Sunday, February 2, 2014

Scotch on a budget

Here at The Hedonistic Bar we are big fans of all types of whisk(e)y. Among our favorite types are scotch whisky. While we thoroughly enjoy a good single malt, we don't enjoy the sizable portion of our paycheck that is often required to purchase these scotches.  Recently, while having dinner at a friends house, we became aware of scotch at a place we would have never thought of, Trader Joe's. Most are familiar with Trader Joe's large selection of discount wines, but as we discovered this week, they also carry a small but quality selection of spirits.


We choose to purchase two scotches  from Trader Joe's and give them a try for you. The first scotch we tried was Lismore Speyside single malt scotch whisky. Being huge fans of scotch from the Speyside region, we were excited to try this malt. At only $17.99 for a 750 ml. bottle, it did not disappoint. Lismore was a nice amber color with rich caramel aroma and smooth mouth feel. Like many scotches from this region, the Lismore had a briny iodine characteristic that we greatly enjoyed. On par with scotch that cost 3 or 4 times as much, we highly recommend this as both a go to whisky to sip neat or as a mixing scotch for cocktails such as Godfathers and Blood and Sand. 


The second scotch that we purchased to try was Islay Storm single malt scotch whisky. At $19.99 for a 750 ml. bottle, this scotch is a terrific deal. While more of an acquired taste, we did enjoy this malt as well. With strong aroma of smoke, peat, and antiseptic, and a long finish, this scotch reminded us very much of the well known Islay scotch Laphroaig.  Definitely not for everyone, this scotch is still great on its own, or mixed in a cocktail. We are are excited to experiment more with this whisky.  

















Thursday, January 23, 2014

Warm up this weekend!

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? You could bundle up and head to the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. If you are like us though, you are probably sick and tired of the Polar Vortex that we are stuck in. Do not despair, we have a better idea. Instead of bundling up we suggest you dress up and join our friends at the North Star Bartenders Guild are hosting their own Winter Carnival of sorts.

This Saturday January 25th from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. join North Star Bartenders Guild (NSBG) members from some of the hottest bars in the Twin Cities while they create and share the recipes for 8 craft cocktails. In additions to craft cocktails, their will be winter carnival games, fortune tellers, burlesque dancers, and a photo booth. Sounds pretty hedonistic to us!

The hedonists have attended many past NSBG events and have had a fantastic time, we are sure this one will be a fun to too. To make this event even better, proceeds from this event are being donated to the charity, Hold Your Horses. Head on over to the NSBG facebook page for more information or get your tickets here.  


Monday, January 20, 2014

Carbonated Cure

The holidays are long gone and we have finished our celebrations and returned the bar to it's normal state of being. We're working on recipes and getting ourselves organized. To break our long silence we have found a few tidbits we thought you would find interesting. 

We observed several people partaking heavily of the celebration libations and were witness to the hangovers the following day. The hangover is the body's way of saying "You over did it bozo". The dehydration, stomach irritation, drop in blood sugar, inflammatory response, poor sleep, and dilation of the blood vessels all lead to those pleasant symptoms some of us are all too familiar with - blood shot eyes, headache, irritability, nausea, dizziness, and halitosis. So what do you do when your head is throbbing and every time you breathe it smells like hot zoo garbage? "Don't come near me." Well, aside from that. "Start drinking again!" That's about as good an idea as what got you here in the first place. 

Here at the Bar we've heard all kinds of cures. The best way to get rid of a hangover is to not get one in the first place. Space each one of your drinks with a glass of water. This will slow down how much you consume and will help to keep you hydrated. If you have decided to forego prevention, you have a few options to speed up recovery. There are all kinds of suggestions like drink lots of water, take aspirin, start drinking again, eat greasy food, and so on. We suggest a big cold glass of Sprite.

Researchers in China studied 57 different beverages to see which ones would help mitigate a hangover, and Sprite was found to cause a hungover individual to feel about 65% human after consuming it. Other drinks like some herbal teas made the hangover last longer. Why does the lemon-lime goodness work? Well, chemistry. When the body breaks down the alcohol it needs something to help metabolize it. Sprite and soda water were both found to speed up the liver enzyme's process of breakdown.

So, if you must party hard and forget the water, be sure to keep some Sprite in the fridge at home.

Cheers!