Beer made with avocados? Whisky* from 1941? These are phrases that definitely get my attention and hopefully they get yours, too. I’m always on the lookout for anything out-of-the-box (or bottle in this case) and happily got to attend two events this week that do not qualify as normal everyday occurrences.

The first was Angel City Brewery‘s Avocado Festival where, for the second year in a row, the Downtown LA/Little Tokyo brewery was pouring their limited edition Avocado Ale made with avocados grown by brewmaster Dieter Foerstner’s grandmother. The beer can best be described as a traditional ale with subtle notes of guacamole in the finish. There’s cilantro, crushed red pepper, and lime in there and the overal avocado taste was minimal, but still quite tasty. The festival itself was super fun with games outside in the parking lot (in the scorching heat!), food trucks serving avocado-inspired dishes, and bands playing in the brewery’s “Shed” space.

The only issue was that the main brewery Public House was air-conditioned while the other spaces were not and security was very strict about capacity limits. That meant that some people suffered in the heat while the lucky folks got to chill — literally — in the Public House. The good news is that beer was available to everyone, everywhere so a good time was had by all. The Avocado Ale will be available for the next few weeks until it runs out, so get there soon if you’re in LA.

216 S Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 622-1261

The next stop of my Magical Boozery Tour took me to The Pikey, a pub on Sunset Blvd. that’s been reimagined by Jared Meisler and Sean MacPherson. In the semi-private Maharaja Room in the back, Meisler led me and other writers into a liquor-filled time machine where we tasted J&B from 1941, Old Grand-Dad bourbon from 1969, and a perfect Manhattan made with Canadian Club bottled in 1955 when the Rat Pack was still packing. Meisler’s Vintage Whiskey Reserve List is full of incredible bottles, some of which are no longer being made. They’re available now by the glass and the oldest bottle, Catto’s 12 Years Old, goes all the way back to 1942 so you can imagine sipping it with your grandfather before he was even a father. Definitely get over there to drink some of these bottles before they’re empty.

7617 W Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 850-5400

The full Vintage Whiskey Reserve List:

Fun fact about whisky: if it’s spelled without an e, it’s traditionally scotch and it’s spelled whiskey, it’s traditionally bourbon or an American style. The more you know!