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Five Great...

Dave's Top 5 Drinks of 2012

By Dave Lieberman Wed., Dec. 19 2012 at 3:00 PM

Categories: Five Great...

This year, we're going to publish our top drinks as well as our top restaurants, and I already know where the bone of contention will lie with my list; not all of these are cocktails. I don't want to put up something that may have rotated out of availability, since the best cocktails in Orange County are often seasonal items that don't last more than a few months as menus change. Also, there are some outstanding liquors out there that deserve to be more widely known.

5. Patrick Piuze Petit Chablis

A white wine? Surely I must be joking, right? No--and don't call me Shirley. I am determined to do whatever I can to sway Californians from this bizarre predilection for goopy Chardonnays that taste like being smacked in the snout by a charred oak barrel full of Welch's white grape juice. Petit Chablis is a French Chardonnay, with light fruity flavors balanced by acid. Patrick Piuze Petit Chablis is what I bring to Shuck when I want oysters; it's blended between steel-aged wine and a little oak-aged wine so that it isn't overwhelming, and it's practically made for raw seafood. Buy it at Hi-Time Wines for half the price of the cougar juice known as Rombauer Chardonnay.

Dave Lieberman

4. Rye Sour at Two 40 South

I love complex cocktails that are challenging to my palate, but sometimes I just want a simple drink, and Two 40 South's rye sour hits the spot. It has to have rye--Michter's, in this case--because bourbon is too sweet, and it's got a measure of bitter Punt e Mes vermouth to kill the overwhelming sweetness that dogs most sours. On a hot day, it hits the spot.