This month, many of us will be able to bring family together for Thanksgiving in a way that was largely impossible in 2020. For that, we indeed give thanks. As usual, the palates of your guests will be as diverse as their personalities. But no matter who’s sitting at your table—a wine geek, a beer snob, or a person who couldn’t care less and just wants something delicious to sip on—we’ve got you covered!

Fun Fact: Every family has its traditions on Thanksgiving and not all of them are wine-friendly. All the rules about pairings need to relax a little on this holiday. Mix it up—and open things like Riesling, Lambrusco, cheap lagers, and Belgian Lambics. And if White Claw is your thing, we won’t judge.

Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis “Bricco delle Ciliegie” 2020
($25, Passion Wines)

White wine might seem like an easy call with turkey, but heavier, oaky Chardonnays don’t always play well with mild flavors, and light, simpler wines like Pinot Grigio can get beaten down by thick gravies and sweetish side dishes. This beautifully taut wine hails from Italy’s Piemonte region and offers up plenty of pretty, perfumed notes of white flowers and a touch of green tea that will float above such things without trouncing the bird. A racier finish displays notes of pear and lemon to wash it all down and prepare you for the next forkful.

Erdinger Dunkel
($13 six-pack bottles, Legends)

Here’s a brew that seems perfectly crafted for Thanksgiving fare. Dunkel is brewed as a wheat beer but with darker, chocolatey malts to give it its distinctive color and richer texture. It was first made in 1989 as a present to the brewery’s owner from the brewing staff. He was so impressed with it, he ordered it into production, and it became available to the public in 1990. It’s rich and a little spicy, able to support roasted fowl and hearty vegetables. It’s also elegant and smooth, not interrupting the flow of the meal.

Black Tot Caribbean Rum
($55, Winebow)

Whiskey of some iteration tends to be the high-test sipper of choice as the weather gets cooler, but may we suggest a good rum? After all, for centuries, the British Navy supplied its sailors with a daily ration of rum to steel their nerves against the rigors of Navy life. This came to be known as the daily “tot” until 1970, when the practice was eliminated. Black Tot Rum pays homage to that day and brings together the flavors of Barbados, Guyana, and Jamaica in a rum that offers spicy tropical notes along with coffee and chocolate. It’s a layered and complex offering that will please the single malt Scotch crowd and is also rich, which will surely suit the Bourbon brigade.

If the thought of rum conjures up images of pirates, college parties, and boozy daiquiris, you aren’t alone. But the spirit itself has a much more layered and complex past—one that you can explore at the 23rd Evening of Traditional Beverages put on by the Homewood Museum at Johns Hopkins University.

The annual event, this year held at the campus’ Mudd Hall on May 30 from 6-8 p.m., gives guests a big dose of history with a spoonful of spirits, live music, and local food all to benefit the museum and its future endeavors.

“It’s a fun way to think about history,” says Homewood Museum curator Julie Rose. “We haven’t focused on rum in over 15 years and I know it’s a big part of local lore.”

Indeed, rum was a huge imported product in 18th-century Maryland, mostly being shipped from Barbados into London Town and Gardens in Edgewater. According to historian Kyle Dalton, who will be speaking at next week’s event, the elixir was an apt symbol for cultural mores of the time.

“Maryland was a society of contradictions, as it was very communal but strictly hierarchical,” explains Dalton, coordinator of membership and development for the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick. “Rum was a luxury product, so you knew that it was a fairly refined society drinking it. But it was most commonly consumed as a rum punch with colonists drinking directly from the same bowl, so that reflects the communal society.”

Dalton notes that it’s becoming commonplace for museums to try and replicate the past, like with living history exhibits and even the duplication of alcohol products. Colonial Williamsburg has been trying its hand at replicating beer (“the Miller Lite of the 1700s,” he notes) and Mount Vernon is producing a similar whiskey to what George Washington would have imbibed.

“Young audiences really want experiences, rather than something they can take home from the gift shop,” Dalton says. “Liquor is an experience you can share with other people. It’s a small time-travel experience for your tongue.”

That transformative aspect can be seen in modern-day Maryland, thanks to many distilleries using traditional recipes and methods for producing rum. Take St. Mary’s County-based Tobacco Barn Distillery, which makes its rum from 100-percent local ingredients that is then fermented, double-distilled, and sealed in bourbon barrels aboard the U.S.S. Constellation.

“On the ship, you get a little bit of movement that causes swirl and circulation in the barrel, so that imparts a lot more flavor,” says Tobacco Bar co-founder and former Navy admiral Scott Sanders. “If you were in Maryland in the 1700s, this would be the kind of rum you’s drink.”

Besides Tobacco Barn, the rum revival is alive and well in Maryland, thanks to distilleries like Lyon in St. Michael’s, Old Line Spirits in Highlandtown, Blackwater on Kent Island, and Lost Ark in Columbia—all pouring their products at Traditional Beverages.

“Rum not only interests me from a historical perspective, but we wanted to highlight the resurgence of distilleries in Maryland,” Rose says. “People have a real interest in seeing where their food comes from in terms of protecting our planet. There was the microbrewery phenomenon that has had such a big impact on the industry and people are interested in distilleries for that same reason.”

The rain-or-shine event will also feature locally sourced bites from Woodberry Kitchen and live calypso music from percussionists Christina Manceor and Matthew Stiens.

“Right now, campus is in a transition period after graduation, so it’s a great time to celebrate,” Rose says. “This is a good excuse to put on your floral shirt, relax a bit, and learn about some history of the drink.”

Our region has many nicknames. One of them is “A City of Firsts,” which generally refers to Baltimore’s historically innovative spirit. And we are happy to see that it’s alive and well today in the first bar inside a city distillery (that uses another nickname as its moniker).

The owners of Old Line Spirits opened their distillery in February 2017, but the bar debuted in Highlandtown this summer. Old Line was able to piggyback onto a bill in District 46 this past legislative session to allow consumption of mixed drinks on the site where those very spirits are being made.

The result is The Ready Room Cocktail Bar (200 S. Janney St.), a nod to the Naval pilot backgrounds of owners Arch Watkins and Mark McLaughlin. The cocktail menu pays tribute to their military service with categories including “port calls,” “midrat drinks,” and “bravo zulus.” (They even have a handy glossary of terms to educate us civilians.)

Industry vet Steve Lamb—who has poured drinks at Rye and Verde—uses Old Line’s whiskeys and rums to full effect. One showstopper is Liberty Risk, which combines three kinds of rum, grapefruit, lime, cinnamon, and grenadine and is served in a tiki glass with a flaming lime and two wheat straws for sharing. Unlike a lot of tiki drinks, this one isn’t too sweet and is nicely balanced. But, as is the case with many tiki drinks, pace yourself.

A tamer cocktail is the Starboard D, a mix of Old Line’s single malt whiskey, aged Caribbean rum, and house-made root beer with slight molasses notes. The mixer doesn’t mask the flavors of the liquors and is delicious on its own. There is also a curated selection of (local!) beer and wine, but you come to The Ready Room for the cocktails.

When it comes to décor, the bar itself is pretty bare bones, though some thoughtful touches like vintage Baltimore signs and upcycled aircraft items add a touch of élan. But it feels how it should—more like a brewery taproom than a full-blown bar. The idea is for patrons to tour Old Line’s production facility in one room and then try the spirits in various cocktails in the next.

On the night we went, a trivia host was getting started and local food truck Dough Boy Fresh was selling pretzels left and right. This whole bar-in-a-distillery thing really works. Here’s hoping other districts in Maryland soon follow suit. Clearly, we’re ready.

In Naval aviation terms, a ready room is a room on an aircraft carrier where pilots conduct missions and swap stories. Arch Watkins and Mark McLaughlin, co-owners of Old Line Spirits and former Navy pilots, are hoping their bar of the same name can pay homage to that idea.

Opening on June 8, Ready Room will be the first full-service bar to operate out of a distillery in Baltimore City. Inspired by Seacrets in Ocean City, which operates as a bar and distillery thanks to a 2015 bill that created a Class 9 distiller’s license, Old Line wanted to create a tavern experience adjacent to its distillery production.

“One of the challenges we’ve had is that, under our old license, you could do a tour, tasting, and bottles to go. We couldn’t do bar service,” McLaughlin explains. “It was almost like a museum. You could have a great time and great experience, but there’s no reason to come back next month.”

The Old Line owners still had to apply for a liquor license in the city, which isn’t the easiest of tasks, and were able to piggyback onto a bill in District 46 submitted by Sen. Bill Ferguson and Del. Luke Clippinger. They are hoping this could inspire similar models throughout the city.

“I imagine that this sets a precedent,” says Steve Lamb, bar manager at the Ready Room, who helped open Rye on Thames Street. “If this bar is successful and respectful to the community, then others like it can follow this same model.”

Lamb and his staff have designed a beverage program loosely based on the Naval theme with a majority of cocktails using Old Line whiskey and rum. The menu will include six cocktails, a section of Port Calls (named after international ports), boilermakers (a shot and a beer), two draft beers, and an approachable wine list. The drafts will rotate, but start out with Monument City and Key Brewing “since they’re in the same zip code,” he says.

One cocktail they are excited about is called the Liberty Risk, a term describing an officer who is more prone to trouble while visiting a port, which is a take on a zombie made with Old Line Navy Strength Rum, rhum Agricola, Jamaican rum, grapefruit juice, lime juice, grenadine, and bitters.

“The Ready Room is a nod to our heritage and where we came from before we got in this business,” McLaughlin says. “But we are trying not to overdue it, so it will just be a subtle nod. The bar is mostly going to be about showcasing our products in delicious cocktails.”

The space will be hosting food pop-ups from places like Snake Hill or a catering company started by Tom Hamrick formerly of Modern Cook Shop and Ben Sawyer from Fork & Wrench. Lamb is also excited to feature rotating bartenders on Wednesday nights from places like R. Bar, Sugarvale, and Rye.

Open Wednesday-Saturday, Ready Room will give the community a chance to better experience the distillery’s products.

“It’s one thing to see Old Line at a shelf at a liquor store. But seeing it presented in cocktails that Steve and his team have put together will be an entirely different experience,” McLaughlin said. “We feel like it will be a really nice addition to the neighborhood.”

Fine libations and heartfelt music enjoy a partnership that goes back millennia. Whether you rock red Solo cups at outdoor festivals or immerse yourself in a wine glass at the opera, we’ve got three grooves to get you in a musical mood.

Clement Rhum Agricole “Select Barrel”
($40, Washburn)

Global beats and Caribbean melodies are woven into the fabric of spring and summer outdoor festivals, and we can’t imagine a spirit more connected to tropical culture than rum. This special bottling will elevate any dark rum cocktail, but enjoy it straight, as well. Its soft strains of spice and warm vanilla notes deserve to be savored on their own.

G.D. Vajra Barolo “Bricco Viole” 2013
($80, Country Vintner)

It’s a tired cliché to compare fine wine to classical music, so we’ll take a more literal approach: This stunning bottle of Northern Italian red can be likened to the orchestra itself. Firm structured tannins are the low-frequency foundation of the wine, supporting the compact red fruit tones akin to the role of cellos and violas. Finally, high-toned delicate floral aromas ornament the experience like a virtuoso violinist.

North Coast “Brother Thelonious”
($13 4-pack bottles, DOPS)

Jazz represents a rich tapestry of styles and moods, unified by a willingness to push boundaries and blend influences. Strap on your best headphones and settle in with this Belgian-Style Abbey Ale brewed in California. Its subtly sweet timbres of caramel, plums, raisins, and brioche are best enjoyed at a contemplative pace. A portion of all proceeds support the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

Prá Soave Classico Otto 2015 
($20, Vinifera Imports)

Contrary to popular belief, not all Italian white wines are crisp and acidic, and this one is proof. Prá is among the top producers of Soave, a popular white made from the Garganega grape in the region known as the Veneto. This example overflows with notes of citrus and peach, with a clean juicy finish and just a hint of minerals. It’s fantastic with the sweet tones of high-quality crabmeat, and just juicy enough to compete with a little Old Bay and tartar or cocktail sauce.

Clemént Rhum Blanc Agricole
($35, Washburn Wine Company)

We aren’t suggesting you take shots of fancy rum with your crab cake, but may we suggest a mojito? Mint grows like a weed right now, and lime plays well with crabs. In this case, we’d elevate the cocktail by using a rhum agricole, made from estate-grown cane sugar rather than the leftovers of refined sugar production, like most rums. It adds an undertone akin to white corn. Textbook mojito: Muddle mint leaves with lime and sugar. Fill glass two-thirds with crushed ice. Add rum. Place juiced lime shells in glass. Top with club soda or seltzer.

Paulaner Hefe-Weizen

($10 six-pack, Republic National Distributing Company)

Luckily for beer drinkers, the crab cake is pretty accommodating when it comes to pairings. While we do love a local brew, there’s a certain appeal in going with an iconic Old World brewery like Munich’s Paulaner. We like their wheat beer with crab cakes because the extra body handles condiments well, there is no aggressive hop profile to overpower the delicate crab flavor, and the citrus tones inherent in wheat beer pair beautifully with that squeeze of fresh lemon you’ve just sprinkled on your cake.