The Future of Cocktails Is Already Happening in Omaha

Anna’s Place isn’t a speakeasy. It’s not a theme bar.

We’re just a cocktail bar in Omaha — and we care a lot about what’s in your glass.

When we opened Anna’s Place, the goal was simple: make unforgettable drinks using house-made ingredients, local flavor, and a little grit. Now we’re taking everything we’ve learned and flipping the script on how cocktails get served in this city.

Why the Cocktail Scene Shifted

If you were drinking (or bartending) ten years ago, you remember the era. Omaha bars were buzzing with classics, revivals, obscure spirits, and long-winded stories about ingredients. People were learning what made a Negroni tick. The culture around cocktails was booming.

Then COVID hit.

Bars closed. Industry veterans left. And a whole generation of new drinkers missed out on that transfer of knowledge — the mentorship, the vibe, the unspoken rules of what made a cocktail matter. For a while, drinks got simpler. Seltzers ruled. Vodka + fruit was back.

Now? We’re moving forward — and we’re doing it our way.

What We’re Launching at Anna’s Place

Starting in August, Anna’s Place will debut two full pages of house-made, ready-to-drink cocktails. These are carbonated, bottled drinks served just like a beer or a seltzer. Pop the cap, pour, and enjoy.

But here’s the catch — everything inside the bottle is made right here, by us.

  • We carbonate in-house

  • We make all the syrups ourselves

  • We infuse our own spirits

  • No co-packing. No gimmicks. Just solid technique, bottled

You’ll still find balance, creativity, and layered flavor — just served in a way that fits how people drink now.

Why This Matters for Omaha

We want to be the bar that shows Omaha a new lane for great drinks.

Not everything needs to be stirred for 10 minutes. Not every cocktail needs to feel like a ceremony. You can get something excellent — made by hand — in under a minute. No shortcuts, just better systems.

We’re not abandoning the old ways. We’re just translating them into something faster, smarter, and more fun.

Try Them Before Everyone Else

Our bottled cocktail menu launches in August. Come see what we’re building at Anna’s Place in downtown Omaha, inside Hotel Indigo at 1804 Dodge Street.

Want to write about it? We’re happy to share behind-the-scenes access, ingredient sourcing, or the weird nerdy stuff we’ve been doing to dial this in.

Contact: info@annasplaceomaha.com

Reading Between the Lines: A Closer Look at Tarot Tuesdays in Omaha

Documenting a weekly ritual inside Anna’s Place

On Tuesday nights, something a little quieter happens in downtown Omaha.

There’s no DJ. No stage. No QR codes promising bucket deals.

Just a small, dark room. A reader. A deck of cards. And you.

This is Tarot Tuesdays at Anna’s Place—a bar tucked inside a hotel, known more for its cocktails and calm than its crowd. From 9 p.m. to midnight, the room shifts. It doesn’t get louder—it gets deeper.

And people keep coming back.

A Different Kind of Bar

Anna’s Place isn’t a theme night. It’s not a pop-up. It’s not trying to go viral.

It’s a bar built on intentionality. That applies to the drinks—crafted with house-made ingredients and months of testing—but it also applies to the energy in the room. There’s a ritual at the door: new guests are asked to keep voices down, phones dimmed, and to wait for a staff member to let them in.

It’s not pretentious.

It’s about creating a space where people can relax without needing to perform.

And that makes it the perfect setting for something like tarot.

What Tarot Really Is

Most people still think of tarot as fortune-telling.

But anyone who’s sat with a good reader knows that’s not quite right.

Tarot isn’t about predicting your future—it’s about checking in with your present.

It’s a conversation. A moment of reflection.

For some, it’s the first time all week they’ve stopped to think about what’s actually going on in their own head.

For others, it’s a tool they’ve used for years—one that helps them name what they’re feeling when the words won’t come.

At Anna’s Place, you’ll meet readers like Knox and Madame Davina, who alternate Tuesdays. Each brings a different style, but they share the same approach: quiet connection, gentle guidance, no theatrics.

The bar doesn’t promise transformation.

But if you’re open to it, you might leave with more clarity than you came in with.

Why It Works

Something about the room makes it easier to talk.

Maybe it’s the candlelight.

Maybe it’s the fact that there’s no TV shouting over your shoulder.

Maybe it’s the drink in your hand that was mixed with more attention than you expected.

Whatever it is, people show up for it.

And unlike most spaces where spiritual practices are either hidden or hyped, here it’s just part of the rhythm.

Like everything else, it’s approached with care.

No Gimmicks. No Flash. Just Time to Think.

If you’re someone who prefers meaning to noise…

If you’ve been feeling a little too full and a little too disconnected…

If you’re just looking for something in Omaha that feels real—

You’ll find something worth sitting with at Tarot Tuesday.

Tarot Tuesdays | 9 p.m. to Midnight

Anna’s Place — annasplaceomaha.com

Follow @annasplaceomaha for weekly updates.

Devon Mundt Devon Mundt

Barrel Picks

Good evening, folks! Tonight, we delve into the wonderfully ridiculous world of barrel picks—yes, you heard that right, barrel picks. It's the latest trend in the bourbon industry that has us shelling out wads of cash for bottles that are, let's face it, only slightly more interesting than their regular counterparts. It's like paying a premium for a hamburger because it has a slightly fancier pickle. So, grab a seat and let’s unravel this bourbon barrel bonanza.

The Shift from Classic Collectibles to Barrel Picks

Once upon a time, bourbon enthusiasts were on the perpetual hunt for legendary bottles like Pappy Van Winkle, Colonel E.H. Taylor, and Blanton's. These were the holy grails of the bourbon world, the elusive treasures that stirred dreams and emptied wallets. But as these hunts have waned, a new obsession has taken hold: barrel picks. This trend, while intriguing, also highlights our relentless pursuit of exclusivity. We yearn for something unique, something that not everyone else can have, as if owning rare whiskey could somehow elevate our social status.

The Great Chase

Often, I'm asked, "What’s your favorite bourbon?" My answer is usually the same: Wild Turkey. It’s objectively a great bourbon, and its availability is a massive plus. Rare whiskeys remind me of being ten years old and having a Lamborghini poster on my wall. They’re the stuff of dreams, items you covet but may never actually possess. The thrill isn’t in owning them; it’s in the chase. As I grew older, my father taught me how to build a small-block Chevy engine, which we later installed in my Camaro. It's no Lamborghini, but it's mine—reliable, well-understood, and still capable of turning heads.

Barrel Picks: The SUV of the Bourbon World

So, if Pappy Van Winkle is the Lamborghini of bourbons and Wild Turkey is solid American muscle, what does that make barrel picks? Picture the new iteration of the Mustang—not the cool one, but the SUV that should never have existed. It's the industry’s attempt to create a new trend for us to follow blindly because it's different. But let’s be clear: different isn’t always better.

Yes, there are cool barrel picks out there, but let's zoom out a bit. There are 45,740 liquor stores in the United States. If each store bought and sold a barrel a month, that’s 548,880 barrels of whiskey a year. Back in 2015, the Jim Beam distillery claimed to have 1.9 million barrels. While that number has likely increased, it takes good bourbon at least eight years to age. With stores buying entire barrels at a time, demand skyrockets, and you know what else goes up with demand? The price!

The Price of Exclusivity

How many barrel picks have you had that were just okay? Probably more than a few. You paid extra for a special label, and that stings. It stings everyone. Finding the new cool thing is fun, but why are we spending $300 on a bottle of Old Forester? It’s absurd!

The Economics of Barrel Picks

Let’s break this down. When a store selects a barrel, they’re essentially curating a unique expression of a brand’s whiskey. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? But in reality, it’s often just a slightly tweaked version of a standard bottle, dressed up in a shiny new label to make it seem more exclusive. And because it’s “exclusive,” we end up paying significantly more for it.

Consider this: if every store in America is buying barrels left and right, the demand for these supposedly unique offerings goes through the roof. And with increased demand comes increased prices. It’s basic economics, but in this case, it’s economics that hit your wallet hard.

The Marketing Magic

The genius of barrel picks lies in their marketing. Liquor stores and brands have tapped into our deep-seated desire for exclusivity and uniqueness. They’ve convinced us that owning a bottle from a particular barrel is akin to owning a piece of history, a liquid artifact. But let’s not kid ourselves—most of these barrel picks are marginally different from their regular counterparts.

Think about it: you’re paying extra for a slight variation, a nuance that most palates wouldn’t even notice. It’s like paying more for a movie ticket because the theater claims the popcorn is sourced from a special farm. At the end of the day, popcorn is popcorn, and bourbon is makes you feel funny.

The Real Cost

So, what’s the real cost of this barrel pick craze? Beyond the inflated prices, there’s the opportunity cost of missing out on consistently excellent, readily available bourbons. While you’re busy chasing the latest barrel pick, you could be enjoying a bottle of Wild Turkey or Elijah Craig—whiskeys that have stood the test of time and deliver fantastic value.

Furthermore, this obsession with exclusivity can lead to disappointment. How many times have you splurged on a barrel pick only to find it’s just…okay? That’s money that could have been spent on something reliably great, rather than a gamble on a fancy label.

The Fun in the Hunt

Now, don’t get me wrong. There’s undeniable fun in the hunt for something unique. The thrill of discovering a rare gem can be exhilarating. But when the industry capitalizes on this thrill, turning it into a marketing strategy that inflates prices and creates artificial scarcity, it’s time to take a step back and question our priorities.

Conclusion: Back to Basics

In the end, the barrel pick phenomenon is a fascinating glimpse into human nature. We crave exclusivity, the feeling of owning something special. But let’s not forget the basics: great bourbon is great bourbon, whether it comes from a standard bottle or a specially selected barrel.

So, next time you’re tempted to splurge on a barrel pick, take a moment to consider the absurdity. Ask yourself if you’re truly getting something special or if you’ve been caught in the marketing mirage. Because in the grand scheme of things, sometimes the best choices are the simplest ones.

Cheers to enjoying bourbon for what it is, not what the label tells us it should be.

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