Martini Groove

There were times you would find me curled up on the ground late at night on some doorstep of a business or somewhere in a dark spot in San Francisco.   There are nights drinking that I call "a good time" and some that I'm not quite sure what happened and others that I have no other word for it except "Legendary."   It was on the some of all of those nights you would sometimes find me curled up on the cold concrete in a quiet place on the streets of more than a few towns.  I even look forward to some of the spots. I would get to the point that I was done with drinking, done with the people I was hanging out with (at least momentarily), and done with the overstimulation of the lights and sounds of the bar. I'd wander out into the darkness (or brightness, depending on which part of town the evening had taken me to) and start roaming the streets.   An alcove behind a theater, a recessed doorway in The Mission. Places where the cops went past if you kept qu...

It's the story of a 90s rave concept that moved me out of tech and into the bar business. In bars and restaurants, we like to pretend it's all about margins, menus, and inventory. Let's be clear: If you don't master those things, you won't be open long. However, if that's all you master, you won't be open much longer. I was in the rave scene in the 90s. I didn't really look like your typical raver. At every party I went to I looked more like the son of a state senator who was tagging along with one of his friends to "see what it was all about." I was trying to grow a tech business at the time, but man, I sure did love that scene. I loved the energy, the music, and the people. They were usually outcasts and misfits who found each other through a love of the music but also because they just wanted a space where they didn't have to be around a bunch of assholes. It wasn't about going somewhere to get drunk and try to get laid. It was hippi...

I don't lean towards Star Trek or Star Wars, I love them both but Star Trek has always explored the philosophy so much more and that's part of what makes it endearing. The Kobayashi Maru really resonates.  For those that may not know, the Kobayashi Maru is a simulation that cadets have to go through that is a "no win" scenario. No matter what you do, how you do it, or who you do it with, the captain ends up getting blown up with his crew in some horrific fashion. It shows you who you are in the face of certain defeat.  Some might think, "Well, it will be easy because I'll know it's a simulation."  Sure, but these people who only think about winning don't think, "It's just a loss in a simulation."  They don't comprehend things that way.  You have to win EVERY TIME. After closing down a bar (purposely but against our will) a quote from Picard came to mind, "It is possible to make no mistakes and still lose. That is not a w...

Stoli's new marketing campaign is tied to another icon in the Bad Decisions industry, that's right, Playboy. They're rolling out a year's worth of promotions with Playboy with everything from changing their logo on one of their flavors to the Playboy Bunny logo to these commercials with Hef himself. It's a great concept. Would you have a drink with you? Check it out.

I've been a pretty big fan of the Absolut city series since the first one out of New Orleans.  Now, Absolut has teamed with Spike Lee to bring you Absolut Brooklyn.  Let's hope they do Brooklyn better than Domino's did. They've gone all out on gimmick for this whole series but most of the flavors have done a pretty good job of backing it up.  For Brooklyn they even changed the usual seal on the bottle and added some spikes to it.  Now that's fancy! Spike Lee did the design on the bottle and tried to match the feel of the red apple and ginger flavor inside.  On the heals of the launch, Absolut is donating US$50,000 to Habitat for Humanity in NYC. Look for it starting in June. Absolut Brooklyn

Chase Vodka won the best of the best at the 2010 SF World Spirits Competition and it's rather surprising.  Now, this isn't the kind of vodka you want to drink through your eye , it's the good stuff.  It's special because it's not from Poland, Russia, or the US and it's not a grain vodka.  It's made from taters and comes from Jolly Olde England. The vodka isn't made by one of the big guys but from a guy who was a big guy in the snack food industry.  William Chase was the founder of Tyrrell's, a company that makes potato chips (they call them "crisps!") and he chucked it all in 2008 to go and make vodka.  Apparently, he's one of those "over-achievers" we hear so much about.  He says he didn't do it with gimmicks (like a fire extuingisher for a bottle , which is freakin' cool!!) or with tons of marketing.  He just became the brand and pushed his stuff until he got it to 1,000 bottles a week.  Next year, Chase plans to...

Tony Abou-Ganim has done more to advance the art of cocktails than Tonya Harding did for sex tapes.  Vanity Fair is covering the wildly popular Manhattan Cocktail Classic and one of the writers went and hung out with Tony and got some great tips from him about making drinks as well as going out drinking. My favorite tip?  Ask for a Negroni.  If they don't know how to make it or tell you that Negroni isn't working tonight, then get a beer.  Now, not everyone likes Negroni's so maybe think of a cocktail you love and know how it's supposed to taste.  No, not Sex on the Beach.  Maybe an Aviation or a Sazerac, something with some culture. Tony's obviously biased when it comes to East Coast vs. West Coast and, though he's done work in Las Vegas, hasn't spent enough time in our West Coast cities to make a valid argument.  If you think it's San Francisco vs. New York, then you're not even close.  Check out his other tips on Vanity Fair's site. Ei...

You probably remember when Tim & Eric & Zach all made the commercial(s) for Absolut a couple of years ago. Absolut had one rule: Do whatever you want, but the product has to be in there somewhere. Jump forward to 2010 (or whatever year it is right now, I've kind of stopped thinking about it) and they did the same thing for Spike Jonze. Jonze's take is a robot love story (You know, like in The Notebook) called "I'm Here." The series of shorts aren't out yet but here's the gorgeous and intriguing looking trailer.   Absolut

Looking for a liquor cabinet that plays songs depending on which bottle you take out? How about one that may kick off a seizure for all unmedicated epileptics? The Swig and Jig may be for you! Check it out below: Swig & Jig from Gizmodo on Vimeo .

I contributed to a book about Vodka.  What?  Vodka's cool!  VODKA'S COOL!! Some other people are in there too.  I don't exactly remember their names but I think it's Kevin Moleskin, and Jeff Emmentaler, and President Gary Reagan, and the guy from O'Neil Surfwear. Anyway, it's free and in .pdf format. If you want it on paper, you can hit "Print" and kill trees and stuff. Check it out here . It's free but you can send me money if you want.

A lot of people are sure to have the problem of building a home bar without having to spend $5000 on a home bar unit.  Here's a solution using IKEA gear. Hey, you're not going to be able to put it together correctly anyway thanks to instructions that are completely vague and have no words whatsoever.  It's like a mime trying to tell you how to do build an atomic bomb.

Last Thursday I got to meet up with Courtney Cochran (of Hip Tastes fame) and head over to Mighty in San Francisco to taste some of the latest and greatest spirits that are out there at the Indy Spirits Expo .  The event had some great tastes and a few that I'd rather not taste and lots of mediocre stuff that I won't even mention. There were some great gins but absinthe was the star of the night. The Good One of the first spirits I ever reviewed , Orange V Vodka , was there and I was reminded of why I gave it a great review.  Great orange taste without being syrupy or overpowering.  Still a go to flavored vodka even though so many other ones have come out since then. Heavy Water vodka had ACTUAL HOT SWEDISH GIRLS at their booth!  The Swedish vodka was a nice change from a lot of the other vodkas that have been launching lately.  It has all of The Smooth you're looking for in vodka but actually has a finish that pushes a little flavor your way.  The s...

Ballantine's is probably one of the world's best selling whiskeys but doesn't get much play when it comes to whiskey lovers who prefer a Scotch that tastes like you're licking a large stick that was recently encompassed in snails.  However, they sell a LOT of their stuff and they seem to be happy doing just that. Their newest bottle is one that even the most outrageous of vodka companies are going to be angry at themselves for not thinking of first.  The bottle uses a power source and has an electroluminescent technology to make it look like a graphic equalizer that is reacting to the sound.  Contrary to reports, it's not actually reacting to the sound but moves the lights at random. It would be cool to travel back in time and show this bottle to a T-Rex or something.  They would FREAK THE HELL OUT!  Okay, that might be too far back in time but it's a nice thought.  Maybe Abe Lincoln or something. This stuff is shipping all over the freakin' world b...

Nyquil is great for dealing with things like a cold, jet lag, or boredom, but did you know that it tastes like ass?  Actually, if your ass had an ass and you put paprika on it, then licked it, that's what Nyquil tastes like. If only there was some way to make an all-natural version of Nyquil that didn't taste like the ass of an ass with paprika.  Now there is! The good folks over at Hot Knives have put together a lively concoction that starts with Southern Comfort and only gets better from there. You'll need stuff like mint, green chili, ginger, and other goodies. Did I mention the Southern Comfort? This one is all natural and even has a better commercial.  Follow the link below for the full recipe. KniQuil from Hot Knivez on Vimeo . All natural NyQuil - Hot Knives

Yeah, I'm mostly phoning it in at this point. My buddy Dan found this one and I wanted to share.

Schumacher's brief return to Formula One was only the beginning! Now he's got a guy mixing cocktails in the car as he tears around a closed course.

I've had my share of days bartending and even more than my share of days of weeding through the crap that companies publish about their products in the name of "breaking news."  I mean, really, do we NEED a tequila recipe that commemorates Columbus Day?  My solution lately?  I've been hitting the classic cocktails hard, buying the old books, and bugging all the people I know that are good at this on how to do something.  Thus cometh The Democrat. Now, The Democrat is one of those cocktails that I call a "Crossover Cocktail."  Why?  Because it's one of those drinks that has something in it that people will say they hate, something like bourbon, and it will win them over and get them started on path to righteousness.  Other cocktails I include in this are a Cucumber Gimlet, an Aviation, and a few others.  So, here's the old recipe for The Democrat .  2oz Bulleit Bourbon 1oz Democrat Syrup 3/4oz Fresh Lemon Juice The Democrat Syrup i...

The nice thing about web developers is that, sooner or later, they're going to build a website based on their interests and make it pretty nice. Jean-Luc Thiébaut did just that with Connosr, the social networking site for whisky lovers. Now, because whisky snobs are, well, snobs, having their own site to talk about the vagaries of pungency and mouthfeel will keep Them off the backs of the gin drinkers. One can only hope. The site allows you to setup your own profile and then works in a lot of the same ways that the wine cataloging sites work. You can write notes on spirits you've tasted, put in ones you'd like to taste, see what your friends are saying about their experiences, and be called a "Rookie" by those that disagree with you. Check it out via the Web or iPhone. Connosr

Looking to get the peace and comfort that only Yoga can give?  Well, head on over to your nearest watering hole and get the flexibility you've always wanted! See more great moves here !

Flavored vodkas are so hit or miss.  I've found very few to be mediocre in nature, most of them are completely awful or pretty tasty and unique.  Luckily, Absolut Boston falls in to the latter category.  Absolut Boston is a black tea and elderflower flavored vodka that shows a bit of tongue-in-cheek, unlike some of the other flavors in their city category. On The Eyes The bottle is pretty straightforward and looks like your regular Absolut bottle but has "Boston" on it.  Easy enough. On The Nose This is kind of crazy:  It looks like vodka but smells like black tea. There's absolutely no scent of the alcohol or elderflower in there and it's that same refreshing smell that you get when you take a whiff of a cold, sun-made, iced tea.  Every person trying it had a response of "It smells gooooood."  'Nuff said. On The Tongue Well, it tastes like black tea.  Unfortunately, there's almost no hint of elderflower in there.  I'm an elderflower...