Two Drink Minimum; The After 5 Cocktail Blog

Cosmopolitans are said by some to be a “ladies only” drink. You know, because they’re pink, they’re fruity, they’re Barbie-esque, and they definitely don’t taste like manly men. Plus, the cocktail was, for some, made famous by the television show, Sex and the City. So whichever way you look at it, yeah, a Cosmopolitan can beconstrued as somewhat…okay, a lot girly, but don’t let that be reason enough for you to miss out on its utter alcoholic fabulousness.

The recipe is as follows – vodka, triple sec, lime juice, and cranberry juice. Shake it all together, and BAM, you’ve got yourself a cosmo. So why has this drink o’ choice been dubbed a ladies only beverage? We all like vodka, we all like triple sec, and who doesn’t love a gulp or two of cranberry juice from time to time? If the froo-froo of it all is just too much for you, you can always drink a Cosmopolitan in disguise. If you’re a fan of retro or modern barware, then a cosmo is definitely a drink that can help show-off the presentation of your cocktail. After all, it’s pink. Pink makes everything prettier.

And, for those of you who want everyone to know how cool you are, we also happen to have martini glasses and shakers that can actually be personalized, so if you’d like to announce that this is BOB’S glass, then go right ahead. The ladies will love it.

You can also serve your Cosmopolitans in my personal favorite, a “Rocket Glass” that will seriously rock your world, pun intended. I mean, how often is it that you get to drink from a steel rocket ship? Let’s all go to space. Sipping from this product shoots you straight to the moon, because you’ll want to use it…and use it…and then use it all over again. Huston, there’s no problem here.

Also, ever seen Shark Week on the Discovery Channel? If you have, you’ll know that whether or not you like sharks, you like Shark Week. So, why not have shark-based martini glasses? You see, this is your easiest “out” on the Cosmopolitans-are-for-girls assumption. After all, when sharks are involved, things are always hardcore.

The options really are endless. What woman wouldn’t like to be wooed in with a Cosmopolitan served in a thick-stemmed martini glass like the ones below? Gives you something to hold onto that assists in the prevention of dropping it all over the place after a couple swigs of this fine, strong concoction.

So remember, there are plenty of ways to drink a girly drink that won’t lead to your buddies calling you a sissy. And remember, just because it’s pink, doesn’t mean real men don’t drink it!

Written by Sarah Cook, exclusively for After5catalog.com.

Can’t sit still? In need of random stimulation? Want to throw a little rave into your beer? In case you haven’t heard, you can now drink your cocktail and impress your friends, all at the same time.

It doesn’t get much cooler than cocktail glasses, beer glasses, shot glasses, and ice cubes that light-up. And seriously, who doesn’t like neon? We’ve got a large selection of barware that will bring you back to 1982, and make you wish you’d never left.

Imagine this. You invite your friends over for poker night. They’re expecting beer, shots of whatever it is that you take shots of, and pretzels, yes? The simple stuff. So think of the look on their faces when they see that not only do their shot glasses light up, but they have LED dice inside that roll around like crazy, only to land on a random number and make noises at you thereafter. You might not ever get around to playing poker when your buddies get their hands on these, as they’ll be too busy trying to decipher whose shot glass is the coolest, and what random drinking games can come from it all.

Got any “no alcohol, please” drinkers at your party that are grumpy because they don’t have a glowing cocktail to stare at? No worries, as we happen to have ice cubes that do the deed as well. Our light-up ice cubes come in every fluorescent color you’d ever desire, including green, red, yellow, and blue. So if one of your buddies is whining about how their drink is boring and uneventful, toss a couple of these babies in and you’ve got yourself a quick solution. We’ve even got glowing ice cubes that look like dice, for those that are more difficult to impress.

Our light-up pilsner beer glasses come in sets of four, and you can choose between red, green, blue, or rainbow. I know what you’re thinking. “What happens when all the glowing stops?” Simple solution – replace the batteries! Who knew how easy life could be. Plus, these pilsners have set speeds that you can choose from in order to dictate all the flashing madness. You can flash slowly, you can flash quickly, or, if you get too excited and start to dump your beer all over yourself, you can stop flashing for awhile while you attempt to regroup.

Also included in our light-up barware selection and not mentioned earlier are acrylic martini glasses, margarita glasses, and these super awesome beer pitchers that are the life of the party, as they flash in quite the strobe-light manner, reflecting an assortment of colors as your buddies stare in awe at the barware rave you’ve created for them. You’ll have a blast with these cocktail-based items, but don’t forget to take the batteries out of everything before putting them in the dishwasher, or you’re going to spend a lot of time wondering, “What happened?!”

At After5 our motto, “Celebrating the art of celebrating,” is just a politically correct way of saying we really like to party. And we know, just like you, that nothing ruins the memory of a good party quicker than a bad, bodacious, head-throbbing hangover! That’s right; you know what we’re talking about! Anyone who cruises the After5 site probably knows what it’s like. The symptoms: waking up with the spin and wondering “where the hell am I and how did I get here?” Hopefully you landed in your own bed, or at least in a bed spooned up to a warm body of your choice! And, oh yeah, let’s not forget these thoughts: “How can I rid myself of the nasty taste in my mouth - dragon-breath so bad my own mother would willingly put me out of my misery - not to mention a headache so bad I’d gladly lean on a sharp pencil placed in my eye in a heartbeat, if I could only drag my sweet, sorry ass out of bead to find one!”

Well, before you resort to a self-inflicted lobotomy, though you may deserve it for being such a bad, bad guy or gal during your night of earnest debauchery, know that help is on the way, courtesy of After5. Not only do we offer fun wacky party and cocktail barware accessories that promote and glorify our affinity for a good cocktail, a good party and a good laugh, we also offer a line of items that are bound to revive you, or at least, lead you to the road of recovery.

To snap you out of your fog in a jiffy and perhaps put a smile on your face, we highly recommend How to Cure A Hangover.

You’ll be glad to know this handy little book is not scribed by some party animal turned snake-oil peddler – this here’s the real deal. Hangover is written by DR. Andrew Irving, a “practicing London doctor, who has made a special study of the effects of alcohol on health. He has been a wine and whisky

lover for over fifty years (so you know this guy’s got some excellent hands-on experience.) The author is a supporter of the concept that alcohol in moderation is beneficial to health” (amen, let’s here it for the brother!)

This book is filled with witticisms for everyone such as:

“Alcohol is necessary for a man so that he can have a good opinion of himself undisturbed by the facts.” - Finley Peter Dunne

And,

“Champagne is the only wine that leaves a woman beautiful after drinking it.” - Madame De Pompadour

Recipes in the book like this one by Elmer Keifner, head bartender at the Hotel Vancouver in Canada, are bound to cure the most hardcore hangover:

Extremely Effective Cure
(for a large handover)

30mls or 1 fl. Oz. Cognac
60 ml or 2 fl. Oz. dry port
10 ml or ½ fl. Oz. sugar syrup
1 whole egg

Pour the above into the shaker

with crushed ice, shake well and strain in a goblet. We think this curative elixir looks fetching in After5’s Galleria Stemware Red wine glasses.

After all, just because you feel like cr*p, doesn’t mean your drink has to look that way in one of one of your old, chipped glasses, now does it?!

Once your head is in a better place, you’ll want to clean yourself up and slip into some fresh lounging clothes. We suggest the one-size-fits-all After5 Bathrobe, made of soft, all-cotton terry cloth with our embroidered martini logo. http://www.after5catalog.com/product_info.php/cPath/21_27/products_id/38o

For the ladies on the road to recovery, there are soft, 100% cotton Nightcap Pj Pants. They feature a retro-cool, ring-a-ding print of animated moons and cocktails that glow in the dark and include a drawstring-adjustable elasticized waist.

Better yet, pair this with the Nightcap P j tank top, for a coordinated relaxed look (making dressing a snap when you are still feeling a bit off from last night’s libations!)

By now you should be feeling just a bit better, so we’ll leave you be. We hope you’ll come back and visit our blog, especially if you find yourself in need of a “Suffering Bastard,” “Prairie Oyster” or “Fallen Angel.” In part two of this topic, we’ll explore exactly what a hangover is and what’s going on inside that body of yours. And yes, we’ll define the origin and meaning of that descriptive saying known through the ages as “hair of the dog.”

Until next time, always designate a (sober) driver, thanks for visiting and cheers!

Written by Sarah Ettman-Sterner, exclusively for After5catalog.com