'Sips & Shots'


Granny's Baked Apples
Granny’s Baked Apples

Arkansas, our 25th state as of June 15, 1836, is no longer The Land of Opportunity.

No, seriously, they changed their motto to The Natural State back in the 1970s to…

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Meet Me at the Fair
Meet Me at the Fair

Now, if you were paying attention last week when Maine was added to the Union as part of the Missouri Compromise, then you’re probably not surprised that the Show-Me…

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Bitter Berry
Have a drink with Louie the Lobster (a leftover party favor from my 30th birthday party where he and his buddies were Crawfish Impersonators–it was a Bayou-themed party)

The Pine Tree State became the…

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Alabama cocktail
East Avenue South–the background photo is from my trip to Birmingham, its the lane leading down to an amazing restaurant, Cobb Lane

Passing through French, British & Spanish hands, the town of Mobile, Alabama

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Coming in at number 21 on the sip-by-state roster is Illinois, Land of Lincoln, which became a state on December 3, 1818.

Home to the third-largest city in the country, the state is a bit top-heavy with almost three-quarters of…

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Muddy Magnolia Shot
Muddy Magnolia

Entering the Union on December 12, 1817, Mississippi became the 20th state to sign on the dotted line.

Thinking of the Magnolia State brings to mind…

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The Hoosier State became the 19th state of the Union on December 11, 1816. It was in their constitution that the first state-funded public schools were called for, even if it took over 30 years to follow through with the…

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Ohio is the 17th state admitted to the Union but it wasn’t quite so simple as it sounds. It wasn’t until 1953 that they were official declared the 17th state retroactively.

As part of the Northwest Territory, an area became…

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The 16th state of the Union, Tennessee is a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.

Well, wait, maybe it’s a lot of each as both musical genres found their feet with Nashville holding court at the Grand Ole Opry and…

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I spent a week in Louisville, Kentucky, when I was about 13. We were visiting my aunt (a professor at U of L at the time) over Thanksgiving. Many things stand out about that trip:

  • the 11 hours

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