Pabst Beer Can Coffin

Talk about dedication to drinking - it's come to our attention that we're strictly amateurs. We've never even considered going to the great hereafter ensconced in a giant beer can, much less actually built the coffin and used it as a beer cooler.

at Make

Boston Bans the Bottle...

...or bottle service, anyway, and in doing so the city is once again showing the fringes of its puritanical heritage. Boston has some serious identity problems when it comes to booze - for an Irish town a town with a pub on every corner, there are a lot of stupid rules imposed on drinking (we're looking at you, anti-happy hour legislation). We're not necessarily down with bottle service or the VIP image that goes with it, but if people want to look like their favorite fresh-out-of-rehab celebrities and OC rejects, who're we to stop them?

Most people see bottle service with VIP treatment at a hot club in a big city a special treat and a perk of being able to afford spendy bottles of booze. But one Boston official disagrees and is cracking down on the clubs that offer bottle service to their clients. His argument? That the price of the bottle causes patrons to feel they have to down the whole thing before the night is over which, consequently, steps on the toes of the "happy hour" law of a two-drink max per patron.

Personalized Liquor Labels

We can see a whole lot of uses for personalized liquor bottle labels, from holiday gifts to corporate events to weddings and groomsman gifts. Looks like the folks at Pernod Ricard felt the same way because they're offering a service where you can customize labels on their bottles, for hard liquor brands including Chivas, Glenlivet, Wild Turkey, and Kahlua; and for wines including Jacob's Creek and Mumm Napa.

You can order up to five labels at a time, and the best news is they're completely free. You just make your brand/bottle choices and customize the label with everything from personalized text to images. Then you just paste them onto bottles you have and voila - gift opportunities or lying about how you know Mr. Glenlivet himself is within your grasp.

at Your Gift Label [via Springwise]

New Scotch Rules on the Horizon

For a long time, Scotch was a mythical and confusing beast to us. It seemed like something that was only drunk by railroad barons and other people who wore monocles. After putting some effort into it, and the tutelage of some friends, we were slowly able to piece things together, recognize flavors by region, and lose the intimidation factor that had kept us away from the drink in the first place.

We just received an email press release saying our comfort zone could change, due to some new rules being cooked up by the British government and the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA). We're drinking generalists here, not Scotch specialists, but even we can see a lot of the new rules could confuse issues and make it even harder for neophytes to understand what they're buying and ensure the high quality they might expect.

...some feel it's a smokescreen to further enhance the commercial interests of a self-regulated industry. "New rules are to strengthen existing laws, protecting whisky regions, targeting counterfeiters, and protecting consumers" says Bruichladdich's MD Mark Reynier. "Some are good rules, others more disingenuous; consumers are to be protected from counterfeiters only so they can be ripped off by the industry instead.

(Under the new rules) Cardhu 'blended malt' could look exactly the same as the highly successful Cardhu 'Single Malt' (400,000 cases) and yet it could theoretically be 99% of unknown, lesser, single malts of a completely different even inferior style or flavour.

Continue reading: "New Scotch Rules on the Horizon"

Watch Out for RoboBouncer

OK, so this isn't strictly liquor-related, but it does fall in line with all the booze-related 'bots we've covered in the past. This crazy mofo got sick of seeing the bad seeds sprouting around his bar, so he built a frickin' robot to chase them off. Awesome.

In downtown Atlanta, Rufus Terrill didn't like some of the folk who were hanging around his bar, O'Terrills, so he built himself a simplified robocop which he controls by remote. Consisting of an old meat smoker that he says still smells like chicken, a spotlight, an IR cam, a water cannon and a loudspeaker, the bot stands 4 feet tall and weighs 300 lbs.

Dr. Dre Will Get You Chronically Drunk

We'll come right out and say we've spent some time in our lives drinking beer to Dr. Dre's album, The Chronic. Does that mean we're excited about the news that he's putting his name on a line of hard liquors? Well, we're not in college anymore (dating ourselves, are we?) but yeah, we'd tip a 40 in honor of his creation - assuming there aren't buds floating in it or something.

The first products will be a premium cognac selection, followed by a sparkling vodka. He also has plans to create a tequila.

St. Patrick's Day vs Your Boss

We've always had a love/hate relationship with St. Patrick's Day. We love it because it's an unabashed reason to get paralytically drunk celebrate the life and times of St. Patrick, who drove the snakes from Ireland. We hate it because the bars are too crowded to actually get a beer because everyone thinks they're Irish, and it tends to turn into a strange, sloppy amateur night.

That's why we're not sure how we feel about making it a national holiday, which is what the folks at Guinness are striving to do. Of course, just think...no more having to think up excuses why you can't work on March 17. Our favorite has always been to say the pipes burst in our basement, when we were really preparing to get bursted.

We know this completely reeks of marketing stunt, and we have no idea if it's even possible, but we'll sign their damn petition because it's the right thing to do. Of course, if they were true geniuses, they'd be lobbying to get March 18th off from work instead, and call it "Guinness's Hair of the Dog Day." That way they'd be getting our money two days in a row...on top of the other 300 days when we're shelling out for a pint.

Get more info and sign the petition at Proposition317.com; learn more about the cascading elixir itself (like you don't know) at Guinness.com

We Don't Want to Live in a World Without Car Bombs

We don't even want to dignify this, but we felt we should cover it. And you realize, of course, we're talking about Irish Car Bombs, not those other ones.

At least, now we know to never, ever, ever go to Virginia again.

Yes, there is a place in the cocktailian United States where a bartender can spend a year in jail for serving some of the most common cocktails. A 75 year-old law in Virginia makes it illegal for an establishment to sell any mixed drinks in which beer or wine is combined with distilled spirits. That eliminates a lot of drinks...

Welcome to Super Fat Tuesday

Sometimes, the fates intertwine to bring us momentous days. As you (probably) know, today is Super Duper Tuesday, the day we unwashed masses get up off the couch and go vote in political primaries. As you also (probably) know, this year it falls on the same day as Fat Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras. In case you're unaware, that's the day America's unwashed masses want to go to New Orleans to drink heavily and take off their shirts.

There's probably something clever we should say here about the overlap, but we're too jet lagged right now. Instead of indulging in our rapier political wit, you'll have to content yourself with our visual representation, which took longer than you'd think to make while we waited for our plane.

Water Beats Out Beer...in Super Bowl Ads Only Of Course

OK, so we're a little more banged up about the Super Bowl last night than we care to admit...as much as we like to think we're our own men, our New England roots are showing. At first we thought it was because the Patriots lost in a close game. It turns out it's because we subconsciously noticed the beer ads, our constant mainstay for Super Bowl entertainment, sucked pond water this year. Literally. (Image links to our favorite)

Advertisements for vitamin-enhanced water beat out beer for top-viewed advertising airtime during Sunday's Super Bowl, according to TiVo's annual analysis of top-rated commercials.

"Anheuser-Busch has always placed multiple ads on our list, but this year they only got one spot. Interestingly enough, in the place of beer ads, we saw two new water ads," said Todd Juenger, vice president of audience research at the digital video recording company in a phone interview.

Velvet Falernum Growing Scarce?

If you ask us, it sounds like the name of a character Billy Dee Williams might have played back in the '70s, but apparently Velvet Falernum is a big name in certain circles. An alcoholic mixer used in a lot of Caribbean and tropical drinks, Velvet Falernum is a mainstay in a lot of rum-based beverages. And, if our sources are correct, it's getting that much harder to come across lately. Maybe that's not a big deal for you, but a lot of bartenders rely on it for making unique drinks and we thought you should know.

If nothing else it's a good tidbit to drop at your next cocktail party. Clutching your Rum Collins, you might say "Oh, I usually like to zazz these up with a drop of the Falernum, but you just can't seem to get it these days." You'll wow your friends with your knowledge of spirits, and better yet, if you can get your hands on some you'll be the envy of your associates in the know.

If anyone can get hard facts for us on this supposed drought, please let us know, and for those of you who haven't heard of it, here's the rundown on the stuff from Wikipedia.

Liquor Snob Mention in Washington Times

The paparazzi might not be after us yet, but we're feeling like celebrities today. That's because our fearless Editor in Chief was asked to give his expert opinion on one of his favorite subjects - booze, specifically vodka.

The story is about the growth of smaller vodka distilleries and the spirit in general, and while we're not quite sure what he was saying in some of the quotes - our theory is that Mr. Editor in Chief had some pre-interview Moscow Mules - it's a fun read (for us and our moms anyway).

Mom-and-pop vodka distillers have emerged from around the world, with the latest and most unique creations becoming all the rage for discerning drinkers who enjoy them at top bars, chichi hotels, trendy restaurants and upscale liquor stores.

From habanero vodka created in Texas to Vermont vodka infused with maple syrup, the variety for cocktail connoisseurs and mixologists is huge, says Jake Jamieson, the editor in chief of Liquorsnob.com, a popular Web site among discriminating cocktail enthusiasts.

Independent Spirits Fest - October '07

When it comes to booze, we love the little guy. That's not to say we don't like bigger booze brands, but there's something about independent distillers that gets our proverbial juices flowing. That's why we're excited to let you know about the Celtic Malts Independent Spirits Festival. Occurring on October 13 at the W Hotel in San Francisco. We'll let the organizers tell you in their own words, but all we can say is we're bummed we won't be on the West Coast - especially since the Orange V folks, among others, will be there.

This is the only event in the world devoted to the passionate bottlings of the artisanal craft distillers and independent bottlers of the finest whiskies. Sample every spirit capable of emerging from a still along with the meticulously selected expressions of the world's great independent bottlers of Scotch and Irish whiskies.

The Demise of the Sweet Cocktail?

We've never been fans of the sweeter cocktails - though we have been known to make some simple syrup for our drinks and whatnot. We like our drinks relatively sugar free (unless we're drinking Cachaca, which is made from sugar cane, of course).

Looks like we're not the only ones - we just found an article about a trend toward more savory cocktails, and we can't say we're sad (or surprised). Plus, the quote we found was from the co-author of Art of the Bar (review), one of our favorite cocktail recipe books out there.

Continue reading: "The Demise of the Sweet Cocktail?"