When you make ice at home in your freezer, it’s cloudy. Want to make crystal-clear ice like the pros? You don’t need a special machine.

Here are the simple steps:

• Use distilled water.
• Boil the water, then let it cool.
• Boil the water one more time.
• Let it cool slightly, but pour in the tray when it’s still hot.
• Freeze.

The smaller your cubes, the better they will look.

Pro Cocktail Mini Ice Cube Trays are good for making a batch of small ice cubes that are good for cocktails.

Q: Marlene writes, “how many ounces are in a 1/5th bottle of vodka?”

A: First let’s use a 1 oz. shot for this exercise. Next, what exactly is a 1/5? It is an old measurement for a bottle of booze. It refers to the fact that the bottles were 1/5 of a gallon. These days most bottles are 750 ml, which is close to 1/5 of a gallon. A gallon contains 128 fluid ounces. So a fifth (1/5) or 750ml contains a tad more than 25 oz, or 25 one ounce shots. Of course many use 1 1/2 ounce for a standard shot which is around 16 shots.

Bar Measurement Chart

The folks at Asylum asked, “now that Absinthe is legal and no longer so dangerous, what drinks are most dangerous?”

Well, they came up with a list. Included are favorites such as Moonshine, Everclear and various other potent concoctions from around the world.

Read the Whole List:

Absinthe Deemed Safe, So We Reveal Other Dangerous Drinks - Asylum

Of course, not drinking responsibly is dangerous now matter what you’re drinking.
Please drink responsibly!

It had to happen. Absolut and LX.TV have created a new reality show looking for Amreica’s Top Bartender. The series called, On the Rocks” features 12 episodes in which 10 aspiring bartenders compete for $100,000 and the title “America Top Bartender”.

Watch the trailer here and get some tips on what makes a good bartender.

On The Rocks - LX.TV

Dry Ice turns an ordinary party punch into a spooky Halloween brew.

Start with 2 punch bowls of different sizes. The smaller bowl will hold the actual punch while the larger bowl will hold the smaller bowl and the dry ice.

With tongs or gloved hands (dry ice can freeze your skin) , place chunks of dry ice in the bigger container. Place the smaller bowl on top of the dry ice.

There is no need to add extra ice to the punch as the dry ice will cool the punch nicely.

Just before serving, pour some hot water over the dry ice. Continue to add hot water and dry ice as needed.

Be very careful when using dry ice! Handle only with tongs or heavy gloves!

Do NOT put the dry ice directly in the punch or touch it with bare skin. It Will Burn! Dry Ice should also NOT be ingested.

Halloween Punch Recipes

It’s football season and that means tailgating and the Tailgator is Tailgating! This 25cc, 2 1/4 hp, gas-powered blender is like nothing else we have seen.

This machine is for some serious drink blending and major tailgating. It is even great for whipping up all kinds of dips, which go great with the margaritas that this blender has made famous.

Each TailGator is assembled by hand in the U.S.A. with strict attention to detail.

Let’s face it, it’s just super cool!

Get Your Gator Today!

Cocktails for Tailgating

I was reading Esquire and came across this most interesting of cocktails.

In the ever fashionable trend of “Molecular Mixology” a few Esquire staffers created The Wiskeyburger Cocktail, described by Esquire’s David Wondrich as “a glass of tan liquid with some greenish froth on top and a dill-pickle slice hanging off the rim”

According to Wondrich the exchange went like this:

What’s this? we asked.

“Whiskeyburger.” Okay. What’s in it?

“Beefskey, tomato syrup, mustard — ” Uh, back up. Beefskey?

“Yeah, you just fat-wash a pound of ground chuck with rye….”

Made with beef infused whiskey, lettuce-onion flavored foam and mustard bitters this drink takes 4 hours to prepare (2 weeks if you count the bitters) and needs some special equipment. Hardly a quick refresher, yet it has it’s place. I am thinking this drink is perfect for an event like Super Bowl Sunday.

David tell us this cocktail actually tastes like a hamburger. I gotta get one!

Get The Exhaustive, Expanded Recipe: The Whiskeyburger Cocktail - Esquire
photo: Chris Eckert/Studio D