Two Drink Minimum; The After 5 Cocktail Blog

While we are on the subject of beer, (see last blog) I am itching to share our latest invention with all of you beer lovers out there. This crafty little can carrier has enough room for a full six pack of your cans or bottles. The Beer Belt has six insulated molded foam beverage holders, two banks of three, that keep the brew cold right up until the last can, or can’t for some. Its a great party pleaser that reduces the lag time while waiting in those long lines for the bartender to doll out drinks one by one. Stand in line once, get your six and your set

for the next hour ..or so. Suddenly you have lots of beer buddies following you around ? We made it with an adjustable wide 2″ belt that evenly distributes the weight of the six beers giving the user long hours of beer carrying capability. Maybe we should call it the can camel. Any suggestions out there? if you come up with a winning name I will give you a free one. An After 5 exclusive!

Now if you really want to be a party geek use the Beer Belt in conjunction with the Beer Helmet. Do the math…that would be eight beers. Thats enough to find out where the restrooms are. This epiphany is another nifty little invention, (not from us however) that makes sure you are fully hydrated at all times. The Thirst Aid Helmet or Beer hat has changed the way people drink beer with its ife-enriching miracle of hands-free drinking. Through ingenious and very scientific technology utilizing a helmet, two drink holders, and some plastic hose, the groundbreaking beer helmet revolutionizes beer consumption by conveniently placing beverage containers on both sides of the frontal lobe. The tri-valve ergonomic “chug” lines of the beer helmet will allow the drinker to imbibe from two beverages at once, thus doubling the intoxication rate while freeing up the hands to better tally Fantasy Football scores, crochet, or hold a couple more beers. The Beer Hat is completely washable. Adjustable interior plastic band adjusts to 24.75″. One size fits all.

Continuing on with the subject of beer check out some of our fun beer signs on our new website. www.personalizedsignshop.com.

What is it about golf that makes a beer taste so good. When I play golf I have to have a beer/ booze plan before I go. In fact I can almost be certain that my game will be better if beer is on the links with me. With this in mind when the Golf Shoe Bag Covert Cooler was presented to us it was a slam dunk for our After 5 catalog. You’ve got your irons and your woods. Now toss in the aluminums. The Shoe Bag Covert Cooler provides a discreet, soft-sided, and completely watertight compartment for hiding and cooling your frosties while out on the links. The clearly labeled “Shoe Bag” (wink, wink) fits inside your golf bag’s large side pocket and, like you, holds up to 9 cans of beer or your favorite beverage at a time. . A very cool and popular item. I never leave home (on the way to the links), without it.

But an even more popular golfers drinking toy is the Designated Driver Cooler Club. This is my favorite club in my golf bag. Its a stealthy drink dispenser that’s shaped just like one of your drivers and fits into the golf bag along with the rest of the clubs. The head of the Designated Driver Kooler Klub looks just like a real club! The double walled shaft of the club champ fits easily into your golf bag and holds 48 ounces of cold or hot beverages (enough to satisfy a thirsty foursome). A thumb activated keg-like pump mechanism on the cooler club dispenses the juice from the insulated drink caddy out the top and into you glass. The only down side to this handy drink dispenser / cooler is you cant drive a ball with it. If you can believe it we have had some returned from golfers that have tried. In any event both of drink dispensers for the links help me with my golf game. The relaxing mind numbing qualities of of a good drink will undoubtedly improve any hackers game, or maybe its that we care less about the game when using these drink dispensing golfers toys.

“Fore!”

This shaken or stirred martini debate will continue on forever. Or at least until a new Bond figures out how to make a martini a better way. And really who cares.. Have you ever sent a martini back to the bartender because it you heard it being shaken and not stirred? Doubt it.. and if you did you weren’t thirsty enough. I don’t think I have ever sent one back, ever. Maybe for more olives but not for lack of stirring or shaking. Well, so being the martini lover that I am I thought this shaken stirred debate warranted a little study. To the books I dove. And to my surprise there is a difference. Subtle but there is scientific evidence that states that there is a physical difference between the shaken and the stirred martini. Scientists, biochemists, and martini lovers did research to determine the difference and came up with some hard data. According to a study at the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario in Canada to determine if the preparation of a martini has an influence on their antioxidant capacity, the shaken gin martinis were able to break down hydrogen peroxide and leave only 0.072% of the peroxide behind, versus the stirred gin martini which left behind 0.157% of the peroxide. The study was done at the time because moderate consumption of alcohol appears to reduce the risk of cataracts, cardiovascular disease, and stroke, none of which afflict the fictional James Bond.

Andrew Lycett, an Ian Fleming biographer, believed that Fleming liked his martinis shaken, not stirred because Fleming thought that stirring a drink diminished its flavour. Lycett also noted that Fleming preferred gin and vermouth for his martini. A subject that we will blog about later. It has also been said that Fleming was a fan of martinis shaken by Hans Schröder, a German bartender. Some connoisseurs believe that shaking gin is a faux pas, supposedly because the shaking “bruises” the gin (a term referring to a slight bitter taste that can allegedly occur when gin or vodka is shaken). Others contend that Bond was only shaking because of the vodka it contained. Prior to the 1960s, vodka was, for the most part, refined from potatoes (usually cheaper brands). This element made the vodka oily. To disperse the oil, Bond ordered his martinis shaken; thus, in the same scene where he orders the martini, he tells the barman about how vodka made from grain rather than potatoes makes his drink even better. This does not explain why Bond in the films still preferred his drink to be shaken rather than stirred, because beginning mostly in the 1960s vodka refined from potatoes was virtually replaced by vodka refined by grains such as corn and wheat or by other ingredients such as grapes and soybeans.

Other reasons for shaking tend to include making the drink colder or as Bond called it, ice-cold. Shaking allows the drink to couple with the ice longer thus making it far colder than if it were to be stirred. Shaking is also said to dissolve the vermouth better making it less oily tasting. While properly called a Bradford, shaken martinis also appear cloudier than when stirred. This is caused by the small fragments of ice present in a shaken martini.

My guess is that Fleming needed to spruce up the aura of the martini for the admired, intellectual, manly man, James Bond and create a particular “Bond” way of drinking the cocktail. This added mystique or interest has given rise to the popularity of the distinguished martini cocktail. The martini will eternally be associated with James and his ways and with that association is why we love martinis.