Deceptacle

I've heard many tales from my friends about this wonderful store called Beers of the World, but I had never had the honor of setting foot inside the door until today.  Let me tell you, it is a treat.  They have beers from every region of the world, and microbrews from all over the U.S.  I decided to try to take a sample from every region in the store, and then a few of the American micros.

The Kraken - Black Spiced Rum

I finally found it! I remember stumbling upon a review of this rum a while back and immediately wanted to try it since I'm a sucker for quirky and unusual things.  Apparently the handles come in a fancy box and have some cool extras thrown in.

I definitely like the bottle design, with the two handles at the top and the artwork on the label.  It has a very old style about it, and the label is written in a script that's eye-catching.

As far as taste, it is very reminiscent of Captain Morgan Tattoo, but the flavor is a little more subtle.  It actually reminds me a little bit of a grape flavor (more for drink mixes than actual grapes), except that it's not sugary. Mix this with your general rum mixers. Coke or Pepsi would be my first choice, though for any other drinks, the spice won't be overpowering, so you can definitely feel free to experiment a bit.

The Kraken weighs in at 94 proof (47% alcohol), which is stronger than usual, and that is always welcome.  I got my 750mL for about $18.99 at one of the local liquor stores, so it's not obnoxiously expensive.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a more unique rum than the usual Captain Morgans and Bacardis.

Put a beast in your belly! - Website

My roommate and I enjoy watching the TV show Fringe, and we've developed a drinking game to go along with it, which I decided to augment with a few suggestions I've found floating around the internet

• 1 Drink for every series of questions Olivia has (it used to be for every question, but that got ridiculous)
• 1 Drink every time Walter says "hypothesis", "theory", or something similar
• 1 Drink whenever Walter mentions food. 2 Drinks if it's inappropriate
• 1 Drink whenever Walter references a previous project
• 1 Drink whenever someone says "door" or "portal"
• 1 Drink if Walter gets someone's name wrong
• 3 Drinks if you spot the observer. Finish your drink if you missed him by the end of the episode

Danny and I are going to be playing Wisest Wizard tonight with some friends. Here are some preliminary, first run rules that we're going to try out.

General Rules:

1. Drink a beer
2. Using duct tape, attach it to your staff of empties (indicates level. 1 beer = 1 level)
3. Upon completing levels 5, 10, 15, etc. the only way you can advance is to defeat a boss. This consists of doing a shot of hard liquor. Name the boss after the liquor. For example, Disaronno would become Boss'a'ronno. You have to fight the boss with at least one other player. That player doesn't have to be leveling up though.
4. While some people play with the full beer at the top of the staff, we're allowing players to hold the new beer separate since we're going to be gaming and there will be lots of expensive equipment around and we don't want any spillage

Fun Rules:

• After level 10, you can create a wizard hat from an empty beer box.

Additional Things

• Wizard Chess: beer pong, played for levels. The winner gets both their levels, and their opponent's levels.
• Appropriate Wizard Lingo at all times
  • I'm feeling drunk - I'm feeling wise
  • I need another beer - I need to level up
  • Want to play beer pong? - I challenge you to a game of Wizard Chess
• Players are encouraged to name their staffs and attach attributes to it as they level up.

While driving home, my car basically threw a hissy fit and my radiator up and died on me. I managed to get it to a garage and get home safely, so that is at least one positive point in the situation. It unfortunately threw a major wrench in my weekend plans since I wanted to go golfing with some guys from P3 and then to the company BBQ. I should be able to get a ride to at least the BBQ but I can't get to the store for some additional supplies. So I decided to experiment with some variations of Jake Juice. I also only have the Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade flavor of Kool-Aid, so this experimentation will be limited to alcohol and two flavors of Dew.

Experiment #1

Ingredients:

• Regular Mountain Dew
• Kool-Aid
• Gin

I made this before I decided to do the experimenting, so the glass is really full and I guestimated the amounts of Kool-Aid and Gin (probably way too much on both accounts). My cup is about 30oz, and I filled it about 3/4 with Mountain Dew, added in enough Kool-Aid to make a quart normally, and then eyeballed some gin, probably about 4oz total (may be more, since I added some after a few swigs).

Overall, the flavor is rather pleasant. There is definitely a hint of lemon that both the Kool-Aid and gin add to the drink, and it is extremely sweet.  It would work for chugging as well it would seem. The bite isn't overwhelming, and it seems to get tastier as you drink it. I would definitely try this drink again with more controlled amounts of ingredients, but it would seem that gin would be a viable alcoholic base for the Jake Juice formula.

Experiment #2

Ingredients:

• Regular Mountain Dew
• Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade Kool-Aid
• Coconut Rum

I'm feeling a little daring with this one, but I'm going to reduce the amounts in order to try further variations. About half filled with regular mountain dew, and then about 1/2 to 3/4 of what would make 1 quart of Kool-Aid. Top that off with about 2-3 shots worth of coconut rum.

This drink is actually delicious. I don't know if it's because I'm a little tipsy from the other drink, but this is kind of yummy.The coconut flavor adds this delicious second flavor to the sweet base of the Jake Juice. You could probably not even know there is alcohol in this drink even, except I know that there is, so the game is up. I would highly recommend this for a second tasting when taste actually matters...

Experiment #3

Ingredients:

• Mountain Dew Something or Other Blast?
• Kool-Aid
• Gin

I'm reaching my limit already, but I'm going to try to make it through another experiment. Again half filled with dew, and then about a quarts worth of Kool-Aid, topped off with a healthy dose of gin.

This drink is actually not quite as pleasant as the others. It leaves a weird aftertaste and is just all around weird. I don't think I would recommend this ever, but I'm going to man up and finish it.

Side Note: I can feel my heart racing which is probably an unintended side effect of the excess sugar and caffeine that I ingested for no other reason than science. So thanks, science, for making me feel uncomfortably energetic, yet wanting to go to sleep right now.

In September, me, Josh, and Ken will all be having birthdays. In order to make this awesome, we're going to have a massive birthday party. Here are some ideas for things that can go down for our mega bash.

Final result for Skittles Vodka recipe

Skittles Vodka

A simple, flavorful drink idea which will greatly aide in making us all drunk.

Link is here: http://mixthatdrink.com/skittles-vodka-tutorial/

Items to get:

• Handle of vodka, obviously
• 5 bottles to put the mix into (separate the colors)
• One pound bag of Skittles
• Water bottles
• A funnel
• Some bowls
• Measuring cup
• Filters

Follow the instructions on the link but it's pretty easy to figure out. Chill the bottles of the final mix for exceptional results

Make some shot glasses out of gummi bears/worms

Gummi Shot Glasses

Items to obtain:

• Ice shot glass mold
• Microwave safe bowl
• 16 oz of gummi worms or bears

Again, a pretty self explanatory recipe, which will yield edible shot glasses that can add a little fruit kick to your shots, or which you can eat after the shot as a chaser!

Just heat up the gummi worms/bears in the microwave until they melt, pour the gummi liquid into the mold, pop in the freezer, and voilà! Killer shot glasses for everyone to enjoy.

Apparently 16oz package is enough to make 4 shot glasses (4oz per glass)

Link: http://www.instructables.com/id/Edible_Shot_Glasses/

Drunken Gummi Bears

Another completely easy recipe, just dump some vodka in a bowl with a bunch of gummi bears. Let sit for a good while, stirring occasionally so the bears don't stick. They'll inflate as they soak up the vodka. Add in some juice concentrate after a few days to sweeten a bit more.

Link: http://www.instructables.com/id/Drunken_Gummies_Vodka_Infused_Gummi_Bears/

If anyone else has some sweet ideas, leave it in the comments, or get the idea to me. I'll probably make a part 2 of secondary ideas. Any idea that doesn't get used for the party will either be incorporated into another party, or if it's awesome enough, have a party built around it.