Musical Beer Bottle

I hope these guys find a larger brewer and distributor, this idea is amazing!

Tuned Pale Ale

Beer bottles labeled so you know how much to drink for each musical note. Way cool idea, and to quote them: "Get some friends together with a case, start a band, and get Tuned"

 

I saw this on Laughingsquid.com

Mmminty Cocktails

Before the bottom of my first bottle, Creme de Menthe has become an ingredient I should have bought long ago. After drunkenly adding it to a shot of brandy a few nights back because I wanted a stinger to go, I decided I should go ahead and try out a few good looking recipes that make different uses of Creme de Menthe.

First off is the Consolation Cocktail. I chose this to start because of my love for gin and the simple ingredients. With ingredients only a step removed from a Gin Cocktail or a Gin Sour, the Consolation does a great job of smoothing over a bunch of pretty strong tastes.

Consolation Cocktail
1 1/2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Creme de Menthe
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
Dash Angostura Bitters

I thought the lemon was a little too much, so I lowered it to only 1/4 oz the second time around. I think this is a better balance of the four, but whatever you prefer. The refreshing quality of the mint goes well with the juniper taste of good strong gin. I'd drink one of these again!

Image from Absolut website recipe

Although I'm fairly certain it is not a problem too many men encounter, I'm sure there are times when your ladyfriend needs to be reminded not to be a bad girl? Anyway, I can't seem to find any information on where this cocktail comes from or what gives it its name. The base of brandy and sweet vermouth is such a palate pleaser that there are dozens of variations you can add to them to make a suave-tasting cocktail.

Lady be Good
1 1/2 oz Brandy
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Creme de Menthe

The Lady be Good did not surprise me. It tasted like a Stinger with sweet vermouth, and I'll gladly try this one again.

The Irish Settler

This one is a straight cocktail recipe. I was after a boozy concoction that used Creme de Cassis a few nights ago and could only find a few recipes I had the materials for on hand. So I did what anybody in my situation would do - I adapted one of the ones I couldn't make to have my own invented cocktail.

The Settler (or Settler Highball)
2 oz Brandy
1 oz Creme de Cassis
Seltzer

Shake brandy and Creme de Cassis, then pour into a highball glass and add the seltzer

Not having any unflavored seltzer around, or any unflavored brandy, I opted instead for an Irish version. The result, the "Irish Settler," is delicious, aromatic, and definitely a keeper.

Irish Settler
2 oz Irish Whisky
1 oz Creme de Cassis
1/2 oz Orange Liqueur

Shake and pour into a small brandy snifter. The cocktail is purple, smooth, and has the botanical flavors of the elderberry and orange. Put another way, it tastes dandy, packs about 2 drinks worth of alcohol into a cup, and gets a nod of approval from my hardest-to-please taster.

Enjoy!

Revisiting Ouzo

It was a while ago that I first tried Ouzo - see the Satanic Cocktails post about it here - and I have been slowly working my way through bottle after bottle ever since. Most often I drink a tall glass of it as I cook dinner.

Take a quick read of Kerasma.gr for good info

Following Zane's experience in the Episode on Lesbos (Yes, I know I've mentioned that episode already), I pour a half a glass of ouzo on a few ice cubes and then add a few dashes of cold filtered water until it starts to emulsify. If 'emulsify' means nothing to you, watch the darn episode already! If three or four shots of 80º liquor is more than enough to put you over the edge before dinner, stick to a smaller glass.

To try out my ouzo in a few different and faster ways, I went for a few of these ouzo-based shooters. Overall, I still prefer a straight glass of ouzo, but since I have been taking more shots than mixing cocktails the last few months, these certainly did the trick.

World Famous TKO

One shot into the list I knew I was in trouble. The TKO seems odd by ingredient, but is smooth and warm. The combination of strong and herbal tastes in the tequila and ouzo was offset well by the coffee liqueur. After four or five of these, I started to have a little trouble getting the proportions right, and the taste suffered.

TKO
1/3 Tequila
1/3 Kahlua
1/3 Ouzo

When I'm taking a shot of a liquor I like, I tend to give it ever the slightest swish in my mouth. Contrary to a stiff shot of shitty whiskey or warm vodka, I like to treat a shot of something I enjoy sipping just like a larger than average swallow from a rocks glass. Whenever I try this with shooters I am a little wary - if someone has gone through the effort of publishing a recipe that doesn't always mean they have the slightest clue about whether something tastes good. I can't be the only one who's ordered or received some dishwater shooters in the past.

The Vulcan Mind Probe Shot was next - well technically I didn't make it past the TKO the first night so "next" really means a few days later in this case. Due to my trouble mixing smooth TKOs later into the night, I hoped that a recipe that's 1/2 and 1/2 ouzo and rum would be easy enough for my thick fingers to pour.

Vulcan Mind Probe
1 Part Ouzo
1 Part Rum

This works well as a double shot, though I would say the taste is anything but easy to take down. The combination of the black rum and ouzo I used made for a powerful taste that stayed in my throat. It was not especially pleasant, so I went back for more TKOs afterwards. In the end, I didn't really mind the powerful taste of bitter chocolate licorice I got from this, since by the time I'd had two or three of these, I was deep enough into my drinking night that it was fine.

Good luck trying some Ouzo. It's well worth it.

Inventive Brewing - "The Bacon Deluge"

An Uncommon Beer for the Uncommon Brewery. I don't have much to say about this other than that I love bacon, and I will be checking my end of the I-80 corridor for the pounders of bacon beer later this year. Expect an update when I get a taste - or get me a taste and I'll get you an update.

Cheers to inventive brewers.

She was only a Whiskey Maker but he Loved her Still

Some drinks are meant to be sipped slowly. Full appreciation of these drinks requires attention to detail with drink ingredients and proper glassware.

Just in case you don't have time for all of that foofarah separating sober you and sauced you, there's always the one line jokes of drinking - shots. Not too much shakes your face like a nice stiff shot of high-octane ethanol. A good shot of whiskey down the hatch will tingle and burn up every limb. Toss back a few tequila shots and feel the now-rounded edges get slick.

While I do not usually drink shooters, I will mention the best one I have encountered in my time, the Liquid Cocaine Shot. A couple of these shots will get you a different brand of hosed than any traditional shot.

Liquid Cocaine
3/4 oz Jaeger
3/4 oz Goldschläger

Pour Jaeger into shot glass then slowly layer on Goldschläger. If done right the two will remain unmixed (don't worry, you don't need to be all that steady to get it to stay unmixed - if you have trouble, use the back of a bar spoon).

N.B. There are a bunch of other recipes for this, usually with Rumplemintz or º151, usually shaken with ice then strained into a shot glass. I only chose this one because it's the one I know, I can't honestly recommend any of the others having not tried them. Credit for the recipe goes to my friend Jake Itzkowitz.



I'm off to down a shot or two of Rye Whiskey. It's good to be back to Redfacery again.

Beer Fast and Bacon

Ever since I came across the Modern Drunkard article on beer fasting, I have wondered what the experience would be like. I did a fast once - only 72 hours, but it was enough to go through a few of the thought processes that seem to go through fasters' brains and bodies. And no, this is not the part where I tell you about my bowel movements.

A recent successful beer fast by J. Wilson for lent was impressive. He brewed his own beer for the experiment, pictured above, and kept an inspiring blog throughout his fast. And, he finished it all off with a bacon smoothie.Check out his blog for the full details, but here is his video post for his 40th day.

Cheers to you J. Wilson.

A Day of Rosiness - Morning Effusion

In several parts, I would like to present to you a day's worth of cocktails that will keep you rosy. To start things off, we have the Morning Effusion, a Rosy Navel:

Morning Effusion:

Rosy Navel
4 oz Rosé Wine
1 oz Curacao
2 oz Orange Juice
Lemon-Lime Soda

Add the wine, curacao, and orange juice to a shaker half full with ice and stir languidly. Do not shake, as this will really mess up the taste from the rosé (unless you're throwing a party with this stuff and you've gone for box o' wine in which case who the hell cares if you shake it?) Pour into collins glass with some ice, then top with the soda. Garnish if you wish with a lemon wedge.

This cocktail is obviously light on liquor, which makes it perfect for an early start to the drinking day. A few glasses of this will add the requisite glow to the morning and get you ready for our Midday Tincture.

The World's Oldest Champagne

This July a remarkable find was made in Finnish waters - the world's oldest Champagne.  The champagne dates back to somewhere around 185 years ago.  Wow.

Champagne this old makes the 8-week Welch's brew look just as gross as it should look.  Everything about a 185 year-old bottle of champagne is awesome.  Not the least of which is that it was found at the bottom of the ocean... again, Wow!



Cheers to the intrepid diver who swigged a bottle expecting salt water and was instead greeted with sweet alcohol.

According to Champagne expert Richard Juhlin, the bottles could go for $135,000 each at auction depending on who shows up to bid.

Redface Classics - Slickheel Lemonade

"Slickheel Lemonade - The Bringer of Life"

Anyone who has hosted a number of parties will know that there is a familiar flow to an evening.  It is the host's job, among other things, to manage and at times direct that flow.  One of the most potent weapons in my arsenal, if not the most potent weapon besides music or a full fridge, is the Slickheel Lemonade.  Many stories are bandied about on the topic of the Slickheel, and they should be - it is a booze-packed beverage that tastes like a frothy fresh lemonade.

Few can withstand its pull, and even seasoned drinkers have been known to be felled by two or three of these.  As the man behind the bar, I have often had occasion to mix these up by the dozen at the beginning of the night, knowing full well that by midnight, time will start its familiar whirlwind, leaving behind a room that could easily have housed a herd of wild animals and not a party.

I must confess that I went nearly a year without a Slickheel Lemonade until last weekend.  Upon inhaling its familiar and unique scent, and then watching as my vision warped somewhere in the middle of my second drink, I remembered the Slickheel's power.


So wherever you are, whatever you are doing, I ask you to raise your glass or nod your head, in silent respect for the Slickheel Lemonade.