Forbes Magazine recently ranked the Nations metros on a five point scale for partying and it turns out Milwaukee, Wisconsin is tops when is comes to drinking and having fun. In fact 4 out of the top 5 are in the Midwest, proving that the heartland rocks. This really comes as no surprise to me, having spent two wonderful, partially inebriated years at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The School is consistently ranked as top party school and Madison as a top city for quality of life. Hardy drinkers populate the whole state of Wisconsin. In 1992, when UW made it to the Rose Bowl, Wisconsin fans drank up all the brandy in the LA Basin.
Only a hour down I-90, Milwaukee is the know as the city of festivals, the most famous is the annual Summerfest Music Festival. This 10 day music, beer and food festival that takes place in an awesome setting on Lake Michigan brings the whole state out to party (and a few FIBS from Chicago). With top music acts, great Midwestern fare and a many drinking pavilions each featuring a different beer from Wisconsin (and few other places), Summerfest may rival Munich’s great Octoberfest, I’ll need to investigate that.
The cities were ranked on a five point scale, but Milwaukee’s ready access to the best beer, brats and cheese in the world make it a obvious winner.
Rounding out the top 10 are
#2 Minneapolis/St. Paul
#3 Columbus
#4 Boston
#5 Austin
#6 Chicago
#7 Cleveland
#8 Pittsburgh
#9 Philadelphia
#9 Providence
My home town, San Francisco, squeeks in at #20. We got work to do!
Men 10%, Women 14%. That’s how much more money people who drink and socialize in bars earn compared to their teetotaling counterparts.
Makes sense, alcohol is the great social lubricant.
Social Lubrication = Getting Business Done
Accoding to Edward Stringham, an economics professor at San Jose State University, “social drinking builds social capital”. This just reaffirms the old saying “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”, and the people you want to meet are probably at the bar.
There are numerous stories on the Sidecar’s origins. However, Harry’s Bar in Paris is generally credited with inventing the Sidecar for a patron who often rode in the sidecar of a motorcycle. Pictured is the Sidecar we drank at Harry’s.
I am grateful to this unknown and unsung mixologist who brought us this cocktail, as it is my personal favorite, and I am eternally grateful to the Bix in San Francisco for introducing me to the wonderful libation.
Like the Martini, the Sidecar has recently experienced a renaissance. The Sidecar was invented in the early 1900’s and was popular until the beginning of World War II, but unfortunately was forgotten by most when the War came to an end. A few years ago, my request for a Sidecar was often met with “are you sure, that’s what my grandmother drinks?” Luckily, the Sidecar is now enjoying a renewed popularity and can be easily had at most drinking establishments.
When we began our Sidecar journey, I had no idea so many types of Sidecars existed. There are Sidecars for those who prefer brandy, cognac, gin, vodka and even irish whisky.
Join me in a toast to the Sidecar with a few of these concoctions. After all, it would be a shame if the Noble Sidecar were once again forgotten.
Accoding to 20/20, this is not just a sexist myth. Men are biologically better equipped to drink more than women. Take that ladies .
Turns out us guys have more of an enzyme in the lining of our stomachs that, when it sees alcohol, begins to metabolize it immediately. This means that only about 1/2 of the Alcohol men drink gets in to the blood stream. Ain’t science fun?
Thanks John Stosell more
I was up late last night watching this show “Secret Life of… Cocktails“, a great history of cocktails. If you get a chance it is worth the 30 minutes.
The part of the show for me is when they were theorizing on how many cocktail recipes are out there? Hundreds, Thousands, Millions? Someone tried to figure out the number of cocktail combinations that could be made out of the ingredients at your average bar.
The answer - over 17 Million. And that is an average bar. Holy shit, I got some work to do on this site. I’m gonna be up all night.
Q: What is Canadian whisky predominately made from?
A: Canadian whisky is made mostly from Corn, similar to Kentucky bourbon. Small amounts of barley and Rye are also added. By law, Canadian Whisky must be barrel ages for at least 3 years.
While most Canadian whiskies are blends, some sigle malts have been poping up as of late. Candians have been making whisky for over 200 years, but it really took off in the US during prohibition.
This can be attributed to the mostly unguarded US-Canada border and the close proximity of Canadian Distilleries to the border that made sumggling relatively easy. Once prohibition was repealed Canadian whisky enjoyed “legal” popularity.
Forbes Magazine recently ranked the Nations metros on a five point scale for partying and it turns out Milwaukee, Wisconsin is tops when is comes to drinking and having fun. In fact 4 out of the top 5 are in the Midwest, proving that the heartland rocks. This really comes as no surprise to me, having spent two wonderful, partially inebriated years at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The School is consistently ranked as top party school and Madison as a top city for quality of life. Hardy drinkers populate the whole state of Wisconsin. In 1992, when UW made it to the Rose Bowl, Wisconsin fans drank up all the brandy in the LA Basin.
Men 10%, Women 14%. That’s how much more money people who drink and socialize in bars earn compared to their 
There are numerous stories on the Sidecar’s origins. However, Harry’s Bar in Paris is generally credited with inventing the Sidecar for a patron who often rode in the sidecar of a motorcycle. Pictured is the Sidecar we drank at Harry’s.
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