I’m a twitterin’!
I have one of the fabulous Kaldi one-cup coffee and tea makers from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, review coming soon. But if someone you know (like, you know, yourself) wants one of the $179.95 babies for Christmas, this weekend is a great time to pop into one of six Austin locations, get a sample, and get $25 off. Sweet!
UPDATE: Thanks to commenter Brian, MERCY has given us a promo code for free shipping! WAHOO! Use discount code “Austin” to get free shipping on ANY order. Try a MERCYRITA and let me know how it goes!
The other day, I accidentally ended up having a small gathering at my apartment. Luckily, we always have tequila and triple sec on hand, so margaritas were easily in store. Then we ran out of lime juice. Though I live above a grocery store, it was past ten pm. Luckily, I remembered that the folks at MERCY, a hangover prevention beverage, were kind enough to send over a few samples. Does this mean I have a problem? No matter, back to my initial problem: Mercyritas?
MERCYRITAS!
MERCY is a non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated beverage that contains nutritional supplements proven to protect your body as it processes alcohol. It flushes your system of acetaldehyde, the toxin that causes your hangover, and pumps up your natural defenses with some vitamins. MERCY contains a blend of amino acids, vitamins, minerals and herbs to prevent hangovers. You must drink it BEFORE you have a hangover, which is why a MERCYRITA is a perfect way to enjoy the beverage.
I will admit, I indulged a little that night. And woke hangover-free! (I also made a point of hydrating throughout the night … Belly Up in Aspen has several hydration stations that I was very excited about … more so than usual. MERCY influence?) My friend declared the MERCYRITA “tastes like summer!”
With a kitschy marketing campaign and pleasantly fruity, lightly carbonated taste, MERCY is a nice way to remain hangover free if you’re determined to indulge. They recommend 1 can for every 5 drinks, not to exceed 3 in 24 hours. For now, you can get MERCY mixed into cocktails at The W Austin or order online at drinkmercy.com ($28.50 for 12 cans).
Bottoms up!
Surely you remember CINCO Vodka, the “Austin’s Neighbor”-based, limestone-filtered, “martini-drinker’s” vodka I wrote about here? In one of the most ridiculously awesome ideas ever, CINCO has introduced a Cincominder app for the iphone. What does this app do?
Why, the app reminds fans when it’s five o’clock—the perfect time to enjoy a great martini!—with the signature sound of five shakes from a martini shaker. The app also will provide GPS information to let you know the nearest Cinco provider, whether it’s a bar, restaurant, hotel, nightclub, country club, or liquor store.
That’s right. The Cincominder app will help you get drunk at precisely 5pm. It also offers vodka enthusiasts a number of original recipes from Cinco’s Director of Cincology, such as the Cincotini, Love Potion #5, Mild Sedative, Yellow Submarine, Shiatzu and Excalibur.
Luckily, Cincominder also offers a “call a taxi” feature designed to assist you in calling the nearest Taxi to your location.
They’ve thought of everything. Download the free app from the iTunes app store immediately.
Austin has become a hotbed for craft booze. How many breweries have opened this year alone? Perhaps it started with Tito’s Vodka and Live Oak Brewery, but the local libations scene has expanded to include Treaty Oak Rum, Graham’s Texas Tea, Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka, Balcones Baby Blue Whiskey, Dripping Springs Vodka, to name a few, and not to mention the breweries like the new Twisted X, (512) Brewing, Black Star, or Jester King …
Point is, we love our booze, we love local, and we LOVE local booze. Even if it’s from an hour down the road in San Antonio.
Cue Cinco Vodka.
Here it is on my shelf:
This vodka is ridiculously smooth. Perhaps that’s why they bill it as “the martini lover’s vodka”??
Besides the fact that I simply love stars and you can pretty much get me to love any product featuring stars on its packaging, Cinco Vodka is made from amber wheat from Idaho and Edwards Aquifer water naturally filtered through the Cordova Creme limestone underneath San Antonio. A super-premium, totally stateside vodka? Europeans everywhere are turning up their noses, but they shouldn’t. This vodka is worthy of its five-star theme.
Produced at the Cinco Ranch, where they recycle all their wastewater, Cinco Vodka is available at Twin Liquors and costs $26.99 for 750 milliliters, $32.99 for 1 liter, and $44.99 for 1.75 liter.
“Would you like some of my champagne beer?” I asked guests at a recent party.
With a champagne-like effervescence, Infinium, a collaboration between Samuel Adams and Weihenstephan, is the new new wine, or the champagne, or the new whatever, it’s downright good. It’s a lot fun: a sort of bubbly, very smooth, beer champagne.
Thanks to a sample bottle, I got the chance to serve Infinium a recent apres-ski party before it’s available. My guests, a mix of beer lovers and wine-drinkers, loved the new Infinium.
“It tastes like if you mixed champagne and beer.”
“It tastes better than beer but not sweet.”
Infinium is hard to describe. It’s made according to German beer purity law called Reinheitsgebot, meaning it can only contain malt, hops, water, and yeast. This is the first new beer under Reinheitsgebot in 100 years, and it’s made in partnership with the oldest brewery in the world, Weihenstephan Brewery, which was founded by monks in 1040.
Enough of the beer trivia, eh? Infinium is a dark gold color (beer!) with fine bubbles (champagne!) and a slightly fruity flavor but lots of malt body (beer!). It comes in a champagne-style bottle (champagne!) and is 10.3% alcohol by volume (both!).
The companies are heavily promoting Infinium as a champagne alternative for men to ring in the New year. They cite a Wakefield Research study that reveals that the majority of men would rather toast with beer than champagne. I love my chompers, but I wouldn’t mind toasting with a little Infinium either!
Available nationwide starting this week, you can hit the beer finder feature on SamuelAdams.com to find out where to buy your bottle of champagne beer champagne. Retail is $20 a bottle.
It’s World AIDs Day tomorrow/today depending on when you’re reading 
12/1. Multi-task by hitting up the annual ski season kick-off party and fundraiser to benefit the Colorado AIDS Project. Naturally, there’s an “Aspen Extreme” movie theme with a costume contest–come dressed as your favorite character–, free beverages and new menu tastings from 6-7:30pm, and DJ Dylan spinning from 6-10pm. Also, an appearance by Olympic Snowboarder Louis Vito and a chance to win prizes!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010, 6-11pm, Sky Hotel, 709 E. Durant Ave.
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