- Who’s
keeping the cocktail/wine/beer culture strong? These guys. Do you have anyone to add? - Do you smoke cigars? Would you like a wine to pair with them? Here’s some recommendations from the experts.
- Some late summer food and wine pairings if cigars ain’t yo thang.
- Forget the punch bowl, this communal drinking vessel needs no cups.
- Bourbon: coming to a tv/netflix/streaming device near you.
- A list for people who clearly have not interacted with bartenders or people in general before. Who are all these people waving their money around at bars?
- “Infection”, “spontaneous fermentation”, “microbes”. We’re not self-diagnosing on WebMD, we’re talking about beer!
- Poor, poor booze. Lesson learned here is that all liquor stores have crappy shelves.
- This week’s crazy science claim: eating/drinking asian pears before drinking reduces your hangover. Who’s going to try this one?
- If you’re already playing Beer Pong, do you really care where that ball has been?
notes
Monday Booze News 8 gallons of a Suffering Bastard can win a battle, it's a fight with fireball, and some gorgeous bars
- It’s
been hot. Like, too hot. Why don’t we cool down with some boozy treats this week. - Uncomfortable video of the day: pretty much how I’d be in front of the camera and why I’m sitting here behind my desk instead.
- Low-key wine bars are where it’s at (but also, so many questions from this tiny piece. When did we start saying high-low in place of highbrow-lowbrow? And when did Somerville, MA become a cool place to visit??).
- But if you’re not into wine, these cities are the best to visit to get your beer fix.
- Looking for a little home bar inspiration? Set your eyes on these 16 gorgeous bars for all spaces.
- Science tries again (and fails?) to tell us what is the right amount of booze to consume.
- “Can you please send eight gallons of Suffering Bastard, everyone is really hungover.†This won a battle in WWII.
- It’s a fight between Fireball and… what’s a hot cinnamon vodka?
- Has Templeton Rye wronged you? There’s a lawsuit for that.
- Cocktail snob? I may have participated in one or two of these acts.
Monday Booze News falcons, lots of tiki tid bits, and where you can score some fire garnishes in Los Angeles
- Is
this true? I just know these sinks as a way to wash your pint glass, not give it a special service beforehand. - Want a great rum collection for you tiki bar but short on space? These 6 rums are all you need.
- You guys know I love a good Tiki pop up. Here’s one in NYC.
- It’s always nice to see a Jungle Bird on a tiki drink crash course. But I disagree, you should have blue curaçao on hand, if only to use occasionally.
- A handful of underrated spirits recommended to you from the country’s top bartenders.
- Heading to Los Angeles anytime soon? Here you can get fire, insects and tiny cheeseburger garnishes on your drinks.
- Cocktail history is always such a foggy affair. Let’s take the Americano, shall we?
- I’d say there is definitely some cocktails on this site that fit into the 10 percenter category.
- She’s the youngest rum master in the world. And her own special blend retails at $1500!!!
- The secret to keeping critters out of vineyards: falcons. That’s so metal.
Monday Booze News beer made of chocolate, the best beer in every state, and pineapple kegs for your bar cart
- Are
you a d-bag? Do you like to go to d-bag bars? Or rather, are you trying to avoid such bars? Here’s a list of 25 bars in L.A. that supposedly are full of d-bags. - A non-alcoholic beer I might actually want to drink. With chocolate!
- But if you want real beer, Serious Eats has mapped out the best beers in EVERY state.
- Coffee shops: the next new place you can grab a cocktail at. And work on your screenplay.
- A FEW of my favorite brands are coming out of the Midwest. Here’s some to keep on your radar.
- I’m starting to prefer calling them Temperance Cocktails instead of Mocktails. And lots of bars of including them on their menus!
- I didn’t know you could/should decant white wine!! Learning something new every day!!
- Scotch flavored ice creams. YES PLEASE!
- I think the pineapple keg is going to trump the bronze pineapple as the “must have” bar cart item this summer.
- This week’s booze science claim: drink moderate amounts of alcohol to have superior mental abilities!! Or something like that...
Monday Booze News Blue Wine, the colorful world of Tiki Kon, and champagne up in your trunk
- Bucket
list addition: go crazy at Tiki Kon. - Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas presents? Champagne. In the trunk. Of your Aston Martin.
- Please keep your ants out of my cocktails. Thanks.
- I’m kinda in love with the copper case for the new Moscow Mule Carry On Kit.
- Weird autoimmune things run in the family. This study tells me I’m on the right path!
- Blue Wine? Cool! But does it taste good?
- Exercise and booze… a match made in yoga class.
- This is one way to raise money for charity: beer.
- I love a good cider in the summer. Here are 5 picks to try right now.
- All the winners of the Spirited Awards since the beginning. Because I love a good list.
Monday Booze News #TOTC2015, #PIMPMYBAR, and #PBRNOMORE
- DineXDesign
made grilled Sangria ice spheres and plopped them in wine and I’m OBSESSED with them. - And if you’re really into wine right now, but also want to eat, here are the 100 best wine restaurants in the U.S.
- Suggestions on the next crappy booze “hipsters” will drink and wipe out from the market.
- All the insanity that is #TOTC2015.
- I think second to my Tiki mug collection is my swizzle stick collection.
- America is getting on the Amaro train. I’m pretty excited about that Leopold Bros!
- If you’re looking to spend the afternoon reading. Punch rounded up 10 of their articles celebrating drinking in America.
- If you read between the lines, those cops went on a bender with all that booze and blew up the cars using confiscated explosives. Just saying...
- And yet, when I visited the country all I could get my hands on was halfway decent gin.
- Got $100 bucks? Here’s how to turn that into a great home bar.
Monday Booze News win some cocktail books, clouds of booze, and what it's like to have to work Tales
- Speaking of Vermouth, apparently you should be drinking it all day… every day.
- Is there a movie or tv show that influenced the way you drink? Mad Men, I’d like my whiskey back in stock, thanks.
- A few quick words with Dale DeGroff and why you should always drink the local specialties.
- This is why there is a National Scotch Day this month (July 27th) and why we were “celebrating” National Piña Colada Day last week.
- It’s like getting hot boxed with booze. And some snakes.
- I wonder how this app would calculate you walking through that cloud of booze...
- Looking for some new beers to try this summer? Here’s 5 picks!
- You guys look like you need an infographic to ‘splain the differences between sparkling wines.
- Behind the scenes at Tales of the Cocktail. This all feels very familiar...
- And finally, as if you really needed another reason to go visit Trick Dog bar in SF: the dog calendar menu.
Monday Booze News illegal cocktails, giant cucumbers, and vodka viagra
- Would
you like to ride around in a giant cucumber? Hendrick’s is going to make that dream come true. - The secret to getting drunk by some notable Rap and R&B artists (hint: a lot of juice).
- Boozy pies should definitely be the next “thing”.
- Are your cocktails not inky black enough? Add some squid ink to them!
- Short on time to make a cocktail tonight? Try one of these super fast recipes.
- A $12,500 cocktail? A casino heist? An empty World record.
- This week’s themed beer release: Bohemian Rhapsody. I’m just surprised the song is 40 years old.
- SOMEONE GET ME A SLUSHIE MACHINE STAT! Gonna make me some illegal cocktails.
- Who needs Viagra? Go get some of this vodka.
- Sherry, Sherry, Sherry. Everyone loves Sherry.
Upcoming Collaborations and What’s Next
I hit 4 years writing on Stir and Strain a few months ago. I’m not proclaiming this for any smug, self-gratifying reason; just acknowledging the milestone of keeping this going. And it is a milestone. With all the grumblings about the internet of the state of food blogging being dead, or near-dead, or reaching the saturation level that will soon too quickly rise to… well, being dead… ignoring all of that chatter, keeping your head down and moving on feels like a monthly, if not daily goal. So, OK, I’ll give myself a little pat on the back.
But writing on here is so different now. Audience wise, I’m reaching far more of you out there then I was 4 years ago. But choosing to leave an office work environment and confine myself to working under the same roof I sleep under day after day has made this a very insular, navel-gazing (or bottom of the rocks glass gazing) job. Job: it’s still a job.
Part of writing about cocktails was developing drinks an audience would love, and sharing those drinks in an experience where I could potentially see the outcome. While I’ve briefly done that once a month with the supper club, the day to day drinks on here usually only go as far as Christopher, if not just me, and have led to some unusual drinking hours (10am cocktails anyone?) that are dictated more on which way the light is coming through my windows rather than a special occasion coming up.
I realized that this was not a sustainable work environment, at least not for now, which is why I’ve come back around to trying to surround myself with creative people and fresh ideas. Collaborations are where it’s at when it’s time to get some new perspectives on the day to day.
So what does that mean? Some new collaborations (and voices!) coming up on the site this week as well as some partnered collaborations taking a sharp left from the usual recipe posts in the next few months. It also means you will find me hopping on over to a few other sites as well.
I hope you all enjoy some of the changes and tweaks to the site. And, as always, feel free to let me know how you feel about it.
Cheers!
Elana
Monday Booze News pig lips, portholes and phunky rhum
- Everyone
loves an internet quiz! Find out what tiki drink you are because now you have to know... - And then seek out a bottle of Rhum Agricole and make something funky.
- Get to know Speed Rack winner (and fellow Angeleno) Brittini Rae.
- I am IN LOVE with these porthole cocktail glasses. Please find me some!
- I wish some of these wine labels actually existed.
- If you’re not so much into Red Dye #whatever in your Campari, here’s a new alternative. I’m pretty excited!
- After a kick back a couple cocktails someone put some pickled pig lips covered in potato chips in front of me and I might consider it.
- One man’s lessons learned from giving up drinking (for a whole month).
- I keep telling myself I should really get into collecting rare liquors.
- And lastly, I’m right at the end of completing my Grog Log. Please feel free to virtually join in!