Vodka Rules

When it comes to liquor in Iowa, vodka rules. Nummy! Some more than others, of course...and the top seller in my state, it's the rot-gut low cost Hawkeye that leads the pack. In my old age, I prefer something a bit more top shelf - say Ketel One, or Citron.

The Des Moines Register did an article on liquor sales in the state this week. A record $256 million in sales was sold this past fiscal year ending June 30th. That was nearly a 6% increase over last year. Flavored liquor sales are up - beer down. Wine sales are also up 6%.

In Iowa, the topper of all brands is Donnie's favorite: Black Velvet Whiskey (he and Dee taught my poor husband to drink this brown water - one halfsie at a time), with sales of over 125,000 cases. Hawkeye Vodka brings up a distant second with 95,000 cases. The Captain - Captain Morgan Spiced Rum sold 85,000 cases. Then sales drop down to 57,000 cases.

The next analysis was regarding which county sold the most liquor per adult. Dickinson County - home of Okoboji, Iowa's Great Lakes - a true vacation destination in the state sold an amazing 6.45 gallons of liquor per person. What - do they fill the lake up with the stuff? The next closest is Cerro Gordo (Mason City) at 3.28. Of course I was interested to see how our former home county compared. It came in 26th at 2.10 gallons, behind my childhood home county - Cass, 20th at 2.31 gallons. Our new county - Dallas is a measly 61st. Polk County - right next door, makes up for it, ranking 3rd. The whole problem with the ranking system is that lots of Crestonites purchase liquor in Polk and Dallas County. Or...in Missouri if they're smart!

All the liquor reading made me think about my use of liquor through the years. I started out as a beer only gal. My daddy weaned me (okay it was a little later than that) on ice cold Old Milwaukee. He'd put a couple in the freezer and set the oven timer for 45 minutes - while he drank his bourbon (Ancient Age) and water. I remember visiting the Iowa Liquor Store with Dad years ago before Iowa's laws changed. Back then he'd fill out an order form and they'd give him "the stuff". Do you think marijuana shops are like that now? Anyway, from the time I was young, Dad would let me have a sip of his "beer popsicle".

So when I "grew up" to high school age - and decided it was time to drink alcohol, beer was the stuff! I didn't drink anything else (even when my buddies were drinking sophisticated stuff like Annie Green Spring wine) until the summer after I graduated from high school and began to go to bars. Who bought beer for underage losers like me? Aw - I wasn't that big a loser. (At least I know how to spell loser - unlike many Internet users who spell it looser.) I suspect it was Pam Nelson's older boyfriend. Or Chris Deardorff's bro. OR we found it in the ditch.

The cool beers (or translate cheap, if college students were buying) of my day?

The men of Stevenson House at ISU made me drink this stuff

Cherry vodka wasn't listed on the Iowa most favorite booze list. But flavored vodkas are in! White cake vodka is popular. Another liquor I cut my teeth on (that the sound of turns my stomach now) is tequila sunrise. Ick. I moved on to Tom Collins - with a side of fruit! Next came vodka sours, and a variety of fruity rum drinks at Aunt Maude's.

We also discovered shots - back when they still tasted like liquor! (Think of the female lead on Raiders of the Lost Ark - when she drinks the Turkish guy under the table). Kamikazes and tequila. Of course in college - dime draws and $1.50 pitchers made beer continue to be the drink of choice.

Shots are much better these days - carmel apple, or chocolate milk and cake vodka

Football and shots - go together!

These days - I'm still mostly a vodka drinker. I stick to vodka and tonic or soda with lime. But I love dirty martinis too. I am really a binge drinker, drinking on occasion, but at times too much.

Liquor can be a friend or an enemy. I've seen what it does to people who rely on it daily. Some people's personalities change a great deal when they drink alcohol. Some become aggressive and don't know when to quit - no stop button. It can be fun - but too much of a good thing...

The Lobby

It's always exciting when something new opens in Creston. People can be rough on new places...restaurants have come and gone. But this is a new bar! Creston has our share of boozers.

Pam and Tim Gray purchased Bernings - a well known hotel and restaurant a few years ago. Bernings was a centerpiece in Creston. It once featured a lunch buffet, and the "Red Room." I never saw the hotel rooms, but heard they were functional if not 4 star.

Paul and I enjoyed lunch at Bernings on our very first visit to Creston. We were looking for a house to buy - to make our home. Paul had accepted a job as District Conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Union County. We were living in Osage in Mitchell County where he did the same thing - but it was a flat and boring county, so had its limitations. We were 28 years old.

People at Paul's new office recommended a realtor, so Betty Brown from Stewart Realty showed us homes on our price range that day, while lil Amy G. stayed at my mom and dad's in Atlantic. She had just turned one. Mom said she spent the day climbing in and out of the little rocking chair Mom got her.

Betty dragged us through many houses. Many depressed me. But one had potential - though it was very green, inside and out. And it was at the very top of our price range. We had to think. Betty took us to lunch at Bernings. We sat in the back in the "red room".

We noticed an older woman sitting by herself who looked intriguing. Though she had to be in her 70's, she had blond hair, and she was wearing sunglasses. And a crocheted Coors beer can hat. We asked Betty about her - she said, oh that's Hollywood Susie. One of town's well-known personalities. Evidently she had been an actress at one time, but got off the train in Creston and she lived at the Iowana Motel when it was still functioning.

Bernings peaked in the 80's. Bob, Frieda and their son Nate Berning still made a go of it after that, but the place seemed to lose its luster. Super 8 built a motel on Highway 34, and restaurants featuring relish trays and chefs with hats became passe. Bob was ready to retire, so they sold the place. A Chinese restaurant tried to make a go here, but failed. Then Grays bought it.

So I couldn't enter "The Lobby", Tim and Pam's new bar without thinking of Susie. They named it The Lobby because that's the old paint job on the outside of Bernings said. When you look through the first section of seating, you see the former Red Room area.

I raised one in her honor Friday night - after Bobbie texted me to joined my homies for drinks. Paul and Jeff stopped by later. We taught the staff (Tim and Pam's daughter-in-law - Jessica Beving) how to make a perfect lemondrop martini.