Ever wonder what the folks behind your favorite local watering holes really think? What about where they drink, or don’t drink? The annual installment of CL’s Cocktail Issue serves up the answers to all of the above — and more.

Elsewhere throughout these pages, On the Sauce columnist Chris Fasick chases down three cocktail recipes from a few Tampa Bay newbies — CW's Gin Joint, Ichicoro Ane and American Social Bar & Kitchen. The drink formulas are meant to encourage you to stop into the establishments where they were created for an in-person taste test, as well as some exploration behind your own home bar. Later, A&E Editor Cathy Salustri also presents classic and coming-soon books about the art of the cocktail.

And, as is tradition with the release of this issue, HighBall returns at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 25. Our latest cocktail battle between a talented lineup of area bartenders is planned for St. Petersburg’s NOVA 535.

See ya there. —Meaghan Habuda

This article appears in Jan 25 – Feb 1, 2018.