In a bizarre mock-up of classic arcade games like Frogger, The Century Council has linked a holiday-themed game to their website where players guide a family of Gingerbread people across a busy Highway. “Holiday Hop,” though it may not go down in history as a modern classic among the ranks of other video games, is nonetheless an amusing way to educate people about the dangers of driving under the influence.

Click here to play the game “Holiday Hop.”

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By Christopher McCollum

No, not a misspelling of one of our favorite cocktails. Instead, the Gin and Titonic is a Gin and Tonic, with Titanic and iceberg shaped cubes. There is a retailer in England which has produced ice molds that churn out frigid replicas of the Titanic and the iceberg that was fated to sink the illustrious liner. While the pictures look quite awesome, it does of course bring up the question of whether or not this is appropriate. When the Titanic sank in April of 1912, it took with it some 1,517 victims, out of the total 2,223 on board. Of the 700 odd survivors, the last one passed away earlier this year, in the month of May. With no direct victims left, is it appropriate for a product of this nature? Obviously, some say no, it is not appropriate under any circumstances, no matter the length of time that has passed. The disrespect that is paid to the victims and the victims’ families is overwhelming, and this is a “sick and distasteful product,” according to one critic.

Perhaps partaking in a beverage that is chilled by Titanic and Icebergs is not disrespecting the tragedy, nor celebrating the event. Perhaps it simply is what it is, which is a beverage that has ice cubes shaped into recognizable forms. While the company, Fred and Friends, readily admits that their product is “humor with an edge,” we have to remember that this is yet another tool, and a tool cannot be good or bad. The way in which it is used determines that.

The product is available online for a pretty low price of $6.99, and if you decide to take a somewhat controversial approach to your cocktails this Holiday season, be aware that there may be some who do not view these ice cubes quite as favorably. Remember, be responsible, and be classy.

By Christopher McCollum

Over the years, Red Wine has developed the reputation as being a beverage beneficial to health, whether it be the ability to ward off Heart Disease and high blood pressure, or Cabernet Sauvignon’s specific reputed ability to ward of Alzheimer’s Disease, there have been many clinical studies that have suggested that moderate consumption of Red Wine is good for you. One of the major healthy elements are chemicals called polyphenols, which restrict the dissipation of nitric oxide in the blood stream, which in turn keeps blood pressure low, reduces the risk of strokes, as well as other heart problems. White wine has not shown the same positive properties, and before recently, Champagne was an unknown. British and French scientists have conducted studies that now show Champagne to be just as beneficial as Red Wine, carrying high levels of polyphenols that improve vascular performance and reduce the potential of the aforementioned diseases and conditions.

This is great news for Culture of Spirits, as many of our favorite libations include Champagne as the primary ingredient. In fact, just a couple evenings ago, Black Velvets were the order of the day, as Micah A. Hanks and myself enjoyed the the health benefits of a certain Irish Stout mixed half and half with Champagne. In addition to the Black Velvet, there’s also the Mimosa, which has obvious Vitamin C benefits, and also the Poinsettia,  which has additional cranberry benefits of raising good cholesterol (HDL), reducing cancer risk, preventing bladder infections, and a variety of others including but not limited to oral health.

With the imminent dates of Christmas and New Year’s Eve nearly upon us, this is particularly good news, as Champagne becomes the ritualistic celebratory beverage of choice. Now when you raise that flute to the sky and make your toasts, you will also have the warm, bubbly knowledge that you’re lowering your risk of heart disease!

Cheers!

Sources:
New Zealand Herald
Science Daily
World’s Healthiest Foods

Dr. Gonzo imbibes at the bar, as played by Micah A. Hanks

By Micah Hanks

It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke: a journalist, a Bluegrass singer, and a Presbyterian minister walk into a bar; but sadly, there’s no punch line to this strange set of circumstances.

It was in the summer of 2006 while visiting the great state of Montana that I was taken to one of the strangest Tiki bars I’ve ever visited. Nestled in the mountain town of Great Falls at an altitude of about 5,000 feet, my comrade Tom Godleski and I were taken by our guide, Pastor Tim, to The Sip-N-Dip Lounge.

Few bars have any real claim to fame; the Sip-N-Dip, on the other hand, has several. With an illuminated swim tank visible through reinforced glass windows behind the bar, beautiful gals dressed as mermaids swim around and interact with the bartenders on weekends. In fact, after her success appearing alongside Tom Hanks in Ron Howard’s 1984 flick Splash, Darryl Hannah even donned a mermaid costume and swam around in the tank during a visit to the famous watering hole.

Keep in mind that when I say famous, I mean famous. In its April 2003 issue, GQ Magazine voted the Sip-N-Dip Lounge as the “Number One Bar on Earth.” ‘Nuff said!

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Greetings cocktailians,

I’m very excited to announce the launch of a brand new feature here at the site: our all new Culture of Spirits Radio Blogcasts!

Our first episode features Micah Hanks and Chris McCollum delving into a variety of alcohol-related news. Plus, our good friend (and very special guest) Jeff “Beach Bum” Berry, author of The Grog Log and many other fine books on mixology, joins us in-studio. The COS gang then discusses Tiki cocktail culture and the most exotic drinks in the world… you don’t want to miss this!

To listen to Culture of Spirits Radio Blogcast Episode 1, click here (or right click and choose “save as” to download).

By Micah Hanks

Drink to your health!

It’s true… here is the news most guys out there have been sweating over: Beer, coffee are two beverages that studies link to prostate health among men. Exercise is a third non-liquid ingredient that experts recommend, but before you start sweating over the notion of physical activity, as little as fifteen minutes per-day will show expected results. eFitness Now gives us the scoop:

Studies now show that drinking coffee and beer with a normal exercise routine may be healthy habits for men after all. Men who workout at least 15 minutes a day and drinks more than 6 cups of coffee a day reduces their chances of getting prostate cancer by 19%. The same combination reduces the risk of men developing an aggressive form of prostate cancer by 41%.

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By Micah Hanks

EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM GUINNESS

Well, in all honesty, it couldn’t be any further from being Guinness without being from Zeta II Reticuli (or Ireland, perhaps). However, the country that concocted the brew in question does share an affinity for making whisky just like the Irish… what in this world–or in space, for that matter–could we be talking about? Read on, ye guzzlers of galactic grog…

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By Micah Hanks

Andre Terrail, third-generation owner of the famous La Tour d'Argent

The La Tour d’Argent restaurant in Paris plans to auction 18,000 bottles of its finest vintage wines, featuring Cognac, Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux, and a variety of other treats to be gathered up by collectors and enthusiasts.

The BBC reported today that close to 1m euros is expected to be raised by the sale, which La Tour d’Argent hopes will help “renew the cellar’s contents and ensure the restaurant keeps its multiple Michelin stars.” Upholding a rigorous claim to their quality and class, the restaurant’s website shares the following about the operation:

Every “Tower” has its legend and, as you can imagine, ours is no exception. Throughout all the vicissitudes of history, for close on a century the Tour d’Argent has maintained its almost sacred attachment to tradition and honor. Indeed, the venerable age of the building and the authentic anecdotes surrounding it count much less than the extraordinary enthusiasm of André Terrail, after him, his son Claude and now, again, André. Time and people may pass and fashions may change, but the table is always set at the Tour d’Argent.

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Occasionally, we all get a hankering for a lighter, less-expensive beer. Perhaps it’s the cheap cool they provide on a hotter summer day, or the easy, smooth drinkability as they glide down one’s gullet.

Many of the larger American macro-brew companies boast titles that liken themselves to being royalty; this, of course, can tend to cause uproarious scoffing in the company of fine craft-brew connoisseurs. Still, those who proudly call themselves consumers of what are truly considered to be finer beers know that there are plain and humble lagers canned on American soil which, though often paired among the least expensive brands at your local supermarket or alcoholic beverage store, hide golden (albeit foamy) treasure worthy of note.

For this reason, I’m proud to announce the first of a series of features that will be appearing here at Culture of Spirits written by my good friend Smoky Wydell (a.k.a. Dakota Waddell). “Smoky” is a history major living in Asheville, North Carolina, with a penchant for finer craft brews and traditional Southern sippin’-whiskies known for having a little more alcoholic content that their mid-shelf competitors. Nonetheless, having grown up in the rural Smokies of Western North Carolina (one might ruminate that this was the impetus for his nickname, at least in part), Waddell also maintains a bit of reverence for less expensive American lagers and “shwag beers” favored by the “high society” of the lower-middle class. Thus, it is with great delight that I introduce him to you with his first installment of “The Poor Man’s Palative: High Rolling Among the Lower Middle Class with Smoky Wydell.”

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By Christopher McCollum

A few weeks ago, I bought a bottle of La Trappe Isid’or, the 125th anniversary edition of the brewery, named after Brother Isidorus, who was the first brewer of La Trappe. I cracked open this bottle a short time later (about thirty minutes to be exact) with fellow Cultured Gentleman, Micah Hanks, to take a sip of this pretty rare brew. We enjoyed our taste of it, but decided to move on to other tastings, such as the Founders Breakfast Stout. I re-corked the bottle, stuck it in my refrigerator and left it for later. Unfortunately, a day later, I came down pretty hard with an illness that left me under the weather for several days. Needless to say, the beer was forgotten. It didn’t help that I haven’t been home much over the past many days, and haven’t been in the ‘fridge longer than a few seconds, to grab things off the top shelf. La Trappe was left on its lonesome, gradually going flat, while my careless self went about my day, oblivious to the treachery going on in my own kitchen.
Today when I re-discovered this beer, I was left feeling ill again, this time a pain to my stomach as I realized what a waste this was. But I was feeling hungry, and decided I would pay respect to this beer by giving the bottle a fiery farewell.

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