Martini Groove

Limoncello is really starting to take off, especially since Danny DeVito showed up to a talk show plastered from drinking the stuff. Hey, it takes these things to put stuff on the map, don't knock it. Limoncé Limoncello is a new product launch that takes all of the pain-in-the-ass out of making limoncello yourself. Believe me, I've tried. If you want a glass of the stuff, you've gots to think ahead! Like, 7 months ahead. Limoncé takes the patience out of the equation and offers up a cold, light drink that has won Gold at the San Francisco Spirits Competition and gives you a bit of pucker, because if there's one thing that you don't have enough of, it's pucker. Availability is growing and it sells for US$19.99 for a liter. They're doing a big Indy promotion for this weekend including this recipe: WINNER'S CHOICE Created by Curtis Parker, Mixologist/Bar Manager, Mudsocks Bar & Grill, Noblesville, IN 1.5 oz Limoncé Limoncello 1 oz Stella Citrus Gin...

Now you're probably trying to forget your last visit to Thailand mostly due to the fact that you're not really sure where that 300,000 Baht went once you started drinking those Sabai Sabai's. Thailand has come to you in order to dredge up those memories of coked up Russian Roulette in noisy bars and rain that lasts for 6 months in the form of Mekhong, the Spirit of Thailand. Mekhong is a blended and distilled drink made from sugar cane and rice with some Thai herbs thrown in to the mix. The idea is that the drink compliments Thai food and helps balance the spiciness. The spirit is made with a bit of the spiritualism that envelops Thailand in mind. It's distilled and fermented and then goes in to several traditional and symbolic stages related to the five natural elements: earth, water, air/wind, fire and aether (the mythical upper air that encompasses everything). Mekhong - The Spirit of Thailand

Anyone reading alcohol blogs on a regular basis may already be sick of hearing about Absinthe. It seems every new alcohol blog has to make some moronic post about Absinthe in the early months of its existence, only to never hear about the stuff ever again. The New York Times has just put up an article from The Curious Cook who was going after Ernest Hemingway's "Death in the Afternoon." A champagne and Absinthe recipe that not only tells you how to make it, but how many you need to drink (3-5). Apparently, the unique drink turns two clear liquids in to a cloudy one because the aromatics seem to be more soluble in alcohol than water, so when you put absinthe in wine, it clusters together and gives it a milky look. Yummy! The article also discusses just how dangerous Absinthe is (not very), what drug it's most like (marijuana), and how it probably wasn't the active ingredient, Thujone, that killed everyone way back when. It also goes in to the details of why th...