2009.
Ask DrinkPlanner is a reoccurring feature here where readers submit their questions, and the crack team at DrinkPlanner does our best to answer. Got a question about booze? Ask us!
“Dear DrinkPlanner,
I am 55 years old, and about three years ago I developed an allergy to beer and wine which I never had in the past. It causes sneezing and sinus problems. I may be allergic to sulfites. I don’t drink a lot, but I do enjoy an occasional glass of wine at dinner or a beer with the guys. Especially in the beer category, do you have any suggestions on commonly available beers at bars and restaurants that may not trigger this reaction?
Thank you,
Sipping and Suffering”
Yeesh. I do not envy you, friend. That is not something I would want to wake up and discover had just happened to me. To me that would be like finding out one day that yes, you’ve been sleeping every night of your life and it’s been great, but starting today sleeping causes your ass to itch uncontrollably and makes you miss the last 5 minutes of every TV show you watch. It’s random, uncomfortable, and unspeakably cruel. Fortunately, there are several different forms of alcohol allergies, and depending on which one you have, there are ways you can get around them. So here are some of the possible allergies you could have:
1. Sulfites – Sulfites occur naturally in wine in low amounts, though many have additional sulfites added to stop the fermentation process or as a preservative to stop the oxidation process. Most beers do not contain sulfites nowadays, though some do and there’s no labeling to indicate one way or another. Either way, you’re going to want to steer towards wines and beers that are labeled “organic”, as they will have no sulfites added. For wines, you’ll want to find ones that don’t have the label “CONTAINS SULFITES”. They’ll still have some (less than 10ppm) but it may be low enough to not bother you.
2. Yeast – If you’re allergic to yeast, it poses a bigger problem. Brewer’s yeast is used in the fermentation of all fermented beverages: wine, beer, cider, sake…the list goes on. HOWEVER, the good news is that you are free to drink distilled spirits all you like. As long as you are okay with that, party on.
3. Wheat/Gluten – This one is unlikely, as wine contains no gluten, but I’m adding it in here for the sake of being comprehensive. Basically, if this is your allergy, you’re relegated to distilled spirits, wine, and gluten-free beers like Redbridge. NOT New Grist.
4. Histamines – The least fun option. Histamine intolerance means you’re affected by the histamines in what you’re drinking the same way someone with hay-fever or pollen allergies is affected by those histamines. Unfortunately, all alcoholic beverages are histamine-rich, and the recommended treatment is to go alcohol-free. The Worst.
Granted I’m no doctor, so you should probably talk to one. Another good idea would be to keep track of what you drink, and how it affects you after. Hopefully you’ll be able to find some things that don’t adversely affect you and you can keep the good times rolling. Thanks for writing in!
So there you have it. Keep the questions coming and I’ll do my best to answer them. Have a booze-related question? Ask DrinkPlanner!
2009.
The day is finally here, you guys. Starting around 7pm Eastern we’ll be chatting and videocamming LIVE from Beleza while having some drinks mixed for us using Oval vodka. You can join us by heading to the chat here and the video should be broadcasting from here. I’m not entirely certain on the video, if it’s different, we’ll give you the new link in the chat. Technology!
We start at 7pm, but it doesn’t matter if you come late because people are usually concocting in the chat sometimes until 3am*. So please come join us in the chat, watch us in the bar, and of course DRINK WITH US as we try new and exciting things with sponsor Oval vodka.
*We will not be live from Beleza that long though, that would be a LOT of drinking.
2009.
‘Round these parts we used to have a weekly feature that ran every Friday called Ask DrinkPlanner, where you good people would write me questions about drinking, drinker’s etiquette, and the boozing lifestyle and I’d answer with great wisdom and jocularity. After a while it tapered off, not enough questions being asked, and the feature has laid dormant for some time. Well no more, I say! I’ve been sent a few questions recently, and with your help, I’ll get enough new questions that we can get this train moving again. So look for it on Fridays, and in the meantime if you have any questions send them here, and here’s a look back at the Best of Ask DrinkPlanner:
Ask DrinkPlanner: Beer Before Liquor? – A look at the old saying “beer before liquor, never been sicker” and how wine factors into the equation.
Ask DrinkPlanner: How to Increase Alcohol Tolerance – Tips on how to be able to throw more down and avoid being the first to pass out.
Ask DrinkPlanner: Proper Garnishment – General rules about what types of garnish go with what kinds of booze
Ask DrinkPlanner: Manly Shots – Shots you can order that won’t make you look like someone who’d leave the bar and scrapbook for a few hours
Those are just a few of the highlights, if you want to review all of them and relive all those good times, just click the banner above.
So do you have a question? Ask DrinkPlanner!
2009.
This is a big one, gang. NEXT Thursday, May 28th at 7pm, I’ll be chatting and webcamming LIVE from Beleza in midtown Atlanta to make drinks with Oval vodka. My big beardy head will be there, along with Samantha Harrigan from Cocktail Culture, as well as some local press folks and even an appearance by The DrinkPlanner Guy Who Doesn’t Write. We’ll be working with Beleza’s head bartender Adam Fox mixing up all kinds of drinks, but of course, we need help from all of YOU good people to join us in the chat and give us ideas and suggestions. Otherwise I’ll have nothing to drink, and you don’t want that to happen, do you?
The featured spirit of the evening is Oval vodka, a relatively new vodka from Austria. Now, I know what you’re saying, “Oh great another vodka, PERFECT, as if there weren’t already 5000 other “unique” vodka-snowflakes to choose from. I’ll be sure to buy a bottle just as soon as I finish the other 4999 nearly identical vodkas”. To that I would have to say that TYPICALLY yes, you’d be correct, vodkas are, generally speaking not that different from each other. HOWEVER, Oval has gone the extra step and wrangled the powers of SCIENCE to make their vodka different through a process ominously referred to as “structuring”. It’s an eleven-day vodka re-education boot-camp where they use extremely high temperatures and pressure to alter the alcohol and water on a molecular level. Impressive, right? The end result is each alcohol molecule being surrounded by four water molecules, giving Oval a smoother taste AND a higher percentage of alcohol. Those are both qualities I desire in a vodka. Thanks Science!
So mark your calendars, tie a string around your finger, get it tattooed on your forehead*, REMEMBER that at 7pm Eastern on May 28th you and I have an online date in the Mixoloseum Bar, bring a bottle of Oval with you, and dress smart. I don’t like being stood up.
*Backwards of course, so you can read it in the mirror.
2009.
And now for something completely different…
I know, it’s been too long since I’ve done one of these. MY BAD. This time we take a look at FrostShots!
The Lowdown: So let me state right up front that I have no high-minded cocktailian delusions going into this review. This is a party drink, plain and simple, so I have no expectation for FrostShots to be anything but. FrostShots are basically Otter Pops with 10% alcohol frozen into them. These are not meant to be daintily sipped (pinky OUT!) over Sunday brunch alongside poached eggs and scones. These are meant to be downed amid a sea of rhythmically writhing nubile bodies in a thumping nightclub or (more likely) enjoyed on the back porch grilling out with some friends. Or poolside. Or at the beach. Basically, any place where it’s hot and drinking is appropriate. JOKE ABOUT A HOT PLACE AND YOUR MOTHER (Boca Raton?).
First of all, this is the first product I’ve ever seen that has been able to freeze alcohol at that high of a content, so…hooray science!* They’re available in five different flavors with with silly names like Tropical Explosion and Extreme Mojito because no doi, of course they are. But before we get down to the tasting portion, I’ve got to show you my hands-down favorite thing about FrostShots. This image is on every box and every individual package, and it cracks me right the hell up.
NO BABIES! I’m not sure if this is a taunting “No babies allowed, this is for serious party people only, BRO” or a sincere “Please for the love of God don’t be so stupid as to give this to a teething child” or just a great joke on the part of the manufacturers, but any way you slice it I think it’s hilarious.
The Taste: For the official tasting, I did what anyone would, I took a ton of these down to the beach with my family. Parents, brothers, sisters, even not-yet one-year old nephews…ERRBODY (don’t worry, I adhered to the NO BABIES! rule). Seemed like the perfect venue. So let me give a few general notes before we get to the individual tastes of each one:
1. They’re just not going to stay completely frozen. They tend to maintain a slushie-like consistency. I emailed the very helpful marketing dude and he advised that I separate them out of their boxes (they come 10 to a box) and that should help. And it did, though I didn’t exactly have the room to space out all 50 of them, but I did it with a handful of them and it worked. But just a minute or so out of the freezer and they were back to slushie-state. This isn’t a complaint, just letting you know that if you’re expecting them to stay frozen solid for a bit like traditional Otter Pops, it ain’t happenin’.
2. Speaking of Otter Pops, you know how they’re mostly icey and there’s not a whole ton of flavor and you have to wait for them to melt a little to get the good strong flavor? Yeah, that’s not the case with these. FrostShots are BOOMING with flavor, above and beyond what you would expect. You wanted a Cherry Bomb, YOU GOT YOURSELF A DAMN CHERRY BOMB. Boom all over your tastebuds.
So now, The Flavors…
1. Caribbean Passion: Passionfruit flavored. Not entirely sure what a passionfruit tastes like, but it was sweet and slightly citrusy and even had a little floral component. Whaddya know, nuance!
2. Tropical Explosion: Pineapple is the tropical fruit exploding here, to be specific. We all agreed that this was our least favorite flavor, it was just too cloying and artificial tasting. Hey, sometimes you miss.
3. Cherry Bomb: One of the most liked flavors, to be sure. Generic crowd-pleasing red cherry flavor…TO THE MAXX!
4. XXX Martini: I don’t know if I’ll ever understand why the raspberry one was named XXX Martini (is that a thing?), but it was probably my favorite flavor, unfortunate naming aside.
5. Extreme Mojito: Lime flavored. I didn’t pick up any mint like you would have in an actual mojito, but it would probably be overpowering and gross in this artificial form (as artificial mint is wont to do), so I think we probably dodged a bullet.
Would you drink it again? Sure. As with much of drinking, it’s all about the appropriate drink for the appropriate occasion. No, I didn’t bust these out for Mother’s Day, but the next time somebody says “Hey we’re grilling out, come on over!” I’m definitely grabbing some of these and heading over.
Would you recommend it to someone else? Again, it depends on the person. There’s no way I’d recommend them to my refined mixologist buddies, but I’d definitely give them the thumbs up to most people I know, who are normal everyday people and generally far less snobby picky. It’s marketed as a Miami club sexy thing, which is fine, but honestly I think they’d get a lot more traction marketing them as a backyard poolside grilling-out kind of thing. Pretty much everybody does that in the summertime, ya know? These would be great when you’re sitting outside baking in the sun, the smell of burgers and hot dogs in the air…sure the cold beer is helping you beat the heat, but when you need something just a bit colder…FrostShot! See? I’m a marketing genius. I should run every company.
Overall: I’m not going to give an overall score to five different flavors because that is just not fair, but I’d say overall, taking them for what they are…FrostShots scores a solid B.
So throw a frigging party, grill some burgers, and get some FrostShots to thrill (and inebriate) your friends! Just make sure you invite me.
*Cancer and AIDS, we’ll get to you in a bit…after we cure baldness and softpenis.
2009.
So here’s the deal: Hardy Wallace of Dirty South Wine is throwing his hat in the ring to hopefully win a kickass 6-month gig with Murphy-Goode Winery. And he is throwing it hard. He’s launched a web 2.0 onslaught campaign to get the job (with websites and Twitters and the whole shootin’ match), and he needs our help to make it happen. It’s easy, go watch his video, and vote for it as your favorite. He’s a funny guy who knows his wine, is incredibly passionate about it, and personally I’m always down to help a fellow Atlantan, especially if that means landing what is basically his dream job. I mean how can you not get behind a guy whose site’s tagline is “Wine is Meant to be Crunk”? Go Hardy!
2009.
Happy Monday, amirite!?! Yeah, that’s about what I figured. Anyway, just a little video happiness for your Worst Day of the Week. Anyone who’s ever spent any time in a bar knows exactly what happens when “that song” is played either karaoke-style, by an 80’s cover band, or through the jukebox* that everyone’s inner Steve Perry comes out. It’s irresistable (and by that I mean you are unable to resist it). From the funnie-makers at College Humor:
2009.
Well here it is, our brand new layout! If you’re reading this on an RSS feed, click on through to see all the bright and shiny newness. I know it may take a little bit of getting used to, and that we all fear change, but I think it’s a good look for us. We’ve moved most of the drink specials off the main page, so they have their own little area, you’ll notice a link for that at the top of the page.
So we hope you guys like it! Feel free to leave us any comments you may have about it, and if you find anything not working properly, we’d love to know that too.
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