Red White and Badass Brew

The Whiskey Latte has no whiskey in it. It's smoky and it's the move, the signature drink at Red White and Badass Brew, a veteran-owned drive-thru stand in La Mesa run by Dustin and Jessie. There is no storefront. There is a stand in an open parking lot, a drive-thru lane, and a couple of stools that don't count as seating. That's the whole footprint.

The flavored latte menu is where the personality lives. Gone Bananas, Billy the Kid, Dirty Dr. Pepper, Spice Girl. These are not subtle drinks. They lean syrupy and dessert-adjacent, and one customer compared the menu to bottled Starbucks Frappuccinos and said the bean flavor was missing. That criticism is fair if you came for a clean black-coffee experience. Order the Whiskey Latte instead, or come knowing that the sweet end of the menu is the point. The jalapeno cheddar bagels round out a breakfast order without much fuss.

The lines get long. The service is friendlier than it is fast, which is the trade you make when you go to a small operation run by people who want to talk to you. Kenzie and Connor and Jessie remember regulars by name. There is a pup cup for the dog at the end of the leash. The veteran-owned framing isn't marketing window dressing here; it shapes the way the stand carries itself and the kind of regular it pulls in, and the trade is the same one you'd make at any small drive-thru that values the conversation over the throughput.

Who this is for: commuters who want a flavored latte and a quick exchange before work, walk-up neighbors with a dog, anyone who likes the idea of putting their money into a small veteran-owned shop instead of the chain across the street. Not for someone hunting for a single-origin pour-over. Different drink, different stand. Pick the right one.