By: Mick Cetera, Chicago Storyteller
Our New Year of 2026 is here.
And for Aly Beyer at Slightly Toasted-who's already outlasted the COVID shutdown and proven herself a true Chicagoan-it means new opportunities.
"I only wear gold for fancy occasions," she muses. She should wear gold more often, as she's one of the best whiskey bartenders in Chicago.
"This year, my stepmom Peggy asked me to make an Old Fashioned 'my way'," Aly adds. "And this has taken about eight years."
Go, Peggy!
As we know, changing patterns can be difficult. But when it comes to whiskey, Aly knows exactly what she's doing.
"My stepmom wants a summer sipper. She didn't realize until now that an Old Fashioned is more about being able to taste the whiskey."
Well, let's look at this microcosm.
The future of whiskey is sometimes unpredictable. Take True Story whiskey, for example. We're working with secondary finishes-a method where you take a beautiful whiskey and age it in a barrel that previously held something else. It adds another layer to the story. And it's popular for a good reason: sometimes, you need to turn the page to start a new chapter.
"I used to hate whiskey," Aly confesses, "because I was drinking the wrong brands! But during my time at Slightly Toasted, I started to find the ones I really like."
Just like Peggy-or, well, all of us-Aly's palate has evolved. She goes deeper:
"For a while there, I thought whiskey had to be mathematical and precise all the time."
Well, it does. But that doesn't mean it should isolate the drinker into a pretentious category. Instead, Aly wants to "nerd out" about the history.
"Tell me a story about something you're passionate about." That's what Aly wants.
And that's exactly what True Story is doing.
We're not here to read numbers off a spreadsheet. We're not here to bash you over the head with mash bills and fancy rickhouse tricks.
I mean-we could. We're the best at it.
But that's not how we found Aly this December.
"Let's stop taking ourselves so seriously. Let's just have fun."
As the clock turns and the barrels keep aging, I think about those special occasions-the ones worth wearing gold for. New Year's is about the small victories that make the big picture clearer.
As Peggy sips her modernized Old Fashioned and Aly continues to share her story with her guests, I'm grateful to embrace the opportunities this New Year holds for all of us.
Happy New Year, Aly Beyer-and Happy New Year to our readers. Let's have fun this year.
