Liquor Lock Keeps Your Booze Safe

Keep would-be liquor thieves at bay with the Liquor Lock, a combination lock system you attach to the neck of your bottles. If you don't have a liquor cabinet, it can be tough to make sure no one's mooching your hooch, and marking the level on the bottle gets old really fast. Keep the kids (or your roommates) out of your liquor bottles easily...just enter a three-pin combination, then turn the top clockwise until the lock expands and is tight. Re-enter the combination and turn counter-clockwise to release.

You can get the Liquor Lock at Sportys.com for about $15, but if it keeps people from stealing your booze it should pay for itself pretty quickly. We also saw a similar bottle lock featured by the good folks over at ProductDose.

IceOlate Cools Drinks With No Dilution

Let's face it...there's nothing better than a drink in a chilled glass. If we had a meat locker-sized freezer, we could probably fit all the beer mugs and cocktail glasses we'd like to keep cold, but this isn't a perfect world. Sometimes we have to drink out of a regular old room temperature glass. That could change soon, with the arrival of IceOlate, a new drink cooling system we heard about this week.

Each IceOlate glass has a water-filled core at the center, so you can add ice to your drink without diluting it. We've seen glasses that operate on this principle before, but IceOlate adds a cool new twist. Instead of storing the entire glass in the freezer, the ice is stored in a small, removable plug. That means you can keep a bunch of them in the freezer while using minimal real estate, which you need for your bottles of frozen liquor. They only come in martini glass form right now, but maybe if they take off we'll see more types of glasses in the future.

It remains to be seen how well IceOlate actually chills your drink, but we think it's a pretty innovative idea. Learn more about IceOlate glasses at the Yanko Design website.

Keychain Breathalyzer: Alcohawk Micro-Digital

As strange as it sounds, it can be tough to find someone willing to be the designated driver. Sure, at the beginning of the night, it's easy vow that you'll sit around and drink soda while your friends get progressively plowed, but when push comes to shove not everyone has the willpower.

"C'mon, I'm fine to drive." You've heard it before, and maybe you've even said it, when the blood alcohol told a different story. Yeah, you feel fine to drive, but are you legal? The last thing you need is to see those blue lights spinning in your rear view. At the end of the night it's important to be safe, and now you can let people prove they're sober (or prove it to yourself) before getting behind the wheel.

We found the Alcohawk keychain breathalyzer at Amazon for just such a situation. Get your own Alcohawk keychain breathalyzerand always have a blood alcohol tester nearby when you're deciding whether a cab is in order.

Ring Beer Bottle Opener: Handy and Portable

We have a friend who opens his beer bottles with his wedding ring. He claims it does no damage to the ring, and it certainly makes for a cool party trick if you're hurting for an opener. We have our doubts that your typical gold ring should be put under such strain, and we don't feel like sleeping on the couch again, so we've dug up a ring bottle opener designed for the purpose. If nothing else, it'll go with your handy bottle opening belt buckle and sandals.

From the Amazon product description:

Be the life of the party with the bottle opener you wear! No more forcing open bottle tops with lighters or on the side of a table, just slip the ring on your middle finger, hook the ring on the bottle top and lift your wrist...Pssssshhhh. The bottle opens with ease!. Select from six sizes. To measure your ring size, place the thickest part of your middle finger (usually the middle joint) against a ruler, measure it and match against the closest size listed on the drop down menu. The ring works best when fitted snugly on your finger.

Buy your own ring bottle opener at Amazon, and stay out of trouble with your wife the next time you want to show off the beer-opening strength of your ring finger. It comes in two sizes.

We also found a similar product from ThinkGeek, via Gizmodo.

Quaffer Shot Glass with Built-In Chaser

We saw the Quaffer online a couple years ago, but we forgot the name and we've been wracking our beer-soaked brains to remember ever since. On more than one occasion we've been known to assign the Liquor Snob interns the task of finding "that cool shot glass that holds the chaser," and bird-dogging them through the Liquor Snob offices when they came up empty. No longer...Quaffer is now burned into our hearts and minds.

The Quaffer shot glass operates on a demonically simple premise that we file in the why-didn't-we-think-of-that category. You put your chaser into the lower, larger chamber where it will enter your mouth last, rinsing away the taste of the alcohol.

You float your liquor, which has a lower density, on top of the chaser. Then you drink them both together. No more shot-grimace-chaser...it all goes in at once so it takes the bite right out of the booze. They also make an extra-large Beer Quaffer designed for beer drinks, like Car Bombs and Sake Bombs.

We have a legendary love for all things Jagermeister, so our favorite recipe from the Quaffer site was the Jager Bomb - Jager on top, Red Bull in the bottom (pictured). We'll be getting our hands on some Quaffers in the near future, and we'll let you know if they work as well as we'd like to think they do.

You can buy the shot glasses, plus find all sorts of Quaffer information and more recipes, at the Quaffer site.

Brits Score Big with Airquee Inflatable Pub

We've always said, if you can't get to the bar, bring the bar to you. Now, the British have one-upped us on the concept by inventing an inflatable pub, which we would consider nature's perfect building. Where else can you drink until you fall down, then bounce back into upright position?

From Gadgetizer:

"Airquee, a company already renowned for its high quality air buildings and inflatable play equipment, are the geniuses behind this product. Completely portable and featuring only the finest faux stone siding and tin roof, the Inflatable Pub measures 40 x 19 x 22 feet and can be erected in a mere 10 minutes via its two pumps. It’s big enough to pack in 30 of your closest mates and the sturdy, internal aluminum frame can be used for hanging stereo speakers or tellies for the football and it’ll double as a safety-measure in the event that any of your drunken mates really sucks at darts.

No word that I can find on pricing, but come on, when it comes to getting smashed with the gang, cost is never a concern is it?"

We couldn't find pricing info either, but the prices on most of their inflatable buildings seem to hover around the one to two thousand pound range, so you can double that if you're paying American dollars.

Via Gadgetizer; plus, learn more about the Airquee Inflatable Pub.

Gray Kangaroo Liquor Filter Review: Part 1

We discovered the Gray Kangaroo Liquor Filter last week, and we knew we had to get our hands on one as soon as possible. After a full week of nearly tackling the mail man every time he approached the Liquor Snob offices, it finally arrived in the mail. We knew we had to put it through its paces. The site claims that the liquor filter will "take the stink out of your drink," so we knew we had to find the stinkiest, most foul booze around for the test.

And find it we did. If you're like us, when you think of quality vodka, you think of...Massachusetts. That's right. MH Gordon's, "distilled" and bottled in sunny downtown Somerville. Just looking at the bottle, complete with the $6 price tag, filled us with dread. It was perfect...if the Gray Kangaroo could take the stink out of this drink, we would be converted forever. We set up our testing apparatus, and the first thing we realized was that in order for the filter to work, you have to have a second, empty bottle. Sadly, our recycling had just been picked up.

We were able to cobble something together to aid in the filtering process, and the testing began. One note; when you test your Gray Kangaroo, don't make the same mistake we did. Make sure when you begin to filter that the Gray Kangaroo is right-side up, because there are two little holes in the upper half of the filter to make sure the booze can get into the filter quickly. If your filter is upside down, those holes will let the liquor miss the bottle. After we cleaned up the counter, we were able to get on with our vodka tasting.

Round One: Unfiltered
Look: Clear, looks like water. But like some shark-infested sea, we knew it held hidden peril.
Nose: Edging close to the shot glass for a whiff, we're pretty sure we saw our nose hairs go up in smoke. After we regained our sense of smell, the first thing that came to mind was "paint thinner."
Swish: It burns! Oh, dear lord, it BURNS. We nearly called an old priest and a young priest for an exorcism. We dumped the rest of the glass through the filter.




Round Two: One Filtration
Look: Still looks clear and innocent, but we've been fooled before.
Smell: Far less pungent...now, instead of paint thinner it smells like watered-down rubbing alcohol.
Swish: We closed our eyes and sipped and...instead of demonic convulsions we only shuddered a bit. Looks like the Gray Kangaroo is working, but we reserve judgment. Once again, the rest of the glass goes through the filter.

Round Three: Two Filtrations
Look: No change.
Smell: Smells like...vodka? Could it be?
Swish: Still tentative, we take a swig. It's...vodka. It tastes like some of the good, solid mid-range vodkas we've had in the past. Still not convinced of the miracle, we take another drink. By Jeebus, it's true! This time we're not filtering anymore, and we sip the rest of the shot.

We'll be putting the liquor filter through some more testing, but the fine folks at Gray Kangaroo have us convinced. Their product really works. It was able to take the most evil swill of a vodka we could find, and make it drinkable. Keep an eye out here at Liquor Snob as we test it out more, including Pepsi challenges comparing filtered vodka to the high-end stuff. And if you want to pick up a Gray Kangaroo of your own, head on over to the Gray Kangaroo site and tell 'em the Liquor Snob sent you.

Kegbot: The Future is Now

What would happen if you turned a beer keg into a robot? In a perfect world, it would also have legs to follow you around - a little R2D2 of malty beverage goodness. The people over at Kegbot have done the next best thing...they've installed a robot brain in their kegerator that allows it to perform a whole host of tasks.

We're not kidding - this thing has multi-user access control with iButton, drink and user tracking, thermostat software, and our personal favorite - an AIM chatterbot interface. According to the the Kegbot site, the chatterbot "responds to questions such as 'what is the beer temperature?', 'who had a drink last?', and can be trained to do more." Plus, " in the future, it is expected that an extension will be added to this bot to allow it to pester known drinkers. 'mike, you had a drink 45 minutes ago, and i'm currently ice cold. want another?'" It doesn't get any better than that.

Continue reading: "Kegbot: The Future is Now"

Draft Beer at Home with PerfectDraft...Almost

Ever wished you had access to perfectly poured draft beer in the comfort of your own home? Hoping and dreaming for all that without the usual $500-$600 expense of your typical kegerator? We have the same dream, and we finally found it.

What is this miracle product, you ask? It's called PerfectDraft, and it's heaven sent...to Europe. That's right, the PerfectDraft, which is made by Philips, is currently only available in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands or Germany. Definitely one to think about starting a letter-writing campaign for, or at least putting on your Christmas wish list. Learn more about it at PerfectDraft (hint: if you want to read it in English, go to the Belgian site).

Continue reading: "Draft Beer at Home with PerfectDraft...Almost"

Review: Rotating Drink Dispenser

Here at Liquor Snob, we hate mixing drinks. That's probably why we instituted our "No More Than Three Ingredients" rule for the cocktails we swill...errr, sip. We've found a contraption that will take a lot of the irritation out of bartending.

The Bartender's Rotating Drink Dispenser doles out liquor in standard 1.5 ounce shots, making shot glasses and measuring cups obsolete. On top of that, you can keep up to four different bottles in there at once, handy if you're making different types of cocktails or, say, Long Island Iced Tea. The Amazon site has this to say about the contraption:

Create the perfect Manhattan for a guest without measuring cups or shot glasses. All you need is this handy drink dispenser from Global Décor. It holds four, 1-liter bottles of alcohol or mixers, and rotates to allow home bar tenders to mix party-pleasing beverages without juggling bottles. The tool is made of sturdy aluminum with a broad base for enhanced support. Spring-loaded rods keep bottles and their contents secure while in the dispenser. The dispenser pours precise, measured, 1-1/2-ounce liquid shots for martinis, daiquiris, and more.

When we checked, these bad boys were on sale, marked down from $89.99 to $39.99. Sounds like a bargain to us - buy your own rotating drink dispenserat Amazon.com.