Over the weekend we watched the first episode of season 2 of Archer, one of our favorite shows in the universe. The episode, called "Swiss Miss," took place in Switzerland, and featured a cocktail called a "Green Russian," to hilarious results. We caused quite a stir by jokingly posting to Facebook that we were whipping up some Green Russians, and afterward our interest was piqued. We had to try it, but was our assumption that it was a White Russian made with swiss absinthe way off base?
We haven't been shy lately about how much we think punch is an underutilized party drink (big ups to a certain Mr. Wondrich for writing up its delights and dangers), so we were understandably excited when we went to a party this weekend that was serving some. On top of the top-shelf beers and wines circulating the place, they also made Hot African Punch, using a recipe something like this one.
This was a hot punch (we drank ours out of freshly-split coconut halves) and more dangerous and delightful than you might expect since your brain knew there was booze in there but your tongue could barely taste it, and it went down smoooooth. We're just glad they dropped the sugar in the recipe from the suggested four pounds to something closer to two and a half - otherwise our teeth would have exploded on contact.
As we were drinking this delicious, delicious punch, conversation turned to other types of punch and a fellow partygoer mentioned a recipe he had recently found for Chatham Artillery Punch. It just so happens a day earlier our intern-on-the-street Andrew had sent us an email for a punch with the exact same name, though we hadn't had a chance to cover it yet. Turns out the two recipes were slightly different, one being from Massachusetts and the other from Georgia, but they both called for booze by the gallon and served parties in the hundreds.
Our new mission? To someday make Chatham Artillery Punch, in its full glory and see if it, like Andrew says, "hits you like an artillery shell." Here's an excerpt from Andrew's write-up:
The first page was a recipe for a beverage called "Chatham Artillery Punch". The first thing that strikes you is that the ingredients are measured in quantitative terms like "quarts", "dozens" and "gallons" - and we're not talking fractions here either. Secondly, this mixture continues to impress with ingredients like "Catawba Wine", "Hennessy", "Santa Cruz Rum" and "Champagne". And finally, the directions fire gems at you such as: "tin bucket", "cedar tub" and "serves 200"!!
Finally, our chance to mix cocktails in tin and cedar, our true medium. Find the recipe above or on Flickr.
Chow has really been wowing us lately with some of their recipes - we posted about their DIY Amaretto a while back, and now they're hitting us with a recipe for "smoky" scotch apple cider. We will be mixing up some of these ASAP, you'd better believe it.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup apple cider
1 teaspoon honey
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 (1-by-2-inch) lemon peel
2 tablespoons single-malt, not-heavily-peated Scotch whisky, such as Glenlivet
1/4 teaspoon heavily peated Scotch whisky, such as Laphroaig
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat apple cider, honey, cinnamon stick, and lemon peel in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the honey has melted and the cinnamon is fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Turn off the heat, add both Scotches and the lemon juice, and stir to combine. Transfer to a heatproof glass and garnish with the cinnamon stick and lemon peel.
When our fearless Editor in Chief was out in Las Vegas last month, he happened to go to a bar called Frankie's Tiki Room. Since then, he has done nothing but talk about how great the drinks were, how much fun the kitschy atmosphere was, blah blah blah. Since we're not scheduled for our Liquor Snob Intern Vegas Getaway and Fun Run* for a while, we figured we'd try to find a good resource for tiki drink recipes.
Of course, there's always Tiki Bar TV (not that they seem to update anymore), but sometimes you want to hold the drink recipe in your hands - or give it as a gift. That's where Trader Vic's, a name indelibly associated with tropical cocktails, comes in:
Every major tropical beverage (alcoholic and non-) is here--daiquiris, mai tais, punches, etc.--and Siegelman gives a snappy introduction to each, interspersing the cocktail recipes with quotes from Vic himself (on the mai tai: "Anybody who says I didn't create this drink is a dirty rotten stinker"). Ninety-five drinks later, a chapter on food appears, with suggestions for 35 pupu platter dishes, finger foods, salads, buffet-style entrees and desserts (some of which call for Trader Vic's bottled sauces). While there are certainly more high-end books on entertaining Polynesian-style available, none beats this one's authentic kitsch.
We figured since we're out in Vegas for Harlem's shot drink showcase we should commemorate the day by finding a nice book of shot recipes for our readers to try at home. The Big Bad-Ass Book of Shots contains over 1,400 shot recipes (though probably a lot of them are variations), and seems like just what the doctor ordered if you're looking to slam a few.
Though we have to say - they list the body shot as one of their recipes, and if you need a book to tell you how to do that you probably don't have anyone to do them off. Sorry.
We don't usually pay much attention to drinks of the "Bachelorette Party" variety (unless we're looking to get Girl Drink Drunk that is, which isn't often). Even with its flair-y nature, however, something about this video appealed to our What Does it All Mean? nature, and we figured we'd post.
Check out this short clip of a bartender pouring nine differently-colored shots from one shaker, and when you're finished scratching your head find out how it's done, hit the jump for the explanation. We feel like that guy from Magician's Secrets Revealed...hope the International League of Drunks doesn't repeal our membership over this.
Cold Remedy Cocktails (Or: How to Make Being Sick not Suck)
Somewhere along the way during an extra-long weekend, we've gotten a cold. And it's not one of your piddly little nasal dribbles with a touch of malaise either. This is a full-on, four alarm, holy o'shit Captain Trips supercold.
Or, maybe it's just our first one of the season and we have no perspective. Either way, we've rounded up the best cold remedy cocktail recipes Google could find, so you don't have to go through what we're dealing with right now.
It's pretty rare that we go topical, but it's kind of hard to ignore something as big as the BP oil spill, and we'd feel remiss if we didn't chime in. Our natural tendency is to ass off about the state of things, but you've got that pretty well covered.
Instead, we present to you the Gulf Spill, a cocktail from Gwen over at Intoxicated Zodiac. Our plan for a similar theme was to just start pouring Jagermeister into our mouth and not stop for three months or so...hers sounds like a better (and probably more delicious) alternative.
Bacardi 60 Second Cocktails & Donations for Troops
This just in - Bacardi has pledged to donate up to $100,000 to the USO to benefit US troops through a Facebook promotion. You're familiar with Facebook right? The place where you hang out when you're supposed to be working?
Bacardi has pledged $75K to start, and you have the ability to up that to the $100K just by clicking a button. That's right, just head to their page and get to clicking in between playing farmville and posting about what your cat had for breakfast, and they'll take care of the rest.
In conjunction, Bacardi has also put up a "60 Second Cocktails" offer on the Facebook page as well, and it's one we think will interest our readers. They're offering a free PDF download of a 24-page booklet of entertaining and party decoration tips, as well as more cocktail and food recipes you can shake a stick at. The cocktails are designed to be made relatively quickly when you're entertaining, and the meals feature that mainstay of summer entertaining, the backyard grill.
So what are we saying exactly? That you have the opportunity, nay the responsibility, to support our troops and throw a self-congratulating party. That's right. And if anyone questions you, tell them Liquor Snob says it's OK. Oh, and while you're over in Facebooktown, feel free to follow us as well - our page is the one that smells like stale bourbon.
We've been following the Bacardi True Originals video series with some interest, as we see various bartending styles and their different ways of approaching the craft. This latest, The Apothecary (below), focuses on bartenders who are willing to experiment and break conventional drinks to rebuild them in a more delicious way.
To go along with this idea, the company is having a contest right now where you can put your own distinctive twist on the classic mojito recipe for a chance to win a first edition copy of the Savoy Cocktail Book, signed by Harry Craddock, Yarai seamless mixing glass from Japan and Japanese bar spoon. Learn more and submit your twist on the mojito at the True Originals Facebook page; no word on a contest deadline but the sooner the better, right?
One of our friends just sent along this cool article about 10 great drinks you can light on fire, and we've had some excellent times drinking Flaming Dr. Peppers and other flamey drinks over the years. We do have one word of advice for all you would-be drink flamers: by the time it seems like a good idea to be lighting your drinks on fire, you're probably drunk enough that you shouldn't be lighting ANYTHING on fire. Please let a bartender, a sober friend, or just about anybody but your bleary ass put the actual flame to the actual alcohol. Trust us on this one - otherwise you stand a good chance of becoming a:
Flaming Asshole (from Super Cocktails)
¼ Grenadine
¼ Green Crème de Menthe
¼ Crème de Banana
¼ 151 rum
This one is as bizarre as some of the most out-there drinks. Layer in a shot glass in this order: Grenadine, Crème de Menthe, Crème de Banana, Rum. Light the rum and then suck it down with a straw.
See all 10 flaming drinks at Matador. (Thanks for the link, Sarah)
As we were surfing our favorite booze-related websites today, we noticed that Liqurious had featured a story about "16 Mexican Drinks." Not only did this catch our attention because tomorrow happens to be Cinco de Mayo, it also inspired us because our Editor in Chief will be down in Mexico next week.
So in honor of Cinco de Mayo (and our valiant EiC, heading to the land of tequila), we thought we'd let you know about these delicious-sounding recipes. You'll find anything from new takes on your favorite drinks (pictured above is the Grapefruit Margarita) to things you may not have tried before (we're interested in the Mango-Mint Agua Fresca)
A little bit ago we told you about the Jameson's Pickle Back, and expressed our nervousness about the shot. We have been overwhelmed by reader response since the story ran, telling us we need to sack up and give it a try. We will, but we'll plan on still waiting until St. Patrick's Day before we take our Pickle Back virginity, so to speak. What pushed us over the edge to wanting to try it, you might ask?
It was partially the parade of drunks who emailed us with sentiments along the lines of "DUDE IT'S AWESOME!!1!" but the real convincer was the article we found today from Jason Wilson at the Washington Post. He included all sorts of great info about Irish whiskey, but here was the kicker for us about the Pickle Back:
As a pairing, that might sound less than promising, but here's the surprise: A Pickleback is simply awesome. Brine and whiskey make one of those mysteriously wonderful combinations, and it doesn't hurt that pickle juice is second to none in preventing dehydration (thus helping to stave off the post-St. Paddy's Day hangover).
There are some moments in your life that you will always remember. Your first kiss? Hopefully. The birth of your first child? Probably. The first time you drink a shot of whiskey with a chaser of pickle juice? Most definitely. Or at least we imagine so, because we haven't actually done it.
You see, drinking a Pickle Back, as it's called by those who actually drink it, seems like a red pill/blue pill moment - a choice that will change your life forever. The shot was described to us using Jameson, a perennial Liquor Snob favorite, and we can only imagine sitting there at the bar, looking at those glasses full of golden and green liquids, knowing that nothing will ever be the same again. Plus, if you drink enough of them, we're pretty sure you'll decide you know Kung Fu, just like Neo.
The folks who told us about this shot claim that "Jameson's smooth taste complements the bitterness of the pickle juice nicely." That remains to be seen. We challenge our readers to send us their Pickle Back comments pictures, videos, haiku, whatever, to jake [at] liquorsnob [dot] com. We will also be accepting recommendations for the best pickle juice to use, as long as it's available.
If you convince us, we'll try our very first one on St. Patrick's Day, and we'll find out for ourselves how deep this rabbit hole goes.
Green Russian Cocktail Inspired by Archer
Over the weekend we watched the first episode of season 2 of 
Continue reading: 
Chow has really been wowing us lately with some of their recipes - we posted about their DIY Amaretto a while back, and now they're hitting us with a recipe for "smoky" scotch apple cider. We will be mixing up some of these ASAP, you'd better believe it.
When our fearless Editor in Chief was out in Las Vegas last month, he happened to go to a bar called 
We figured since we're out in Vegas for 
Somewhere along the way during an extra-long weekend, we've gotten a cold. And it's not one of your piddly little nasal dribbles with a touch of malaise either. This is a full-on, four alarm, holy o'shit Captain Trips supercold. 
It's pretty rare that we go topical, but it's kind of hard to ignore something as big as the BP oil spill, and we'd feel remiss if we didn't chime in. Our natural tendency is to ass off about the state of things, but you've got that pretty well 
This just in - Bacardi has pledged to 
As we were surfing our favorite booze-related websites today, we noticed that 
A little bit ago we told you about the 
There are some moments in your life that you will always remember. Your first kiss? Hopefully. The birth of your first child? Probably. The first time you drink a shot of whiskey with a chaser of pickle juice? Most definitely. Or at least we imagine so, because we haven't actually done it.
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