Martini Groove

Hi, I'm not here. See you next week.

I've been remiss in keeping up with Art of the Drink over the last few weeks, but they just recently posted one on Lynchburg Lemonade. Check it out. Tags: vlogs

The crew over at beeradvocate.com is going glossy. They're launching a full print magazine that is to be in the vein of magazines like Cigar Afficionado or Wine Spectator, except for beer. Right now you can sign up for US$19.95 and get 12 issues. 10 regular issues and a special year end issue plus a pocket beer guide. They'll even throw in a calendar. Hey! Look at that sexy Heffeweizen! The deal expires on August 1, so decide to sign-up soon! Or face the terrible, horrific fate of paying slightly more and maybe not getting a calendar! DO SO AT YOUR OWN PERIL! Founders of BeerAdvocate.com to Launch Magazine - [drinksmedianewswire.com] Beer Advocate Magazine - [beeradvocate.com] Tags: print , beer

One of my new favorite blogs, Slashfood, put up a post today about pepper martini's and how she's switched sides from the traditional dirty martini to an infused vodka (Like Absolute Peppar) with a pepper in it. She's even busted out a few recipes that call for the pepper in order to tame the quest for a bite that resides in you. Pepper Martini is better than Dirty Martini - [slashfood.com] Tags: recipes

Your sign has a specific cocktail and cocktail experience tied to it. Some signs like the dive bar and a beer, others like some swank with a martini. My sign is Martini with a Bourbon Rising. My astrological sign is Leo, here's what AOL's Cocktail Horoscope has to say about me: Leo (July 22 to Aug. 22) Leo and cocktails go together like Hugh Hefner and women. Sunny drinks such as the Lemon Drop martini or the Leo Special (gin, Cointreau, lime juice, Pernod and crème de menthe) made with premium brand liquor will appeal. A Cadillac Margarita made with Grand Marnier in a stylish glass will also make your Lion purr. For Leo's birthday, consider a book on how to prepare classic cocktails in his or her home bar. Pretty right on and I actually haven't had a Leo Special, so that gives me something to try on my upcoming birthday (Send gifts, e-mail me for more info). Cocktails by sign - [aol.com] Tags: horoscope

The iBar has a milky bar top and projecters under it that display images on the bar. Not only that, it has software and motion sensors to detect where objects are and place images around them, as well as the ability to follow them around. Of course, as the amount of alcohol increases, I'm sure this gets crazier and crazier looking to the patrons standing a the bar, ending with a torrid makeout session with the surface of the bar. Plenty of pics on the link. iBar: Software + Projector = Interactive Hijinks - [gizmodo.com] iBar company site - [i-bar.ch] Tags: gadgets

Though I can think of better ways to spend my US$225,000, such as getting 225,000 value menu items from Wendy's or financing my own Home for Runaway Girls Aged 18-25, someone decided that buying a bottle of tequila was what they wanted to do with it. The tequila itself is made from pure agave sap and aged for six years. Not that huge of an accomplishment actually, but the bottle itself is made from Platinum and Gold and, hopefully for the price, can pour itself in to glasses made from unicorn horns. Ley .925, the vendor of said bottle, wouldn't disclose who the person was that bought it, but I'm sure whoever it was will be the hit of Spring Break. Unique bottle of tequila sold for $225,000 - [news.yahoo.com] Ley .925 - [ley925.com] Tags: tequila , expensive

Those of you in Vegas on August 2 can steal the sheets of of their hotel bed and head on over to Caesar's Palace for their gigantic toga party that's being held to celebrate their 40th birthday. Hendric Electric Vodka and Vegas magazine or co-sponsoring the event that is expecting a couple of thousand people (the venue can hold 4,000) and will have Otis Day and the Knights reprising their 'Animal House' song "Shout" at a live concert in the ampitheatre. At 10pm, their massive nightclub, PURE, will open up to keep the party going. Jenny McCarthy will be hosting the event. Of course, if you show up in a toga, you're in for free. If you're a girl and show up in a toga made from a stolen hand-towel from the Riviera hotel, I'm sure your drinks will be free as well. Caesars Palace Celebrates Its 40th Annivesary With a Colossal Toga Party - [PRNewswire.com] Hendrix Vodka - [houseofhendrix.com] Vegas Magazine - [vegasmagazine.com] Tags: party , vod...

The Inertia Beverage Group, the company that was my whipping boy about RadCru.com, has put up a press release that's talking about the explosion of online wine sales over the last year. They've seen growth within their own client base of wineries grow by 423% across 250 wineries with a 1400% increase in Pinot Noir sales alone. Showing that the direct-to-consumer market is really starting to take off even more so than going through someone like wine.com. They're also making sure to justify the existence of Radcru.com with the stat that only 7% of wines sold through their front-end were $19 or less. Though it'd be nice to know exactly how many wines they have that actually cost $19 or less vs. over $19. The 7% number could be a very good one or a crappy one. Inertia Beverage Group Report: Online Wine Sales Increasing Dramatically - [DrinksMediaNewswire.com] Tags: online sales

I know this is about vodka and James Bond, but I couldn't resist putting up a pic of the new Bond girl, Eva Green. Smirnoff has had quite an illustrious history with James Bond, starting way back in Dr. No when he ordered his martini and was served Smirnoff. Hey, there weren't as many choices then, but it was this drink choice that sparked off the change from gin to vodka for the martini. These days, there ARE a lot of choices, but Diageo has a ton of money to throw at the problem so now Bond will once again be drinking Smirnoff in the latest release of a remake of a movie that's made from a book, Casino Royale. Poor Daniel Craig, he doesn't even like martini's and now they have him guzzling from the vat of vodka complacency. See the new Bond film, and Eva Green, on November 17. Casino Royale - [sonypictures.com]

The wine in a box resurgence has to be driving the thought of some other things coming in box format. The latest in RTD (That's industry lingo for "Ready To Drink") is the Bloody Mary. A full, heapin' helpin' of Bloody Mary with the alcohol already in it. Perfect to keep in the fridge to help chase away the sting of the daily hangover each and every morning. You lush. The company has already pushed out boxes of Cosmo's, Appletini's, Mangotini's, Margarita's, and Daiquiri's. Some other drinks in a box I'd like to see: Cognac in a box Scotch in a box Dirty whore of a cheating ex-girlfriend who brings nothing to the table and I can't believe she'd date him over me, in a box. Daily's launches RTD Bloody Mary - [just-drinks.com] Tags: ready to drink , mixes

Hot girls go with pretty much anything. If I was selling something really boring, say "Internet Tubes," I'd probably just get a hot girl. Say what you want about the degradation of women, it works. Xellent Vodka is agreeing with me and they're taking Monica Leigh, Playboy Playmate of the Month for March 2006, around to a few spots and pimping their vodka to the world. There are over 3000 vodkas competing for shelf-space in the vodka's native homeland of Switzerland, so they're pulling out as many of the stops as they can. Yay them! They'll be at Level Chicago on July 27. So stop by, get drunk on Xellent, then make bad passes at a Playboy Playmate. Seriously, I bet she'd like you once she got to know you, if you only had that chance... Xellent Vodka - [xellent.com] via Liquor Snob Tags: vodka , sex

Michael Bauer's "Dining Out" section has started a good debate around bars that charge extra for an "Up" drink. The reasoning is that, without ice, they're putting more alcohol in there. From a bar manager standpoint, I can appreciate this need. That extra ounce can quickly add up on a busy night. But why the extra buck? It's almost like they want to let you know they're penalizing you for getting a martini. Why not just charge the $10 (or in LA $14) and leave it at that? "Martini? Fine. $10 please." Problem solved. Read the discussion and put your 2 cents in. A martini straight up? That will be $1 extra - [sfgate.com] Tags: martini , price

One Spring Break I went to Padre Island in the South of Texas with the sole idea of seeing how much money I could make off of drunken, sunburned, sexually charged college students. I found a temporary fortune in solving one of these problems. I carried a backpack with a reservoir full of sunscreen and a spray nozzle attached to it from a plant watering spray bottle. A handy little contraption. I charged $5 per spray down (no rubbing involved, well...you know how that can go) and I very easily made enough to pay for my trip, have a blast in the evenings, and pay my tuition for that semester. Not bad for two week's work. Oh that I had this little toy. I could have quit college altogether and funded my million-dollar making idea, Abe Vigoda Toilet Seats. The Tote-A-Keg comfortably holds a 2.5 gallon keg with room left over for ice and a few snacks. It'll also hold the smaller height 3 gallon kegs, but that's unproven. The kit comes with all the goods you need. CO2, hose...

37 Judges. 13 months. Hundreds of tequilas. One mission. To find the tequila of the decade. Casa Noble came out leading the pack not because of any one tequila (their Crystal is nothing short of amazing), but because their entire product line was head and shoulders above the rest. They were judged and excelled based on their triple distillation technique, bottle presentation (The Reposado is shown), and over all product line. The judging body, Outstanding Tequlia's of the World (OTW), gave multiple comments as to why they chose it, including "It may not be perfect, but has just too many good things to offer." Congrats! Now they can stick this award next to their "Best of the Best Tequilas" award that Penthouse gave them. Casa Noble Tequila Wins Outstanding Tequila Of The Decade Award - [drinksmedianewswire.com] Casa Noble Tequila - [casanoble.com] Tags: awards

A few people have won the real estate grab for mindshare when it comes to consolidating wine sales from thousands of wineries in to one site. This means that any of the smaller wineries that want to sell their online, or are already doing so, can be found easier through a single portal. Though I don't know of the actual agreements they sign, it doesn't seem that there's anything stopping a winery from being listed in the few major portals that are out there. The ones that I see and hear the most of are Inertia Beverage (through their own site as well as Radcru.com) and WineWeb. Most of the new features of WineWeb lean towards helping the retailers get more info and sell their stuff better, always a good thing. If you help retailers sell their stuff, consumers can get what they need as well. Things I like about the site: Easy to use from the first page Loads of wineries Shipping is calculated as soon as I add something to my cart, so no surprises and no having to put in m...

As pomegranate continues it's meteoric rise in to cocktail super stardom, the releases that involve the flavor start to get more and more varied. Soon, you'll be able to start a Pomegranate Bar, akin to a martini bar, but serving up the hard-to-eat fruit and it's related flavored drinks. A pomagranate schnapps actually seems like a natural extension of the flavor and I'm somewhat surprised it hasn't come out earlier. This is a great alternative to keeping a bottle of Pom in the fridge as this won't spoil as quickly and you can keep it in your liquor cabinet without worrying what the taste will be like. Plus it's way cheaper than other pomegranate flavored mixers, at US$9.99-11.99 it's pretty easy to justify grabbing a bottle. Hiram Walker(R) Liqueurs Introduce the First Pomegranate Schnapps in the U.S. - [yahoo.com] Tags: mixers

Everyone's looking for the next Mojito or the next Pomegranate. Actually, pomegranate is still taking off and is the next pomegranate, making Hibiscus possibly the next, next pomegranate. This market is getting very confusing. For now, there is one Hibiscus drink out there in order to keep it simple for us. Shalai is made from pure, pressed hibiscus. It's more of a mixer (it has no alcohol) and has a light cranberry taste, but only sort of. It's hibiscus, not cranberry. Shalai Hibiscus - [shalai.com] via Slashfood Tags: mixers

I've always wanted a drink that was cool and portable and without risk of me spilling it. Liquor Snob found a story on how to make margarita popsicle's. A great summer time treat that you can dish out to all your (legal drinking age) friends and watch them do the stupid things that you can only do when drunk from tequila. I expect to make them then sneak them in to the ice cream truck the next time I want an afternoon nap and the kids in my neighborhood are being too rowdy. Margarita Popsicles - [news14.com] via Liquor Snob Tags: recipe

So, you shove this thing in your freezer for 3 hours, then you pour your first glass of chilled wine and then shove this thing in the bottle. It's supposed to keep the wine at the proper serving temperature for a few hours. It seals the wine as well and has an easy-to-use pour spout thanks to the o-rings. That's right, the same technology that blew up the Space Shuttle Challenger is now available for chilling wine. Todd English Winesceptre Ultimate Wine Cooling System - US$119.90 - [hsn.com] Tags: gadgets

Cool beer commerical. Tags: beer , commercial

This week's Wine.Woot is a de Lorimier 2001 Mosaic Meritage Estate from Alexander Valley. They give you 3 bottles for US$69.99 which basically gives you one bottle free, then the $5 shipping. This wine is probably not something you'd cellar (though the maker's website says you could). Consensus seems to be that it's something you'd want to drink by late next year. This wine is rich and almost chewy. It has a ton of great flavors in it and will definitely impress the crowd you're serving it to. Probably better to serve on a cool, winter night with some chicken or something. de Lorimier 2001 Mosaic Meritage Estate, Alexander Valley - [wine.woot.com] Tags: woot

If you like your scotch with a few cubes, the last thing you want to do is ruin that 18 year old with the flavor from your ice cubes that came from your fridge, you know, the one where you keep the garlic, pot pies, and haggus? Ice Rocks are pre-fabbed ice cube wafer made from fresh spring water then hermetically sealed so that they can keep in the freezer for up to two years. Or take them out, let them thaw, and re-freeze them. OR you can just leave them out until you're ready to use them. It's everything you've ever wanted in an ice cube, and more! Ice cube nirvana even! Pricing and availability to come. Ice Rocks - [icerocks.com] Tags: ice

I posted how underwhelmed I was at Radcru's launch of their wine here . Paul Mabray, the CEO of Inertia Beverage Group, the people who are the engine behind Radcru, responded in comments. It's important enough to post here (since no one reads anyones comments except their own or responses to their own): Thanks for mentioning RadCru - we are their partner, Inertia Beverage Group. I understand what you are saying about the pricepoint of the wine. Trust me, the wines will vary in price but the one thing we will try to help them maintain is a selections of hard to find wines from artisan producers or hard to get wines from the larger wineries. And sometimes they will be able to pull a major discounting deal from a quality boutique producer. I think that the offerings will not appeal based on price but the desire to explore new great wineries from around the world. It is for the explorer wine consumer who is willing to take a risk. Also remember that these wineries often are ...

I finally found it. The End of the Internet. It's the big game. The final boss was hard. I need to search no more. It's game over, man. GAME OVER! Tiki Bar TV is probably the best webisodic series on the Internet right now. It takes a single drink and builds an entire episode around with easily one of the most interesting, well-suited, and fun casts of any television show you've ever seen. Go on, try it. Watch episode 1, I dare you. "Man, this is kind of weak" you'll say. Then watch episode 2. By episode 3 you'll realize that I've totally screwed you, you're going to spend the rest of your day watching every single episode in the library in its entirety. You won't be able to pull yourself away from the adventures of the always dry Dr. Tiki, the perfect bartender Johnny Johnny, and the infectious Lala (First name La, last name La and children matter to her). The host of supporting cast members comes on strong and advance the end-goal...

Last week two mini-bar sized bottles of Ocean Vodka showed up at my door, just the right amount for one gorgeous, very-dry martini. By "dry" I mean I put the Vermouth bottle next to the glass and allowed the flavor to be added via osmosis. Didn't leave it there for very long though, I'd hate for the vermouth to get all uppity and take over the flavor. The bottle: Very cool bottle with an unearthly hue that you'd expect from the ocean. Gorgeous design on the front. How it's made: The alcohol is distilled from corn and rye and is 100% organic from Idaho. The water that's mixed in is taken from 3000 feet deep in the ocean and is de-salinated. The depth means that the water is free of impurities and pollution and completely natural. The taste: Simply awful. Weren't expecting that, were you? It seriously tastes like my mouth does after spending an afternoon surfing off the Southern California coast. Though they say it's desalinated, it has that ...

The latest kickass Google Maps mash-up is designed to help you find your local happy hour. Or if you have one to input, you can add your local watering hole to the map. The only place right now that has any significant amount of bars is Portland, OR. Go right now and add your own. Find your happy hour - [unthirsty.com] Tags: websites

This week's Wine.Woot is Foley Vineyards Santa Ynez Valley 2001 Merlot Trio. That means you're getting 3 bottles of wine that usually sells for $26-30 a bottle for the small price of $44.99 plus $5 shipping. The Foley Vineyards Merlot is an excellent one and one of the few wines that will make you love Merlot again. It actually has flavor, depth, and doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you love it. Verdict: Get it. Foley Vineyards Santa Ynez Valley 2001 Merlot Trio - [wine.woot.com] Tags: woot

Radcru.com has launched with their Woot.com style of selling. With true Wootness of daily deals (rather than Woot's own weekly wines) Radcru is launching with a deal that really isn't much of a deal. They're selling you a US$60 bottle of Titus 2002 Lot 1 Red Table Wine for...$60. Yes, this is a very good bottle of wine. Probably one of the best in its price range, but it's a 60 dollar bottle for 60 dollars. The only thing that this deal really has going for it is a) this isn't a super easy wine to find and b) it's 50% off shipping, but only if you buy 2 or more bottles. Color me underwhelmed. We'll have to keep a watch on Radcru.com and see if they up the ante or just push wine at retail price like all the other wine sites out there. Radcru.com - [radcru.com] Tags: websites

The turbo tap poors a complete pint of beer in under 2 seconds with just the right amount of foam on top. It's unique, patented system taps in to a bars current keg system and pulls the beer out in record time. Though they sell mostly systems for pro bars (imagine not having to wait in a long line of beer lovers as the keg slowly pulls out a draft), they also have home systems for US$179. Turbotap - [turbotap.com] Tags: beer , gadget

Hey, the guy's only been to Scotland once and makes his whisky in the middle of the French Champagne region, but he's pushing out 60,000 bottles a year and they're all getting sold at a premium price. Thierry Guillon takes Champagne's OTHER big crop, barley, and turns it in to whisky for the French crowd. Frances consumption of 150 million bottles of whisky each year means his Single Malt de la Montagne de Reims has plenty of market and plenty room for growth. With the EU's possible insistence that sugar may not be able to be added to Champagne in its making, he may be the only man in business very shortly. Mon Dieu! It's whisky from Champagne - [guardian.co.uk] Whiskey Distillerie Guillon - [whisky-guillon.com] Tags: whisky

Have you been looking for that perfect US$1500 drink to enjoy on your next boys night out? At Duvet they've been selling the Duvet Platinum Passion since last year. The main ingredient is L’ésprit de Courvoisier which has Cognacs in it dating back to Napoleon. Feel free to nab a bottle of it while you're there, it's around US$6000 a bottle. The rest is mostly a twist on the French 75, but with champagne that can only be bought by the case. At US$20,000 a case. Tons off flavors and the perfect thing to order a perfect stranger that you see across the room. New York's Most Expensive Cocktail - [pocketchangenyc.com] Tags: drink , recipes

The Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac has redone their website and i t is now available in seven differnet languages with a four-colour design to highlight different sections of interest. The site has loads of good information about Cognacs and even lists distributors and merchants. In the yellow section it goes in to detail on all the work and standards that producers have to live by to live up to the name of Cognac. Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac website - [cognac.fr] Tags: websites

I was using Google to searh open directories and found this one that has a huge list of drinking games. Enjoy. Drinking Games - [funet.fi] Tags: games

New Art of the Drink...New girl. Tags: vlog

And now, for your viewing pleasure: An energy vodka that is not in english and has a duck on the bottle and poking its head around the site. Flugel Energy Vodka - [flugel.com] Tags: launch , vodka

The picture to the left is of me (in the flag shorts) jumping for joy in to beautiful Lake Tahoe from the sheer delight created by the great bottle of Lichido that was recently sent to me. I had also had enough of it to keep me warm in the snow runnoff that is filling the lake right now. The bottle is large, gorgeous, and worth every single penny of the US$22.99 that they're expecting to charge everyone. I brought this bottle out to much questioning at our Fourth of July party and went on to mix it in a shaker with a decent vodka (Smirnoff Triple-Distilled) for some Lychee-tini's. The questions were just as much around the color (a nice light peach color) as they were around the bottle itself. One taste quickly put all doubts behind us as the drink was unanimously declared a success. The gentle and subtle flavors of peach and lychee were warm and created a hint of sweetness without being overpowering in any way. I took a shot by itself and was able to discern the cognac fl...

Two decent freebies here. One is a free shaker from Kahlua and the other is free address labels from Maker's Mark. I have no idea how each looks, but you get what you pay for. Free Kahlua Shakers - [kahlua.com] Free Maker's Mark Address Labels - [makersmark.com] Tags: freebies