In most cities, you’d expect the downtown area to be the most stable for businesses. That doesn’t seem to be the case for downtown Orlando, especially for its restaurants. Longevity just isn’t a quality many restaurants enjoy. Kres Chophouse, which, amazingly, opened 20 years ago, appears to be an exception.

Perhaps it’s because it fills a void, offering an upscale dining experience amid a glut of bars, casual eateries and more bars. And it does it with panache, quality food expertly prepared and served with poise.

In this episode of On the House, Samantha Deacy, bartender at the Sear + Sea lobby bar at JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek, demonstrates her newest creation, The Elite.

Usually, we would also share the recipe for the cocktail, but Deacy uses Buffalo Trace bourbon that she infuses roasted apple and cinnamon stick and then washed with foie gras. Probably not something you’re going to try at home.

So instead, take a look at the video and then head to the JW and ask Deacy to make you one. (Of course, you could always try it with straight, unadulterated bourbon, but you really should get the full effect.) Click below to see the video.

Jack & Honey’s, the new tenant in the space that most recently was Hawaiian themed The 808 but for decades before that was Dexter’s of Thornton Park, bills itself as an “upscale diner.” What does that mean? Instead of grits they serve polenta? Does the waitress Flo have a French accent?

As near as I can tell, an upscale diner means restaurant. And in the case of Jack & Honey’s, a pleasant one at that.

Have you ever wondered why wine bottles come in different shapes? Perhaps you have even heard their associated names, most of them French. The Bordeaux bottle, the Burgundian, the Alsatian. Actually, there is a reason behind each bottle shape and name, though not always associated to a functionality.

It all started in Burgundy, France, in the 19th century, where winemakers decided to use bottles with graceful, sloping shoulders. Interestingly, that was a thoughtful marketing decision designed to provide a recognizable visual packaging style to Burgundian wines, precisely when they had started gaining ample recognition by the international community. But that was an easy adoption as well, as such smooth bottle shapes were easier to fabricate. A win-win situation.

While many of us spent the pandemic isolation period swilling alcohol, Steve Nichols and Mike Weber used the time to figure a way to make and sell it. The result is Caribbean Moonshine, a craft rum distillery, tasting room and retail outlet that just opened at Orlando Vineland Premium Outlet Mall. It’s a 3,000-square-foot facility that pays homage, if that’s the appropriate word, to Florida’s past as a bootlegger’s paradise and rum-runner’s retreat. The Orlando facility isn’t a full-service distillery. The rum base is made in Puerto Rico, then shipped to New Port Richey where it is blended with spring water and cane sugar, and then to the Premium Outlet location for flavoring and bottling. Caribbean Moonshine also sells fruit-flavored rum cakes.