake Collins, head brewmaster, has come up with yet another unique brew made with local ingredients. "Agua Bendita" is what they're calling their newest product, a wheat wine made with heirloom Sonoran White wheat, orange peel, coriander and jasmine tea from a local tea company.

“We brewed it especially for our anniversary,” Mallozzi said. “It’s called a wine because it has a high alcohol content but it’s not made from fruit.”

The brewery opened its doors Dec. 10, 2011 and closed its doors for expansion exactly a year later.

Not only will the three owners, Myles Stone, Mallozzi and Collins, offer their guests more beer, but they're also extending their hours. The brewery will now be open for tasting Wednesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The trio hopes to get more of the after-work crowd in by staying open an hour later, and one more day than last year.

They're also hoping to distribute to more businesses in Tucson now that they'll be brewing more than three times what they used to.

“We’re going to have to take a couple of months to see how much beer we go through here at the brewery so we can have a good understanding of how much beer there is available for distribution,” Mallozzi said.

If you like helping a good cause, local beer, whisky tastings, cigars, and the 1930s then head on down to Hotel Congress on January 18th. From the Hotel Congress Facebook Page:

The Dillinger Days festivities kick off with a Friday night soiree that recaptures the spirit of the 1930s. “John Dillinger” will start off the night with a quick-draw, gun slinging show on the Club Congress stage. Then, taste premium whiskies, including an award-winning local — Vickers Brothers Whisky from Flagstaff. Borderlands Brewery will also be on hand with tastes of their local made brews. A museum of 1930s memorabilia in Copper Hall plus big band tunes from Kings of Pleasure and music from Duo Vibrato add to the early century vibe.

Proceeds benefit the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation to restore a 1923 American LaFrance Fire Engine — the very engine that responded to the Hotel Congress fire on January 23, 1934.

Also the Cup Cafe will have a Chili bar for noshing between events. Festivities start at 7pm. $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

• The beer taps at Whole Foods at River and Craycroft

You probably missed your chance to be one of the first hundred customers (they received a free baguette), but if you want to check out the new Whole Foods at 5555 E. River Rd. (the northeast corner of River and Craycroft), the wine and beer bar, with nine local beers among other excellent selections (I need to get over there for Odell's Lucene, their chocolate stout nowish) might be reason enough to head over. You can dine on pub food, watch TV and taste the exclusive beer Dragoon made for the store, which was described to me by the store's PR person thusly:

It pours like a porter but is light like an IPA. It is made with hops so experimental they don’t even have a name, just a catalogue number.

If you're not looking to drink and shop, there are other notable and interesting things going on at the new store, including a smoothie bar, an in-store pizza oven and a meat department complete with its own smoker. Smoked meat and beer...Whole Foods, you know the path to my deeply unhealthy heart.

No confirmation from the ownership yet, but word is that Luke Cusack's Redline Sports Grill and accompanying nightclub RPM closed yesterday. There was drama last year between Cusack and Lindy Reilly (of Lindy's on Fourth fame) and then a giant Buffalo Wild Wings location opened right next to Redline late last year, likely hacking away at the Grill's income, but seemingly the nightclub portion of the business was doing well, with TAMMIES runner-up Kidd Kutz (and my former co-worker at Clear Channel, for what its worth) moving there on Friday and Saturday nights in November. For what it's worth, one post by a local club promoter mentions that the business is moving in the next three months.

We'll update the post if news emerges, but as it stands now, it seems like the controversial Cusack (just read any comment section on a story mentioning him on our site) might be leaving another failed business in his wake.

Well the “little speakeasy that could” gets some more public recognition. Scott and Co., located next to its sister restaurant 47 Scott (at 47 N. Scott Ave., in downtown), has been singled out by Jim Meehan as one of his ten favorite new bars in the country. Jim Meehan was named American Bartender of the Year in 2009, among other accolades, so he has some heavy credibility. With places on the list from New York, Portland and Chicago accompanying our our hometown bar, Scott & Co. is in good company. You can see the full list here.

The guys at Ten 55 Brewing are having their first public tasting today from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The brewery is located at 3810 E. 44th St. They will be selling their Leap Pale Ale, and you may be able to squeeze out samples of the Lazy Duck Wheat. If you have beer lovers that you’re still shopping for they have the usual stuff for sale (t-shirts, growlers, etc.) as well. Have one, or more, for me. I will be stuck at work dreaming of a pint.

24/7 Wall St., which seems somewhat like a legitimate news source, I guess, has a survey of the nine mass-market beers that have suffered the largest decline in sales since 2006 and it turns out that times have been tough for the Michelob brand, which takes up the top two spots in the list:

American consumers have abandoned Michelob — a lager brewed since 1896 — at a faster rate than any other beer. From 2006 to 2011, sales declined from 500,000 barrels to 140,000, with a 20% drop between 2010 and 2011 alone. No other beer on this list sold less than Michelob. The next-lowest selling beer, Amstel Light, still sold 200,000 barrels more than Michelob last year. The brand has not always struggled. According to Beer Marketer’s INSIGHTS’ Eric Shepard, “the superpremium category — basically between Budweiser and the imports — Michelob pretty much had that to itself for many years.”

So, how long will it take for Michelob to become the new PBR, sold as a hipster discount staple at a dollar or two a bottle? A year or so? A few months? On the other hand, can anyone actually recall what Michelob tastes like? Maybe that could be part of the problem.

The excellent (and occasionally quite silly) local webseries Hopped Up has been featured here before, taking a look at Best of Tucson staff pick Empire Pizza & Pub, but the gentlemen behind the show have moved their focus to one of Tucson's many stellar microbreweries, Dragoon Brewing Co. Take a look as they chat with the good folks at Dragoon, and also wear silly masks.

This Saturday, December 1st, the guys at Dragoon Brewing Co. will be having the final voting for their "Beard-Off." The three guys have been growing the best facial hair they can and each have selected a charity to support.

The masses will vote for the best and the winner's charity will receive a donation basted on November's pint sales. The tap room, at 1859 W. Grant Road, #111, will be open from 2-8 p.m. There will be food from MaFooCo starting at 4:30pm, and the winning beard & charity will be announced at 6 p.m.