Cocktail Curiosity is coming back and re-mixing its recipe slightly...with my job putting me in front of the hospitality and entertainment industry on a daily basis, I am going to turn this blog more into a impromptu, casual consulting resource for nightlife, restaurants, service industries, and general entertainment...
This new blend should be quite tasty...until the "bar" is ready enjoy my marketing and PR observations over at Cabernet Logic.
Ever notice how memorable nightlife usually involves the perfect pairings? Successful venues use both live music and DJs to create the perfect entertainment blend, dance floors are always more enjoyable with the right partner at your side, even the club interiors offer subtle mixes of bright, central rooms alongside pockets of intimate VIP lounges. This pairing theme is never more obvious up at the bar with legendary cocktail blends like a “rum and coke”, “vodka and orange juice”, and the relative new kid on the block “Absolut and Red Bull.” Pairs liter the nightlife landscape, but have you ever wondered where some of these great cocktail concoctions came from?
Let’s start with the classic – Rum and Coke, also known to millions as the Cuba Libre. As with most drinking tales, the history of this drink tends to vary, but it would appear that it first surfaced sometime around 1898. The Bacardi website (www.bacardi.com) credits its invention to an American Army Captain who while drinking it for the first time was so impressed he ordered a round for all the soldiers in the bar. The cocktail “united the crowd in a spirit of fun and good fellowship.” Upon ordering a second round, one young soldier suggested the toast “Por Cuba Libre!” in order to honor the newly freed Cuba. Hisotirans will argue some of the logistics and timing of such a story, but with most bar tales, this one proves to be the most colorful!
As popular as the Rum and Coke is in the southern circles of nightlife, another combination reigns supreme throughout the country – The classic Screwdriver also known as vodka and orange juice. The first published mention of a Screwdriver was in a Time magazine in 1949, it was refferred to as a “Yankee Concoction.” Though historians feel vodka and OJ has been drank for the better part of the 20th century, it did not take on its title of ‘Screwdriver’ until American oil workers in Iran were often seen stirring their cocktail with their utility screwdrivers that were regularly attached to their work belts.
And the newest pair to become a pop phenomenon….how about an Absolut and Red Bull. Though the exact orgin of the drink is unknown, we know it had to begin after 1987 when the Thailand originated Red Bull began hitting the marketplace. Instead of a history lesson on this one, how about a quick bit of english…well synonyms to be exact, here are some nicknames for the classic Vodka and Red Bull: Eyeopener, Dagger, RBV, Heart Attack, A Lawnchair (in KY), Pearsall (Detroit), Raging Bull, One-Armed Scissor, Gummibäärli (Switzerland), Votka Enerji (Turkey), "Křídla"(Czech – it translates to Wings), REVO, Cheap Man’s Cocaine, and even Speedball…and the most unusual way to order it lies in Northeastern PA where you step up to the bar and order a “Ric Flair.”
So there you have a look at a trio of duos that embodies great pairings in nightlife. Everyone has their cult favorite of cocktails and combinations, so feel free to share them in our Club Hour Cocktail Forum.
Have some fun with the 3 year anniversary party for Coyote Ugly in Panama City Beach:
Enjoy our interview with Natalie Stovall from the World Famous Beach Club Spinnaker.
Not to pat Club Hour on the back, but shortly after this interview aired, Natalie was invited to sing for the President of the United States....okay, I agree it might have had something to do with how incredible her voice is...in fact, I am thinking Club Hour had very little to do with her White House appearance...:-)
A quick welcome to our new readers from the Tripsmarter.com newsletter....subscribe to our RSS feed for daily facts and fun tidbits about pop culture, music, and of course NIGHTLIFE!
Feel free to leave comments, share your ideas, your stories and your wonderful adventures out and about with friends, loved ones and stranger!
Where is everyone from?
OK, so today I am taking the day off from posting and simply "borrowing" great 4th of July tips, recipes and drinks from our friends at Food Network.
Click here for all the goodies that will make your BBQ the best on the block!
Today's Patriotic Cocktail....
Patriotic Punch
- 1 part UV Red Cherry-flavored vodka
- 3 parts lemonade
Pour the ingredients into a rocks glass over ice. Stir and serve.
(Thanks again to Cocktail Times for sharing their fun drinks of sumer)
In honor of the 4th this week we are featuring patriotic cocktails....enjoy!
Today's Drink:
Yankee Doodle
- 1 part UV Blue Raspberry-flavored vodka
- 2 parts sour
- 1 part tonic
Pour vodka, sour and tonic into a rocks glass over ice. Stir and serve.
(thanks to Cocktail Times for the great recipes)
If you are like me, a night has not gone by where I wished I could combine my two favorite pastimes...drinking and eating those delicious Orange Creamsicles...
The time has come! Check out the new Hard Creamers. They offer Orange and Strawberry and will satisfy your sweet tooth and your buzz at the same time...
...you'll agree its deliciously creamy....
Another sip of alcohol fun from Prof. David J. Hanson, Ph.D.
This comical poster might very well do the opposite of its intended purpose - from the looks of some of these angry ladies, it just might drive a man to drink.
Thanks to Prof. David J. Hanson, Ph.D. for sharing the history of the term toast:
"The word 'toast,' meaning a wish of good health, started in ancient Rome, where a piece of toasted bread was dropped into wine."
Into nightlife? Love the bars and clubs but you can't make it out every night due to the job...well no fear...
Check Out Tripsmarter.com's new Club Hour Channel
You can watch all the latest Club Hour videos on-line. You can send them to friends and even embed your favorites on your site...enjoy and keep checking back as we are in the process of updating all the new vids for 2007.
For your weekend reading, check out all the info on Bonnaroo. The yearly festival is this weekend and if you were not able to make it out, you are missing one of the greatest music festivals on the planet.
The consolation prize is that Bonnaroo releases a lot of their live shows for download and on CD after the fact, so keep checking back on their site to get some great tracks! (My fav is the 2004 Dave Matthews and Friends)
Learn all about Bonnaroo Music Festival and start planning your trip for next year!
...and if you own a bar or restaurant it just might be...
For those who have ever worked in the business, here is a book you will enjoy relating with and reading....and for those reading this that own restaurants and bars...its a book you cannot live without browsing through...do you know how smart your employees are?
How to Burn Down the House - The Infamous Waiter and Bartender's Scam Bible
(you can buy it used for under $6)
Vodka accounts for more than one out of every four bottles of distilled spirits consumed in the U.S. Thanks to 3DHospitality.com for the facts.
Alright, I know this is about cocktails and nightlife and all things pop culture....BUT I am going to stretch a hair here and post a video from a fellow reality TV show. [Yes I consider Club Hour a reality show.]
We cover musicians and have had the opportunity to interview some great bands and some downright BAD bands. On those rare occasions that we go out to film yet another "cover band" and you find someone as special as Paul, it brings a nice warmth to the TV process.
Enjoy!
I normally include some trivia or cocktail info here at The Curiosity...but today how about an update on one of the newest destinations in the Southeast for nightlife:
Club Hour and its nightlife team went to the Opera this past week. We dressed up and joined about 5000 others to celebrate the opening of Atlanta’s new Opera.
Excerpt from Tripsmarter.com Network Newsletter:
"No there was no fat lady singing, but rather a club full of partyers singing their praise on Atlanta’s newest nightlife attraction. Opera, formerly eleven50 in midtown, has gotten a 2.5 million dollar overhaul and is now nothing short of spectacular. From the floor to ceiling red velvet drapes in the VIP suites to the multiple tier bar levels overlooking the entire club to the outdoor patio with private cabanas, water features and spectacular lighting, Opera has not only re-defined what a club should elicit within one’s emotions but sets the bar incredibly high for the numerous bars in remodels and construction in the downtown area."
I have been promised a new website coming soon and I will pass it along as soon as i get it.
If you are anywhere in the Southeast, Opera is worth a weekend trip to Atlanta's midtown for some cocktails, music and sexy friends...
Really there are no excuses to not taking 3 minutes and throwing down a fun fact about nightlife and cocktails...BUT the grand opening of Opera is definitely one of those excuses...
A new chapter of nightlife in ATL opened on Friday night and we were there and Club Hour enjoyed every second of it...maybe a few too many seconds of it...
Either way, please pardon the days off while we shake the cobwebs...I promise on Monday comments on the new Opera in Atlanta!
A Strong, Great tasting shot in which i learned this evening:
A Jellybean is one part Sambuca and one part Chambord....Jelly Belly has got nothing on this shot!
Ready for something new and refreshing for the summertime heat? Our friends at Miller Brewing are very proud to launch Miller Chill...read all about the next great beer at their official site.
