It’s no Skittlebrau, but if you like candy as much as you like liquor, you might be interested to learn that Vat19.com sells shot glasses made of gummy.

I’ve often thought that you could soak gummy bears in a bottle of rum or vodka, if you were looking for an interesting flavour. But now you can do the reverse.

The website says that they are more than durable enough to handle multiple shots but that they won’t survive the dishwasher. Which is good — no cleanup!

$15 for six is a little steep, but might be worth it for ….. oh shit, I almost wrote “for a child’s birthday party” before I remembered that these are shot glasses!

(via Coudal)

The New York Times has a regular feature called The Frugal Traveller, in which writer Matt Gross jet-sets around the world, trying to be a tourist on a very limited budget, and writing back with his tips and tricks for help other in achieving the same savings.

He doesn’t flaunt his New York Times credentials, as far as I know, but he does attract a huge following, so when he says, for example, that he’s looking for a couch to surf in some far-flung location, he often gets volunteers helping him out in a way that can’t be replicated.

His latest, though, is designed to be replicated, and if it’s good enough to run in the New York Times, I think it’s a great feature that other newspapers should emulate. It’s a column devoted to finding places where you can drink for free. And I’m not talking about free waters, neither.

No, he starts with wine:

[I]f you can find a cluster of wine shops, you can hop from tasting to tasting, so that all those little sips of syrah and viognier eventually add up to something like a buzz.

But quickly moves up to harder stuff:

[A] bit deeper into the store, I found the prize: a tasting of Scotch whiskey organized by Compass Box, a company that eschews single-malt fetishism in favor of creating unique flavors from multiple whiskeys. The chatty host talked long and entertainingly about the woods used in whiskey barrels, then presented us with sips of the light Asyla (“Couple of ice cubes. Sunny day. Washington Square Park. Paper bag,” he recommended), the butterscotchy Spice Tree and, my favorite for years, the Peat Monster, which tastes a bit like arson, in a good way.

Read the whole thing here — it’s informative, but most of the information is pretty straightforward. It turns out that there are basically two kinds of places giving out free drinks: liquor vendors trying to drum up interest in a product; or art galleries and other artistic endeavours, having an opening.

That last actually ended up being fulfilling, he said:

Most of the time, people go to art galleries only superficially for the art — really, they want free drinks and to see their friends. But by making free drinks the primary purpose of my visit, I had nothing to hide, and could actually enjoy the show for what it was.

(Photo: Chris Noto looms over an Irish Whiskey Cocktail on St. Patrick’s Day.)

I’ve blogged about it twice over the space of more than a year, but last night I finally tried the nameless Irish Whiskey Cocktail that was spawned by a challenge the master distiller of Bushmills himself. (Proper credit: Though I mistakenly told everyone last night that the master distiller, Colum Egan, had come up with the recipe, more properly he challenged some top bartenders to create Irish whiskey-based cocktails, and this was the one featured in the article I read.)

The recipe is simple (all three links, above, will get you to it), but also time consuming. Since there were a goodly number of people I had convinced to try this new cocktail, I quadrupled the recipe and did it in a blender, rather than a cocktail shaker.

That means I used four ounces of Bushmills Irish Whiskey, two ounces of cherry liqueur, two ounces of orange juice, and four raw eggs.

Firstly, I’m glad that I used real cherry liqueur and not something like cherry brandy, because they are very different drinks, and this cocktail needed the heavy depth of the liqueur. Secondly, if you try this at home, add the eggs first, because the yolks can ‘plop’ a fairly hefty splash out of a blender if you’re not careful.

A couple of pulses later, and we had a nice, light brown, frothy drink. Poured into martini glasses, it easily served five or almost six, so quadrupling the recipe was no biggie.

Everyone was hesitant (even me), but we all gamely tried it.

Verdict: Delicious!

Although the drink was a tad on the strong side, it was delicious. There was no raw egg taste, and you could hardly taste any of the individual ingredients. Instead, they blended together to create a fully new flavour.

It was like a light, but very spicy egg nog. The whiskey provided the spice, I’m sure, but it tasted for all the world like a Christmas drink transposed to spring. It didn’t have the artificial sweetness or vanilla flavour of a commercial Christmas egg nog; instead it was light and frothy and the egg added a delightful creaminess.

Probably, some nutmeg or cinnamon wouldn’t have been amiss, to sprinkle on top, but I would be wary of too much experimentation.

The original recipe calls for straining into a chilled glass, and I do think that cold ingredients and cold glassware make for a better drink — as it warms, it’s slightly less appealing.

So for Round Two, I plopped a couple of ice cubes into the blender, hoping to lower the temperature. Then we realized that there was mint chocolate-chip ice cream in the freezer, so we added a couple of scoops of that.

Round Two was not a dismal failure, but it was definitely more disappointing than the original. Rather than a minty freshness, or a chocolatey-chip sweetness, the ice cream mostly added a weird colour to the drink. And without the strength of the whiskey coming through, the eggy nature of the drink was more apparent.

In fact, though the second attempt was more dilute, I found it smelled a lot more like raw egg, and it was less appetizing to drink. Stick to the original.

But stick to the original I will. This was a great drink, all in all. And it’s a bit of a fancy one to make, too, with the raw egg, if you like being a showoff.

Last year, I blogged about drinking options on St. Patrick’s Day, a post that is currently seeing a resurgence of popularity. Last year, I quickly ran through the standard Irish beer options, and quickly dismissed things like creme de menthe or Baileys.

Last year, I blogged approvingly about a new Irish whiskey cocktail, based (a bit) on a traditional Irish breakfast. I even linked to an article about it, and gave the recipe out.

This year, I’ve actually purchased the ingredients, and pledge to try it. I believe it will be my first time drinking raw egg. I bought free-range Omega-3 eggs, because it makes me feel like I’m minimizing my chances of contracting salmonella.*

Here’s the recipe:

• 1 ounce Bushmills Irish whiskey
• 1/2 ounce cherry liqueur
• 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 whole egg.

Combine ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake very vigorously, for at least 10 seconds, to emulsify the egg. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Of course, that seems fairly labour-intensive, so I’m thinking about quadrupling the recipe and doing it in a blender. I will report back on Thursday, when the brain-fog has cleared!

*Regarding salmonella, the numbers are in my favour: “Scientists estimate that, on average … only 1 of every 20,000 eggs might contain the bacteria. So, the likelihood that an egg might contain (salmonella) is extremely small – 0.005% (five one-thousandths of one percent). At this rate, if you’re an average consumer, you might encounter a contaminated egg once every 84 years.”

I was briefly skimming this mildly interesting article in the Globe and Mail about bitters, when I came across something in the comments — a reference to a bartender as a “bartista.” Commingling, of course, “bartender” and “barista” (there’s a word for that sort of smushing together of words, but I can’t think of it at the moment) it perfectly captures the haughtiness of some of the bartenders who take themselves too seriously.

There was an online argument I almost posted about a couple of weeks ago — can you, or should you, order a cheap drink like a Jack-and-Coke at a place that specializes in fancy cocktails? One side of the argument is that it would be like ordering a Big Mac at a steakhouse. The other side of the argument is that, if the bartender has the ingredients, he or she should make whatever you order — their job is different from that of a chef.

Personally, if I feel like something particular, I’d like to be served that — or at least, the local version of that. That’s why most steakhouses (heck, most restaurants) will have a burger section on their menu. But I’m also not a rude jerk-off, and if the bartender has serious skillz, then I’d like to see what he or she could do with a simple mixed drink.

But some people, once they have a little bit of knowledge, quickly devolve into holier-than-thou pricks about it. That’s why it rubs a lot of people the wrong way when a $6-an-hour high school kid in their after-school job gets to be called “barista.” That’s like a “sandwich artist” — yeah, right.

And that’s why, as the craft cocktail and micro-distillery movement continues to rocket off into the stratosphere (and, god love me, I approve of rediscovering classic cocktails, and I would kill to open my own micro-distillery) I nominate “bartista” as word of the moment.

The Globe and Mail article, by the way, doesn’t really get into anything all that interesting, except it mentions that a lot of craft bartenders are now making their own bitters, rather than relying on a company like Angostura to make it for them. I’m *still* having trouble finding a reliable source of Angostura bitters, but I was super happy at Christmas to get three bottles of a bitters called Underberg, which are similar (enough).

If spending $30-some on a gigantic gummy bear doesn’t turn your crank (maybe it turns your stomach?) then try these on for size.

The Bier Boot Haus sells, among other things, large glass boots designed for drinking beer. The pair above is $45 — but that’s a litre of beer in each boot!

The available sizes appear to range from shot-glass-size to a full 3 litres (that’s 100 full ounces!)

Feel free to splurge on me for Christmas, folks.

(via Coudal)

Because I am Canadian, I scoff at beers that contain less than 5% alcohol. So-called “light” beers, which can be as weak as 3%, are like drinking water — watered-down water.

So how about a beer that has 10 times that amount of alcohol? I mean, we’re talking an amount of alcohol that would qualify as hard liquor.

Thank-you, then, to the Scottish brewery BrewDog. They’ve released a beer called Tactical Nuclear Penguin (love the name, btw) with a staggering 32% alchohol content.

Personally, I love the idea. But not everyone does. From the BBC:

Jack Law, of Alcohol Focus Scotland, described it was a “cynical marketing ploy” and said: “We want to know why a brewer would produce a beer almost as strong as whisky.”

Well, if you have to ask, I’d guess you’re not in the target market. Also, I don’t trust anyone with the name “Jack Law.” Too ‘government.’

A label on Tactical Nuclear Penguin says:

This is an extremely strong beer; it should be enjoyed in small servings and with an air of aristocratic nonchalance. In exactly the same manner that you would enjoy a fine whisky, a Frank Zappa album or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost.

Unfortunately, the beer is £35 — a tad pricey for my tastes.

The ad above was in a flyer delivered to my house the other day, and it caught my eye. Pepsi has been using its round logo to replace the “O” in a number of words (on posters and ads) for a while now. And, even though I’m no great fan of the new logo (it looks too contrived, and awkward) I like that they’re being clever with it.

But this ad, I thought, was cool on two levels. First of all, they’re redesigning a can, not just a poster or an ad. (They did this at Halloween, too.) And, they’re obviously giving their logo enough credit that it can stand for the brand all on its own (the word “Pepsi” is pretty small).

But secondly, I love how they’ve incorporated the type of product — it’s Team “Can”-ada. Because it’s in a can.

Maybe it’s not the world’s most clever thing. But it’s far more clever than most multi-national corporations will allow themselves to be.

Oh, and thirdly, I think Pepsi’s doing some heavy lifting in the Hockey Canada sponsorship side of things because the Olympics are coming up in Vancouver. The Olympics, as I’m sure you know, have been sponsored exclusively by Coke for at least as long as I’ve been aware of sponsorship. The only more-Olympics-ingrained branding, I think, would be Visa.

(Digression: If I were Visa, I would be doing something to link the multi-national aspect of the Olympics with the travel connotations of the word “visa.” Unless, do they think that visas are a symbol of the paperwork and bureaucracy of travel? I suppose they could do an ad along the lines of: “The Olympic Games. 200 countries, but only one Visa required.”)

Anyway, I did some Googling to see if I could find an online copy of the ad above, but ended up having to scan it.

Speaking of cool Pepsi bottles, anyone remember the bottle with the hole in it, designed during one of the early seasons of The Apprentice?

Now that was a cool bottle! But there must have been problems mass-producing it, because they only made 100 of them.

The Scottish Sun proves that “the media” doesn’t always focus exclusively on bad news. Because this is very, very good news:

THE world’s biggest bottle of whisky will be unveiled today - and turned miniature.

Dru McPherson and Mike Drury made the monster malt to put the village of Tomintoul, Banffshire, on the map.

The giant 1½metre bottle holds 105.3 litres of 14-year-old Tomintoul single malt.

A German glassmaker created the 7mm thick pyrex bottle, and a massive cork was specially made to fit.

(via Coudal)

In “Leaving Las Vegas” Nicholas Cage’s character tries to drink himself to death. But how long would that take in real life? Luckily, the fine folks at Barstools.net can tell you:

(Using this calculator will take you to the Barstools website, where they say you have to be at least 21. Well, if you’re in Canada, like I am, I’m going to go ahead and say that you can be 18 — or 19, depending on the province.)

(via Coudal)

I don’t want to play favourites when it comes to liquor and alcohol, but Jack Daniel’s was one of the first hard liquors that I developed a real taste for, and I still think that a Jack-and-Coke has a better flavour than almost any other whisk(e)y-and-cola combination.

So it’s too bad that one of the people who has made Jack Daniel’s the drink that it is has died. Jimmy Bedford was only the sixth master distiller at the Jack Daniel’s distillery, and so it was his taste buds that ensured a constant and consistent flavour profile. There are obituaries all over the Internet, but I liked the one in the New York Times the best — it has a lot more colour than the dry Associated Press one. Recalls the Times:

After being named master distiller, he said, sipping became one of his most important tasks — comparing new batches of No. 7 with old batches to ensure consistency. But he was not allowed to swallow. “People tell me I have more will power than anyone they’ve ever known,” he said.

Despite that, he considered the job “one of the most enviable jobs imaginable.”

I think this calls for a pause in the summer, and a slow sip of appreciation.

And you know, even if Jack Daniel’s isn’t your drink, there are probably some pretty remarkable people at most distilleries and breweries — especially some of the ones that try to maintain a sense of heritage or craftsmanship. It’s not a bad idea to take it slow, enjoy your drink, and silently thank the people who make it as good as it is.

I cannot vouch for the accuracy of any of this, but according to Modern Drunkard, one Andre the Giant was not just a fantastic wrestler (and actor), he was also a world-class drinker for the ages:

You won’t find it in the Guinness Book of World Records, but Andre the Giant holds the world record for the largest number of beers consumed in a single sitting. These were standard 12-ounce bottles of beer, nothing fancy, but during a six-hour period Andre drank 119 of them. It was one of the few times Andre got drunk enough to pass out, which he did in a hallway at his hotel. His companions, quite drunk themselves, couldn’t move the big man. Fearing trouble with cops, they stole a piano cover from the lounge and draped it over Andre’s inert form. He slept peacefully until morning, unmolested by anyone. Perhaps the hotel people thought he was a piece of furniture.

Think about it: 119 beers in six hours. That’s a beer every three minutes, non stop. That’s beyond epic. It’s beyond the ken of mortal men. It’s god-like.

There are at least a dozen similar stories. Are they exaggerated? Almost surely. But how much? Or how little?

Oh, and the posse? He’s got one.

Apocryphally, today (Aug. 4) is the date that Dom Perignon (above) first invented champagne — in 1693. (Read a fuller story at Wired.) Now, I’ve never really been sure how you could pinpoint a day like this, since champagne takes a while to create. You harvest the grapes, you mash ‘em up, you add some yeast, presto-chango, put it in a bottle, secondary fermentation, and voila, champagne!

So when’s the date? The bottling date? The opening date? The grape harvest? Seems to me that Aug. 4 is a convenient excuse to drink champagne.

So that’s what I’m going to do tonight. Champagne is a delicious drink, and people should drink it more often than just at special occasions. But this is a special occasion, if we’re going to buy into the story — this is champagne’s 316th birthday.

And also, my friend Alawna’s 23rd. So she gets to celebrate a champagne birthday every year. Lucky!

Now this is a Top-Five list that I can wholeheartedly endorse:

Easy Mixing: 5 Cocktails for the Lazy

I don’t get the chance to be lazy too often. My workweek is frequently seven days long. Come Sunday afternoon I’m writing, preparing for an event, or responding to emails. Thankfully, I love what I do and, being that my job is what it is, I get to go out to bars and restaurants often. So it’s not all that bad.

Yet the feeling of swinging in a hammock, beneath the fiery mid-day sun with an ice-cold drink sweating in the palm of my hand and the intermittent sips the only thing keeping me from melting in to a pile of flesh and bones, beckons as the summer advances. Being lazy feels good.

He adds that the top five are, “my favorite drinks for the shiftless, idle and indolent. They go for simplicity and ease.” The drinks, for the record, are the Cherebita, the Dark and Stormy, the White Port and Tonic, the Ice Pick, and the Rickey. But I’m going to ask that you click through to the original for the directions, because I don’t want to rip the guy off. Come on, how lazy are you? Click.

There’s at least one comment there with an additional recipe, and if you’ve got any favourites of your own, add ‘em here. And then, if I can scrape together the motivation, we can have a Lazy Drinks Party.

Full disclosure: I’ve never tried the stuff. But, I’m not big fan of regular Budweiser, and I’m sincerely not a fan of light beer in general. So regular Bud Light is already facing two strikes. And then they came out with Bud Light Lime. And I thought, seriously? What a marketing gimmick. No one will fall for that.

And then I ran into a guy buying it, and he swore that it was the best thing for drinking by a barbecue.

And then I heard of more people drinking it, and then I heard that it was sold out.

I know, right! That’s like a month! Who’s drinking this stuff, and why!?

Plus, at least where I live, Bud Light Lime is more expensive than Corona — so much more expensive that if you choose Corona or Sol over Bud Light Lime, you’ve got more than enough left over FOR ACTUAL LIMES!

I even made a video, except we turned the camera sideways and can’t figure out how to rotate the video file*

*For the geeks out there, my camera apparently records in mp4, but the audio codec is a weird one. Even VLC can’t play it, so I can’t rotate the video while keeping the audio track. Not that it’s synced up anyway, but you get the gist, right?