"ModernDrunkard" news and stories

According to the Modern Drunkard, your cocktail preference can lend insight into your true personality. Whether or not you actually believe in these tests, it's one of the more fun personality quizes I've come across recently.

Did you know that if you happen to like Bloody Marys then "You enjoy music, long walks on the beach, and the occasional stabbing spree." And watch out, because if you happen to enjoy a Gimlet, "Something about your personality makes otherwise normal people use words like "bounder" and "cad."

Take a look and see what your cocktail choice reveals about you!

Did you know that the first print ad for Johnnie Walker, which appeared in 1883, featured a Scotsman bawling over a broken bottle at his feet? Me neither, until I read Modern Drunkard's Ten Greatest Alcohol Icons of All Time. The jaunty chap with the top hat, tails and walking stick didn't appear until 1909. Originally known as the "Regency Buck," the iconic figure underwent a name change to become "The Striding Man." I also learned that Johnnie Walker is Superman's libation of choice.

It comes as no surprise that the whimsical Guinness Toucan appears on MD's list. The bird was introduced in the 1930s and had a 50-year run until its retirement in 1982. While many a tippler is familiar with this brightly colored fellow sporting a pint of the black stuff balanced on his beak, few know the little poem that accompanied the original advertisement: "If he can say as you can/'Guinness is good for you'/How grand to be a Toucan!/Just think what Toucan do."

Most of the other icons on the list, including Mr. Boston, the Bacardi Bat and The Wild Turkey were familiar to me with the exception of The Hamm's Bear. Heck, I've never even heard of Hamm's Beer much less the wacky cartoon bear that represented the brand in a series of commercials that involved all sorts of high jinks ranging from pie fights and such to more serious capers such as robbery and arson. Rather than list all of the icons here I thought I'd let folks read through the MD piece.

Source

I think there's a misconception about drinking alone. A lot of people I know see drinking alone as a sign that you're depressed, lonely, unsocial, or a combo of all three. I don't think this is true or not. Sure, if you're face down in the gutter with a bottle of whiskey in a brown paper bag, that's one thing. But that's different than sitting at home in your comfortable chair, reading a book or listening to music, drinking alone. Like many other things in life, it comes down to location, location, location.

Modern Drunkard magazine lays down the rules in a piece entitled The Zen of Drinking Alone. Some of the rules include Find Your Circle of Solitude (find your quiet space, turn off the TV), Choose Your Moderator (whiskey on the rocks is Johnny Carson, a cocktail is Conan O'Brien), and The Sound of Isolation, which is what music you pick to drink to (no rap or heavy metal - the point is to mellow out).

And always remember: the monkey never forgets.