Drink Shoot

Martini Lounge Gift Guide: Gadget Edition

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Contributed by Rick Dobbs - Martini Lounge

Martini Lounge Gift Guide:  Gadget Edition

Buying just got more fun with the Martini Lounge's Gift Guide. I'll do two of these, maybe three. This one focuses on gadgets and whatnot. The other one's will focus on wine and booze, or maybe I'll split those two up. Either way, you're getting this one and once you see it, it'll really be all you need for that alcohol loving person in your life.

No, no need to thank me. Really, your valued readership is more than anyone can ask for. Also, I like Scotch and Gin, just in case.

The Bar Master
The Bar Master stores 1,000 drinks, has a a pretty easily navigable menu, and can search drinks by various types, including occasion. It also has some pretty large buttons, which allow you to use it as you sample more and more of its library of drinks.

The little thing even demonstrates mixing techniques and has some built-in jokes, so that when your witty banter is drying up at the end of the night, you have a fully fresh repository to bring life anew to the party.

The Bar Master - US$19.95

Boxed Wine Dispenser
Boxed Wines are the new Pabst Blue Ribbon.  You want to show your guests that you're not just serving them boxed wine, but that you serve everyone boxed wine and you have the dispenser to prove it!

Nothing says "Pour me another coffee mug of wine" more than having your own dispenser. Just take the bag out of your current boxed wine, dump it in here and you'll have elegant, institutional style wines, ready to serve!

Boxed Wine Dispenser - €39

Slope Martini Pitcher and Stir Rod
Now that most people are back to making Gin martini's, then they need to be able to make them properly and with the right tools. If you were a carpenter, you wouldn't try to hammer in a nail with a 45 degree draft-angle Miter saw would you? No! You'd use a variable speed control electric hammer.

The Slope Martini Pitcher and Stir Rod is the electric hammer of the martini world. It allows you to mix your perfect concoction gently and easily and with all the class of the perfect host. It will not, however, give you shiny teeth, so go elsewhere for that.

Slope Martini Pitcher and Stir Rod - US$12.95

Inflatable Bar
The Holiday Season is Party Season! Not everyone has the built in bar like Grandpa had or the Tiki Bar in a Swank Pad like Dr. Tiki has. What about the rest of us?

The inflatable bar comes in 4 foot, 7 foot, and 11 foot variations and allows for quick and easy setup for those spontaneous parties or the ones that people have been looking forward to for weeks out.

Unlike other bars, the inflatable bar can be used as a lifesaving flotation device for when the party really gets out of hand! (Warning:  Inflatable bar not to be used as a lifesaving flotation device).

The Inflatable Bar for Rent or Purchase

Barney's Martini Glass
Oh sure, there are less expensive martini glasses out there and I highly recommend you get some, but there's just something about things from Barney's. One time I bought a cup holder from Barney's and I immediately felt less impoverished and hopeless about life and was treated with respect by all my cup holder viewing peers.

This crystal martini glass is cased in black and doesn't say Barney's anywhere on it! So you'll be able to start a conversation by telling every single person that holds it exactly where you got it.

Barney's Martini Glass - US$38.00

Wine Tasting Party

Wait a minute, why does Robert Parker get to have all the fun? The guy sloshes some wine in his mouth, tells everyone it tastes like currants and 10 year-old oak, and everyone lines up to buy it. This business model is just ripe for repetition at your next party!

This Wine Tasting Party Set has 4 faux-suede sleeves that go over the wine bottles and some adorable little wine charms that label each bottle one through four. Also included are some score card holders, some scorecards, and cute little menu's for those that are taking this gift way too seriously.

Compare notes with one another after all four have been tasted and let the fun really begin! Mine tasted like Dorito's and hippies!

Wine Tasting Party - US$75

Metrokane Polar Ice Glass

Warm beer and warm white wines are the bane of your lazy afternoon! Raise yourself up from your chair and shout "I will not drink warm stuff that should not be warm because I do not like it warm!"

Well, I've never been very good at battle cries but the Metrokane Polar Ice Glass solves the problem. Fill the center piece with ice cubes and then pour up to 24 ounces of your favorite drink that is not to be watered down in to the glass and it'll stay nice and cool, ready for your drinking pleasure.

Metrokane Polar Ice Glass (Set of two) - US$12

Aposto Wall Glass and Wine Rack

We're not all wine librarians with 3000 cellar bottles and some snobby guy waiting at our beck and call in order to perfectly pair a wine in the library to the super-sized Happy Meal we're about to eat.

For the rest of us, there's the Aposto Wall Glass and Wine rack. This cool piece of wall hanging love holds 8-12 glasses and 4 bottles of wine ready to be used and to keep the wine that you're actually drinking close at hand.

Even if you already have all the wine gear, this one can easily be used for your "everyday" wines and glasses.

Aposto Wall Glass and Wine Rack - £79.95

Swivel Liqueur Glasses

Great liqueur's have to be savored out of great glasses. These swivel liqueur glasses are the best I've seen for doing exactly that. Their wide body, narrowing to the opening, and stemless so they swivel as you set them down, mixing the flavors and releasing the aromas, make them perfect for a great drink and intimate chat.

The beauty of these glasses are the price. A set of two cost only US$45 and they'll make a fantastic, unique, and memorable gift for the person who can appreciate them most.

Swivel Liqueur Glasses (Set of two) - US$45

The Booze Belt
Just kidding.  Don't get this.  I'm totally joking.  I just put it here to see if you were still reading this.

If you do get it, I will seriously come beat you up.

The Booze Belt - US$89.99

Pewter Octopus Wine Aerator

Not everyone wants to wait for a decent wine to breathe in order for it to open up. If I wanted to drink a glass of wine 20 minutes from now, I would have opened it in 20 minutes!

This wine aerator goes over the top of your decanter and allows the wine to flow through it and around it in order to quickly aerate and allow you to drink it that much faster. And anything that allows you to drink something faster is a Martini Lounge favorite!

Pewter Octopus Wine Aerator (Also available in Sea Horse and Puffer Fish) - US$29.95

Rittenhouse Rye - Best Buy

Heaven Hill let us know that their Rittenhouse Bottled-In-Bond Rye Whisky was chose "Best Buy of the Year" at the WhiskyFest that took place this past November.

NEW YORK (N.Y.) – How often can it be said that a product has won top awards recognizing it as both “The Best” and “The Best Buy”?  In a remarkable addition to its current reign as Top North American Whiskey at the most recent San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Heaven Hill Distilleries’ Rittenhouse Bottled-In-Bond Rye Whisky was just named “Best Buy of the Year” at the Malt Advocate Whiskey Awards at WhiskyFest New York at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.
 
WhiskyFest annually draws whiskey/ky lovers from all over the globe and whiskey/ky makers from the world’s distilling centers—Kentucky, Scotland, Ireland, Canada and Japan.  One of the highlights of the event is the presentation of Malt Advocate Magazine’s annual awards, given by WhiskyFest organizer, and the magazine’s publisher and editor, John Hansell.
 
This year, the “Best Buy of the Year” award winner was Heaven Hill Distilleries’ Rittenhouse Bottled-In-Bond Rye Whisky.  The unpretentious bottling, called “…one of the best American whiskeys at any price" in a recent Esquire Magazine article, achieved a remarkable grand slam of awards by adding the Best Buy of the Year title to the highly coveted Top North American Whiskey Trophy that Rittenhouse won in this year's San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the top national competition for distilled spirits. It is believed that this represents the first time that any spirit that has held a Trophy from the San Francisco competition has also held a "best buy" award concurrently.
 
"It would of course be a tremendous honor to be recognized for either of these awards, separately and distinctly," commented Heaven Hill Distilleries president Max L. Shapira.  "But to hold them together for one product at the same time represents not only a great honor for us, but also a great opportunity for our consumers, and new consumers, to discover just exactly how an American Rye Whiskey can be so well made at such a reasonable price point.  It's just a great story among not only distilled spirits but among consumer packaged goods in general--a product that has been in distribution for many years that wins a top award for being the best, and then turns around and wins another for being the best value."   
 
Rittenhouse Bottled-In-Bond Rye Whisky is part of the family of Rittenhouse Rye bottlings that Heaven Hill has been producing for many years, one of only three distilleries that kept the rye category alive before it enjoyed its current renaissance.  The six-year-old, 100 proof Bottled-In-Bond offering, along with an 80 proof bottling, and the recently-released Rittenhouse Very Rare 21-Year-Old Single Barrel, make up the full Rittenhouse Rye range.  The Rittenhouse Bottled-In-Bond Rye Whisky is available in limited distribution in a 750ml bottle at an average national retail price of $12.99.
 
In presenting the award to Heaven Hill’s seventh generation Master Distiller Parker Beam, Malt Advocate Publisher and Editor John Hansell emphasized that “…one thing is for certain: American Whiskeys are still the best value in the whiskey world, and Rittenhouse Bottled-In-Bond Rye Whisky is proof!”

bAD ADs

Only the best in BAD ADS.
Ah bad ads. All too frequent in the world of adult beverages. We strive to find the most inane ads and highlight them here for your pleasure and amusement.

Like this one from Bud Light I saw today while flipping through a local paper. A guy in a hat, humping a hot asian woman, while she, uh, humps a giant bottle of Bud Light.

Since this one provided no caption, and the guy is obviously using a smooth line on the girl, I thought I would provide some  smooth lines...and invite you to provide some as well.

"Mine's Smaller"

"Can I go next?"

"What does he got, that I ain't got?"

"Baby, it ain't the size of the bottle, it's the...Aww, screw it. Who am I trying to kid?"

Scotch & Water. Minus the Scotch

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Contributed by Rick Dobbs - Martini Lounge

It seems the Scotch companies are concerned about all the people that may not be drinking any alcohol at all.  So, straight from Ballindalloch, they've launched Speyside Glenlivet Mineral Water.

You can get these waters in either a sparkling or still form and it all comes straight from the Braes of Glenlivet just like the Scotch that we all know and love.  So, you can drink knowing that you're in
good company.  Fortunately, this water isn't aged 18 years so I don't expect it will develop any characteristics as you pop the cap off and I wouldn't think that it will "open up" as it sits around.

Of course, if you're NOT buying this water in order to make the ice cubes for your favorite Scotch, then you should just pack it up and go back to white wine spritzers.  You're clearly not cut out for real Scotch drinking.

Speyside Glenlivet is packaged in glass bottles and comes in cases of either 24/330ml bottles or 12/750ml bottles, both for $39.

Holiday Recipes Week (Day 5)

It's Friday - time to wrap up Holiday Recipe Week...

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Hot Buttered Jack

• 1 generous teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 pat butter
• 2 ounces of Jack Daniel's
  

Spoon Sugar into a mug. Stir boiling water to dissolve sugar. Add Butter and Jack Daniel's. Stir; sprinkle with nutmeg.

 

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Manly Man's Champagne

Here's a great way to fit in (to all appearances) at Midnight on New Year's Eve, but still know you are all man.

Put a bottle of premium blended whisky (Like Compass Box Asyla or Johnnie Walker Gold) in your freezer for a few hours. Serve in a chilled (frosted) champagne flute.

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Bourbon Ball

• 1 ½ Bourbon (such as Maker's Mark)
  
• ¼ oz  Creme de Cacao
  
• ¼ oz Hazelnut liqueur
• ¼ oz Cream (or half & half)

Fill a shaker with ice. Add all ingredients. Shake and serve straight. Garnish with chocolate shavings.

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Peppermint Twist

• 1 oz. Peppermint Schnapps
  
• 1 oz. Kahlua
  
• 1 Creme de cacao

Fill a shaker half full with ice cubes. Pour all ingredients into shaker and shake well. Strain drink into a Cocktail glass and serve.

Holiday Recipes Week (Day 4)

Sparkling wine cocktails????

Come on - chicks dig cocktails too, right? Besides with NYE coming up, you can look all suave and mixologist-like. Any knucklehead can pop open a bottle of champagne, but the bartender always gets the attention.

These recipes come from Ballatore.

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As the family arrives to gather around the table, treat the grown-ups to a seasonal cocktail that combines some of fall's most cherished flavors. The Spiced Pear Tart-Tini is an unexpected treat, made by mixing fresh pear nectar, pear liqueur and brandy, and topping it off with Ballatore Gran Spumante. Served in a cinnamon-sugar rimmed martini glass and trimmed with a pear wedge, guests will be impressed with the extra care taken in making this crisp and aromatic drink.

Spiced Pear Tart-Tini

• 1 1/4 oz pear liqueur
• Splash brandy
• 1 oz pear nectar
• Splash lemon juice
• 1 oz Ballatore Gran Spumante (Sparkling Wine)
• 1 Bosc pear
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp white sugar

To prep the martini glass, mix together the cinnamon and sugar in a plate, rub a lemon wedge around the rim of the glass and then dip it in the cinnamon-sugar mix until well coated. Set glass aside. Then, thinly slice the pear and place the slice in the rimmed martini glass. In a mixing glass, combine the pear liqueur, pear nectar, brandy, and lemon juice with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into the prepped martini glass. Top off with Ballatore  Gran Spumante and serve.

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Sparkling Mocha Truffle

• 3/4 oz chocolate liqueur
• 3/4 oz vanilla liqueur
• Splash hazelnut liqueur
• 1 oz Ballatore Rosso Spumante
• 4 tbsp chocolate shavings
• Chocolate sauce

Place the chocolate shavings on a plate and wet the rim of a mini martini glass with chocolate sauce.  Dip the glass into the chocolate shavings several times to ensure coverage.  Then, for an added touch, drizzle chocolate sauce inside the glass.  Place glass in freezer until drink is prepared.  In a mixing glass, combine the chocolate liqueur, vanilla liqueur and hazelnut liqueur with ice.  Shake vigorously and strain into the prepared glass, filling only half way.  Top off with Ballatore Rosso Spumante and serve.

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Poinsettia

• 4 oz cranberry juice
• 4 oz Ballatore Rosso Spumante
• 1/2 oz orange liqueur
• Mint leaf

In a chilled champagne flute, add the cranberry juice and Ballatore Rosso Spumante.
Top off with orange liqueur and garnish with a mint leaf for a festive touch.

Holiday Recipes (Day 3)

Ah the holiday season is upon us, a great reason to whip up some drinks that are a little bit different than the normal fare. You can go back to your Vodka Cranberry in February.

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Black Velvet

For those who want a sexy and smooth holiday cocktail, Black Velvet will satisfy your yearning for a fun and delicious drink.

• 5 oz chilled Guinness
• 1 ½ oz chilled Sparkling Wine (like Barefoot Bubbly)

Pour Guinness into champagne flute. Add champagne carefully, so it does not mix with Guinness, and serve.

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Silent Night

For that quiet evening with your loved ones, a Silent Night is a perfect drink sitting by the fireplace or surrounded by candlelight for a romantic holiday feel.

• 1 ½ oz Kona coffee infused Vodka**
• 1 ½ oz Macadamia nut syrup
• 1 oz Heavy cream

Shake all ingredients and strain into a martini glass.
Garnish with 3 kona coffee beans.

** Kona coffee infused Vodka

• 1 ½ cups Kona coffee beans
• 750 ml Vodka (like Smirnoff)
• Let steep refrigerated for 20 days

For that festive holiday evening when singing Christmas carols by the beautiful Christmas tree, Partridge in a Pear Tree will keep your spirits up and you’ll want to sing carols all night long.

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Gin Toddy

• 1.25 oz. Dry Gin (Like Tanqueray London Dry)
• .75 oz. lemon juice
• 2 oz. boiling water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 stick cinnamon

Add Tanqueray London Dry Gin, lemon juice, boiling water, and sugar to wine goblet and stir. Garnish with cinnamon stick.

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Maker's Mark Eggnog

• 1 liter Maker's Mark
• 1 quart milk
• 1 quart heavy cream
• 2 dozen eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• Nutmeg for garnish

Separate eggs and beat yolks until creamy. Whip sugar into yolks. Beat whites until they stand in peaks, adding 1/2 cup additional sugar, if desired. Beat yolks and Maker's Mark together. Add whites. Beat cream. Add cream and milk to mixture. Add nutmeg to taste, and garnish each cup with nutmeg. Makes 10-15 servings.

Please use caution with raw eggs, folks. Use fresh eggs - nothing worse than feeling sick over the holidays.

Holiday Recipes (Day 2) "Repeal day"

Editor's note: This in from Dewar's. Of course, they would prefer you use Dewar's but feel to use any whisk(e)y for the recipes.

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Contributed by Lesley Snyder

Today (December 5th) will mark the 73rd anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition - "Repeal Day"; it was on this date in 1933 that the 21st Amendment was ratified and Prohibition was terminated. And, Dewar's Scotch - the first legal whisky to arrive in the U.S. - hit New York’s South Street Seaport docks the moment the law was put into action. Joseph Kennedy, Sr. (JFK's father) happened to be the US agent for the brand.

Why not celebrate this significant day in American history with some vintage cocktails - The Old Fashioned; Highball; Ward Eight; and the Rob Roy. Try out the recipes below, and enjoy at your favorite speakeasy.

OLD FASHIONED

• 1 part DEWAR’S WHITE LABEL
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 2 orange slices
• 2 maraschino cherries
• Water or Soda water

In the bottom of a rocks glass, carefully muddle the sugar, bitters, 1 orange slice, 1 cherry and a splash of water or soda.  Remove the orange rind and add the DEWAR’S and ice.  Garnish with the remaining orange slice and cherry.

HIGHBALL

• 1 part DEWAR’S WHITE LABEL
• 3 parts soda

In a pint glass filled with ice, combine Dewar’s and soda.

Origins of the Highball (cocktail, not the glass) are rumored to be in the Midwest, specifically St. Louis. On some rail lines, if an engineer spotted a large steel ball resting upon an approaching signal pole, it was a sign that he should speed up. From that, the word ‘highball’ evolved to mean a quickly prepared drink.

WARD EIGHT

• 2 parts DEWAR’S WHITE LABEL
• Juice of 2 orange wedges
• Juice of 2 lemon wedges
• 1 dash grenadine
• Or 1 splash of pomegranate liqueur

Shake all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

The Ward Eight is over a century old, with roots stretching back to Boston in the late 1890s. As with many drinks of yore, the Ward Eight is a celebratory concoction, named for Martin Lomasney’s state legislature victory n his ward-hence, its relatively obvious name.

ROB ROY

• 1.75 oz DEWAR’S WHITE LABEL
• 1.75 oz Martini & Rossi Rosso (sweet) Vermouth
• 4 dashes

Shake all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice.  Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Rob Roy MacGregor (1670-1734) fought to protect the farmers’ way of life, earning the respect of this fellow Highlanders and a prison sentence for treason. He escaped (several times, actually) and lived the remainder of his life as an outlaw. The Rob Roy cocktail was created in 1894 to celebrate the opening of the Herald Square musical that paid homage to this Scottish folk hero.

Holiday Recipes (Day 1)

Welcome to Recipe Week. All this week we'll have drink recipes for you to make and share this holiday season.

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Citrico Snowflake

For that night your feeling a little naughty but want to drink something nice, Citrico Snowflake will certainly hit the spot and warm you up for the rest of the evening.

• 1.5 oz Cuervo Citrico (Lime Tequila)
• Splash of sour mix

Add all to shaker. Shake and strain into a shot glass. Add lemon wedge and sugar on rim.

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Partridge in a Pear Tree

• 1 ½ oz Oronoco (Brazilian White Rum)
• ¼ oz pear liqueur
• ½ oz pomegranate juice
• 1 tbsp Sparkling Wine (like Ballatore Gran Spumante)

Shake ingredients and add 1 tbsp champagne.

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Gin Almond

• 1 oz. Dry Gin (Like Tanqueray London Dry)
• .5 oz. almond liqueur
• 1 splash bitters
• 1 splash sour mix
• Several maraschino cherries

Fill a snifter with ice. Add Gin, almond liqueur, and bitters. Top with sour mix. Garnish with maraschino cherries.

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Candy Cane

• 1 1/2 oz. Vodka
• 1 tsp. peppermint Schnapps

Put ice in a shaker. Add Vodka and Schnapps. Shake. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Option: Garnish with a small candy cane or create a candy cane "rimmer" of crushed candy canes.

Work for Dogfish...

We'll eventually get around to doing a story on Dogfish Head, one of the more progressive Micro-breweries. But in the meantime, why don't you go work there?

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Off-Centered Brewpub General Manager

Company: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE USA 19971 Salary/Wage: 40,000.00 - 60,000.00 USD /year bonus potential to 10k Status: Full Time, Employee Shift: Rotating Job Category: Restaurant and Food Service Relevant Work Experience: 7+ to 10 Years Career Level: Manager (Manager/Supervisor of Staff) Education Level: Vocational