Drinks Wire

SoCo & Lime – SoCo Night Institute

We were recently asked to submit a video course for Southern Comfort’s Night Institute. What is the Night Institute? It is a new video website offering “courses” in bartending, bar tricks and more. Course titles include: “How to Impress Her Friends”, “Dancing with a Drink in Your Hand” and “Bar Bets: Olive This Trick”.

Earn credits for each class you take and earn more in good ol’ bar know how.

Start with yours truly and … Read more

Cocktail Food – Party Basics

With October just a week or so away, I thought a little cocktail party food refresher was in order. I always have an issue with this but, when trying to decide how much food to get for your cocktail party, always err on the side of too much! You can always put it in the fridge or send extras home with friends. I always seem to have takers.

When planning party food, this is my … Read more

360 Vodka Review

We just got our hands on the first Green Vodka, 360 Vodka. Made by McCormick’s Distilling in Missouri, 360 is very eco-friendly and very good.

360 Vodka is made from grains grown nearby in Kansas and Missouri, thus reducing emissions. It is also column-distilled, which consumes 200% less energy than the traditional pot still method. All of the packaging comes from recycled material, the paper for labels, the bottles, the shipping boxes—everything. Even the packing … Read more

DIY Halloween Contest

Sure, it still may be September, but Halloween is a mere six weeks away and we can’t wait. Halloween is 2nd to only New Years Eve as the biggest holiday for letting loose. It is number 1 in imagination. To celebrate, Make & Craft Magazines released a special Halloween issue and are holding their 2nd Annual DIY Halloween Contest.

There are 5 contest categories in which to compete:

– Hack O’Lantern
– Costume
– Decorations, … Read more

New Rules for College Football Fans to Live By

OK, I know this site is about cocktails, not College Football. However, being a huge fan of both, I felt the need to share this clever list of rules from ESPN.com’s Page 2.

Here’s a sample of some rules that apply to us “of age” fans:

“27. You are allowed to start tailgating six hours before kickoff.
27a. If you want to remember the game, do not drink heavily during those six hours.
27b. Four Read more

How to Hide Booze at the Office

From Dethroner, comes this bit of sheer genius. What looks like some boring old boxes of copier paper, is really a beer fridge in disguise! That’s the type of ingenuity that a business should be proud of, I hope that guys got a promotion.

Neatorama wrote about this item as well and the Whiskey Hiding Binder, which certainly earns a place in the “hiding booze” category. Complete with shot glasses, this is my kind of … Read more

Sponsor Spotlight – Wine Tasting 103

Wine and food: there is no better pair. But what wine to pair with which tasty treat? WebEx and Copia want to help you solve this conundrum with the 3rd in their popular webinars: Wine Tasting 103 – Wine & Food Pairing – Everything You Wanted to Know, But Were Afraid to Taste!

Once again join Copia’s Senior VP of Wine (cool title!) Peter Marks on Wednesday, September 26 at 4 pm Pacific / 7 … Read more

Bar Tools – Strainer

The Strainer is easily the funnest of bar tools. Many strainers even come wearing a great big smile, and why not they are making great cocktails. The traditional bar strainer is made of stainless steel and features a coiled spring around the edge. The coils are used to make a perfect fit between inside a Boston Shaker or mixing glass, holding back the ice and releasing yummy goodness.

Shop for strainers and help support Drink … Read more

This Week’s Drink – Buddy’s Cajun Martini

Perfect for football season, Buddy sends us this creation from Cajun Country. This spicy concoction is perfect for LSU vs. VT on Saturday Night, I’m thinking pitchers!

Ingredients

2 ½ oz vodka
1/4 oz dry vermouth
Olive juice (Buddy recommends Dirty Tony’s)
1 to 4 drops of Bulliard’s Louisiana Supreme Habanero Pepper Sauce

Instructions

Shake over ice. Pour into pre-chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with pickled okra, jalapeño stuffed olives, tomolives, pickled string beans, cocktail onions, … Read more

The Ice Jacket

A while back we wrote about the Ice Jacket, an ice mold for 750ml bottles of vodka, rum, gin, tequila or whatever.

We finally got to sample the Ice Jacket in the field. Our first few runs didn’t pan out well as the top seal of the unit came loose. We told Davis and his team of our troubles and they went to create a fix.

After a few weeks we received a replacement seal … Read more