We've covered a lot of breathalyzers in our time, but we're not sure we've seen one that looks quite as space-aged as the BacTrack. With its Bluefire sensor technology and the circular light ring display, it looks more like something Mr. Spock would consult before mind-melding somebody than a tool to keep you from getting a DUI.
We think it looks badass - we're just worried if we got one we'd start pretending it was a phaser. The last thing we need is to piss of a bouncer because we called him a redshirt.
OK, so this doesn't have much to do with our mission statement or whatever, but it's pretty damned cool. Maybe we can get them to start doing some guest reviews or something.
For the last 55 million years, the pen-tailed shrew has survived on a diet consisting of beer.
How's that for an evolutionary bender?
The shrew lives in the forest of Malaysia and feeds on the flowers of the bertam palm. Produced year-round and constantly fermenting, its nectar is about 3.8 percent alcohol -- roughly equivalent to a Sam Adams light.
Don't look now, but there's another booze-related book on the shelves, and this one's got a slightly different spin than a lot of the others we've read. We love to read about booze, and instead of dry paragraphs about how liquors are made, this one focuses on the cultural impact of fermented grain and grape.
From absinthe to Jay-Z's boycott of allegedly racist Cristal, from Mayan pulque to Pilsner Urquell, he covers the history and the culture of the medicinal and mind-altering product that since at least 8000 B.C. has been part of human civilization. The book's first chapters chronicle the history of fermentation and distillation from early civilization through the late Middle Ages, before the narrative's bulk gives over to alcohol's story since the colonization of the New World.
Remember those old "What Would You Do For a Klondike Bar" commercials? We just found out about a contest in the same vein that's about a hundred times cooler. Kegerators.com is holding a contest starting August 1st where all you have to do is submit a video about what you would do for a free kegerator, and you're eligible to win one. We're pretty sure we'd punch a nun, but we probably won't commit that to video.
1. Make a funny, shocking, cool, stupid or impressive video showing us "What you would do for a free kegerator".
2. Submit your video to YouTube or Google Video.
3. Fill out the form below and you could win a free kegerator.*
Good Luck and go crazy!!
Deadline to submit a video: August 31th
Get more details and submit your video at Kegerators.com
OK, so we're going to deal with the elephant in the room right now - we're sort of liquor nerds around here. You probably couldn't tell, but we like to drink booze, write about it, talk about it, and read about it. And today, thanks to a post at the Kegworks blog, we have found our holy book.
F. Paul Pacult's Kindred Spirits 2 is the follow-up to the groundbreaking 1997 book of spirits reviews, Kindred Spirits. Ten years later, this indispensable, comprehensive compilation of 2,400+ detailed evaluations of whiskeys, brandies, vodkas, tequilas, rums, gins, and liqueurs sets the international gold standard for distilled spirits criticism.
We can't imagine reviewing 2400 liquors without our liver exploding (mostly because we refuse to spit it out), so we will certainly be checking out this book.
iPhone applications are all the rage right now, but who needs something lame like the ability to read headlines or update Facebook? What you really need in order to get the most out of your handheld is the ability to turn it into a roving lexicon of cocktail recipes. Luckily, that's what the Pocket Mixologist is for - consider it a replacement for that friend you always call to ask "what goes in a slippery nipple again?"
The Pocket Mixologist lists over 1500 recipes alphabetically, and also contains a search function that lets you explore the database by:
Cocktail Category: Includes 14 cocktail categories such as fizzes, flips, slings and punches Spirit Base: Includes 17 spirits base options (such as Tequila, Rum, Pisco, etc) Flavor: An index of 130 different flavors that range from the conventional (orange, mint, apple) to the obscure (beef broth, violet petals, marshmallow, jellybeans) Tag: Handy collections of recipes, such as "egg drinks", "non alcoholic drinks" or "breakfast drinks" which isolate recipes for a particular situation
We're all for booze-related innovations here at Liquor Snob, and we can see some real potential for drinking wine out of a can with a pop top. We could finally live our dream of shotgunning wine, and it would be much easier to sneak it into movie theaters - we won't tell you where we had to hide our corkscrew when we watched The Dark Knight this weekend.
Apparently, there's an Absolut ad in this video somewhere. We couldn't really find it, but luckily we love Zach and think everything he touches is comic gold. Watch the video below, and remember - he made cookies for three, not for five.
As some of you already know, the Liquor Snobbers hold a secret dream they will one day own a pub of their own. Yes, we know with our lax work ethic and tendency to consume our own product (did we learn nothing from New Jack City?), the Liquor Snob Saloon and Hard Drinkery for Getting Arsefaced will probably never happen. But, if it does, we will most definitely hang this clock on the wall.
We were big fans of the first 2 (and a half) installments of Drunk History (check out volumes one, two, and two point five), and we think the series is only getting stronger. This one features Danny McBride, our favorite feature of movies like Hot Rod, Drillbit Taylor (which we will see only because of McBride), and the upcoming Pineapple Express. Let's just say he does a bang up job of portraying George Washington, the father of our country, hiccups and all.
We thought there would never be a Washington video to rival this one, but we were so wrong.
Yep, you read that right - American beer juggernaut Anheuser Busch is being bought out by a foreign company. We should've read the writing on the wall back when AB started mucking around making horrible-tasting hard liquor, but we really didn't think about it much. We have two questions - A) will they still be able to go with red state marketing campaigns if they're not owned by 'Mericans, and B) will they be able to create a Budweiser beer that doesn't taste vaguely of Clydesdale piss?
InBev is the world's second largest beer maker, with brands that include Stella Artois and Becks.
The deal must be approved by shareholders and European and U.S. antitrust regulators. The merger will produce the fourth-largest consumer product company worldwide.
It's been a while since we've done a physical challenge, so we think it's high time we give you another idea for something stupid to do this weekend. TEGWAR is a drinking game we used to play in college, and we'll give you a hint: it's really only fun for the people who are in on the joke.
What you need:
A co-conspirator
Alcoholic beverages
Gullible friend (s)
Other things that are helpful:
Any other gaming-related items you have at hand (dice, cards, paper & scissors, hats, whatever)
A knowledge of other drinking games you can pillage from
A background in theater
Wit, guile, and nerves of steel. Lacking that, you should have your running-away shoes on
To boil things down, you and your co-conspirator tell your group of friends that you have a great game to play, but one of the rules is that you can't tell them the rules. The ostensible goal of the game is for your dupes friends to figure out the rules. The true objective is to see how weird you and your ally can make things before anyone figures out that you're just making shit up.
If anyone plays this, please let us know the results down to the last contusion. See the more full description of how to play below.
It's fun to watch people constantly try to push the envelope of mixology, if only because it's starting to look more and more like mad science. If one bar is using syringes, the next one is using magnets, and the first has to one up them by listening for the molecular reaction with a stethoscope. Pretty soon we'll be getting drinks mixed with the aid of a centrifuge and a speculum.
One interesting foray into the molecular field, however, is Cointreau Caviar. These small beads of the orange-y liqueuer are designed to be mixed into cocktails, or perhaps added to a glass of champagne. Hell, we say eat them like M&Ms.
Although the feat had already been performed with other liquids such as fruit juices, never before had a spirit such as Cointreau been turned into perfect spheres by such a simple process. It took a fair dose of cheek, the right ingredients used in the right proportions, and above all, the top professionals in the field, who were absolutely delighted to be trumping the world of bartending.
We've gotten our hands on another bottle of absinthe recently, and we didn't even have to worry about whether customs officials were going to kick down our door, now that it's all legal and everything. The bottle we received was La Fee Absinthe Parisienne, and our first impression is that it's got a cool logo, that oh so dangereux green color, and a sweet silver absinthe spoon included. Not bad. Oh, and we also got the high test version - it comes in both 90 and 136 proof - so you can expect our review to be a bit off-kilter.
Here's what its creators have to say about it:
La Fee Absinthe Parisienne is distilled in Paris based on a 19th Century recipe containing wormwood and is the only absinthe authenticated by Marie-Claude Delahaye, founder and curator of the absinthe museum. Before diluting it is clear, showing a striking green color and has an attractive fresh anise aroma. When water is added its louche has great consistency turning a milky lime green. There are hints of fennel and apple fruit characters with a round textural mouth feel that is both smooth and refreshing.
Ahhhh, flip cup, the sport of kings. For too long, this game has been the overlooked drinking game, or what you play when you have cups for Beirut but no ping pong balls. We just got an email from some folks, appropriately named "The Flip Cup Guys," looking to change that by organizing the world's largest Flip Cup Tournament. We're hoping they can do for FC what the World Series did for beer pong.
Calling all NYC readers - if your taste runs toward the independent in your booze, we've got the event for you. It's the Independent Spirits Expo, featuring all sorts of liquors we've tried and loved here, including our perennial favorite Orange V vodka, Zuidam gin, Zyr Vodka, and Scorpion Mezcal.
It all goes down tonight at the Astor Center in the East Village between 5 and 8 (sorry for the late notice), and the price is only $25 for all sorts of great stuff. If you're interested, register through the link below and get 40% off (that means only fifteen bucks for you non-math types).
Head over to Thrillist for more details and to rock the discount.
The tasting will feature vodkas, rums, cachacas, whiskies, and specialty liquors, including:
Castries Peanut Cream Liquor
Mae De Ouro Cachaca from Brazil
Brinley family of exquisitely flavored rums from St. Kitts
Zuidam Gin from Holland
Zyr Vodka From Russia
Orange V - Florida Orange Flavored distilled in the USA
Tuthilltown Spirits, Whiskeys and Vodka from NY's Hudson Valley
Rhum Clement from Martinique
Scorpion Mezcal From Mexico
Luna Sueno Tequila
44North Vodka
Square One Organic Vodka
Martin Miller's Gin
St. Germain
Uluvka Vodka
Bluecoat Gin
LOFT Organic Liqueurs
Tru Organic Vodka
Since the dawn of time, mankind has been plagued by two nagging questions. The first is what happens after we die, and the second is how to make an excellently blue Jell-O shot. We can't help you on the first one, but we can finally help you figure out how to make a gummy treat that looks like congealed Smurf blood. Glad we could help.
When it comes to the fine art of Jell-O shot mixology, the highest goal is to create a blend of liquor and flavored gelatin that transcends the sum of its ingredients. We found Jell-O's Berry Blue flavor particularly challenging in this respect. Like most blue-colored foods, it has a flavor not found in nature. The box features images of blueberries and raspberries, but in reality it doesn't taste like either (Jell-O does make a raspberry flavor and it's distinctly different). Instead, Berry Blue is sort of a generic berry flavor with notes of grape and bubble gum and a slightly bitter finish. Not the easiest taste to complement. After a few failed attempts, we couldn't offer any suggestions other than vodka.
We wanted to post a "Happy Fourth" post today, and make it all official by giving you a July 4th cocktail recipe. We found this interesting-sounding one, the Firecracker, at About Cocktails, and just had to share it. As an added bonus, instead of recommending a bunch of crazy stuff you have to hunt down, this one contains only three liquors, and they're all most likely in your liquor cabinet (or should be).
Have a great holiday weekend, and in the words of our moms, "Have fun, be safe."
Ingredients:
* 1/2 oz tequila
* 1/2 oz Goldschlager
* 1/2 oz Rumple Minze
Preparation:
1. Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Shake well.
3. Strain into a shot glass.
Well, we're through June once again, and you know what that means...summer's finally here. That means we have a couple months of vacations, relaxing, and having a nice drink outside. As we look forward to the summer, we also offer you a chance to look back at what we did in June, including information on new absinthes making their way to America, a look at the Bierstick, and a video recipe for a little drink called the "Liquid Panty Dropper." Oh, behave.
BacTrack Breathalyzer
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