We've always had a soft spot for independent spirits, and we've enjoyed watching the Indy Spirits Expo grow over the last few years. We've always thought it was exceedingly cool to get so many of the smaller brands together in one place, and give them a chance to sound off about their products. Plus, we really had a great time at the event we went to a couple years ago, sampling booze and getting shwag and generally feeling like big shots.
If you're going to be in the NYC area on June 23, we recommend you grab a ticket and go check it out - you'll be able to taste all kinds of booze you won't find at your local Applebee's, and support some up-and-coming brands at the same time. Check out who will be there at the Indy Spirits Expo site, and get ticket info as well. When you get there, tell them Liquor Snob sent you...even though they probably won't have any idea what you're talking about.
When we first heard about Given tequila liqueur, we weren't quite sure what to make of it. A Mexican spirit, fiddled with in France, and to top it all off, it's apparently not pronounced "given," it's pronounced "jee-vahn." Well, given that the folks from Given sent us a bottle, we decided to give in to the temptation and we're glad we did, since it's frickin' delicious.
The Look: The Given bottle is sleek and black with splashes of red, with a flat profile...all in all pretty good-looking.
The Nose: We got a lot more tequila than we expected when we sniffed Given, combined with a nice citrusy tang. It smells like a perfectly-mixed margarita, showcasing a bit of tequila's fire, tempered with tartness.
The Taste: Mostly citrus, with a faint tinge of tequila on the back end. We tasted a lot of lime juice, with very little sweetness. This isn't a heavy, syrupy liqueur, trying to overpower cheap booze with too much sweetness - it's nice and light on the palate with a nice long finish. If you're looking for a strong tequila flavor you're gut of luck, but this is a nice alternative.
The Verdict: Color us pleasantly surprised by Given. It's not going to replace tequila in our liquor cabinet, but it's got a nice citrusy flavor we can see working extremely well in a lot of cocktails.
We can also see ourselves sipping it on the rocks on a hot day, and seems like a good alternative when you want something margarita-esque with a lower alcohol content, or using it in citrus-based drinks to which we want to add some zing. We're seeing pricing around thirty dollars for a bottle, and you can check the Given website for tips on where to find a bottle.
We just opened our mailbox to find an unexpected package, and when we opened it we found a copy of The Beer Trials: The Essential Guide to the World's Most Popular Beers. Compiled by Seamus Campbell and Robin Goldstein, this book is a ratings guide features over 250 beer reviews. One of our usual concerns with a book like this is that they focus on tiny microbrews we'll never get to taste without some kind of pilgrimage, but this book does a nice job of featuring both micro- and macro-varieties of beer, all rated on a 10 point scale with notes.
It's not every day you'll find a book with ratings of Aventinus Weizenbock (9) cozied up near Big Sky Moose Drool (6) and Icehouse (4). After leafing through this book we have to say we warmed up to it immediately, and we've made it a personal goal to attempt to sample all the beers that got good ratings, if not all the beers period.
We just found out about Given, a tequila-based liqueur produced in the Cognac region of France. According to the email we got, Given combines:
premium agave tequila from Jalisco, Mexico and once in France we incorporate some of the wine and cognac producing techniques to the tequila, even using grapes in the infusion process to create a smooth, refreshing liqueur that is not as sweet and thick as a typical liqueur and and as strong as a typical tequila.
Sounds interesting to us.
Even more interestingly, the email states that since it has properties of both a liqueur and a regular distilled spirit, they've coined the phrase "spi-queur." We're not sure how things are done in France, but to us that sounds more like a racial epithet than something we'd order in a bar. Hey - who are we to judge? Maybe that IS the way things are done in France.
Remember the movie "Leaving Las Vegas"? It was the lighthearted romp where Nic Cage's character went to Vegas to drink himself to death. We're thinking that flick had to be the inspiration for the seven videos we found featured on Buzzfeed - why else would we be seeing videos of people doing this to themselves?
Not for the faint of heart, the above link includes videos of people "eyeballing," "slimming," snorting, inhaling, eating, shooting up, and chugging vodka. Yeah, we realize liquor is nature's perfect food, but are you that starved for it?
We're including the "eyeballing" video because we thought it was the least terrifying/most likely to cause blindness. The most important part? Doing it in both eyes to make ABSOLUTELY sure you can't see tomorrow. It kind of goes without saying, but we'll say it anyway - don't try this at home, kids. Thanks for the link, Burockracy.
Welcome to our review of Vesica Vodka, a triple-distilled Polish potato vodka that's looking to stand out in the glut of vodka brands with interesting packaging, reasonable pricing, and a distinctive flavor. But were they able to create the true triple threat? We put the three bottles the folks at Adamba importers sent us through their paces to find out.
The Look: Vesica definitely hit a home run with the shape of their bottles, with more than just the labeling to make it stand out. The only "traditional" bottle was on the 1L bottle, with the 750ML bottle taking more of a crescent moon shape. The 1.75L, instead of going for a traditional "handle" format, is shaped like two bottles standing next to each other, giving it a sleeker profile (as well as living up to its Vesica name).
The Nose: Slightly tart and even a bit grassy or herbal (in a good way) when we sniffed it from the bottle, this mellowed right out when we chilled.
The Taste: We've had potato vodkas in the past that were like an assault on the tongue, packing a huge wallop and bringing out a grimace from those not expecting it. Vesica doesn't have that, and offered a restrained mellowness that would be hard to beat. We enjoyed it in vodka martinis, and found it very sippable when served shaken over ice with a twist. It's got a smooth, snappy finish no matter how we tried it, and never failed to impress.
The Verdict: We think Vesica is immensely drinkable, especially considering it's a potato vodka, which can be a notoriously cantankerous spirit. The mellow flavor, combined with damn good price (around $10 for 750ML, $12 for a liter, and $20 for a 1.75L) put Vesica into the must-try category, especially for folks who've been scared off by potato vodka in the past. If you see it at your local liquor store, don't be scared off by that low price thinking you're buying paint thinner...pick up a bottle and you won't be disappointed.
Aaah, monthly roundup season. Let's all mix a drink or crack a brew, and take a look back at the events of May. Kind of a light month with our fearless Editor in Chief away in mexico for 25% of it, but don't fret - he was still drinking, he just wasn't writing about it.
This video, from the dudes who made Mystery Team, explains that the drunk dial is not as new a phenomenon as you might have thought. At least you don't have to learn Morse Code to say something embarrassing...
We gave up on Lost years ago, somewhere around when it stopped being about a bunch of people stranded on an island and convinced us the writers were just making each episode up as they went along. If you've been in for the long haul and plan to watch the mind-blowing series finale, however, you may need to print out a whole bunch of these so you and your friends can get drunk enough to survive the mindfuckery. Vaya con Dios, and get the full Bingo card at Holy Taco.
Take your beer from pee warm to an icy cold 33 degrees Farenheit in just four minutes (for cans - a bit slower for bottles) with the Cooper Rapid Blitz Chiller. There's really not that much more to say about the thing is there? No. So get your ass down to Bed, Bath & Beyond to pick one up for forty bucks!
(Or you can get it through Amazon if you're down with the 1-2 month wait time, but seriously...what part of RAPID did you not understand?)
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Indy Spirits Expo 2010
When we first heard about Given tequila liqueur, we weren't quite sure what to make of it. A Mexican spirit, fiddled with in France, and to top it all off, it's apparently not pronounced "given," it's pronounced "jee-vahn." Well, given that the folks from Given sent us a bottle, we decided to give in to the temptation and we're glad we did, since it's frickin' delicious.
We just opened our mailbox to find an unexpected package, and when we opened it we found a copy of The Beer Trials: The Essential Guide to the World's Most Popular Beers. Compiled by Seamus Campbell and Robin Goldstein, this book is a ratings guide features over 250 beer reviews. One of our usual concerns with a book like this is that they focus on tiny microbrews we'll never get to taste without some kind of pilgrimage, but this book does a nice job of featuring both micro- and macro-varieties of beer, all rated on a 10 point scale with notes. 
Welcome to our review of Vesica Vodka, a triple-distilled Polish potato vodka that's looking to stand out in the glut of vodka brands with interesting packaging, reasonable pricing, and a distinctive flavor. But were they able to create the true triple threat? We put the three bottles the folks at 
Aaah, monthly roundup season. Let's all mix a drink or crack a brew, and take a look back at the events of May. Kind of a light month with our fearless Editor in Chief away in mexico for 25% of it, but don't fret - he was still drinking, he just wasn't writing about it.
Continue reading: 
We gave up on Lost years ago, somewhere around when it stopped being about a bunch of people stranded on an island and convinced us the writers were just making each episode up as they went along. If you've been in for the long haul and plan to watch the mind-blowing series finale, however, you may need to print out a whole bunch of these so you and your friends can get drunk enough to survive the mindfuckery. Vaya con Dios, and get the full Bingo card at 
Take your beer from pee warm to an icy cold 33 degrees Farenheit in just four minutes (for cans - a bit slower for bottles) with the Cooper Rapid Blitz Chiller. There's really not that much more to say about the thing is there? No. So get your ass down to 
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