February 4, 2008
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.
Full heart breaking story at
Wired
January 30, 2008
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.
October 5, 2007
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.
Hear that? We're cocktail enthusiasts, not a bunch of drunks! More at
Washington Times
October 2, 2007
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.
More information at
CelticMalts.com
August 30, 2007
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?"
July 10, 2007
We wish we could make it to New Orleans next week, because we just found out that's when this year's the Tales of the Cocktail conference is happening (between July 18 and 22, to be exact).
What is Tales of the Cocktail, you ask? According to About.com, it's "a five-day event to celebrate and explore the history and spirit of the cocktail with great chefs, mixologists, best-selling authors and celebrities which takes place in New Orleans every summer." Sounds right up our alley.
If you're going to be in the Big Easy during that time period, or want to make the trek solely for TotC, read on for ticket info. Plus, we've included the recipe for the Starfish Cooler, official drink of TotC, to get your juices flowing.
Continue reading: "Tales of the Cocktail 2007"
June 21, 2007
We just heard about something that's sure to get people's blood boiling - here in Boston at least, anyway. There's been a proposal from the Boston City Council that all drinks served in the city should have plastic lids put on them to keep people from dropping date rape drugs in them. All drinks. Seems to us their hearts are in the right place, and the idea of date rape drugs make us sick, but it just doesn't seem practical, does it? You want to drink a Guinness out of a lidded glass? We sure don't.
Our proposal - bouncers are given the right to pat people down and chemically castrate anyone found carrying roofies, right on the spot. That'd cut down on the problem...what do you think?
The covers require that drinkers pierce the covers and imbibe through a straw, a notion that produced some skepticism about how well they would be received.
"You can't drink a martini with a straw!" said Charles M. Perkins, who runs the Boston Restaurant Group. "It just wouldn't be the same. It would be a real turnoff to people."
"That would crush the umbrella, wouldn't it?" said Dan Pokaski, chairman of the Boston Licensing Board. "I don't see people doing it."
via
Boston.com
April 19, 2007
We've just found news that might convince us of the worth of getting girl drink drunk - at least on daiquiris anyway. Apparently, new research we found referenced at DailyMall.co.uk has found that berry-based cocktails have some health benefits, not the least of which is the ability to "help fight cancer."
Scientists have found that treating the berries with alcohol boosts their cancer-fighting properties - suggesting that strawberry-based cocktails may be better for us than we realised.
The researchers, who were looking for ways to keep the fruit fresh during storage, discovered that alcohol enhances the strawberry's ability to mop up harmful molecules linked to cancer, heart disease and arthritis.
Read on for our favorite strawberry daiquiri recipe.
Continue reading: "Strawberry Daiquiris vs Cancer"
February 9, 2007
As we indicated in our DH Krahn Gin review, we sometimes have some trouble with jealousy. Sometimes we're jealous of tall men with chiseled physiques, sometimes we're jealous of fellas with fat wallets, but we're always jealous of people who get to try booze we haven't had. The folks over at YumSugar just got back from a Fancy Food exhibition, which also seems to have included all sorts of liquors as well.
Believe it or not, we're not finished with all of our Fancy Foods coverage. There are still a few trends that I wanted to discuss in a little more depth, so expect a few more posts throughout the week. Today it's the all things alcohol trend. Okay, so this isn't exactly a new thing, but it was definitely something I noticed a lot of. There were organic mixers, regular mixers; hand bottled infused alcohols, organic alcohols, new flavors and so much more.
YumSugar
December 5, 2006
We've been excited about the Matt Dillon Charles Bukowski movie Factotum (Amazon
) for months now, and now we have another reason to be excited. The movie features Ikon Russian Vodka, a vodka we drank and loved last year (read our Ikon review). We're not sure how big a role in the movie Ikon has, but we like the whole Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon thing - we're one step away from having been in the movie ourselves! Click the image to see a bigger version where we highlighted the bottle - and are we crazy or is there a bottle of Tito's in there too?
For more information go to the Ikon Vodka blog, and you can pick up your own copy of Factotumat Amazon - pre-order now because it releases on December 26.
Water Beats Out Beer...in Super Bowl Ads Only Of Course
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