So you know that urban legend about comic book geeks? The one that says they live in their parents' basements, and don't know how to interact with the really real world? As comics collectors ourselves, we've fought long and hard against that stereotype, but alas, we're afraid our brethren have shown their true colors.
After all, what else could possibly explain the comic book- and superhero-themed cocktails the fine folks from Comic Book Alliance dredged up from across the Web? These cocktails are hyper-stylized, more reliant on bright colors than real substance, and are more focused on a bad-ass punch than any kind of artistry. Either it's a subtle meta-commentary on the state of sequential entertainment, or these folks are really limited in what their parents have in their liquor cabinets.
Most of these recipes sort of made us throw up in our mouths a bit, then scratch our heads. Why does The Hulk's drink feature a spoonful of sugar ON TOP OF the unlimited Mountain Dew? Why are there pop rocks in the Spider-Man? Why would Superman want peach schnapps AND coconut rum? We're hoping these were created by people who never picked up a back issue, but if we were cynical, we'd say this is a misguided attempt to get chicks to like comics (Isn't Wonder Woman awesome? Have another one, then we'll go back to my place and dust my Sandman trades!).
Out of solidarity, however, we are including the recipe for the Iron Man Cocktail, because he's one bad ass drunk.
Iron Man Cocktail
• 3 oz. Vodka
• 7 oz. Whiskey
• 5 ice cubes
• Soda Water
Mix vodka and whiskey in an old-fashioned glass. Stir. Add a few ice cubes, fill with soda water and stir gently.
Oh, and try not to rust your power armor when you cry yourself to sleep. Check out the full list of Comic Cocktails at Comics Alliance.
A couple years ago we were really impressed with a book called What to Drink With What You Eat, a tome dedicated to helping you pair your food with the right drink, and your drinks with the right food. Well, when we say "impressed" we mean by the concept, because we didn't actually pick up the book until a couple weeks ago, but we've been fascinated since then. When we ordered that one another book was recommended to us called "The Flavor Bible," (Amazon) and we wanted to share with our readers about that one as well.
Not a cookbook or recipe book per se, this book is dedicated to simply telling you what flavors go well together. A very simple concept well executed, the book is formatted to let you know which flavors complement one another (the no-brainer apple/cinnamon home run) and which shouldn't be on the same plate or in the same glass (you can shelve your plans for an oyster and tarragon cocktail).
In the short time we've had it this book has helped our cooking immensely, as well as helping us be a bit more adventuresome with our mixology. Now we can check to see what kinds of flavors go well together, and use that as a springboard for creating more interesting, exciting cocktails. Both books are highly recommended for cooking and cocktail creation.
We're on a bit of a gin kick right now, and we recently got an email from a good friend highly recommending the following drink recipe he found at Chicago's Violet Hour. It's an amazing mixture of some great ingredients, but of course, you don't have to take our word for it - GQ rated it as one of the Top 20 Cocktails in America.
If you can't make it to Chicago to check it out, try whipping one up for yourself - think gin, lime, mint, rose water, and cucumber...a perfect mix for a steamy day. Our advice if you mix it yourself? Use a delicate hand with your muddler or you could make it too bitter.
Great! Just what we need is another iPhone app aimed at getting us drunk. We realize that might come across sounding sarcastic, but we really mean it. There aren't enough electronic ways to get us drunk. The latest is the Drinkspiration from Absolut - 400 drink recipes, and no...they're not all for vodka-based drinks.
Try vodka, gin, rum, brandy, whisky, and tequila-based cocktail recipes, depending on your mood, location, popularity, color, and time of day. We like the GPS function too, where you can check out what people are drinking based on location...a little big-brothery but why wouldn't you want to share what you're drinking?
Check out the video below, and download the app at iTunes.
Edit: Absolut has created a new download portal Drinkspiration at AbsolutDrinks.com; you can now download the app iPhone, Android and iPad as well!
We spent some time down in New York this week, and the main attraction of our whirlwind trip was sitting down with Bobby "G" Gleason, Master Mixologist for Beam Global, so he could trot us through some of his favorite Red Stag cocktails. In a masterly fashion, he mixed us a batch of cocktails that surprised us on multiple fronts, and most importantly, gave us a minor buzz at 10 AM.
We were fascinated by Bobby's patter about flavor profiles and his enthusiasm for experimentation (he told us of a bacon-flavored tequila he created), and we dug the drinks too.
We're including the recipes for our favorites - the Manhattan is one we'd drink with enough regularity to be worrisome, the Mating Call moved Red Stag from sweet to tart, and the addition of Tabasco to the Red Hot Stag worried us a bit, but turned out to be one of our favorites of the bunch. See the recipes and our take after the jump.
We've got a friend who's getting into the Sloe Gin Fizz of late, and sent an envoy to us asking if we knew any good recipes. Truth be told, we didn't, because while we've heard of this particular cocktail we've never sought it out. However, being the liquor nerds we are, we were able to dig through our many cocktail recipe books and come up with a few recipes that might fit the bill. We also found a recipe for something called a "Sloe Comfortable Screw," that we had to include just because it had an awesome name.
Find the recipes (and their sources) after the jump.
Update: We just found an article on Esquire that hints the reason for sloe gin's decline in the States - we don't have access to the real stuff, just artificially-flavored knockoffs that don't do the drink justice. Has anyone found a truly good sloe gin out there to combat this claim? Anyway, maybe that's why, as reader Megan puts it in the comments, "old people like sloe gin." It's because they've had the good stuff we don't have access to, and know what the drink can really aspire to.
Been scouring the swine flu-related news lately, wondering when someone is finally going to create a swine flu-related cocktail? So have we. But wait no longer, because writer Robert Haynes-Peterson over at New York Drinks Examiner has finally come through.
His recipe contains absinthe (originally billed as a medicine), tequila (in honor of Mexico, duh), bacon-flavored bourbon (we're guessing it's a homeopathic thing), and limoncello (citrus for the win!). We can only only imagine it tastes like Satan's bunghole, but you know we'll be stocking up on the ingredients post haste because of the medicinal properties.
Get the recipe after the jump. (Image via George Coghill)
We have a confession to make - we've never had elderflower liqueur. It's not that we have a problem with drinking flowers, it's more like we just haven't had an opportunity. We dug up this good-looking springtime recipe featuring Oval Vodka, and it seems like a good reason to get out there and snatch up a bottle of St. Germain.
Check out the recipe below, and don't hesitate to whip up a batch in honor of Earth Day.
St. Patrick's Day, aka Amateur Night But a Good Time Anyway, is right around the corner, and this year we wanted to give you some more options than just some green-tinted beer. Get your drink on with recipes we've found all over the o'blogosphere and beyond, and let us know if you find recipes we've missed. Check 'em out below...did we miss anything?
You could say we have a soft spot for cocktails that are...out there. For one thing, remember when we were the ones to first tell you about the Bacon Martini? That was some heart-stopping fun. Filed in the same category, we offer you the McNuggetini, which we're guessing has a similar vomit profile. Our favorite part is the barbecue sauce-rimmed glass.
The recipe is after the jump; check out the full post at This Recording for some nice pictorial reactions. The looks on their faces tell us we might hold off on mixing this one up.
This drink reminds us of our dream of constructing the ultimate laxative cocktail - we call it the Pootini - using prune juice, vodka, and Ginger-Lemon Phospho-soda. Sadly, that's a dream that won't come to fruition now that you can only get the phospho by prescription. We thought we were going to laugh all the way to the bank (and the john) with that one.
Calling All Geeks for Comic Book Cocktails
So you know that urban legend about comic book geeks? The one that says they live in their parents' basements, and don't know how to interact with the really real world? As comics collectors ourselves, we've fought long and hard against that stereotype, but alas, we're afraid our brethren have shown their true colors. 
A couple years ago we were really impressed with a book called 
We're on a bit of a gin kick right now, and we recently got an email from a good friend highly recommending the following drink recipe he found at Chicago's 
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