Store it! Tote it!

For cocktail enthusiasts, one of the greatest challenges is taking your show on the road. Your bottles are clanging around and getting warm, your glasses are clinking and are in danger of chipping and cracking, and worst of all your tools are a mess in the bottom of a bag. We have had moderate success using the reusable bottle totes, but they offer very little protection to glassware since the fabric is so thin. 

There are certainly some very $$$ options out there for portable bars, but our budget is more like $. So we spent a little time finding options that are reasonable and useful.

We like Household Essentials storage chests for our glasses. They come in a variety of styles so our wine glasses and cocktail glasses are protected regardless of shape. They are basically canvas covered cardboard boxes with dividers, a lid, and a plastic window so you can see the contents. They are not super high end like other stemware storage chests, but they get the job done at a reasonable price. They can be easily found at big box stores or online.

For our bottles we have two totes, the Picnic Time Cellar Insulated 6 bottle tote and the Wine Enthusiast Neoprene 3 bottle tote. Both bags have pockets that hold our tools quite nicely. The neoprene bag comes with a chiller pack and the 6 bottle tote has adjustable dividers which make it easier to accommodate extra wide bottles.

Cheers!

Get Home Safely

President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed that December 7, 1941 to be "a date which will live in infamy." We know the anniversary of this date as Pearl Harbor Day. Thousands of Americans were killed or wounded that day. The attack led to the United States entering in to World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. 

Many of us have friends or family in the military and have been touched by this history, and by current day military actions. We are truly thankful for all the men and women that have, and are serving in the military. Our greatest hope for all of them, and for all of you, is a safe return home from where ever one may be. That is the gift we are suggesting today - the gift of a safe ride home.

That's Frosty

Put some cool in your Yule with ice cubes for your cocktails. We understand that most people are actually thinking about hot drinks this time of year so ice cube trays don't really seem like a timely sort of gift. Let's think big picture here - you'll use your ice cubes almost year round, and probably during the holidays for that special punch Auntie Myrtle makes. We've looked around and picked out some of our favorite trays. Our three big favorites - the 2 1/2" Cube, the Collins Ice Mold, and the 1 1/4" Cube. If you can't splurge on a bunch of types or your storage space has you limited, we say pick those three and you'll have the majority of your cocktails well chilled. Cocktail Kingdom carries several types of ice molds. Our next favorite shopping site is Amazon :-)

We know some of our readers are probably thinking "What about sphere ice molds". We use those too. We have found that there are a couple gotchas with using sphere molds. Often the ice ball cracks and isn't always a perfect sphere because chunks fall off, or we didn't get the mold filled quite right. If you have patience, and a freezer that you don't have multiple people going in and disturbing your ice molds, then you'll probably have ice spheres that will make everyone happy. We have found that by far the best design for sphere molds is this one: 

Protip for our readers - use distilled water to get a flavorless cube that won't affect the taste of your cocktail.

Cheers!

Repeal Day!

The repeal of the 18th Amendment is a good reason for hedonists to celebrate! We looked around the bar and found a couple gifts that are perfect for the history buff in your life. The first pick is Prohibition the documentary directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. Check out the PBS store for the DVD and a few other cool items. 

Our second pick for a gift is Minnesota 13 by Elaine Davis. It's a neat history of the famous Minnesota 13 Moonshine from Stearns County (recipe included).

If you happen to brew up some Minnesota 13, we know a couple people that will volunteer to taste test!

Cheers!

Join the Party!

Do you know what day it is today? "December 4th" Well, yes that is correct, but do you know why it's a special day? "You figured out how to type without looking at the keyboard?" Haha - no. Today is special because it is the first anniversary for Ward 6.

*Photo from TwinCities.com

In honor of our friends celebrating this milestone, we are suggesting gifts from Ward 6. A gift card to Ward 6 will make your family and friends smile and maybe even give you a hug - and if you are really lucky they will bring you along as a guest when they spend their card. And for those of you that would like to bring a little bit of W6 home, they sell hats, shirts, snuggies, and pint glasses.

*Photo from Ward 6

Stop in and see our friends and pick yourself up a little Christmas cheer while you are there. We promise to do a full review on Ward 6 after the holidays so check back with us then and we can share notes.

Cheers!

Be Well Read

We have 3 favorite books this season. The Art of the Bar by Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwartz has been on our shelves for several years now and we find ourselves referring to it often for recipes and inspiration.

Our next go to book is North Star Cocktails by Johnny Michaels and the North Star Bartenders' Guild. We had the pleasure of going to the book release party in 2011 and have been happily referring to it ever since.









Our final recommendation is a book that was lent to us by a friend. It is The World's Best Whiskies 750 Essential Drams from Tennessee to Tokoyo by Dominic Roskrow. It has been a pleasurable and informative read.
Cheers!

Cyber Monday Special

                                

This Cyber Monday, our friends at Bittercube Bitters, are offering their variety pack of bitters for only $42 until Tuesday morning. The variety pack makes a great holiday gift and includes 6 varieties of bitters along with a recipe card and information on how to access Bittercube's online recipe database. In our opinion, no home bar is complete with out a set of cocktail bitters, and Bittercube makes some of our favorites.    

*Photos From Bittercube Bitters