Category Archives: Mixers

Cool Item of the Day: The Bitter Truth Cocktail Bitters Traveler’s Set

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Christopher Null| 1 Comment

The line between a good cocktail and a great one can often be drawn with a sprinkling of bitters, staples of any serious watering hole and surely a part of any high-end home bar, too.

Traveling, however, poses a particular challenge. It’s one thing to throw a bottle of rye in the car for the trip to Tahoe. It’s another to deal with all the little things — garnishes, mixers, bitters — as well.

The Bitter Truth is at least making one of those easier with this fun “Traveler’s Set” of five miniature (20ml) bottles packed into a tin travel kit. You get Celery, Orange, Creole, Old Time Aromatic, and Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters in the mix. Not sure the Celery Bitters are essential, but the other four (sub Creole for Peychaud’s and either the Aromatic or the Jerry Thomas bitters for Angostura) cover the bitters bases of 90% of the cocktail recipes out there.

Fun stuff.

$18 / the-bitter-truth.com

bitter truth travelers set Cool Item of the Day: The Bitter Truth Cocktail Bitters Travelers Set

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Posted in Liqueurs, Mixers

Review: Twist Essence Water

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Is bottled water less heinous if it’s flavored? Twist is lightly sweetened with agave nectar and stevia, and flavored with natural extracts, yet still claims just 0 calories. We tasted two varieties.

Twist Pomegranate Blueberry is vague in its berry allegiance, almost strawberry-like in the way it comes across. Blueberries are a bit in the distance. It’s sweeter than you’d think, but neither cloying nor gummy, the way agave-infused stuff can be. B

Twist West Indies Lime sounds awfully exotic, but the flavor is more reminiscent of Rose’s Lime Juice, a bit saccharine and lightly bitter and herbal on the finish. The lime aroma is nice, but the flavor here doesn’t come across as fully authentic, the way a margarita mix can often be. Harmless enough. C+

about $1.25 per 19 oz. bottle / drinktwist.com

 

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Posted in Mixers, Rated B, Rated C+, Reviews

Review: Hoosier Momma Bloody Mary Makers

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

As you prepare for New Year’s Eve festivities, forget not the aftermath: Tomorrow morning may hurt, and the solution may very well be found in a nice Bloody Mary.

The curiously named Hoosier Momma Bloody Mary Maker (B+), from the great state of Indiana, of course, is the latest ready-to-go Bloody to cross through our doors. It doesn’t take long to see this isn’t V8 and Worcestershire: Moderately chunky, with pulp bits, and laden with little flecks of spices. Despite the flecks, the standard version isn’t all that spicy. In fact, it has more sweetness than other Bloody mixes, a bit citrus on the finish, and very lightly spicy with a touch of horseradish.

Hoosier Momma Spicy Bloody Mary Maker (B-) kicks things up with a Tabasco-like rush. Sadly, I think this works against the mixer, coming across with raw heat and dulling the fun of this mix. The sweetness is still quite strong, but after the sugar and spice, I don’t get much more than simple tomato juice flavor.

My only other issue with this mixer is with the packaging. These mixes come not in bottles but in jars — like fat mayonnaise jars. It’s certainly unique packaging, but it does make it hard to pour the stuff inside, particularly if you’re working with a single serving or narrow glass. I get that it helps showcase Hoosier Mama’s chunkiness, but a) it’s not really that thick, and b) a wider-mouth bottle would have been more practical.

each $8 per 32 oz. jar / hoosiermomma.com

hoosier momma bloody mary mixer Review: Hoosier Momma Bloody Mary Makers

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Posted in Mixers, Rated B+, Rated B-, Reviews

Excuse Me, Do You Have Pussy in a Can?

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Discovered this oddball energy drink at the train station in Munich. Turns out you can get away with a lot more here (of course) than you can in the U.S. I bought a can and frankly it’s not that bad. Flavored (strongly) with lychee, the exotic fruit drowns out the (all natural) active ingredients, including guarana, caffeine, ginseng, gingko, and some other stuff I can’t really read because it’s in German. Further analysis and commentary is left as an exercise for the reader. Additional reading: pussydrinks.ch

pussy Excuse Me, Do You Have Pussy in a Can?

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Posted in Mixers, Travel

Review: Powell & Mahoney Bloody Mary and Bellini Mixes

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Complex cocktails in ready-made form won’t ever lose their popularity, and bottled Bloody Mary and Margarita mixes will probably forever be at the top of that heap.

Powell & Mahoney makes more than 10 such mixes, including a Bloody, Margarita, Mojito, and even a Hot Toddy. We sampled two of them — the Bloody Mary and the Peach Bellini. Thoughts follow.

Powell & Mahoney Bloody Mary Mix – This mix makes a very straightforward and fresh-tasting Bloody, vodka or no. Thick but not too much so, it offers lots of fresh tomato flavor, clear Worcestershire kick, and very very mild spices. The heat-seeker will want to kick this up with a healthy dose of hot sauce or Tabasco, but if you’re looking for pure tomato character with a smattering of basic spices, this mix is arguably better than doing it yourself. A-

Powell & Mahoney Peach Bellini Mix - Just add Prosecco and you’ve got this Venice-originated classic. Essentially just water, sugar,and peach puree, this makes for a fresh and really fruity cocktail (don’t skimp on the Prosecco, by the way). The nose of the mixer, sans wine, is more apricot than peach, but when mixed 2 (Prosecco) to 1 (mixer), the peachiness comes alive. It’s not at all thick, so don’t expect any puree chunks in your glass, for better or for worse. A-

about $6 each (750ml) / powellandmahoney.com

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Posted in Mixers, Rated A-, Reviews

Review: Icelandic Glacial Spring Water

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Christopher Null| 2 Comments

We’ve resisted reviewing bottled water on this blog, but finally we’re caving in.

Water from Iceland doesn’t sound entirely eco-conscious, but Icelandic says it is a carbon neutral product — in fact, it says it this the first CarbonNeutral (a private certification) bottled water in the world.

Sourced from Iceland’s Ölfus Spring System, this protected zone has no farming, animals, or buildings allowed within the 128,000-acre area. 0.1% of the annual spring flow is harvested from surface water; the remainder (reportedly double the world’s bottled water consumption) returns to the ocean. The bottling plant is hydroelectric-powered, packaging is made from 75% recycled materials, and carbon offsets are used to bring the water back up to carbon neutrality. As “green” products go, it’s hard to find any real fault with Icelandic.

On to the water. Total dissolved solids are 62 mg/l, and the pH is 8.4. The taste is very neutral, with a good mouthfeel and body. It doesn’t have that plastic taste that so many bottled waters succumb to, nor does it taste metallic like heavier mineral waters. There could be the slightest touch of citrus here, but otherwise it tastes like water should: Like nothing.

A / $7 for 6-pack of 500ml bottles / icelandicglacial.com

Review: Icelandic Glacial Spring Water

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Posted in Mixers, Rated A, Reviews

Review: Lights Out Relaxation Products

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Christopher Null| 1 Comment

Relaxation mania continues with Lights Out, a whole series of products designed to help you sleep more evenly, fight stress, anxiety, jet lag, and all that other bad stuff.

Lights Out contains chamomile, skullcap, rose hips, valerian root, L-theanine, and GABA, but it’s probably the 5mg of melatonin that really does the trick.

The 2-oz. shot comes in two sucralose-sweetened flavors — tropical and, oddly, cloud berry — and both tastes are fair enough. The cloud berry version is largely innocuous and vaguely citrus and apple in character. The tropical is stronger, primarily redolent of coconut.

Strangely, the product is unique in that it also comes in a solid form: a chocolate brownie and a chocolate chip cookie. Both were exceedingly dry and crumbly, and hardly the delicious dessert confection you might be expecting.

As for the effects, with both the shot and the dessert products, I found myself falling asleep relatively quickly, with vivid and rather intrusive dreams to follow. Both times I woke up around six in the morning and had difficulty getting back to sleep — though the six-hour release time of Lights Out may have something to do with that. Still not sure how effective these are, though I felt fine and productive the following day. That said, I’m not exactly clamoring for another brownie.

C+ / about $4 per product / lightsoutshot.com

lights out Review: Lights Out Relaxation Products

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Posted in Bar Food, Mixers, Rated C+, Reviews

Review: Zenify: The Live Stress Free Drink

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

How stress-free to you get if you drink Zenify? So stress-free that you stop using capitalization. I swear — outside of the nutrition facts box, there’s not a capital letter to be found on this can of relaxation beverage. It’ll knock the shift right out of you!

Zenify is designed to “get you focused” by countering the effects of caffeine with “increased Alpha Waves,” and increasing the amount of seratonin and dopamine in the body. Zenify says it can even treat everything from anxiety to ADHD via its GABA component. Other ingredients include L-Theanine, Glycine, and vitamins C, Niacin, B6, B12, Folic Acid, Pantothenic Acid, and Magnesium. It comes in a lightly yellow, lightly carbonated format, contained in a 12 oz. can.

As beverages go, this Stevia-sweetened (and 50-calorie) product doesn’t taste bad. It’s promoted (naturally) as a vodka mixer, but solo it is quite drinkable. Lemon/lime is the base, with some pineapple notes thrown in. Very easy to drink, with really light flavoring and a moderate, not cloying body.

Am I feeling relaxed? As always, I hate to make any snap judgments on issues like this, but my Alpha Waves aren’t complaining.

A- / $55 for 24 12-oz. cans / zenifyed.com

zenify Review: Zenify: The Live Stress Free Drink

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Posted in Mixers, Rated A-, Reviews

Four Loko Rises Again as “Poco Loko”

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

You can’t get rid of Four Loko that easily, folks…

CHICAGO, Sept. 7, 2011 – Responding to popular demand, Phusion Projects, LLC recently announced the introduction of Poco Loko, a new version of the company’s Four Loko product with unique flavors and in a smaller can size with lower alcohol by volume.

Poco Loko is available in 16-ounce cans at 8 percent alcohol by volume, and comes in four unique flavors: Green Apple, Black Cherry, Mango and Lemonade; most of which are not available in 23.5 ounce cans.  The product, which will be available in four packs and in single cans, is being introduced in order to meet consumer demand for additional products and flavors, and to continue diversifying the Phusion Projects line of products.

“We’ve always been a company that listens to what our consumers want,” said Chris Hunter, one of the co-founders of Phusion Projects. “Poco Loko is a great product to bring to market, and we’re excited to re-introduce fan favorite Green Apple, originally from the Four Loko XXX Limited Edition line.”

As with all Phusion Projects products, Poco Loko is a flavored malt beverage that does not contain caffeine, guarana or taurine.

poco loko Four Loko Rises Again as Poco Loko

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Posted in Beer, Mixers

Review: Baileys Mudslide

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Few cocktails in the panopticon of chain restaurant beverages imbue the spirit — the very heart — of panty peeler so thoroughly as the Mudslide. A chocolate, creamy, boozy frozen concoction, this is dessert — and usually drunkenness — in a glass.

Now Baileys brings the Mudslide to ready-made status, or as near as is humanly possible. Just take this 1.75-liter jug of “vodka, chocolate, coffee, and cream liqueurs,” pour into a blender with an equal amount of ice, and pulverize until it’s smooth. You can make it as thick or as thin as you’d like. The more ice you add, the more you cut down the (admittedly weak) 25 proof alcohol level.

When complete (I didn’t even try to taste this unblended and sans ice), it’s a credible beach beverage, but hardly a knockout. The booziness comes off as much harsher than the alcohol level would indicate — more rum-like than vodka-like — and the sweetness is cloying. Chocolate and coffee are almost afterthoughts to the raw sugar notes, and the mass — which separates after about 10 minutes into a creamy tan-and-foam cocktail — is tasty enough in a sorority sister way, but it just doesn’t come together as a composed whole.

Frankly, I think you’d get better results from putting regular Baileys, a squirt of chocolate syrup, and some ice into a blender, and you wouldn’t spend much more, either.

C+ / $16 per 1.75-liter bottle / the-baileys-lounge.baileys.com

Baileys Mudslide Review: Baileys Mudslide

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Posted in Liqueurs, Mixers, Rated C+, Reviews