Alcademics.com

Schedule for the week

Monday: Lotus Vodka launch, Campari cocktail contest, Skyy vodka after-party, drinks for friend's birthday

Tuesday: Gin lunch

Wednesday: Tequila tasting

Thursday: Wine book launch party

Friday: Happy hour party

No wonder I need the weekends to catch up on work.

Labels: events

I told you the smart people were rating the selections at the Joy of Sake event

... and the proof: over 200 sakes from the event rated on Vinography.com, tasted in just a few hours.

Dang! That's hard work.

Labels: sake

What to get me for Christmas this year

Anything on this list would do just fine.

Also, I'm not Christian so there's no need to wait.

Labels: contests, whisky

A Toast to MJ this Sunday

The Beer Hunter website lists places to join in a toast to beer/whisky writer Michael Jackson and raise money for Parkinson's Disease this Sunday, September 30.

In the SF Bay Area, you can join at the Bistro in Hayward, Rogue Ales Public House, and the Toronado.

Labels: beer, events

Indian Vodka Names

This is an economic story about Bollywood actors endorsing vodkas, but I just like it for the names of the brands there (highlighted in yellow).

NEW DELHI/ BANGALORE: The odourless, colourless drink vodka, the fastest growing segment in India's spirits mart, has found a new flavour. Bollywood is taking centrestage in India’s vodka battles. The past one month has seen as many as three leading vodka brands signing up with Bollywood’s hottest stars at astronomical rates.

The second largest domestic spirits marketer, Radico Khaitan, is upping the stake to a new high. It has roped in Hrithik Roshan in a mega endorsement deal for its Magic Moments vodka brand.

This follows industry leader United Spirits’s move to bring Zayed Khan for endorsing the largest-selling Indian vodka, White Mischief. For USL, Khan is its second film star – the spirits company already has Shilpa Shetty endorsing Romanov vodka.

In recent weeks, USL and Shilpa Shetty extended the association not withstanding British media attacks for endorsing a vodka brand after taking a stance against drinks in the celebrity Big Brother Show.

Diageo’s one-year-old Shark Tooth Vodka has been riding on rising star Shiney Ahuja, who is breaking into mainstream Bollywood after recent releases like Metro. With the vodka volume booming, the spate of big-ticket endorsement deals is an indication that the industry is placing big bets on the segment.

While Bollywood’s association with the liquor industry is as old as Dharmendra or even earlier, most of the ties in the past were linked to whiskies. As the vodka club mainly targets the India’s youth aged below 35 years, a demographic segment with high disposable income and aspirational lifestyle, the spirits majors are lining up resources in building blockbuster brands with a significant profit pool for the future. The vodka consumption is reportedly growing at 20-25% annually on a still small base of around 3.8 million cases.

Signing up Hrithik is part of a relaunch exercise Radico is undertaking for Magic Moments, which also includes upgraded packaging. “We chose Hrithik because it’s a personality fit; his energy and style fits well with the brand’s personality,” said Abhishek Khaitan, MD, Radico Khaitan.

Radico’s Magic Moments Vodka is being projected as one of the company’s key money spinners going into the future. The brand is expected to emerge with volume sales of over a million cases in 2008, making it probably the fastest Indian vodka to touch the million mark. The company has invested in a new plant in Bahadurgarh near Delhi for what it claims is a breakthrough packaging technology.

Labels: international, vodka

A categorized list of "martinis"

A fun list on Kottke.org of (mostly bad) martinis, including

Franklin-tini (for Ben Franklin's 300th birthday) Mex-tini (orange vodka + tequila) Sex-tini (Asian sex tonic + x-rated vodka) Flu-tini (vodka + cold medicine) Red Lobster Butter-Tini (butterscotch schnapps + half and half + Bailey's) Bikini-tini (low calorie) K-tini (sauerkraut) Red Hot Santa-tini (chili peppers + whipped cream) Insomnia-tini (energy drink) Peep-tini (Peeps candy)

For a change, reading about drinks doesn't make me thirsty at all.

Labels: funny

National Vodka Day is October 4

By me, in today's SF Chronicle:

7 reasons to celebrate National Vodka Day

Because vodka is by definition tasteless and minute differences in flavor don't make up for massive differences in shelf prices charged for it, spirits snobs tend to dismiss the whole category. But let's take a minute to reflect on the good things about vodka as we celebrate National Vodka Day on Thursday, Oct. 4:

-- It mixes with anything, so it's easy to use. Even amateur mixologists can make farmers' market cocktails with vodka, soda and the muddled fruit of the day.

-- No Jagermeister breath.

-- Cosmopolitans, Moscow mules, lemon drops, white Russians, madras, bay breezes, Bloody Marys: Yum.

-- The marketing of vodka provides no end to amusement. Carbonated, caffeinated, sold in a bong? Yep, we've seen those.

-- You don't have to think too hard about pairing it to bring out the subtle aromas of coriander and fennel. Just add juice. It works.

-- Some of the flavored vodkas are actually pretty terrific.

-- Not only does vodka not stain when you spill it on the rug, it can be used as a stain remover. Take that, wine!

Labels: camper_clips, funny, vodka

Hip Tastes Review

By me, in today's SF Chronicle:

Is that a sommelier in your pocket?

This Thursday is the release of local "personal sommelier" and wine-tasting party host Courtney Cochran's first book, "Hip Tastes: The Fresh Guide to Wine" (Viking Studio, $18.95). The surprisingly practical wine tutorial for newbies and reference for shoppers is broken into memorable one-point paragraphs. (Perhaps a more appropriate title would have been "Wine: The Short Answers.")

Mixed in with the overview are useful solutions to modern dilemmas like what to drink when all the wine is lousy at the business reception (white, with a couple ice cubes), what to pair with Mexican food (depends on whether you're getting the carnitas), and how to shop for it online (try not to order anything in the peak of summer).

She keeps the endless lists of beginner-befuddling producers, regions, and French vocabulary out of the main text (so you can focus on the whys rather than the whats) and includes her recommendations instead in the Appendix, along with the pronunciation guide we may not admit we really want.

The website for the book is here.

Labels: books, camper_clips, wine