Sweet Tea Mojito

• 2 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• 2.5 oz. Club Soda
• Fresh Mint leaves
• Lime Juice (preferably from genuine fresh limes)

Grab those beautifully fresh mint leave and muddle them up in a tumbler glass with a few squeezes of fresh lime juice. For best effect, go with genuine limes rather than the squirt. Fill the tumbler glass with 2 oz of Sweet Tea Vodka, 2.5 oz of club soda. Pour into a glass and you have a truly beautiful drinkable art at your disposal.

Orange Sweetness

• 3 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• 3 oz. OJ (pulp content is your call)

This one is easy! Mix the Sweet Tea Vodka and orange juice in a chilled glass. Throw in some rocks (ice cubes) to suck on and you’ve got a delicious and easy sippin’ drink for the front porch.

Party Animal

• .75 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• .75 oz. Grand Marnier
• Alcohol infused Whipped Cream

Mix an even amount of Sweet Tea Vodka and Grand Marnier (or Gran Gala) to a shot glass. If the shot glass is cold it’ll be even better. Top it off with alcohol-infused whipped cream. Say your piece and let her rip. This one is sure to start any party. Cha-ching.

Paradise Sweet-y

• 3 oz. coconut rum
• 3 oz. of your favorite Sweet Tea Vodka
• Freshest lemon you can find!

Take a chill pill and relax with this brand-new Sweet Tea Vodka recipe. No matter where you are one sip of this puppy makes you feel like your on an island with Jimmy Buffett himself. Who needs a cheeseburger when you’ve got Sweet Tea Vodka?

Take the alcohol, mix them up in a highball glass with a whole bunch of ice. Squeeze that lemon on top and take a sip. Let us know whatcha think!

Sweet Tea Cider

• 2. oz. Cinnamon Whiskey
• 2 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• 1 oz. your friendly neighborhood apple liqueur
• Splash of soda

Find yourself a chilled highball glass and fill it with ice. Keep it cold. Keep it fresh. Add cinnamon-flavored or infused whiskey and your favorite sweet tea vodka into the highball glass. Add an ounce of apple liquor and just enough soda to carbonate. Voila! You are ready to enjoy it.

Sweet Cranberry

• 3 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• 3 oz. Cranberry Juice
• Whole load of ice

Get yourself a chilled highball glass. Fill her up all the way with ice. Take your two ingredients and mix evenly. Enjoy your hard work and take a load off! You deserve it.

Bright Eyes Ale

• 2.5 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka (any kind – choose wisely!)
• 2.5 oz. Ginger Ale
• 1 slice of lemon

Evenly distribute your favorite Sweet Tea Vodka (we recommend 2.5 oz) with Ginger Ale. Mix in a highball glass filled with ice. Twist a fresh slice of lemon to flavor! Let us know what you think in the comments below!

The Taste of Sunshine

• One whole bottle of Sweet Tea Vodka
• One can of frozen lemonade concentrate
• 2.5 bottles of delicious beer

Grab that bottle of your favorite sweet tea lemonade. Yup, that’s right… the whole bottle! Mix it up with your frozen lemonade and leave it in your freezer for one night. When you’re ready to party, add the beer to the batch and pour over ice.

Sweetest Summer

• 3 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• 3 oz. lemon-lime soda

Kick back, relax, and enjoy a sweet taste of summer. This recipe is intended to take you back to that summer beach chair. Mix 3 oz of Sweet Tea Vodka with 3 oz of lemon-lime soda in a highball glass filled with ice. That’s it! You’re ready to go!

Firefly Peach Tea Ale

• 3 oz. Peach flavored Sweet Tea Vodka
• 1.5 oz. Green Tea
• 1.5 oz. Ginger Ale

Howdy folks! This mix is fun and easy to do. Get yourself some Peach-flavored Sweet Tea Vodka. They are available from Seagram or Firefly. Delicious BTW! Mix the Sweet Tea Vodka with an even amount of Ginger Ale and Green Tea. Pour in a highball glass and y’all are ready to go!

Sex On The Front Porch

• 1.5 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• Cranberry Juice
• Orange Juice

Howdy folks. Get yourself an equal mixture of orange juice and cranberry juice. Pour this into a highball glass filled to the very brim with ice. Add 1.5 oz of your absolute favorite sweet tea vodka and mix!

Sweet Lady

• 1.5 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• 1.5 oz. Watermelon flavored Mixture

Howdy folks. Take your Sweet Tea Vodka (the best kind y’all can find). Mix the Sweet Tea Vodka up with some watermelon-flavored juice or mixture. Shake in an ice-filled tumbler. Strain into an Old-Fashioned Glass. You might want to throw on that Tyrese song while you’re at it because if you’re drinking this recipe you never know what could happen!

The 19th Hole

1.5 oz. Gran Gala / Grand Marnier

• 3 oz. Pink Lemonade
• 1.5 oz. of your favorite Sweet Tea Vodka
• A fresh slice of lemon

Take the alcohol (Sweet Tea Vodka and Grand Marnier) and mix ‘em up in a tantalizing highball glass. Make sure the glass is filled with ice because you’ll want this one cold. Put that lemon slice on the rim of the glass because you’re classy. We named this one 19th hole because of its something a little special, a reward.

Summer in a Glass

• 3 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• 1.5 oz. Lemonade
• Ginger Ale

Find yourself a highball glass filled with ice (shaved if you’re feeling funky). Pour in about 3 oz of Sweet Tea Vodka (your favorite brand of course). Combine with roughly 1.5 oz lemonade and throw in a splash of ginger ale. Just enough so you feel lucky. Even if it’s not sunny outside this drink is sure to make you feel like its the middle of summertime. Sadness will never be around when this drink is in your hand whether it’s a Monday Funday or Sweet Tea Sunday.

Sicilian Sweet-tini

• 2.5 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• .75 oz Limoncello
• Mint garnish
• One delicious-looking lemon slice

Pour  2.5 oz of Sweet Tea Vodka and .75 of Limoncello into a tumbler. Fill a tumbler with ice. Shake ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed. Strain liquid into a pre-chilled Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with mint and lemon slice. This one is going to taste yummy! Enjoy this one and feel classy. Its a Southern Martini with an Italian twist and we are not talking about the Jersey Shore. We mean cool Italy, like Godfather.

Sweet Tea Naval

• 3 oz. Orange Juice
• 3 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• Just a hint of Peach Schnapps

Pour an even amount of orange juice and your favorite sweet tea vodka in a highball glass filled with ice. The colder the better, and, trust me, folks, this one is delish! Add just a splash of Peach Schnapps and mmm hmmm! This one is fantastic and can be enjoyed in warm or cold weather. Please let us know what you think and leave some L-O-V-E in the comments.

Sweet Greeny

• 1.5 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• 3 oz. Diet Green Tea
• One slice of fresh lemon
• Mint garnish

Get yourself some Diet Green Tea (my favorite is Arizona). Combine approximately 3 oz of Diet Green Tea with 1.5 oz of Sweet Tea Vodka. Add these liquid ingredients to a highball glass filled with ice. Squeeze a lemon if you wish. Garnish with a lemon slice and mint. Enjoy.

John Daly

• 3.oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• 3 oz. Lemonade
• One big ol’ lemon twist

Mix lemonade and sweet tea vodka half and half in a highball glass. Squeeze a fresh lemon and… wowee this puppy tastes good! Even better – this is called a John Daly. Get it! A drunken Arnold Palmer. Love it. Tell us what y’all think in the comments. This one is sure to make the summertime a bit sweeter.

Sweet Tea Vodka Martini

• 1.5 oz. Sweet Tea Vodka
• Splash of Simple Syrup
• Fresh lemon slice

Put together the Sweet Tea Vodka and Simple Syrup into a mixture. Next step you are going to get some fresh lemon and add just a squeeze. Get yourself a lovely martini share and shake that mix-up! Strain into a chilled glass and you’ve got a delicious Sweet Tea Martini!

Experience the South. Existence is distinct down here. Life isn’t as fast, we move a bit slower, value our relationships, and live for our family and friends. Sweet Tea plays a big part in every day. Afternoons consist of Sweet Tea and lemonade. When we were feeling funky we would add some vodka to the mix.

In 2008 everything changed. A company out of South Carolina called Firefly introduced an infused blend of Sweet Tea Vodka. The product quickly lit up the bars, liquor stores, hearts and minds of Charleston. The company that came out with a product no one had ever heard of before.  No one knew if it would work. This company decided to create a tea-infused vodka. “iced tea vodka’, some decried, ‘that will never work!’.

The company knew they had a hit on their hands. Some trials and tribulations ensued as the Firefly petitioned to produce vodka in South Carolina and finally won the right to do so from the state.

After the runaway success of Sweet Tea Vodka, many other companies began producing and distributing the product as well. Some of these Sweet Tea Vodka products include:

• Jeremiah Weed
• Seagrams Sweet Tea
• Burnett’s
• Sweet Carolina
• Deep Eddy

Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka

What to do when your host asks you to “bring the wine.” Tips for choosing the perfect wine, even if you know nothing about wine. Wine and food pairing basics. Like any good party guest, you ask your host if there is anything you can bring. But do you break out in a cold sweat when they suggest you “bring the wine” or at least “bring a bottle of wine” to the party? Don’t. Finding the perfect bottle of wine is a snap, even if you know little about wine.

Simple “Bringing the Wine” Guidelines:

The first thing you do is ask your host what’s on the menu so that you can choose a wine that goes well with it. Also, consider whether the party is casual or formal.

• At this point you can Evel Knievel right over the rest of the guidelines here, go straight to any good wine shop and ask them to suggest a wine for the occasion that is ‘respectable but reasonably priced.’
• This is an excellent way for anyone to find new, exciting wines; often, they will recommend little known wines from small or local wineries that you will come to love.
• And when you are asked about the wine? Answer honestly, that you haven’t tried it yet but you hear it’s very good.

Bring the best wine you can afford or is appropriate for the occasion.

Let your choice complement the expense and effort of your hosts.

Don’t spend less than $15 on wine unless you are absolutely certain of its quality.

Never bring an inferior wine to hosts you feel have little wine appreciation. Somehow, sometime, it will bite you right on your…er… reputation.

Wine and Food Pairing  Basics:

• Red wine goes with red meat. It’s also most appropriate for a barbecue. In fact, you might check with your host about bringing Red Wine Sangria to the barbecue. No one doesn’t like it.
• White wine goes with white meat and fish.
• Champagne or sparkling wine starts an evening well, or pairs well at mealtime with anything but very heavy foods, like steak.
• Anything goes with pasta, but a nice Italian wine always seems most appropriate.
• Sweet wines go with sweet food. In fact, you might consider bringing a dessert wine; most people don’t think of that.

Handy Wine and Cheese Pairings Chart

What’s more controversial than religion and politics? Wine and cheese pairings. So I’m invoking the GPR motto: “If anything is a matter of taste, it’s food.”

I will say that this page pairs well with the wine and cheese party page. Like Stilton and pears, the two pages were made for each other. No, really. They were made for each other.

Wine and Cheese Pairings Chart, with Fruit

Below are a few classic pairings of wine and cheese, and the fruits that complement them. The information is charted by cheese categories; not all of them, just those most likely to grace a cheese and wine tasting party.

Without debate, the lines between the cheese categories are very faint. In fact, cheese is mischievous, always trying to blur the lines, each always wanting its own category. Wine has its quirks, too. With that in mind– the chart. Have fun.

Cheese	Wine	Fruit
Soft, Fresh Cheeses Uncooked, unripened cheeses, mild and creamy with a slight tang; spreadable.
Cream Cheese, Mascarpone, Neufchatel	Champagne	Apples, Grapes, Pears, Mangos, Melons
Soft, Ripened Cheeses Mild with smooth and creamy-to-oozy textures and thin skins.
Brie, Camembert	Beaujolais, Cabernet Sauvignon, Champagne, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Port, Sherry	Plums, Berries, Apples
Semi-Soft Cheeses Mild, buttery taste and smooth texture; easily sliced.
Fontina	Gewürztraminer, Pinot Grigio	Apples, Pears
Havarti	Chardonnay, Dry Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc	Grapes, Pears, Raisins
Monterey Jack, Muenster	Beaujolais, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc	Plums, Strawberries, Peaches
Mozzarella (Fresh)	Beaujolais, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir	Berries, Melons, Peaches, Pineapple
Semi-Hard Cheeses Rich, nutty, often mild flavors with textures from smooth to holey to flaky.
Cheddar, Edam, Gouda	Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling	Apples, Grapes, Peaches, Pears
Emmentaler, Swiss	Champagne, Gewurtzraminer, Riesling	Apples, Grapes, Peaches, Pears
Gruyère, Provolone	Amarone, Beaujolais, Chardonnay, Dolcetto, Sauternes, Sauvignon Blanc, Port	Grapes, Melons, Peaches, Pineapple
Hard Cheeses Aged cheeses with intense, sharp flavors.
Aged Asiago	Bardolino, Cabernet, Chardonnay, Rioja, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc	Apples, Pears
Parmesan	Burgundy, Chianti, Merlot, Riesling	Apples, Figs, Grapes
Romano	Amarone, Barbesco, Barolo, Chianti, Zinfandel	Melons, Mangos
Hispanic-Style Cheeses (Quesos) Hispanic cheeses run the gamut of flavors and textures, and then some. Below are three popular Mexican cheeses suitable for wine and cheese pairing.
Asadero (semi-soft, a cross between Mozzarella and Monterey Jack)	Champagne, Chardonnay	Apples, Peaches, Pears
Cotija (hard, pungent, similar to Parmesan)	Chardonnay, Riesling	Bananas, Berries, Mangos
Queso Blanco (fresh, crumbly, similar to Monterey Jack)	Dry Rosé	Grapes, Pears, Raisins
Blue-Veined Cheeses Intensely sharp, pungent, earthy flavors, aromatic with smooth-to-crumbly textures.
Blue, Gorgonzola, Roquefort	Amarone, Moscato, Port, Sauternes	Apples, Grapes, Pears
Stilton	Port	Pears
Goat Cheeses Sharp, tangy flavors and textures ranging from soft and crumbly to hard, depending on aging.
Chèvre, Feta	Champagne, Chenin Blanc, Pouilly Fume, Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc	Apples, Pears, Peaches

 

So – you have decided that you want to try your hand at making some wine. This article will describe the basic steps and some of the pitfalls to avoid to make sure your first batch turns out good enough to drink.

First things first – how much wine do you want to make?

I recommend at least 5 gallons. Why? Because beginning home winemakers just cannot wait to taste what they have made. In addition, 5 gallons is only 25 bottles. So you’ll get the batch finished, and then you will try a bottle or 2 or 3. Then you’ll wait a week and try a few more bottles. Sooner than later, it will all be gone before it has a chance to age and get really good.

If you just want to do something quick and simple, you could do a gallon in a plastic milk jug. The drawback is, once you have tasted it a few times – it’s all gone and you’ll have to start over.

With 5 gallons – you just might be tempted to let a few of the age of the remaining bottle. Believe it or not, the biggest mistake beginning winemakers make is not letting their wine age in the bottle. The difference in taste is, to put it mildly, AMAZING.

The next step is to decide which type of juice you want to ferment. Grape juice, cranberry juice, muscadine, and cherry are all good starter choices. The first 3 should produce a rather normal tasting wine while cherries usually will give you a sweeter wine. Of course, you can always add sugar to sweeten your wine after it is stabilized and has stopped fermenting.

Sterilize Equipment

The next step is to completely sterilize all of the containers and equipment you will be using. Some people use extremely hot water, others recommend using a sanitizer. I like the sanitizer because you do not have to scald yourself with the hot water. The sanitizing solution should be poured over everything and should make contact with all surfaces. Then you just rinse everything off with hot water.

Homemade Wine Instructions

Put your juice in your 5-gallon bucket – that’s the next step. BUT – it’s not time to put your yeast in yet.

We first want to sterilize our “must” or our juice. You can do this with 4 Campden Tablets. These are sulfite tablets that will get rid of any type of bacteria that could be present in the juice. Crush the tablets and then dissolve them in some warm water and then pour them in your juice or “must”. Let this sit overnight while the sulfites do their work.

24 hours later, you are ready to sprinkle in or “pitch” your yeast.

The type of yeast you decide to use is really a question that is beyond the scope of this article. However, I’ll say that there are hundreds of different yeast strains for literally thousands of different uses. For our first batch, we can just use the baker’s yeast that you can easily find at the grocery store. Later, and after some research, you will probably want to use one of the specialized strains.

Now – wait 7 days and watch

you will want to cover your bucket with a cloth towel or even put on a lid with an airlock in place. The wine will be perfectly safe during the fermentation stage because it will give off lots of Carbon Dioxide. The Co2 will protect your wine from the oxygen in the air.

Once the 7 days has passed, siphon off the wine from the bucket into another bucket or into a glass “carboy”. These can be found online or at your local wine shop. When you are doing the siphoning, you will want to get as little of the gunk on the bottom of the bucket as possible. This gunk is called “lees” and is made up of dead yeast. The wine that sits on top of the dead yeast sometimes can develop an “off” flavor.

Once your wine has been transferred into what is called your “secondary fermenter”, then you will want to put an airlock in place and just let it sit for about a month. There’s a song about this part – “The Waiting is the Hardest Part”. It’s true. Every budding home winemaker just cannot wait to taste the stuff – but – don’t do it. It surely won’t hurt you but during this month it is still fermenting. The wine isn’t finished yet. Be Patient.

After the month is up, you will want to transfer it back to your bucket, again making sure that you leave the gunk on the bottom. The process of transferring the wine from one vessel to another is called “racking”. Why? That’s something I am going to research for another article.

Just About Finished

There’s only one thing left to do and that is to add a “stabilizer” to your wine. A stabilizer inhibits yeast reproduction. In essence, it stops the yeast from doing its thing. Part of what happens during yeast growth and reproduction is that it releases Co2 gas. If that is happening after you bottle the wine, you will get popped corks or exploded bottles or both. So – put in the stabilizer, stir the wine well, and then return it to your Secondary Carboy fermentation vessel. Be sure and clean out the secondary and sterilize it before you do.

Now, all you have to do at this point is to wait until the wine clears. Gravity is your friend here. Of course, it won’t hurt a bit to bottle cloudy wine. But if you wait another month, it should be crystal clear. The clearing process is another subject that you can find a great deal of information on in other guides and books and I suggest you read up on this subject when you get a chance.

Bottling time!

All you have to do is make sure your bottles are clean and sanitized and just siphon the wine into the bottles. Corking the bottles can be a little difficult and I highly recommend you get some king of corker. Again, these are available online or at your local wine shop.

Now – BE PATIENT

Let the wine sit in the bottle for 6 to 9 months. The longer the wine ages, the better it will taste – I guarantee it. Happy winemaking

You might not expect eggs or fish to be lurking in your wine, but you could be wrong! Did you know that not all alcoholic drinks are vegan-friendly?

Many beers, wines, hard ciders, and liquors use a variety of animal products in their processing. The main culprits are isinglass (dried fish bladders), gelatin (from boiled cow’s or pig’s hooves and sinews), egg whites, chitin (from lobster and/or crab shells), casein (a protein from milk), bone meal, and bull’s blood. They’re used in a process called fining — when unwanted leftovers, like solid particles (such as grape skins or stems in wine, for example) and degenerated yeast cells, are removed from the brewing process.

These elements settle on their own, but fining agents quicken the process and make them easier to remove. This is done to end up with a better tasting and more presentable final product. In the U.S., alcoholic beverages are not required to list ingredients on labels, including fining agents.

Some companies have started to either skip the fining process (they feel fining removes too much flavor & complexity) or substitute the traditional agents with a natural clay, called bentonite, or diatomaceous earth, which is sourced from fossilized algae.

Bull blood is currently illegal for use in France and the USA, however, wines from other European or South American vineyards may still contain it.

Some specialty beers, liquors, and meads also contain honey or milk/cream and even eggs (think eggnog!). Many colored liquors contain carmine, which is ground beetles.

Want to make sure your Big Day wines, beers, and cocktails offer guests a vegan-friendly drinking experience?

It doesn’t have to be difficult to check this out. Lots of alcohol is vegan-friendly! Double-check your drink options using Barnivore.com. Also try VeganXpress or Green Vegan iPhone/iPad apps.

Fall Cocktail Recipes

Signature drinks can add personality to your cocktail hour or reception. Toast the fall with one of these original cocktails, developed for Vegan Wedding HQ by Rissa Miller, producer of Baltimore Vegan Drinks, and vegan bartender, Brooke Edwards, also from Maryland.

Ginger Dandy

This drink has delicate, mild flavors and would be a perfect fit for a ballroom wedding or any event with an elegant feeling.

• 1.5 oz. Vodka (we used Rain)
• 1 oz. Ginger Liqueur (we used Koval)
• 1/2 tsp. white balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 oz. Club soda
• candied ginger, to garnish

Combine vodka, ginger liqueur, white balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice; add to a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice. Shake a few times and pour into serving glass. Top with club soda and stir gently to combine. Drop-in one piece of candied ginger.

Peruse the Internet, and you’ll find scores of articles and blog entries featuring the “best” methods for remedying your hangover. Some even include advice from the quotable Snooki, who says “the best cure is to drink margaritas the morning of, and you’re fine.” Double-fisting drinks at 9 a.m., however, isn’t the best way to make up for a regretful night — at least when that night included heavy drinking — and can worsen your morning tenfold. Here’s what you shouldn’t do/drink/eat when you wake up and your head feels like it’s in a vise, your stomach is infuriated, and you feel like death.

1. Hair of the Dog Treatment: This is what Snooki suggested, so whether she was joking or not, your instinctive reaction should be to the opposite. Essentially, it’s fighting fire with fire, drinking to feel better. In this case, drinking won’t solve your problems — it’ll only worsen the situation by adding to the toxicity. Hangovers are said to be caused by dehydration and a hormonal and electrolyte imbalance, and should be prevented and alleviated by drinking water, sports drinks or juice. Fun fact: The phrase “Hair of the Dog” is a centuries-old phrase that refers to the treatment of dog bites by applying hair from the guilty dog to the victim’s bloody bite marks.
2. Caffeined Drinks: Drinking a cup of coffee, an energy drink or a can of soda may cause you to become more alert, but such beverages are far from a hangover cure. Because caffeine can act as a diuretic, expelling fluids from your body, it can make you more dehydrated and thus feeling even worse. Of course, if you’re a caffeine addict, then you may not have a choice but to take a couple of sips due to the effects of withdrawal, which can make a pounding headache merciless. In that case, be sure to do it while drinking liberal amounts of water.
3. Fast Food and other Hangover Food Staples: The problem with typical drunk/hangover food is that it can upset your already ailing stomach, causing additional problems such as heartburn. Instead of overworking your innards, particularly your exhausted liver, prepare a gentler meal that’ll be easy to digest and provide your body with much-needed calories. For example, cereal, toast and honey sandwiches are each better than a super mega triple cheeseburger with bacon and jalapenos.
4. Tylenol, Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Naproxen: You may feel like death, but don’t turn that feeling into a reality by attempting to relieve your pain with a few pills. Doctors advise drinkers to avoid Tylenol because it contains acetaminophen, which can seriously harm your liver when alcohol is in your system. Additionally, anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen, can further damage the lining of your stomach and cause bleeding if you’re a heavy drinker. Not doing something about the pain may be the hardest part of properly enduring a hangover, but you’ll survive.
5. Hangover Pills: Taking hangover pills won’t cause you any more physical harm; just financial regret. Scientists who study hangovers have declared such pills ineffective and advised more practical methods for treating hangovers. Don’t get duped into spending $20 or $30 for something that, if it works, only causes a placebo effect. The “cure” isn’t authentic, and free and natural solutions can make you feel much better.
6. Raw Egg Recipes: Some of these remedies on their own will make you sicker than the morning after a hardcore binge, especially the nasty Prairie Oyster concoction, which consists of a raw egg, salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce. The egg’s cysteine is supposed to attack the cause of hangovers, the toxin acetaldehyde, in the liver’s glutathione. Presumably, the Worcestershire sauce is added to make it more disgusting. If you plan to only eat eggs instead, cook them first in order to kill any lingering bacteria.
7. Pickle Juice: Apparently, the magnesium and potassium in pickle juice ease headaches and fatigue. But is the process by which you’d earn that payoff — you know, actually gulping down the pickle juice with an upset stomach — worth the trouble? Keep in mind that pickle juice is typically made from water, calcium chloride, salt and vinegar (acetic acid), the latter of which isn’t particularly tasty. If it’s the salt you crave, simply eat a few saltine crackers to replenish your body of sodium and chloride ions.
8. Tripe Soup: Knowing full well that the next three remedies aren’t exactly common, we thought we’d include them on the list just for fun. Native to Mexico and Romania, tripe soup features an odd blend of ingredients. The mixture of onion, eggs and vinegar is daunting enough, let alone the inclusion of oddly textured, fish-tasting tripe, which is made from the lining of a cows’ stomach. It’s best to experiment with these sorts of foods when you aren’t already sick.
9. Deep-Fried Canary: The ancient Romans were believers in the hangover-curing power of the fried canary. Preparation requires just a canary — no problem, right? — a pint of cooking oil, salt and pepper. Never mind the fact that you’re supposed to avoid greasy food when you’re hungover, but is a cute little canary worth sacrificing to hopefully — but not likely — relieve the pain that comes with something that could’ve easily been prevented? Well, perhaps if you share it with your cat.
10. Tea and Rabbit Droppings: Tea and Rabbit Droppings: The reckless, uneducated men of the Old West whipped up tea and rabbit droppings to ease the pain after a night of carousing in the saloons. The benefits of ingesting such a concoction are unclear, though, like a few other items on this list, it likely induced vomit, causing their bodies to expel the remaining alcohol in their stomachs.

The question that seems to be on many non- or semi-wine geeks’ minds is a fairly simple one:

“What is a wine that is both good AND cheap that I can find at a store near me and have for dinner tonight?”

A very good question, and one that can often be overlooked in the geek-style chasing after obscure wines with many hyphens or umlauts in their names that cost an arm and a leg that many of us hardcore types are often guilty of.

We are lucky enough to taste lots of rare and obscure goodies from all across the globe, but when we sit down on a Tuesday night with some bison burgers we’re not opening ’61 Petrus, believe you me, and there’s nothing quite so satisfying as finding a good cheapie that tickles your taste buds. This seems to satisfy me more than Lisa, but that’s what makes a horse race, eh?

One problem in making these recommendations (and something we’ve gotten endless complaints about) is that many of the cheapies we drink are somewhat obscure, limited-production wines made by two guys and a donkey that can only be found in one or two tatty little shops in Manhattan. On this page, the emphasis is on larger-production wines that are widely available, at least in the United States. Our friends overseas will have to fend for themselves, I’m afraid, as we have little grasp of the retail scene outside our fruited plains.

One ironclad rule: any wine with a TV commercial is a wine to be avoided at all costs.

Okay, then, cut to the chase–here are some daily drinkers; forty or so wines, all good, most readily available and all $15 and under:

T H E  R E D S

Our favorite burger wine right now is Three Thieves Zinfandel California ($10). In comes in a cute retro-styled liter jug, but beyond the gimmicky container is a good mouthful of zin at a good price. Spicy and berry-fruity, it works great with barbeque or smoked meats and gives some nice zin character for the money. Unfortunately, it seems to have been a limited release. Still, if you see it, pick some up.

Another zin, the Cline Zinfandel California is a lighter-styled version of zin that’s a little crisper and less round but delivers a lot of flavor for $10 or so. It even comes with a literary effort, an ode to zin on the back of the bottle (“I AM ZINFANDEL…”).

Marietta Cellars makes a non-vintage field blend wine called Old Vine Red Lot 33 (or 34, or 35, etc.), which is a blend of zin, petite sirah, gamay and a few others, but comes across mostly like a zin. Full-bodied and richly fruity, but with some nice acidity and a decent tannic core to hang the fruit on, it’s a good mouthful for about $10-11. Another barbeque beauty.

Vinum Cellars Petite Sirah Clarksburg ($13) is a purply-black beauty, dark and robust and a great match with grilled steak. A big wine, you sure get your money’s worth here.

Mas de Gourgonnier Les Baux de Provence ($10) is another cheapie perennial at our house, a wine with some good dirt, happy leathery character over a base of tart red fruit. Comes in a cute round-bottomed bottle, which is a little gimmicky, but the wine inside is reliably complex and tasty.

Quinto do Crasto Douro Vinho Tinto ($12), is a Portuguese wine made from the grapes used to make Port, dark and muscular. An interesting, different wine with a lot of nice rough, rustic character. The depth and richness of this one surprises people, who expect it to have a higher price tag. Try it with big meat.

Castaño ‘Hécula’ Yecla ($10) is a meaty, roasty-flavored wine from a rather obscure (to me, anyway) region of Spain. Plush and dark, it’s amiable and rich and ripe, with low acidity and borderline gobbiness. There’s an ‘Americans only’ sister bottling called ‘Solanera’ that takes the gobby low-acid thing into a ditch, but the Hécula has just enough backbone to get by. Think of it as a chewier Côte du Rhône.

Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon Rapel Valley (Chile) ($9) is a very smooth, quaffably round cabernet from Chile, widely available, easy-drinking and soft, with simple, velvety cassis-cabernet character (say THAT three times fast…). A non-threatening sipping red (as opposed to a food red) for nongeeks and those who love them.

Altos Los Hormigas Malbec Mendoza ($9): A meaty, crisp wine from Argentina made from the malbec grape, with pleasant tartness, a nice acidic backbone and some dark coffee-crunchy fruit. Nice stuff for $9 or so, plenty of guts–good bang for the buck.

Domaine Clavel Coteaux du Languedoc ‘Le Mas’ ($8) is the low-end bottling from a reliable Languedoc house. I’ve had a few vintages of this and it’s always good house wine, soft and meaty and happily complex, a loosely-knit, easygoing little wine.

Vinicola del Priorat ‘Ònix’ Priorat ($10) is a big, dark wine, stuffed full of blackberry-earthy flavor, robust and plummily broad-beamed. Very nice with grilled steak, BBQ or other strongly seasoned meat dishes, as it has the guts to fight back over flavors that might crush a weaker wine. Manly stuff.

Argyle Pinot Noir Willamette Valley ($15) is the only pinot noir on this list, mainly because good cheap pinot noir is as rare as a trumpeter swan on a tricycle. Nevertheless, these guys have sneaked one in just under the wire, a middleweight, cherry-cola-laced wine with a pleasant brightness and good composure, perfect with simple hearty fare, roast chicken, stuff like that. Plus, it’s got a screwcap, which means it’s cool.

Domaine Rabasse Charavin Côte du Rhône is a rich, ripe, earthy Côte du Rhône for around $10, dark, full of robust flavor and easy to match with many different foods. One of our house pours.

Finally a couple of Italians: La Carraia Sangiovese Umbria ($10) has more upfront fruit and less acidity than your textbook Italian sangiovese. Detractors might sneer at it as ‘Californian’ (detractors just love to sneer) but I believe there is a place in the world for an Italian wine that has friendly, forward fruit and couldn’t possibly be used to strip paint off drywall. Very nice, in a New World fruit-forward style.

Falesco ‘Vitiano’ Umbria ($10) is a blend of one-third each of sangiovese, cabernet and merlot, and is another favorite whenever we have to put a big Italian meal together. The wine is nicely balanced and has the acidic spine to go very well with tomato dishes. Not as lush as the La Carraia Sangiovese, it’s a bit more restrained, but it’s got a lot of character for a ten-buck wine. Another nongeek favorite, this stole the show at the wedding of Lisa’s brother, Jean d’Alsace.__

T H E W H I T E S

For those willing to brave German riesling (we love it, but understand your nervousness), Dr. Burklin-Wolf Riesling Forster Kabinett is a good introduction, a snappy wine with a hint of sweetness offset by zippy acidity. Snappy and zippy at once for only $12? How can you say no?

Hardcore geeks (you know who you are) will roll their eyes, but I happen to like Lindeman’s Riesling South Eastern Australia ‘Bin 75’ ($6) as a decent, baseline version of the grape. Yes, it’s produced in industrial quantities, but it’s light and refreshing and has a sense of rieslingness. Americans don’t drink enough riesling, so go buy this, okay? It’s everywhere, and it’s cheap.

A wine for all you chardonnay fans: Fairview/Charles Back Wine of Western Cape (South Africa) ‘Goats do Roam’ ($7). No, it’s not chardonnay (it’s a blend of white-Rhône varieties), but it’s got the creaminess and round mouthfeel that friends of that maligned grape crave. It’s kind of an odd wine, but it has a good deal of character, and I find it grows on me. In a good way, I mean, not like a fungus.

Another wine in a similar vein is Bonny Doon Vineyard Ca’ del Solo ‘Big House White’ California. Peach-pineapple-floral smelling, crisp and charmingly straightforward, it’s a happily floral white wine with some friendly creaminess and a bit of heft, a nice presence. Another screwcapped (cool) wine.

The rare actual chardonnay that I’ll recommend, Babich Chardonnay Unwooded Hawke’s Bay (New Zealand) ($10) is a good bet, lots of apple-pear flavors, a lack of buttery-vanilla woodiness. A friendly, juicy little wine that actually tastes like grapes, not barrels. Babich is a good value winery that makes straightforward versions of chardonnay, sauvignon and gewürztraminer–I think they’re all good values.

One more is the Los Vascos Chardonnay Colchagua (Chile) ($8), a bright, fresh and fruity-smelling wine, simple and quaffable, but it has a very appealing juicy-fruity nose and there’s no overt oak to speak of to interfere with the bright fruitiness.

If you’ve got food that calls for something a little zingier, try another steal from the southern hemisphere, Cairnbrae ‘The Stones’ Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough (New Zealand) ($11). Crisper than chardonnay, with more of a citrusy/herbaceous zip to it, this is a good example of the things they’re doing with the grape in kiwiland. Perfect with seafood.

There are a lot of good, crisp, food-friendly whites coming out of Spain these days, two of which are Viña Sila ‘Las Brisas’ Rueda($6) and Dominio de Eguren Vino de la Tierra de Castilla ‘Protocolo’ ($6). The Las Brisas is a bit more sauvignon-like, grassy and citric, the Protocolo is minerally and taut–both are fine matches for fish or shellfish.

Another pickup from France, this time Burgundy, Jean-Marc Brocard ‘Chardonnay sur Kimmeridgen’ Bourgogne is a very decent ‘generic’ white Burgundy, made in a steelier style than a California chardonnay but still keeping the full flavors of the grape. A steal at about ten bucks.

Vinum Cellars Chenin Blanc Clarksburg ($10) has a slightly-too-cute label (two hitchhikers with a sign reading ‘Will Work for Chenin’), but the wine isn’t gimmicky, a bright glassful of California-style chenin that is cheerful and unmarred by excess woodiness or winemakers’ tricks.

Trimbach Gewürztraminer Alsace ($14) is an inexpensive way to sample this curiously spicy apple & lychee-scented grape. Give it a try if you’re in the mood for something new and interesting; its extremely vivid character makes it a tough one to match with some foods, but try it with spicy Asian foods. This is what we bring whenever we trot over to our local Indian BYO place, and the spicy, slightly oily character of the wine works beautifully with shrimp vindaloo or tandoori chicken–it’s one of those wine/food pairings that just tickle me.

Another real deal in white wine from Alsace (Alsatian whites come in tall, thin green bottles), Domaine Paul Blanck Pinot Blanc Alsace($10) is a boisterous pinot blanc, maybe a bit much to match with food, but great as a sipper before dinner, a relatively small-framed wine that is nonetheless bursting with flowery-fruity effusiveness.__

F I Z Z I E S

We don’t drink a lot of the fizzy stuff (why spoil good wine with bubbles?), so cheapies are fine for most of our needs. Domaine des Baumard makes two nonvintage color-coded sparklers under the appellation Cremant de Loire, the turquois (blue) and the corail(pink). The turquois is chenin blanc, the corail has some cabernet franc in it (hence the pinkness). Both are great values, just squeaking in at $15.

Domaine Deletaing Montlouis NV is our house fizz, bubbly and festive and a hard-to-beat steal at $12. Firm and complex, lots of taut minerally flavors. Who needs to pay Champagne prices for name recognition when wines like this are around?

Lastly, try a Prosecco from Italy, like a Contine Riouolo Prosecco Veneto ($9). Just off-dry, unsubtle and friendly, a broad little fizz that does well as an informal apertif.__

S W E E T I E S

It’s tough to find good dessert wines for under $15, but Quinto do Infantado Ruby Port ($12), is a luscious, earthy port that compares favorably to wines at twice the price. One of those rare wines that, the minute I tasted it, I knew I had to have a bunch around. Medium-sweet, beautifully balanced and full of rich, brick-red flavors, I can’t recommend this highly enough. Grab some if you see it for super after-dinner sipping. These people make a fine Tawny Port as well, for about the same dough.

Warre’s ‘Warrior’ Porto ($15) is another rich non-vintage blend, somewhere in character between the redness of a ruby port and the dark brambliness of a vintage character. Nice stuff for the money.

One sweetie that always gets a rise out of nongeeks is Yalumba ‘Museum Muscat’ NV ($15), an example of Australian “liquor muscats”–brown-sugary and butterscotchy, quite sweet and rich, a little of it goes a long way but it’s good stuff and the kids love it.

Another one that just squeaks in under the eligibility limit is Niepoort Vintage Character Port ($15), a darker and bramblier wine than the Infantado, ostensibly made in the style of vintage port, but really a nice after-dinner sipper on its own merits, with a good balance of sweetness and crisp acidity and toasty-dark berryish fruit. A winner, from a house that can do little wrong these past few years.

One of the coolest things about being an adult is that you can always relax to a good glass of wine after a stressful day at work or running around your kids for the entire afternoon. A good glass of wine goes perfectly with almost everything – from a good movie to a delicious pizza, from making vacation plans with your BFFs to celebrating a new job promotion.

Ever since the earliest ages, wine has been the most popular choice of beverage. From the Ancient Greeks to the Middle Ages and up to the 21st century, it is still considered one of the most beneficial alcoholic drinks if consumed with moderation.

So, it comes as no surprise that an entire industry has developed around the concept of wine. From wineries to wine seminars, tasting experiences, books, and the most expensive bottles of wine in the world – this industry counts for billions of dollars yearly in revenues.

So why not benefit from it by choosing the best wine gadgets? Whether you’re buying them for yourself or for your adult friends, we know that choosing one is never enough, so here is a list of the coolest items we could find on the market.

 

 

Deluxe wine opener kits

A regular corkscrew might get the job done, but why not brag a little more about your great wine opening skills and opt for a deluxe wine opener set? These usually come in luxurious gift boxes made of suede, leather or velvet, and feature the most useful accessories for your wine bottle.

These wine sets are complete with a corkscrew, a vacuum pump, a foil cutter, some wine corks, and stoppers. The choice of materials differ from one set to another but expect to find quality glass, stainless steel, and even silver.

 

Electric bottle chillers

Assuming you have guests for dinner and they brought a delicious bottle of wine, what do you do with it? Rosé and white wine are best served cold and keeping the bottle in the freezer will take a long time for it to reach the perfect serving temperature. So why not appeal to a true party saver such as an electric bottle chiller?

These small devices can be used for a wide range of products, not just wine. One of these will chill a can in just one minute and the entire bottle of wine in under six minutes. It could also come with additional features such as preset times and extra-chill settings.

Lavish wine decanters

Although not technically gadgets, wine decanters come in truly elegant designs which could impress your friends and guests. Most of these decanters are made of fine glass but the design you choose is up to your budget and creativity. What type of wine gadget do you prefer?

Eager to know what would be the answer? Before start answering to that let us see the factors that cause ‘Hangover’.

Hangovers are caused by the physical and psychological effects of alcohol on the body. The symptoms of a hangover may include a headache, nausea, vomiting, dehydration, irritability etc. There are plenty of factors that decide the intensity and how long does a hangover last. Such as

a) How much you drink
b) The rate in which yo intake
c) Your diet before and after you consume alcohol
d) Quality of the drink
e) Amount of water that you consume while boozing

So, the answer to this question primarily depends on the individual and their condition. Generally a hangover may be short lasting for just a few hours (2 to 3 hours) or may even extend up to 2 to 3 days.

 

Beer normally stays in your system for about 24 hours. But it mainly depends upon the quantity of beer you’ve consumed. Normally beer or any alcohol will exit your system within a day but it may vary across different body systems. To digest beer, your metabolic rate should be high and it also depends on the water content in your system. People who are lighter in weight may absorb a higher amount of beer or any alcohol than obese people. The reason is that fat doesn’t absorb a large amount of alcohol or beer. Hence, it may not get flushed out of your system immediately.

How long does alcohol stay in your system?

We are all aware that alcohol stays in our bodies for some time after we consume it, but how long does alcohol stay in our system exactly? Also, why is there a difference from person to person? Why does one person sober up much more quickly than another?

When you consume alcohol, your body begins to metabolize it. During the process of metabolization, the alcohol enters the bloodstream and then travels through all of your organs. The alcohol is partly excreted through our breath, sweat and urine. It takes time for the alcohol to enter your bloodstream after consumption, though. That explains why your alcohol level can rise after you’ve had your last alcoholic beverage. The rest of the alcohol that isn’t excreted through breath, sweat, and urine remains in your bloodstream, therefore most alcohol screening tests require a blood sample. If only your breath is tested, one or two hours after consuming alcohol is no longer detectable, depending on your size, sex and how often you consume alcohol.

Alcohol affects each of us differently, hence the amount of time it takes for the alcohol to leave the system depends on various variables. Persons who drink alcohol much more often build up a tolerance for processing alcohol. For that reason, a heavy drinker’s liver may process three times as many drinks per hour. One ounce of alcohol has a greater effect on a petite female than it has on a strong man. Alcohol also stays longer in a female’s body than in a male’s, because their metabolization of alcohol is different.

A blood test can detect small amounts of alcohol for a long period of time. Small amounts of alcohol, such as one to three ounces can still be detectable in your Circulatory system ten to twelve hours after consumption if you’re an occasional drinker. If you’re a habitual drinker, however, your blood and internal organs are capable of “storing” the alcohol from previous drinking sessions, therefore it takes much longer for your system — sometimes up to a week — to eliminate enough alcohol to pass a blood test.

A perfectly functioning liver is capable of metabolizing an ounce of alcohol per hour. That’s about one standard drink! Heavy alcohol drinker’s livers are often impaired and hence their livers can only metabolize much less than a perfectly functioning liver.

The functioning of the liver cannot be speed! Remember that drinking large amounts of alcohol very quickly or using beer bongs can be fatal to your system. If the liver is not capable of processing any more alcohol, the blood must store, and alcohol poisoning — which often leads to death — can be the result.