A spirited look at the people and pours shaking up the Capital Area

If there’s anything that south Louisianans take as seriously as their football and their food, it’s the culture of gathering over good drinks. This is where the best stories get told—and where the memories are made that turn into more stories down the road. From craft cocktails to whiskey neat to zero-proof beverages that are worthy of their own celebration, all are invited to this party.

Britt Kulsveen, the president and “Chief Whiskey Officer” of her family’s brand Willett and one of the women profiled on the pages that follow as part of this issue’s cover package, calls that spirit a “timeless commodity,” but she could just as easily be referring to any of the concoctions crafted in our local haunts. “At the end of the day, it brings people together,” Kulsveen says. “It connects people, and it’s over storytelling, and that’s also timeless.”

Meet three women who are putting their own stamp on a Southern tradition

Stylish sipping at the Capital Region’s newest speakeasy

Mocktails are big, even for drinkers

What’s on trend in the local drinking scene