Q: This is a burning question that came to me this morning. I am looking to book an office Christmas dinner for mid-December. We are about 20-25 people, preferably a private room or area separate from main dining room. A moderately fancy place would be in order and uptown or near uptown would be ideal, but open to more casual or more fancy. Nothing too adventurous for food, and would like a place with a variety of cocktails, wine and beer.
Kristen: Can I work at your office?! Sounds like fun. A few ideas for you: The Asbury, which has rooms upstairs for private dining. They are always putting out stellar food, and it’s beautifully decorated there at Christmastime. Fin & Fino’s private rooms can be divided, with one room seating 24 and the other 45. They have some of the best cocktails in town, and can work with you on a signature drink. Lastly, Haymaker’s upstairs mezzanine can be rented out, but that seats up to 45, so it might be a bit too big for your party. If you want to be outside for Covid reasons, Merchant & Trade is a great option that always feels exclusive.

Q: Will you be offering Old-Fashioned Kits again?
Kristen: Great timing on this — yes, we are! They should go on sale next week. Stay tuned for that! We’ve got a great new lineup of bartenders bringing their fall flavors to our October kit.

Q: What’s a good bourbon you can actually find at ABC Stores right now?
Kristen: I’ve seen Pinhook out there a fair amount, and to me, it’s one of the most underrated bourbons out there. You can look it up in the product search. I’ve been burned far too many times by Meck ABC’s product search, however — including this morning! — so it would likely be easier to just pop across the border to a store in South Carolina. Everyone knows Frugal MacDoogal, you can also check out State Line or O’Darby’s based on where you live.

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