by Emily

The Best/Worst New Invention for Your Summer 2014 Drinking Agenda

Cool, look, a new stereo system!

No, wait, it’s just sugary pre-made cocktails in a candy-colored boombox packaging. Who needed wine in a box when you can have “wine-based cocktails” in a Beatbox? I was too afraid to purchase and taste-test for myself when I saw these at my local HEB, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pretty curious. If these aren’t 100% horrible, I could see myself ironically bringing some to a summer pool party this year.

The three flavors I’ve seen, ranked from most to least offensive:
3. Blue Razzberry Lemonade (“raspberry” spelled with not one, but two Zs!)
2. Box A’Rita (you can’t make a real margarita with wine, come on now)
1. Cranberry Limeade (it’s the one that sounds least like Guy Fieri named it, so I have to give it my thumbs up)

Someone out there has tried these, right? Y’all know my affinity for funny/novelty cheap packaged booze. Tell me if the joke is worth it.

by snebbu

Battle of the Corkscrew…Part I

VS.

Since we’re now grown up, we took a different route for New Year’s Eve. Fancy-shmancy dinner out, then drinking at home with some friends. Of the elite, mature, grown-up group was ML and her main squeeze. Fiancée and I have gotten to know them pretty well, and lucky for them we now live closer together. We even popped his Brazilian steakhouse cherry. But I digress. The most you need to know is that he likes to talk smack. And THIS is where it begins.

As we were all getting ready to leave, he says “OH, look at you—an electric wine opener, you must think you’re effing fantastic.” (of course I may/may not/may be exaggerating here) The electric wine opener was a gift from the future sister-in-law and we were looking forward to trying it. Our feelings were demolished, the solid relationship we’ve created with ML’s squeeze was emotionally damaged and we were highly offended. How dare he. Words were thrown across the room and finally, we realized—this calls for a battle.

Which wine tool would work better? The classic wine key that they use at the restaurants and has taken most of us years of college to realize how to actually use? Or is the electric opener that literally requires you to push one button? I’ll let you decide before I explain the “part I” piece. Judges…see below:

Yes…it looks like the hand-cranked wine key won. However what you don’t see is my foil cutter owning it. Also, ML’s squeeze has had years of practice when he was a waiter in a restaurant. This was my first time. See, the problem was that I repeatedly hit the “down” button and then the “up” button. I thought once the cork went down, you hit the up button. Turns out you hold the down button until the cork comes out. The up button is only to get rid of the cork. Therefore, we need another battle…now that we both know how to use our weapons. There WILL be another battle. And I WILL win. Get your favorite wine key…I’m comin’ at you, brah.

by Emily

Now That’s a Spicy Wine!

As we all know, my local HEB grocery store is a treasure trove of inexpensive novelty alcohol products and this weekend I stumbled upon the latest discovery. At first it appears to be just another bottle of mid-range cabernet sauvignon, but take a closer look. This isn’t cabernet, but cabanero. Yes, as this delightful wordplay suggests, this is wine infused with habanero.

While I enjoy a nice, full-bodied red with my spicy BBQ or other red meat, I don’t know what I think about spicy wine itself. Obviously I love Fireball, which is semi-spicy, but that’s more cinnamon-y than actual heat. I’ve had pepper-infused vodka before and hated it. What to do!

Rob and I were strongly tempted to buy a bottle, but I sadly resigned myself to the fact that a habanero-infused spicy wine would give me instant heartburn. I saved the $8 and walked away. Sigh. If any of you spice-lovers out there pick up a bottle, make sure to drop a comment and let me know how it is! Olé!

in Drinks / Trends 1 comments

by BS

Cocktail O’Clock: Ginger Toddy

Whiskey or wine when the weather gets cold? You can have both. And add some ginger while you’re at it—for health benefits, of course.

2 oz Powers Irish Whiskey
4 oz Pinot Grigio
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sliced ginger

Combine all ingredients into a pot over medium heat.

When ingredients have dissolved, strain, then place back onto heat. Add 1 sliced orange and keep warm.

Pour into coffee mug. Garnishwith a slice of lemon.

in Drinks / Recipe 0 comments

by ES Guest

Cocktail O’Clock: Serious Mulled Wine

It’s about that time of year when we start heating our wine, and cocktails suddenly feel less sinful, more warm and comforting. Well, this tea and wine concoction still packs plenty of punch, amping up your mulled wine with vodka and port. Plus, you get to light things on fire.

Moonlight by the Fire: Mulled Spiced Wine

La Dolce Vita Food and Wine Festival

It’s common knowledge that Austin’s culinary scene has been blowin’ up. We have Top Chef Texas winner Paul Qui and his Asian fusion empire, Austin Food & Wine Festival, and the flagship Whole Foods. Not to mention the wonderful restaurants constantly cropping up, and all the famous barbecue.

And of course… LA DOLCE VITA. I’ve always wanted to attend La Dolce Vita since I moved to Austin and first heard about this glorious event. The magnificent Laguna Gloria, an absolutely beautiful outdoor venue, is swarmed by over 50 of the hottest Texas restaurants and wineries, and attendees are tasked with the stressful chore of tasting everything. And by “stressful” I clearly mean “AMAZING.”

Whoever said the best things in life are for free has obviously never attended a high-end culinary event, because tickets to La Dolce Vita will set you back $150 (or $200 for a VIP ticket including access to an exclusive cocktail lounge) but it’s worth it if you want to sample the cooking of some of the region’s best chefs. If you, unlike me, don’t like throwing large sums of money at indulgent dining opportunities, you’ll be happy to know that the ticket price also goes to support the arts—all proceeds go to The Contemporary‘s educational programs.

By the end of the event, I was Thanksgiving-level full. (And we all know I can EAT on Thanksgiving.) Seriously, I just kept stuffing myself until it was over. I felt like I was walking through one of those big, elegant Top Chef elimination events where all the cheftestants are vying for best dish and shoving beautiful plates of food at the judges. Just call me Padma!

Read on for some photo highlights of my oh-so-delicious evening:

Wine in a Can? Yup.

This is a thing that is happening in our lives (and livers). Canned wine: it is real.

The brand is called “Friends Just Wine” which strikes me as hilarious for some reason, and also makes me think of these two scenarios:

“Hey bro, are you and Chelsea hooking up?” “No way brah, we’re just friends…”
“Excuse me young lady, are you drinking alcohol in that can?” “Of course not, officer, it’s just juice…”

Or something. That might have made more sense in my head. Anyway, my friends said it looks like the Friends sitcom logo, which is also funny. Really, either way, what’s better than wine with friends? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

As far as stealth drinking, portability, and container endurance goes, Friends Just Wine takes the cake. You can tuck it in a koozie and pretend it’s a more innocuous soda or something. You can throw it into a big, full cooler and not worry about a glass bottle breaking. Plus it’s earth-friendly since you can just recycle the aluminum can – no plastic cups required, unlike when you lug a couple glass bottles to a picnic or pool party (unless you decide to take earth-friendliness into your own hands/mouth and drink straight from the bottle, which I would never condemn).