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9 0 MACONMAGAZINE.COM | D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 MY OVERALL IMPRESSION of Piedmont Brewery & Kitchen was a welcoming place offering excellent service, good food and a congenial environment. For me, part of its charm is the design with cozy touches of wood and tin. You feel like you are in a renovated barn in the countryside. Aesthetics aside, I came to try one of Piedmont's signature cocktails – a Cascade Mule. The ingredients were the same as a Moscow Mule except, in keeping with being a brewery, a Cascade Hop syrup was added. There was an agreeable balance of the ginger beer with vodka, fresh lime juice, simple syrup and Cascade Hop syrup. A lime slice garnish topped it off. It was refreshing and a definite choice for a return visit. Gentle readers, in addition to their brewed beers and wines, Piedmont has more than 140 whiskies on the menu. Let me repeat: 151 whiskies – 12 American, 26 Rye, 30 Scotch, four Irish, two Canadian and 71 Bourbon. If Mr. Churchill had visited, he would have commented, loudly, to the owners of the establishment that his favorite whisky, Johnnie Walker Red Label, was not among their Scotch selections. And then he would have sampled their offerings – perhaps to find a new "friend." To accompany my cocktail, I ordered a burger – hold the beef. Burgers using plant-based patties instead of RATING SCALE Exceptional Good Fair Just OK Piedmont Brewery & Kitchen 450 Third Street MYSTERY DRINKER LOOKING FOR A COCKTAIL AND A BURGER beef are in the news with major chains advertising them. The marketing claim is that they resemble beef in look, texture, taste and cooking properties. And so, Piedmont's "Beyond Veggi Burger" caught my attention. I ordered one with added blue cheese and a side salad. My burger lived up to the hype. In creating Piedmont, Brian Whitley and Richie Jones "envisioned a place where anyone could celebrate their love of great food and drink." On the basis of my visit, I think they've succeeded. Cheers, Winston → Winston Churchill was key in steering us to victory in World War II. He also was renowned for his prodigious consumption of alcoholic beverages. In that spirit, this column is dedicated to his memory.