These days, if it seems like you’re seeing more written words on these internets regarding tequila, it’s probably not because you’re seeing double. seeing double. It’s because 1) it’s summer; and 2) it is increasingly a drink that is not only to be mixed, but savored on its own.

Consider this recent article from the San Marcos Daily Record:

Known most for its presence is margaritas, tequila has gone from the image of a cowboy tossing down a shot with a grimace in a dusty Mexican bar to an expensive, fine-aged tequila sipped from a brandy snifter by refined drinkers.

The authors, self-titled “Wine Guys,” go on to describe their experiences with Patron’s many offerings, from not-so-expensive, to the definitive “it” tequilia, the “Gran Patron Burdeos.”

For those of you who’ve not heard of this stuff, USA Today has some info:

Along with more sophisticated consumers has come more sophisticated (and pricier) packaging. Patrón unveils its $500 Gran Patrón Burdeos this month. The limited-production añejo, aged 12 months in Bordeaux barrels, comes in a crystal bottle with a crystal stopper presented in a handcrafted black walnut box.

This stuff is no joke. Some dude on Craig’s List has it listed for grand.

Bottom line, tequila, maybe more than any other spirit, is going through the kind of popular boom that cigars generally enjoyed in the mid-90s. Choice is good for you and me.

Many times, if it’s “good for you,” whatever “it” is will taste like cardboard and Elmer’s glue. Have you ever had soy milk? Wholly crap, people. I’d rather eat my Adidas. Similarly, I tend to scoff at products splattered with the words “organic” or “all natural,” as these descriptions strike me many times as gimmiky.

4 Copas Tequila may be the exception. Currently available in three varieties, Blanco, Reposado, and Anejo, 4 Copas has just been certified as the world’s first organic tequila. Practically, what this means is that the company closely manages its own distillery and fields and maintains a tight grip on all phases of the production:

“We cultivate and supervise our own plantations, as well as the fields resulting from our partnerships with other agave producers, to assure the handling of organic raw materials, that is, free of pesticides and chemical manures.”

Sound like a gimmick? Maybe, but 4 Copas has been chosen by Wine & Spirits Magazine as the 2006 Tequila of the Year. Marketing implications aside, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with pure ingredients. One drawback — this stuff is difficult to get a hold of at this point. Until national distribution can be set up, the best place to purchase 4 Copas is online at Internet Wine and Spirits.

Via Liquor Snob

This is relevant to either of several types of people: those who buy too much booze, those who drink too little booze, and especially those who do both.

While we’d like to think we love all our alcoholic purchase equally, there’s always something or other sitting at the back of one’s liquor cabinet that may, or may not, have been there too long. So we reluctantly welcome this list of what to toss out and what to keep (and for how long).

It’s the kind of advice you don’t want, but really need:

DIMPLE

What is it? A blend of malt and grain Scotch whiskeys.

Hanging around the bar for … : 20-30 years

Unique characteristics: Triangular, dimpled bottle.

What the expert says: “It’s faded a little bit, not a lot; 10 to 20 percent on the aromatics and the flavor. You can still tell it’s Scotch. And some people might like that, though. It tastes a little smoother. It’s past its prime, but some people might not mind. Certainly drinkable.”

Expert assessment: Faded but fine

It’s also helpful for clever liquor facts – Crème de Grand Marnier lasts twenty times longer than Midori. Madness.

Not everything in your liquor cabinet is aging gracefully. So do you… Pitch it or pour it? [Chicago Tribune via Liquor Snob]

There is no surer way to shorten your night (and potentially your life) than tricking a drunk out of his money in a bar.

This video shows you one of the oldest tricks in the book.

Watch it and ask the same question we’ve been asking – how fast can you run after five quick beers?

The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

Irritating Bar Bet Video [Liquor Snob]

A new year means a new Malt Whisky Yearbook – the definitive guide to whisky shops, whisky sites, whisky books and, well, whisky.

2006’s Yearbook was a smash success, and this is sure to follow suit. There’s statistics (of what, we’re not sure), plenty of photos, a retrospective on the whisky year that was and features by a barrel load of whisky celebrities.

And at only $27.50 including shipping (from its only retailer in the US), it’s a must-read for who drink a lot of malt whisky.

And likely to be that one-eyed reading required when you’ve been, like, drinking a lot of malt whisky.

Malt Whisky Yearbook 2007 [Doceon Press via The Scotch Blog]

It seems that there’s no such thing as a gimmick-free premium vodka release these days. Whether it’s an odd color, has a scorpion in the bottle or is the product of a mysterious diamond filtration process, there’s always this need for a point of difference other than, you know, being really good.

And so it is with New Zealand’s 26000. Made from water pumped from a 26,000 year old aquifer in NZ’s South Island, its makers proudly proclaim the water as having been trapped since the last ice age. Added to triple-distilled grain using techniques honed in Poland, it’s then bottled by hand (hygienic!) into handmade bottles. It’s simultaneously quaint and pretentious.

Take this sentence from their website…

We know that 26000 Vodka is going to lift premium vodka standards all over the world to a new level of purity. Over time it will then gain its rightful place upon the highest podium. Until that time, you are one of the blessed to know our little secret.

Well, we’re blessed to know that another contender is here to further saturate the world’s premium gimmick vodka range. Which well will they pump dry first?

26000 Vodka [via Scoop Independent News]

Some blaggard broke into my house over the holidays and stole nothing but an empty briefcase, a broken laptop, a broken Swatch watch and a hat full of about $15 in change.

Although I can console myself with the fact that, as a result of that pawltry haul, I still definitely had a better Christmas than my burglar, I’m still down one briefcase.

But that might soon change, now that we live in a world where something like Carl Mertens’ bar briefcase exists.

With a 14-piece cocktail kit as its primary feature, this piece staggeringly still has the standard pockets for files, pens, business cards and a phone. And the cocktail kit isn’t a gimmicky, token effort either. Some highlights include a chopping board and knife, a pestle, two shakers (including a three-piece one) and all the standards.

Aren’t briefcases meant to improve productivity?

bar briefcase by carl mertens [Unica Home via Luxist]

Another for the ‘why has it taken so long’ category; LG have finally released a refrigerator with an accessory that’s both cool AND sensible.

Recognizing that opening the door and releasing all that hard-earned coldness just to fix a quick drink is possibly not the most energy-efficient way to do things, the LG Home Bar Side-by-Side features the ‘coolbox’.

It’s basically a small door that folds down to reveal a chilled compartment. Which is so simple and brilliant, we’re astounded we’ve not encountered it before (if we’ve just been oblivious all these years and it’s, in fact, quite common, let us know). As with all side-by-sides, it also has the handy icemaker and chilled water tap.

For possibly the first time in our lives, we’re excited about a refrigerator. What are we becoming?!

LG’s entertain-o-fridge [T3 via Gizmodo]

Everyone has a tried and true hangover cure: fried food, more alcohol, over-the-counter analgesics, medically-induced comas, etc etc.

As with every illness, however, prevention is the best cure.

(Obviously the best way to avoid a hangover would be to stay sober. But we all know that’s not an option. In fact, we’re disappointed in you for making us mention it.)

Luckily our bitter enemies kindred spirits at Urban Monarch have posted the foolproof five simple rules to drink to excess and avoid a hangover. For example:

RULE # 2 : Stick to top shelf booze

Part of what causes a hangover is the amount of contaminents which remain in the liquor after the filtration process in complete. Higher quality (and yes, priced) liquor constantly advertises the fact that additional distillation is used (”Triple Distilled!”) for a reason; it makes the taste smoother and eases your body’s work in processing it. And leads to a lot less hangovers.

They all make sense, and there’s nothing there that we haven’t heard before.

But it’s amazing how soon we forget them when the thinking turns to drinking.

A tippler’s life for me : preventing hangovers [Urban Monarch via
Liquor Snob]

Rarely consumed in moderation, it’s uncommon to find in-depth reviews of non-novelty tequilas. It tends, unlike vodka or whisky, to be thrown down at a rapid pace, for as little outlay as possible.

But for those disparate tequila connoisseurs out there, our friends at Liquor Snob recommend you attack your esophagus with some Fina Estampa Blanco.

…we can honestly say Fina Estampa has it all - great packaging, great taste and a great buzz, all for a price that’s at least ten or fifteen dollars cheaper than comparable tequilas we’ve tasted…

Whenever we’re next approached with tequila by over-zealous drinking companions, rather than simply dispatching it in world record time, we might start paying attention to the damn stuff. After all, what’s buzz without taste and packaging?

Fina Estampa Blanco Tequila Review [Liquor Snob]