A Voluptuous Volume of Vodka (and music)

Time/Date: 1115, 09-Dec-10
Location: F'ton

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This was supposed to be a Vodka et Vendredi post last vendredi, but someone (me) forgot to bring their laptop when they went to work early that night, so here it is now.

As a bonus (and because I probably won't write a Vodka et Vendredi post tomorrow), you're getting a 2 for 1 deal on drink recipes AND music today. That's right! Two drink recipes AND two music videos. I'm good like that.

But first:

The crew from Here Magazine, a weekly "Urban Alternative" (i.e., entertainment) paper in Moncton, Saint John & Fredericton, popped in to Lava & really like what they saw, heard & drank. You can read what they had to say in Here, umm, here (pun kinda intended). Hats off to my buddy Dave for being an awesome host & mixologist!

(btw, I didn't realize Here was owned by Brunswick News. Brunswick News being a part of the Irving Group of Companies and owns EVERY news outlet in the province. I wonder how a free, weekly "Urban Alternative" paper fits into their business model. Oh well. Irving family, if you're reading this, I will write & fly fish & put up youtube videos of music for you guys for $200,000. That's right, 411#3 has prices, not principles. They're just high prices.)

Enough of that. On to the drink recipes!

Here's a tasty cocktail that I call the 'Pom & Cran-It,' aka 'the Katie drink,' after my lovely coworker Katie. In a moment of pure genius, Katie decided that Three Olives Pomegranate Vodka would be delicious mixed with cranberry juice. She was right.

So here is the Pom & Cran-It:

• fill an 8-12 oz tumbler with ice
• 1 oz (or 2 oz, if you're so inclined) of Three Olives Pomegranate Vodka
• top with cranberry juice
• slice of lemon as garnish

That's it. Simple. Tasty.

For the anti-flavoured vodka purist, we have a special treat for you: Kissui Vodka. It's distilled in Japan from rice, so it leaves a faint aftertaste of Sake on the tongue. It's a special-order vodka at Lava, meaning you can't get it at NB Liquor. Our M.O. is get you hooked on something, and then tell you we're the only place you can get it. We're evil like that.

To best enjoy Kissui, I recommend:

• small rocks glass, with 3-4 ice cubes
• 1-2 oz of Kissui Vodka
• squeeze in juice from 1 lime wedge (1/8th of a lime)

As, above, that's it. Simple. Tasty.

Now, music time. 

The boys (& my good friends) at BabZees Entertainment are throwing a New Year's Eve extravaganza, featuring local music superstars Ross Neilsen & the Sufferin' Bastards and the David Myles Band. Tickets are only $25, available at Read's Newsstand on King St. A portion of proceeds are going to the Jim Pirie Foundation, so get out, support a good cause & local music, and have fun!

Check out some tunes below.

Vodka et Vendredi: The Frisky Bison

Time/Date: 2005, 05-Nov-10
Location: F'ton

Remember, remember, the fifth of November...

Ah, never mind, that's for some other blog.

What I really want to talk to you about is vodka. I think that's more important on this Friday night than trying to light a bonfire in the pouring rain. If you'd rather read about Guy Fawkes, click here.

Last week we received delivery of two new brands of vodka that are exclusive to Lava Vodka Lounge. As we strive to have the best & largest selection of vodka found anywhere, we special-order brands unavailable at NB Liquor stores throughout the province.

One of those brands was Stoli Elit, probably one of the finest vodkas I have ever tasted.

Zubrowka, from Poland

But the real surprise was Zubrowka (pronounced "Zoob-ruv-ka"). It's a bison grass vodka from Poland, very "Christmas-y" with hints of sweetness, spice & heat on the tongue.

Being the student of booze I am, I quickly hauled out our reference book to confirm my initial thought: this could be mixed with....apple juice?!? Yes, apple juice.

It's called a Frisky Bison in the UK, and here's the Lava version of it:

Step 1: Fill a small tumbler/rocks glass with ice.
Step 2: Pour in 1 oz of Zubrowka.
Step 3: Add 3/4 oz of apple juice
Step 4: Add 3/4 oz of filtered water
Step 5: Stir & enjoy.

It tastes like apple crisp. Or grandma's apple pie.

Delightful.

Update with a Musical Interlude

Time/Date: 1520, 29-Oct-10
Location: I'm not not typing this in my bathroom. Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to...


A quick update (with some new tunes):

• I've started working on some 'about' pages on 411#3. I was going to write one 'about' page but, by the time I was done writing the manifesto that was the music section, I decided each of the main topics could probably have their own page. I currently have the Music, Drinks and Contact pages completed; check them out & let me know what you think.
• I've started helping out at Fredericton Outfitters & Anglers a little more consistently with some promo & marketing. I think it's a good trade: I give him my mad skillz and he gives me discounted gear. Love it. Anyway, be sure to check out both Chris (@FtonOutfitters) and I (@FOAprostaff) on twitter, and join the FOA Facebook group for cool pics, links, tips and contests. We also have some really great items up for sale on eBay for clearance prices; check them out here.
• As mentioned in the last post, my saltwater fly fishing rig is just waiting for my new fly line to arrive, then it's off to practice my double-haul out on Killarney Lake
• I'll be rocking Lava Vodka Lounge this weekend, so swing by for one of our new (exclusive) vodkas. In between slinging drinks, I'll be wearing my geologist hat trying to bust out some data processing by Monday AM for my client (new readers are now thinking "WTF?")
• Here's a band that I "discovered" last week and really dig. They're called The Temper Trap. It's pretty easy-going, chill music. A little different than what I normally listen to but I like it, so here it is:

Street Cred (and pictures)

Time/Date: 30-Sep-10
Location: F'ton

Relationships revolve around street cred. It's not about the rap game or anything like that. Whether in social situations or a business settings, everything you do can affect your credibility with others.

I strive for positive street cred. Every time I step behind the bar at Lava Vodka Lounge or contract myself out under Cloudbreak or write a post here or Twitter or even go fly fishing (river cred?), I want it make a positive impact on someone. For example:

• In Lava, I aim to have people say the drink they're served is the best drink they've ever had. Whether it's a simple dirty martini or a classic Caesar or a Lava-exclusive Snowbird, I want people's minds to be blown. That goes for music played at Lava, too.
• My duties while working under Cloudbreak as a geologist or logistician boil down to the following: get shit done, find stuff, mitigate fuck-ups. As efficiently as possible. That's it.
• on 411#3 or Twitter, either as @CloudbreakELS or @FOAprostaff, I aim to entertain and/or inform. It might not always be positive, but readers will learn something from it.
• While fly fishing, the river cred I'm striving for is that I'm not a fair-weather fisherman, nor am I a weekend warrior. I forego sleep to fish.  I've turned down jobs & shifts & contracts to fish. I volunteer or fundraise for conservation groups. I write a blog & take pictures for fly fishing. I just want to go fly fishing.

Side note: Conversely, someone may be a fairly successful business person, drive a nice car and have money to spend, but if they spend their weekends all coked-up, picking fights downtown, or being a slutty train-wreck drama-queen, that person has no street cred with me. Their rep is douchebag or drunken whore, and I won't recommend their professional services to anyone. Or serve them in Lava.

What do you guys do to build up street cred? Fire some examples in the comments section.

Now for some tunes & some pics from yesterday's trip to the upper SW Miramichi. No fish, but lots of fall colours. Yay! Fall colours! 

(I'd rather have pictures of fish than fall colours)

I wasn't gonna let a staph infection keep me down. River cred points? I think so

Busy Week

Time/Date: 1600, 25-Sep-10
Location: F'ton

A lot of km's travelled this past week, not many hours of sleep to be had. Less than 15 hours from waking up Tuesday AM until bed at 4AM this morning, actually. Throw a doozy of a flu on top of that, too. Awesome.

But that's neither here nor there.

I'll be at Lava Vodka Lounge tonight. BTW, click the logo to check out the interview with Pauly Shore and Crash from The Fox. They throw me a little love and I even make a cameo appearance. A very unexpected cameo appearance.

Some of you might be wondering WTF I was doing with Pauly Shore. I'll tell you. Another time. I need to re-centre my Qi after 3 days of that (Qi pronounced "chee" for the unaware).

In between slinging out tasty vodka beverages and spinning some fun tunes (i.e., choosing a playlist & hitting shuffle), I'm going to try to pre-write a few posts I've been jotting ideas down for.

I will eventually be getting to post daily, or at least every second day, so that's what you're in store for at 411#3.

If you're coming to Lava tonight, this is what you're in store for: