Drinks

Craft Brewers Create 'Royal Virility Performance' Limited-Edition Beer

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 20th 2011 @ 3:00PM

Royal Wedding 'Royal Virility Performance' Beer Photo: BrewDog Beer

All the Royal Wedding food-related hoopla is just about at its boiling point (though props to the Papa John's employee that created this "beauty"), but finally, something...more stimulating. The folks at craft beer company BrewDog , known for other beer-related stunts such as the world's strongest beer and beer served in taxidermed animals, have created a limited edition "Royal Virility Performance" beer with "Viagra, chocolate, Horny Goat Weed and 'a healthy dose of sarcasm'." Only 1,000 bottles will be made, and the beer will ship on April 28, the day before the Royal Wedding. BrewDog explains:

With this beer we want to take the wheels off the royal wedding bandwagon being jumped on by dozens of breweries; The Royal Virility Performance is the perfect antidote to all the hype. A beer should be brewed with a purpose, not just because some toffs are getting married, so we created something at our brewery that will undermine those special edition beers and other assorted seaside tat, whilst at the same time actually give the happy couple something extra on their big day...There is more to brewing and tasting beer than putting a royal wedding label on it, so we're showing everyone just how ludicrous it is.

BrewDog claims they have sent Prince William a complimentary bottle.

Filed under: Food News, Drinks

Blind Tasters Can't Tell Cheap Wines From Expensive

COMMENTS 28

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 15th 2011 @ 5:00PM

wine tasting Photo: weelibrarian, Flickr

People can't tell the difference between cheap and expensive wine, says psychologist Richard Wiseman after conducting a survey of 578 drinkers at the Edinburgh International Science Festival, reports The Guardian. The participants sampled a variety of red and white wines in a blind taste test with prices ranging from about $6 to $50. The results concluded that people could only tell the difference between cheap and expensive white wines 53% of the time, and 47% of the time for red wines.

In other words, it's about the same percentage as if they merely guessed. The Claret was the hardest to pinpoint, with only 39% getting it right, despite the price tag differences of about $5 for one bottle and $23 for the other. The Journal of Wine Economics backs up Wiseman's findings. Its 2008 study, "Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better?" reported that:

Individuals who are unaware of the price do not derive more enjoyment from more expensive wine. In a sample of more than 6,000 blind tastings, we ﬁnd that the correlation between price and overall rating is small and negative, suggesting that individuals on average enjoy more expensive wines slightly less.

Maybe it's time to add some swill wine to that expensive Bordeaux collection.

Filed under: Food News, Drinks

The Best Bottles Of Wine Under $7

COMMENTS 14

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 13th 2011 @ 4:00PM

wines under $7 Photos: Daniel Slaughter, Flickr; darktek13, Flickr

Don't let Trader Joe's brainwash you into thinking their Two-Buck Chuck is the only game in town when it comes to inexpensive wine. There are plenty of affordable bottles out there that aren't utter plonk. Over at The Huffington Post, Alex Milling has compiled a list of some of her favorite wines for everyday occasions. They made not be the best wines you've ever had, but that's not the point -- what's important is that they certainly won't be the worst.

Get the list after the jump.

Filed under: Drinks

Cabs Not From Napa - Wine of the Week

COMMENTS 1

by Kristine Hansen, Posted Mar 25th 2011 @ 5:00PM

Root: 1 Wine Cabernet Photo: Root: 1 Wine

More often than not, Cabernet Sauvignon is associated with Napa, just as the Switzerland is linked with chocolate, and Vermont or Wisconsin with artisan cheese.

But I thought it might be fun to look at other wine-growing regions around the world where Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are grown. One advantage to looking outside of Napa is that the Cabs cost much, much less. (It's difficult to find a quality Napa Cab under $30.) This is true from the state of Washington to Mendoza, Argentina.

Here are six juicy Cabs that I recently sipped and fell in love with -- and none are from Napa.

Filed under: Drinks

NYC Bartender Breaks World Record: 1,003 Cocktails in One Hour

COMMENTS 5

by Jenn Garbee, Posted Mar 23rd 2011 @ 1:00PM

Photo: YouTube

While many of us awaited the fate of the Hendrix wives on last Sunday night's final episode of "Big Love," Sheldon Wiley was on his own high-octane multiples mission. The New York City-based mixologist whipped up 1,003 cocktails to break the Guinness World Record for the most cocktails made in an hour. The previous record of 937 cocktails was held by German mixologist Matthias Knorr. "I wanted this record to be about more than just speed," Wiley said via a press release. "I wanted to exemplify the integrity and craft of cocktails."

In what we can only politely presume was a blatant Rambo reference, Wiley wore a bandage cloth wrapped around his head as he double-fisted bottles of flavored vodka and mixers in – where else? -- the Empire State Building's Empire Room. He used four ingredients in each cocktail (three is the minimum Guinness World Records requirement), including dozens of fresh fruit juices and several Monin Gourmet flavored syrups, as well as eight flavors of 360 Vodkas. That schizophrenic selection of ingredients may seem like unnecessary sensory overload, at least until you realize which two corporations were the event's sponsors. Hint: It wasn't an orange juice company.

Filed under: Food News, Drinks

Wine in a Pouch?

COMMENTS 16

by Kristine Hansen, Posted Mar 21st 2011 @ 4:00PM

Indulge Wines, eco-friendly pouches of wine Photo: Indulge Wines

If you're nostalgic for those fun Capri Sun pouches you sipped as a kid, you might be interested in the new package wine package vintners are trying out in an effort to be eco-friendly.

Indulge Wines, headquartered in Buellton (Santa Barbara County), California, recently rolled out two 1.5L wines packaged in an "Astrapouch": a 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, North Coast; and a 2009 Pinot Noir, Central Coast. Although right now they're only available in California, by summertime, wine-drinkers nationwide will be able to purchase the portable pouches. (Each pouch is the equivalent of two 750mL wine bottles.)

Filed under: New Products, Drinks

New Pepsi Bottle Is 100 Percent Plant-Based

COMMENTS 1

by Jason Best, Posted Mar 16th 2011 @ 3:00PM

Pepsi's new plant-based bottle design Photo: PepsiCo / AP Photo

Earth Day may not be for another month, but the folks at PepsiCo are celebrating early. The company has just announced that it has developed the world's first 100-percent plant-based PET bottle.

For those not wholly versed in enviro-speak, PET is short for polyethylene terephthalate, a.k.a. a type of plastic--or to hardcore tree-huggers everywhere, "All that is crazy and absurdly wrong with a consumer-driven society in overdrive."

Indeed, to look at the lowly plastic soda bottle, it can be hard to believe that such an eminently ubiquitous, forgettable and throwaway item could ever have become so socially and politically charged. But then again, it's precisely its unseemly propensity to pop up even the most unexpected of places that has made it increasingly loathed. After all, nothing spoils your eco-bliss like an empty Mountain Dew bottle washing against your ankles in the surf.

Filed under: New Products, Drinks

Narragansett Porter - Beer of the Week

COMMENTS 4

by Joshua M. Bernstein, Posted Feb 28th 2011 @ 5:00PM

Narragansett porter can Photo: stevegarfield, Flickr

In this day and age retro beer brands are all the rage, with drinkers sucking down Schlitz and PBR like they're going out of style -- again. But nostalgia is not enough for me to overlook one glaring fact: These beers don't taste all that great.

So you can understand my trepidation when, last summer in Connecticut, I stumbled across a six-pack of lager tall boys from Narragansett. I was attracted to the can's classic look and $6.99 price tag. Instead of a cheap, watery lager, I was rewarded by a rich, crisp flavor. What was Narragansett, and why was it so good?

New England's Narragansett was born in 1890, and within 25 years it became the region's largest lager brewery. Over the decades, Narragansett became the de facto beverage for New Englanders, even serving as the Boston Red Sox's official beer. In the seventies, though, the company was sold. The Rhode Island brewery was later shuttered, and production shifted to Indiana. Quality suffered. By 2005, the brand seemed destined for death. Then along came Mark Hellendrung, the former president of Nantucket Nectars. He and investors bought the brand and, over the last five years, have set about restoring Narragansett to its lofty perch.

Filed under: Drinks

Heater Allen Coastal -- Beer of the Week

COMMENTS 1

by Joshua M. Bernstein, Posted Feb 22nd 2011 @ 3:00PM

Photo: Heater Allen Brewing

When it comes to craft beer, "lager" might as well be a four-letter word. Rebelling against Coors and their watery kind, microbrew drinkers gravitate toward bold, super-bitter IPAs and potent imperial stouts aged in bourbon barrels. In turn, the crisp, elegant lager has been discarded like dishwater.

I also fell into that camp. Why sip a simple lager when a battalion of crazily flavored craft beer awaited my mouth? Give me hops, or give me death! On my recent trip to Portland, Oregon, plenty of hoppy brews tickled my taste buds. But I also found a lager that made me appreciate the unfairly maligned style.

The swoon-worthy beer was crafted by McMinnville, Oregon's Heater Allen Brewing, the hop-crazed state's only all-lager brewery. "If there hadn't been this huge hole in Oregon, I wouldn't have tried to launch the brewery," owner and brewer Rick Allen told me when I was researching my beer book. I heard rave reviews about his lagers, including the dark, slightly smoky Scwarz; crisp, golden Pils; and the malty Dunkel. But hadn't tried any Heater beers till last week, when I cracked the bottle of Coastal I'd brought back to Brooklyn.

Filed under: Drinks

White House Happy Hours: What Do Our Presidents Drink?

COMMENTS 1

by Kristine Hansen, Posted Feb 21st 2011 @ 12:00PM

President Barack Obama wine choices Photo: Charles Dharapak / AP Photo

On Presidents Day this year, we fully expect a little bit of imbibing to take place at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Every U.S. president has had his vice -- James Buchanan would reportedly trek to a distillery each Sunday to purchase a gallon-sized jug of whiskey. It's also been reported that JFK did not serve lemonade, water, or even beer, aboard the presidential yacht -- instead, he turned to daiquiris.

And Barack Obama is no exception. On the heels of his "beer summit" in July 2009 where he chugged mugs of beer with two others on the Rose Garden patio, and following White House tradition, he and Michelle ensure that flutes of Domaine Chandon's sparkling wine (Blanc de Noirs, $22) are poured at all state dinners and other White House receptions.

Filed under: Celebrities, Drinks