Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with drinks

Non-alcoholic drinks that aren't sweet and are available in the UK?

tkbarbarian — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 23:34:55 -0800

Can you recommend non-alcoholic drinks that aren't sweet and are available in the UK? I quite like drinking something non-alcoholic, that has a pleasant taste but isn't sweet.

Things like Shloer, Ame, funky sparkling fruit cordials are just too sweet.

Why is it so hard to find something that fits the bill in the UK?

When I've travelled to Africa / Middle East there are all sorts of things - Bavaria Apple Malt (non alcoholic, not sweet apple beer thing) and more standard non-alcoholic beers that can be found everywhere.

I occasionally like non-alcoholic beers like Becks but there must be more than beer out there that isn't sweet?!

Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world...

potatopeople — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:46:46 -0800

Looking for classy bar or lounge reccomendations in Connecticut, but willing to visit Southern Mass area as well. Went to the Tunnel Bar in Northhampton, MA some time ago and truly enjoyed the cozy, quiet setting with the lovely ambiance, big leather armchairs, and tasty drinks. Can I get one of those around here? Where can I go in CT to have a few drinks and hold a conversation with friends where I could actually hear them talk? Not looking for a loud noisy drunken bar scene. Somewhere classy, maybe TunnelBar-like or Milk&Honey-esque?

Cheers!

Festive drinks for an office party?

LN — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:15:50 -0800

I need suggestions for an office party Christmas cocktail. Ok, so, myself and my co-worker were tasked with organizing the office Christmas Party this year (And yes, I realize we're doing this early, but hey, we want to get a reservation at a place we like, not go scrambling at the last minute!). Our mandate for this party is to do something "different" this year, since the office is thoroughly sick of the usual party games and whatnot.

We had the idea of making up a cocktail or festive drink that we could offer people as they came in the door. Since we have some non-drinkers and pregnant co-workers in our group, said festive drink needs to have a non-alcoholic variant.

So, the drink has to:
1) have alcoholic and virgin variants
2) be relatively easy to make for a bartender with a decently stocked bar
3) Taste good

Eggnog is the obvious solution here, but I'd like to try and find something new that my co-workers may not have tried. Bonus points for something either Christmas-themed, or something with a name that makes reference to academia (since I work for an NGO for scholarly associations).

So, hivemind, please suggest a festive drink or cocktail to help me make this a great office party!

Ahhh, cold aguas frescas

azpenguin — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 07:34:13 -0800

Has anyone here ever sold aguas frescas? After having had some of the good, honest to God aguas frescas that were made from scratch and not from a mix, I had to learn to make them myself. I've been tinkering with different flavors for a while and I've learned how to make a pretty good drink. I talked with an out-of-state friend recently who is on the committee for a small local festival. He's also a fan of the drinks and says I should come on out and sell them at the festival. After checking with the health department and other relevant authorities (taxation, etc.) it actually looks feasible to do. I can make a fair bit of money; not a fortune but it'll pay for my startup costs and the gas to go up and see some friends.

So I've gone and found where I can get the vitroleros (the glass barrels that they are traditionally sold in), since the presentation is what sells them as much as the taste. I've figured out what it would cost to make the drinks, and since I used to work for a foodservice distributor, I know how much cups, lids, straws, forks, napkins and etc. will cost. I've already devised a table setup that will maximize the visual impact. And I've figured out the exact ratios for making big batches of these fast. I've figured out a few flavors that are likely to sell well. I even have a collapsible canopy I can set up under to protect things from the sun. I've done what I can to get my ducks in a row on this before I commit to actually filling out a vendor app.

Problem is, I've never done this on a large scale before. It's one thing to make a gallon for the house. I can do one flavor at a time, drink it over a couple of days, and keep it in the fridge to keep it cold. To sell them at the festival, I'd need to make several gallons of different flavors, and keep them iced. If I need to make a new batch fast, I'll also need to ice the drinks down so that they chill fast and stay cold. (One of my big concerns is that I don't want to sell watered-down product because the ice melted.)

So, have any of you actually sold these drinks before? Are there other things I need to think about? Or do you have any other tips/advice? Or am I just crazy?

A Communist (Birthday) Party

theRussian — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:31:54 -0800

Ideas for a Communist Party, Go! Hi all,

So I've decided to have a Communist Party for my upcoming birthday, due to the abundance of punny food/drink items that are possible.

I've seen this comment, and those are definitely going to be made. So, hive mind, I need more punny food/drink/activity ideas! A lot of my guests will be vegan, though don't let that stop you from suggesting something, I can likely vegan-ize it.

So far, friends and I have come up with the following ideas:
Proleteriyaki Tofu&Pineapple bites
Tea-nanmen Sandwiches
Hum-Mao-s
KGBean dip
Gulag-amole (this might be slightly offensive)

I don't know any appetizers with Lentils, but there's opportunity there...or perhaps, Lenin (Lemon) Bars. Also, anyone know any good appetizers to be made with Manifesto Pesto?

Drinks ideas include
Mao-hitos
Molotov cocktails
Scotch on the Marx, or something with Makers Marx
And then all of the "real" drinks, like White/Black Russians, Moscow Mules, etc.

Certainly not expecting to make all of these, I just want to get as many ideas as possible so that I can create foods/drinks that go together. Any other decoration/activity suggestions welcome, too! Thanks.

Water water everywhere but way too boring to drink (all the time)

Deathalicious — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:48:47 -0800

As summer approaches, how about some nice suggestions for alternatives for cola/sodas? I want to save money, bottles, and empty calories. Here are the rules:

Caffeine free
Lower in Calories than sodas
Something relatively easy/fast to make or procure

Healthy, natural, and cheap is best but for excellent flavor I'm willing to be a bit more flexible. But no matter what, it has to be refreshing. Also, I'm mostly looking for recipes but if there's something inexpensive that I can purchase that stands on its own that works too.

I realize that "Ice tea" is going to be a popular answer and of course I will be making some of that. But details would be great. For example, is it possible to recreate a cola-ish flavor by mixing different herbal teas together?

Help me refine and name a new cocktail.

jeremias — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:04:18 -0800

Help me refine and name a new cocktail. I didn't set out to make a new cocktail, but one night I used the only ingredients I had around that made any sense at all: a good tequila (the sipping kind), unsweetened cranberry juice and ginger ale. Mix the three over crushed ice, stir gently and serve.

It really wasn't bad, out of curiosity I searched around and didn't see this mix anywhere, (or if so, relatively obscure and ripe for co opting.) Feel free to point out that this is well-known drink and I'm a dork for posting this.

I figure I could refine it a bit, but looking for suggestions. Perhaps some grenadine to make it a tiny bit sweeter?

And then the real task is of course the name. With the exception of the cranberry and especially if I added the grenadine this is a varietal on the Shirley Temple, but an evil one with alcohol. Suggestions?

Is there a word that means edible-or-potable?

painquale — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:16:09 -0800

Words for things you eat: edibles, comestibles, food. Words for things you drink: potables, drinks. Is there a generic term for things that you eat or drink? Let's say that I top up my pet's food and water supply. I want to be able to say that I replenished his X, where X is just a single word. It strikes me that there should be such a word, but I'm drawing a blank.

Toasty toes and hot toddies

MsMolly — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 08:54:59 -0800

Where's the best place in Chicago to sit in front of a nice fire and sip drinks? Boy and I are planning a weekend in Chicago next month where we'll play at being tourists and do all the stuff we never get to do when visiting friends and family. We'll try to get a nice hotel through Priceline and stay somewhere near either Water Tower Place or Grant Park. I'll be combing the other Chicago threads for fun things to do, but one thing that I didn't find that would be especially nice is where to go if we want to sit in front of a warm fire. This could include hotels/B&Bs with fireplaces in the rooms, restaurants, bars, hotel lobbies, whatever. Where would you go in Chicago if you wanted to toast your toes and relax with a drink? The only event we have planned so far is the Magnetic Fields show at the Old Town School of Folk Music on the 15th, and we're willing to go anywhere in town, although accessible by El is better.

How do I make a blackcurrant and Guinness?

champthom — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:36:33 -0800

How do I properly add blackcurrant to Guinness? I know that I'm probably "killing the flavor" by doing so or that it's "girly" but I want to try blackcurrant and Guinness, which is suppose to add sweetness to the Guinness.

Maybe I sound stupid but - how do I properly add blackcurrant to the Guinness? I'm using Ribena Blackcurrant Concentrate but for some reason, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. It says that a properly prepared one should make the head of the Guinness purple but I can't get it like that.

I've tried looking online, though most of the recipes say "Add blackcurrant to the Guinness" without saying how much. So how much should I add and when so I can get a sweeter Guinness?

sweet sweet tea

edjusted — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:59:33 -0800

I just took a trip to Atlanta and became addicted to sweet tea. I googled for recipes and noticed a few variations in the way it's prepared (besides amount of tea bags, sugar, water). That is, some recipes call for boiling the tea, then adding the sugar, then adding *room temperature* water. Some call for adding boiling water to tea, steeping, adding the sugar, then adding *cold* water. I think one called for adding the boiling water to tea, adding the sugar, then adding *room temperature water*. etc. etc. What I'm curious about is how do the differences affect the final taste? That is, why boiling the tea vs adding boiling water to tea? Why room temperature water vs cold water? And besides the scientific explanations, any tips on how to make the perfect sweet tea would be greatly appreciated!

(I hope I'm not going overboard here, but it also occurred to me: people in other regions (e.g. Southern CA) like iced teas and add sweetener. So why not just serve sweet tea, especially since sweetener doesn't dissolve worth a damn?)

Emergen-c Vs. hot water

Black_Umbrella — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:33:44 -0800

Does hot water destroy the vitamins in Emergen-C? Hot water certainly makes Emergen-c (or any fizzy vitamin mix) taste better but does it hurt the vitamins in anyway? I was terrible at chemistry and its derivatives so i really have no idea if the heat would destroy any of the bonds or not. I ask this specifically about fizzy vitamin drinks because of how they react when mixed with hot water. The very fine particles sort of explode and all the fizzy stuff gets "all fizzed out" really quickly.

Someone once told me mixing / shaking Emergen-c to much would break the bonds...but i don't believe that one.

let's warm it up this winter!

thinkingwoman — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:21:10 -0800

'tis the season for hot alcoholic drinks. throw your recipes at me! i usually like a glass of wine after dinner, but i've been craving hot drinks lately. mulled wine is good; what else do you like?

also, i was thinking it would be good to add a shot of something to a cup of lemony herbal tea, but i don't know what would be good. brandy? rum? mead? do they even make mead?

Frozen Booze

sycophant — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 13:22:39 -0800

Ever made slushy cocktails? We're renting a slushy machine for a party in a week. We're looking for recipe ideas... The machine we've rented has two 12L barrels (it's just the same as the slushy machines at the gas station, or whatever).

All the recipes I've found online tend to rely of supplied mixes, which aren't available to us. We were hoping some here on the Green have made frozen boozy goodness in the past, and may have some suggestions.

Currently, I'm leaning toward the idea of Pina Colada and Margatita and may just scale up the recipes for the regular cocktails. Or just pouring Rum, Coconut Cream and Pineapple juice in the barrel until the fun starts.

What are the best Movie + Drink Combinations?

yeahyeahyeahwhoo — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:41:22 -0800

What are the best movie + booze combinations? After a successful Big Lebowski + White Russian movie night at a local theater to raise money for a local charity, my friends are looking for some suggestions for some other movies with specific drink references or themes that would be good and fun to have for a movie night.

Scary drinks wanted...

ObscureReferenceMan — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:43:52 -0800

Yet another Halloween question... What are your favorite drink/cocktail recipes with a Halloween "twist"? I'm throwing a Halloween party. I have a few ideas for cocktails:
Dracula's Kiss
Black Martini
Mad Eye Martini
Zombie
Frog in a Blender
Scary Screwdriver
Bloody Brain
Brain Hemorrhage
Actually there are a lot at cocktails.about.com.

But I'd like some more. Any ideas? Extra credit will be given for drinks that are scary, black or gross/weird looking. Oh... I have a bottle of Blavod, but I'd be willing to purchase almost any booze for the shindig. Thanks!!!

What to drink at a R. Kelly party?

rex — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 13:21:12 -0800

I'm throwing a party tonight -- but not just any party. I'm throwing a Trapped in the Closet viewing party. The question is this: what should my signature drink be? A cool cocktail? A faux-cool cocktail? What would R. Kelly do?

Couple buys couple a drink...

eas98 — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 07:53:59 -0800

Etiquettefilter -- So me and my girl were at a strip club... ...and another couple on the other side of the stage bought us a round of our drinks. We didn't know until the waitress brought the drinks to our table. We did not know the couple at all.

The question is - what was the appropriate response? Were we supposed to go over and sit with them? Buy them a drink in return? What?

As it was, we just went over and thanked them, chatted a moment, and came back to our table. But it'd be good to know for the next time.

Thanks!

DIY Summer Drinks

The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 02:18:40 -0800

Help me find some awesome DIY-able summer drinks (non-alcoholic) That Lemonade sidebar, plus the hot and humid Florida summer has me a mean hankering to make some cool, large-batch drinks as a weekend/afternoon project. My shortlist includes trying my hand at some Lemonade (via the sidebar recipe), Ginger Beer, Iced Teas, and Root Beer. I'm looking for nonalcoholic drinks, so most of the previous threads that are similar don't help me much.

Your tips, recipes (esp. for the Ginger Beer), recommendations, and anything else germane are welcomed and encouraged.

Bonus points for anyone who can point to general or specific places in the Tampa Bay Area (or online, if it's really cheap) to get dried hibiscus(jamaica) flowers for brewing.

Birthday party location on 10/27 in Los Angeles?

charlesv — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:25:12 -0800

Birthday party location on 10/27 in Los Angeles? I am planning my 30th birthday party for 10/27 in Los Angeles. I expect to have about 30 or so people there. I'm looking for a place, preferably in the Hollywood / Los Feliz / Silverlake area, where I can reserve a private-ish area for the entire party, or at least seats for everyone. There should be good music and dancing, and possibly even bottle service for a not-outrageous amount of money. It should not be so loud that conversation is impossible.

I would like to cover either dinner OR drinks for the entire party, so I was thinking that maybe a supper club would work - I could buy dinner and people could buy their own drinks. Or, alternatively, dinner there or somewhere else where people pay for themselves and then a club that would do an all-you-can-drink deal for my party for a fixed amount per person. Unless the place is very reputable, I would rather not just pick up the tab for everyone at the end of the night because who knows what people have charged to my tab and what the bartenders are up to.

This will be a mixed guys-and-girls together party, so a strip club wouldn't work, but if there was a burlesque type place that might work. Perez Hilton had Dita von Teese at his birthday party but I seriously doubt I could afford her at mine.

The place does not have to be trendy or fancy - if there is a dive bar that meets these requirements (obviously no bottle service there) that's fine with me.

I'm not setting a budget just yet, so let's just say it should cost less than $3k and that I would like a number closer to $1k.

Suggest spiced drink recipes

BradNelson — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 22:17:51 -0800

I'm looking for non-alcoholic drink recipes that include spices. I have a vast array of whole spices and want to start incorporating them into drinks. Unfortunately, the cookbooks I have don't offer many. There are some obvious drinks, like mulled cider, and I've found a unique one that includes cumin, tamarind, and mint. So, either hot or cold will do.

However, no alcohol. I don't drink, so...no alcohol.

Any kind of spice will do, though I'm really wanting to use some whole spices like cumin, caraway, star anise, coriander, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, nutmeg, allspice, juniper berries, et cetera.

Micro-brew American shandy?

OmieWise — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 09:48:44 -0800

Is there an American maker of good ginger Shandy? I can get the Carib brand in my neighborhood, but the ginger flavor is kind of sucky. Alternatively, is there such a thing as an alcoholic ginger ale made in the US? I know it's easy to make a decent shandy, I'm just curious about this.

How can I import foreign drinks in the US?

cyrusdogstar — Wed, 30 May 2007 19:49:44 -0800

Is there any way I can obtain non-mainstream European brands of hard cider in the US? I had some hard ciders during a recent trip to the UK, specifically Kopparberg (and Weston's, although I liked the Kopparberg more so it's the focus of my search) but on my return I find that they don't seem to export it to anyplace outside of a few European countries. Being somewhat of a neophyte at world travel and foreign relations in general, I have no idea where to look to try and obtain some locally (NYC area).

I'm thinking there might be companies that specialize in small-scale importing like this, or perhaps some mega liquor store that stocks every single beer and cider under the sun, or some other option I can't think of.

Googled for the more obvious things, but e.g. "kopparberg cider new york city" doesn't turn up anything terribly useful.

Name that drink.

Telf — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 00:27:43 -0800

What do I call this drink? I'm a pretty regular scotch and soda drinker, but was recently introduced to a new libation. My buddy ordered a scotch, ginger ale and bitters. It's good, but what is it called? I've been ordering this at some of the better bars around town but feel like an ass explaining the drink each time. Is there a common name for this drink? My google fu has failed me.

Specifically it's a tall single of decent lower end scotch, usually Dewars. It's topped off with ginger ale then finished with just a dash of Angostura bitters.

This has to be an established drink, it seems so obvious.

Sazerac in Chicago?

warhol — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 20:08:55 -0800

Where to find a really good Sazerac in Chicago? I'm going to be in Chicago in a few weeks with some friends. We've been recently talking about favorite cocktails and I want to share a Sazerac with them. Obviously, Chicago isn't New Orleans, but can anyone make a recommendation where to get a good one?

Not a bartender that can read instructions, but some place where they'll make it with real love and goodness...