A slice of life in pre-Prohibition Sacramento was on display at the Sacramento County Historical Society’s monthly meeting Tuesday night as saloon ware collector Steve Abbott gave a presentation on artifacts from the 1860s through the 1920s. The Sacramento Press caught up with Abbott Wednesday for a more in-depth look at his collection. “I come from a family of collectors,” the 73-year-old retired English teacher from Rancho Cordova said. “One day I was in Old Sacramento in an antique store, and I saw an old whiskey bottle for $7. That was when I got into it – about 30 years ago.” While whiskey was made back east, in states such as Kentucky, Ohio, New York and Indiana, it was shipped to

  In the mood for a low-country Regina Spektor-meets-Jimmy Buffett-on-whiskey act followed by a Dave Matthews crossed with a beached-out Buddy Holly number? Well, you can... this coming Tuesday, November 8 at the Naked Lounge in downtown Sacramento (1111 H St.), starting at 8:30. This all ages show features two of California's up-and-coming, on-the-scene singer-songwriters, Jo Elless (www.joelless.com) and Mike Macchia & Tyler Canaday (Mike's Lost and Found, http://www.youtube.com/TheMikeMacchia). Midwest and northeastern roots, with a little dixie thrown in for good measure, Jo Elless is a Berklee-trained multi-instrumentalist who arranges her songs for wind orchestra (all of the instru

Shady Lady Saloon will add a new white whiskey to its menu called Original Moonshine Clear Corn Whiskey, and to help introduce it, a cocktail competition will be held at 6 p.m. Monday. White whiskey is different from other whiskey in that it hasn’t been aged in the barrel, or if it has, it’s not for very long, Shady Lady co-owner Jason Boggs said. There are no guidelines for the competition – just that the bartenders use the Moonshine corn-based whiskey as the main spirit. Three judges will decide which cocktails win first, second and third prizes, with rewards of $500, $300 and $200, respectively. The three judges are Chris Dooley, head spirits director  bar manager at Ella  L Wine Lo

              I'd been in Harlow's for almost 10 full minutes Tuesday night when a fellow that I'd exchanged brief pleasantries with on the way in approached me at the bar. "Hey man, we're gonna go burn if you're interested."               After a lengthy internal deliberation, I declined his kind offer. It was up to me, you see, to relay the evenings events to you, kind reader, and that's a responsibility I take very seriously. I wouldn't have my perceptions dulled by anything stronger than PBR. At least not until the set break.               Truth & Salvage Co. was opening for San Francisco's Tea Leaf Green, and though I'd never seen either group live before, as the crowd rolled in, I fe

The 6-piece Americana-Rock phenoms, The Whiskey and the Devil Chaplain, are making their Sacramento debut at Naked Coffee on Saturday, May 22nd. The guys make up a fantastic mix of indie roots, folk and straight ahead Americana music. Formed at the latter-end of 2007, the Whiskey is making a name for themselves one show at a time through their knock-down live performances.  Here is just some of the attention they've been getting: “The fellas that make up this Valley-born folk/bluegrass group played just a handful of songs, but it was enough to make an impression. They opened a February night show at the Cellar Door in Visalia for genre-faves Langhorne Slim and April Smith, and both were

Looking for something different to do on Second Saturday? Cafe Americain is offering a solution that will not only please the taste buds, but educate them as well. There will be a single malt scotch whiskey tasting and seminar at the restaurant from 5-9 p.m. Saturday. Mike Wahba and his wife Natalya, owners of Cafe Americain, are hosting the tasting seminar, which has been on hiatus for a couple years now. This will be the inaugural event for the the couple, with hopes of successfully revitalizing it to become an annual occurrence. Although the Cafe Americain is only a few months old, it has already begun to pique the interest of locals with its unique style offerings. The restaurant is

        Sacramento has a lot of great things happening for St. Patrick's Day and we wanted to Highlight just a few for you.  Come and celebrate St. Patrick's Day week with de Vere's Irish Pub and a few of our close friends! SATURDAY MARCH 13TH-   DE VERE’S PUB- JOIN US FOR ST. PRACTICE DAY with $4 Tullamore Dew and $1 off draught beers from 4-8pm   OLD SACRAMENTO’S PARADE- Celebrate with your entire family at Old Sacramento’s 14th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Enjoy the parade, Irish food, and their new beer gardens! For more information CLICK HERE!   SUNDAY MARCH 14TH-   DE VERE’S PUB- JOIN US FOR BRUNCH before, during and after the Shamrock’n half Marathon. We will have brunch