Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The Go Plate!

In my ongoing quest to bring you not only the latest and greatest alcoholic beverages, but also the coolest beer/alcohol related stuff, I present you with my latest find: The Go Plate!





I think the pics are pretty self explanitory but if you want to read more or buy some, Click Here

When in Rome Part 2 – The Tequila/Mexican Bar

When in Rome Part 2 – The Tequila/Mexican Bar

In the last edition of When in Rome I touched on Irish Pubs and how to not be a complete Douche by embarrassing yourself with a Bud Light or Pina Colada. In the spirit of keeping yourself free from merciless taunting in yet another temple of alcoholic consumption, I bring you “The Mexican/Tequila Bar”…


(pictured) One of my favorite tequila Bars in Denver is La Sandia at Stapleton.

For the sake of establishing this conversation, I am going to refer to a Mexican Bar as any type of bar or tavern that makes a real attempt at establishing a “Mexican” style theme. Most of these types of places serve Mexican food and many have Spanish names like “El Coyote”, or “Las Margaritas”, or “Frijoles Grandes”. For anyone here in Denver, “Casa Bonita” DOES NOT qualify as a Mexican Bar. Mexican bars typically have Hispanic style décor like bright colors, pictures/paintings of cactus, and signs advertising Corona or Margarita specials… A “Tequila Bar” may or may not follow any of the guidelines above, but they pretty much always advertise the fact that they are a Tequila Bar so they are pretty easy to spot.

Ok, so you’ve established that you have indeed entered a Mexican/Tequila Bar, now what? First of all, any Mexican beer is just fine (Corona, Tecate, Negro Modelo, Modelo Especial, Pacifico, Dos Equis, etc). Any drink with Tequila like a Margarita or Tequila Sunrise is also encouraged. What else you ask? Well, given its overwhelming popularity in Mexico and in the Mexican community here in the US, Bud and Bud Light are acceptable in a Mexican Bar. Another very acceptable alternative to beer and Tequila is Sangria. Sangria is usually pretty different everywhere you go as there is no “official recipe” so try it before you buy it.

Now on to the most important part any visit to the Mexican/Tequila Bar… Shots. Tequila is the only acceptable shot in a Tequila Bar. If you don’t like Tequila, refraining from shots is probably your best bet, although many higher end (read: expensive) Tequilas are quite smooth and have almost nothing in common with cheap well or Cuervo shots. Try a Premium or Super Premium Tequila like Don Julio, Herradura, or Cabo Wabo and see if they don’t change your mind about Tequila. Shots in a regular Mexican bar (read: not a Tequila Bar) are a little easier. Any shots that are on special or advertised in the table tent or menu are fine although Tequila is still preferred.

There you have it. Hopefully you can now go into the world and seek out a Mexican or Tequila Bar and not have people pointing at you and talking behind your back. If so, my job here is done.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Random Weekend Alcohol Check

What have I been drinking this weekend? I'm glad you asked:

Cruzan Raspberry Rum: Awesome stuff straight out of the bottle!



New Belgium Sunshine Wheat: A great summer wheat beer. Light with a hint of citrus. I could drink this stuff for hours (and I did). Also, to answer you question, yes I did drink cans because we were at the pool for a good part of the day yesterday.



Smirnoff White Grape Vodka:
Great flavor but a little much to drink straight. Awesome with Red Bull.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Mojo IPA

Mojo IPA by Boulder Beer Company

Type of beer: IPA (India Pale Ale) "an ale that is light amber to copper in color, medium to medium-high alcohol by volume, with hoppy, bitter and sometimes malty flavor." (from wikipedia)



This is a very decent IPA that is fairly typical of the style. It has a golden amber color to it with a nice head that leaves plenty of lacing on the side of the glass.

The smell is a big hit of hops up front with a lingering citrus undertone.

The taste is very hoppy up front with a slight bite of grapefruit and malt on the finish. Clean citrus notes are ever-present and it finishes smooth with a great bite at the very end. I'm a fan of IPAs for the most part and this did not disappoint in the least. I love hops and this beer provided that in spades.

Final Answer: This stuff is great and I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes IPAs. The casual light beer drinker would not be able to handle the hops and people who don't care for beer with over-the-top flavors would also be advised to stay away.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Billy's Chilies Beer Review

Billy's Chilies Beer by Twisted Pine Brewing Co, Colorado.



Ok, so this beer intrigued me when I saw it at Total beverage the other night as I was building my own six-pack (neatest idea ever). The label says it is made with jalapeño, anaheim, fresno, errano, and habanero peppers. How neat is that, right? So I grabbed one and decided that last night was the night to pop it open and give it a go.

First thing you notice is the smell. I am a huge chili fan so the smell was great to me. It smells like a jar of fresh chili salsa. Basically it smells like when you open a can of diced green chilies or jalapeños. So far so good.

The taste wasn't quite as good. It basically was like taking a coors light and draining jalapeno and habanero juice into it. It had a nice chili burn in the back of your throat which was a real plus for me, but the flavor was just not that great. I guess I was expecting something a little more full bodied than I got and was pretty disappointed. It's not that it was terrible, it just wasn't great. I would probably not buy anymore in the future.

Final Answer: I would recommend you try it if you are a fan of chilies. It is a neat novelty beer, but not one I would buy on a regular basis as it is a bit awkward tasting.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Xingu Beer Review and a Beer Commitment

So I spent the weekend in Orlando Florida (aka, the surface of the sun)and happened to eat dinner at a fantastic Brazilian Steak House called Texas De Brazil. It was at this wondrous meat-lover's fantasy come true that I got to taste a Brazilian Beer that I had never tried before called Xingu Black Beer. So, I offer up this review for your visual consumption:

Xingu Black Beer:




Type of Beer: (From Wikipedia.org) Schwarzbier, or "black beer," is a German dark lager beer. It has an opaque, black color and a full, chocolatey or coffee flavor. Although they share some similar flavors they are quite a bit milder tasting and less bitter than British Stouts or Porters.

ABV: 4.70%

Brewed By: Cervejaria Sul Brasileira (Brazil)

This beer poured an almost solid black color with a thick, very decent sized head. It had very malty, almost sweet, and mild roasted smells to it. The taste was right along the same path with a creamy, malty, slightly roasted caramel taste with some light coffee undertones to it. It was extremely easy to drink and i enjoyed it alot. The only disappointment was a noticeable lack of hops flavor. I'm definitely more of a hop-head when it comes to beer so this was a bit of a letdown. I wasn't that disappointed though because I did order another one (and another after that). I really can't stress enough what a drinkable beer this is and it really complimented the steak-fest that I was enjoying.

Verdict: Enjoyable, easy drinking exotic beer with just enough maltyness to make up for it's lack of hops. I will definitely be buying again and I recommend that you do too.

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My commitment: I think it would be a cool idea to try to commit to doing 5 beer reviews per week for a month. That's 20 beers that I've never laid taste buds on that I will be trying and posting about over the next month. I'll still do plenty of my traditional non-beer review posting on shots, bars, humor, etc so don't stop reading if you're not a "beer person" because there will still be plenty for you!

Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back soon.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Wisdom of Norm from Cheers

I'm 33 and like most people my age, I grew up watching Cheers. As a child, I don't think I ever really understood the intricacies of the characters that populated everyone's favorite fictional watering hole, but I do now. Only in reruns can I now pick up on exactly how sad these people's lives really were. Honestly though, I think I can now look back on Norm as the wisest and funniest of the bunch. I've scoured the internet for some of his best one-liners (and 2 and 3 liners too) and have assembled his wisdom here for the Drink Dummy masses...

Coach: Can I draw you a beer, Norm?
Norm: No, I know what they look like. Just pour me one.

Woody: Hey, Mr. Peterson, what's the story?
Norm: Boy meets beer. Boy drinks beer. Boy gets another beer.

Sam: What's new, Normie?
Norm: Terrorists, Sam. They've taken over my stomach. They're demanding beer.

Woody: What's going down, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: My cheeks on this barstool.

Woody: How would a beer feel, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Pretty nervous if I was in the room.

Woody: What's your pleasure, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Boxer shorts and loose shoes. But I'll settle for a beer.

Sam: Hey, how's life treating you there, Norm?
Norm: Beats me. ... Then it kicks me and leaves me for dead.

Woody: What can I do for you, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Elope with my wife.

Sam: Beer, Norm?
Norm: Have I gotten that predictable? Good.

Coach: How's a beer sound, Norm?
Norm: I dunno. I usually finish them before they get a word in.


Good stuff! Words to live by if you ask me. Anyway, since I'm already here posting this, I think I'll leave you with an awesome shot recipe:

Mind Eraser

Ingredients:

* 3-4 cubes Ice
* 1/2 shot Kahlua
* 1/2 shot Vodka
* 1 shot Sprite to taste

Place ice cubes in a small, narrow glass. Add the Kahlua, then the vodka and then the Sprite.

Do not stir or shake, drink through a straw all at once. Drink should be layered.

Friday, June 5, 2009

A Mexican Slut (Don't worry, it's a shot).

So, some friends and I were at a happy hour earlier this week at a local dive called Doc's here in Denver. This is not a fancy place or really the kind of place you would expect to find new things so it figured to be a nice relaxed happy hour with a couple of pitchers of Coors Light (on special) and maybe a standard shot or two of Jager with some good friends.

Imagine my surprise when I asked our waitress if they had any shot specials. She apparently misunderstood me and thought I was asking for "special shots" so she busted out with the Mexican Slut. According to her, a few customers had come into the bar a week or so ago and told her about a shot called a Mexican Slut that they claim is very popular in Chicago where they had just moved from.

Intrigued, I leaned in and asked "So, what's in it and how much will it cost me?" She responded back with the following: "A Mexican Slut is a shot of pickle juice followed immediately by a shot of Tequila.

Unsure if this sounded even remotely palatable, I turned to my friend Sommer and raised my eyebrow. Sommer loves pickles, so she quickly responds that we should give it a try. No one else at the table would agree so I ordered two and waited uneasily...

So, sure enough, it arrives as a two piece shot, a shot glass of pickle juice and a shot glass of well tequila garnished with a lemon. A minute or so of curious study and trepidation followed it's arrival. Finally, a "Cheers!", the clanking of shot glasses and down goes the pickle juice followed by the tequila followed in turn by the lemon...

Wow. It was actually really good. I like tequila but can have a lot of problems with well. The pickle juice really helped take the edge off of a very unsmooth well tequila and the lemon was a perfect compliment to the overall flavor profile of the shot. Ultimately, for the price ($3) this was a decent shot with some incredible flavors and was surprisingly smooth and easy to drink. I ended up getting two...

In summary, give it a try the next time you're out. It may not be your thing, but it may end up joining your shot repertoire.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Alcohol Party

So I was looking around youtube and I found this video by stand-up comic Jim Breur and I thought it was pretty funny so I'm sharing it with you...