Martini Groove

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...

p.i.n.k. spirits is concerned about two things and two things only: 1) You're not getting enough pink in your drinks and 2) you've been falling asleep waaaay too early. Though #1 is debatable #2 was verified by your significant other when they told me that you fell asleep shortly after the first showing of "Golden Girls" on Lifetime at 7:30. p.i.n.k. thought "Let's make an entire line of quality drinks and stuff some caffeine and guarana in them, because no one should have Rue Mclanahan as their final image before falling asleep." They put some action in their words and launched a bunch of stuff, including a tequila, rum, white whiskey, sake, and gin. Everything is made in Holland except for the Sake which is made in Japan and the tequila which is made in Mexico because that's where "the man" says you have to make tequila. If there are two things I can't stand it's people who are intolerant of other's people cultures, and The...

The Drammies are the People's Choice Awards of the Scotch world, which makes them nothing like the Grammy's which they are named after, but that's okay, the awards are still fun. Next year, I expect I will be a presenter at them. I'll bet the world can't wait to see me do one-armed push-ups and walk off the wrong side of the stage. The Drammies!

Whiskey is not for everyone and I can completely appreciate that. It took me quite some time before I was headlong in to the art and device of whiskey and I've enjoyed it greatly ever since. I strongly believe that one of the reasons that there aren't more whiskey fans are the strong barriers to entry. Not only is it a rather strong, often complex drink, but it also regularly has an aura about it that makes you feel like you have to be a CEO of some miserably failing company in which you have a golden parachute package before you can even embark upon tasting it. Of course, that's not the case and I'd love to see it become more accessible than it is right now. Some companies are making strides in this area but one of the important steps to accessibility is knowing how to drink it. Kate over at Accidental Hedonist is quite a fan of the stuff and she writes about it regularly. She's put up the first part of her course in drinking whiskey and how to taste and appre...

Homemakers.com (Hey, I read it for the pictures of the naked women) has 7 tips for hosting your own whiskey tasting, because nothing says "Homemaker" like making sure all the whiskey's you taste are at 15 degrees Celsius. The 7 tips are handy ones though and include stuff like do the tasting before dinner, use little tulip style goblets as glasses, and don't add ice (though you can add water). Page 2 of the article goes on to tell you how to taste whiskey properly so you can look like a real pro. You'll never be Kevin Erskine , but you can at least have almost as much game as him. 7 whiskey-tasting tips

Phillips Union found a way to create an unholy union of Canadian Rye with Kentucky Bourbon and have it come out smooth without breaking the bank. They then went one step further and added some flavors to the whiskey in order to stand out from the tons of other flavored spirits out there. Chapter the First: In which we find our young taster looking at the bottle then decides you've already seen it The bottle looks exactly like the damned picture you see here. Why do people comment on this? Seriously. I should stop but it's so trendy to tell you what I think of the bottle! It looks like a big freakin' bottle of whiskey. Chapter the Second: In which our hero smells the drink and wonders how they put stripper perfume in there and still be drinkable As always, I started it off in a glass all by itself. I put in a couple of ice cubes and started sniffing away. The smell of vanilla was so unbelievably strong that I probably could have used it for a linen spray. I'm a...