This was just really funny to me, so I figured I’d post it for all of you guys to see. I got an iPod Touch recently (yes, for my birthday XD) and downloaded a free Beer Pong game. I hadn’t ever actually played Beer Pong before; I’ve only seen others doing it, so I figured I’d look it up. Then I found this:

So I’ll admit when I messed up. This is one of those times; or, well, two of those times in one.

I had the electrapour prizes for Mikey and Taylor returned to me for insufficient postage; just got them back in the mail Friday and yesterday, respectively. Evidently, you can’t just put two stamps on each, and ship them off, but I didn’t really have the time to stand around in the Post Office with all the other work I had going on.

So, I apologize; you two should be getting your prizes shortly, as you’re both in pretty much the same general area as I am, so first class mail won’t take too long. And to answer an earlier inquiry: The winner of the Breathalyzer was not announced on the site; he was contacted by email, just like everyone else who has ever won anything on the site. This is done because:

1. Not everyone wants their name broadcasted as the winner;
2. Contacting by email helps verify that it’s a real person who won;
3. I need to ask for an address to send the stuff to, in order to mail the stuff out; and
4. It’s easier for me to do; especially if someone doesn’t reply soon enough, and I have to retry and followup anyway.

The Electrapours are, specifically, the only prizes this post pertains to, because I had these items in hand. For the Martini Set prize (for which I received confirmation that it arrived) and the Breathalyzer from last week, I ordered the prizes directly from the stores online as gifts, and had them shipped to the winners. So, there you have it: stupid when it comes to calculating postage, sure; unreliable when it comes to mailing things out from my home, absolutely; shady, or in any way dishonest or disingenuous — that, I will not cop to. Not that I’d have anything to gain by not sending over these things, anyway.

This is, really, how all the contests work, but I figured since tomorrow’s the big day, I would describe the process here.

Basically, WordPress assigns every comment a number. I take the number of the first comment from the date I posted the contest article, and then I take the most recent comment, and I enter both in the random number generator over at random.org. This way, it’s a guaranteed, truly random number being generated, and it’s a completely independent, third party system generating it. That seems the most fair way to pick a winner, right?

So that’s the way it works. Good luck everybody; I’m picking the numbers at midnight.

In the meantime, I’ve got a ton of new recipes on the way; and a few new and crazy concoctions I’ve been trying out, to keep the site new and fresh. Let’s just say, I’ve been dabbling in a few other liquor infusion techniques that I think you’ll be pretty interested in. Stay tuned!

I’m giving away another pack of ElectraPours. The same rules apply:

1. Subscribe to the Syndication Feeds or by Email. Don’t worry, it’s free.
2. Once you’re subscribed, leave a comment on this post saying you have.
3. If you’ve already subscribed, let me know, and I’ll enter you in to win.
4. When the contest is over (in this case, Wednesday), I’ll randomly pick a number, and that person will be the winner.

Pretty easy, y/y?

Last minute Valentine’s Day cocktail? We are ON IT.

You never really see Tequila mentioned in a mixed drink recipe, but trust me - this one is slammin’. And hopefully, you will be too when  you whip up a few of these Agave Kiss cocktails tomorrow for Valentine’s Day. See what I did there? I’m like cupid, but with liquor; you know, like a much better version of cupid.

This smooth, creamy cocktail is the perfect balance of complementary flavors that would otherwise compete with one another, if you were to leave out any one of these ingredients. Just like any good relationship.

Agave Kiss - Recipe:

• 2 oz silver tequila
• 1 oz white créme de cacao
• 1 oz double cream
• 1/2 oz Chambord
• Shaved white chocolate flakes
• Fresh raspberries for garnish

Since it’s Valentine’s day after all, I’d suggest going with some call liquors for this one: Patrón for the tequila, and Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur for the créme de cacao. In a cocktail shaker with ice, add the tequila, créme de cacao, double cream and Chambord. Shake for 15 - 20 seconds, and strain into a cocktail/martini glass, rimmed with shaved white chocolate. Add a spear of fresh raspberries, and serve.

Since the breathalyzer contest deadline is still so far away, I figured I’d drop in and away something really quickly today, because at Underground Bartender, we’re all about the giving. Today’s prize is a pair of your very own ElectraPours; courtesy of New York Bar Store.

So, here’s how we’re going to do this. All you have to do is subscribe to the feed. If you subscribe up by feed reader, just drop in a comment to let me know; if you subscribe by email, you don’t have to comment, but it couldn’t hurt. Couldn’t be easier to try to win one, and, best of all, it’s free. And yes, if you’re wondering - this will also automatically give you an entry into the breathalyzer giveaway contest!

I’ll pick the winner, and notify them by email tomorrow. Good luck, everybody!

EDIT: I have been getting a few emails already, asking if they can still be eligible for the ElectraPour if they already subscribed. Of course you can! All you have to do, if you want it, is just leave a comment saying you’re already subscribed, and you want to enter to win the ElectraPour. I can verify whether you have or not, so it’s cool.

I just couldn't find a picture for this article, so here's something cute.

A good friend of mine gave me this recipe, and made me promise I’d post it. This was about two weeks ago. Once I got the phone call basically asking “wtf?” I knew I had to jump on this one. I actually tried this out over the weekend over at a lounge in the Village; it’s dynamite.

I’d give the name of the place I went to, but since they didn’t know the name of the cocktail, nor what was in it, nor that they had Baerenjaeger (or any of the other ingredients), I’ll spare that particular detail, out of professional (and personal) courtesy. Luckily, I ordered this early on, while things were still slow.

Sherry Sangaree - Recipe:

• 2 ounces amontillado sherry
• 1 tablespoon honey liqueur (recommended: Baerenjaeger)
• Fresh orange zest
• Mace blades or pinch ground mace, or freshly ground nutmeg (I had it with nutmeg)

Fill a cocktail shaker or small pitcher with ice. Add the sherry and honey liqueur. Cover and shake vigorously until the shaker mists up; that’s how you’ll know it’s the right temperature, and that the cocktail is mixed. Strain into sherry copitas or cordial glass.

Garnish with the orange and a pinch of spice.

So I’m about a month away from my birthday (Feb 26), and I’d like to think I’m more of a giver than a recipient when it comes to gifts, so I’m going all-out for this next contest. The prize for this contest will be:

Your very own Breathalyzer!

The BACtrack Select S50 Breathalyzer, to be exact. If you’ve ever been to a house party where there’s a breathalyzer present, you know the following two things to be true:

• 1.  Breathalyzers are an unexpected source of fun at parties, as well as at bars and clubs. For whatever their reasons, people just love checking their BAC for laughs.
• 2.  Breathalyzers are also a very useful (and potentially lifesaving) tool if you’re hosting a party, or attending one with a friend. People are a lot less likely to drive themselves home under the influence of alcohol when they can see quantified evidence of how unfit they truly are to be operating a vehicle.

How do you enter? I thought you’d never ask! Here are the details:

• -Leave a comment on an article. Each comment you leave counts as one entry; there is no limit to how many times you can comment, and you can comment on any article you want.
• -If you subscribe either by the site’s feed or by email, you automatically double your chances. This means that for each comment you make on an article, you get two entries. 
• -On February 26th (unless someone throws me a surprise birthday party) I’ll choose the winner using a random number generator. Then, I’ll email the lucky individual (maybe you!), and the rest is pretty obvious. 

So, there you have it - leave some comments, subscribe to the site, win an awesome breathalyzer as your gift for MY birthday. Good luck everybody!

So I know what I said last week about the new contest starting on Monday, but I’ve been struggling with some weird technical glitches over the past couple of days. Most of you probably hadn’t noticed, but between last Thursday and today, there have been a number of technical enhancements on this site that improve the way it functions, as well as a few other slight upgrades in the overall experience.

The final piece of the puzzle is to add the subscription functionality, which needed to be done before announcing the contest. The reason for that will become pretty obvious later on today, when I announce the next giveaway. But I do promise - the next contest will be announced today (or tomorrow); I’m almost done fixing this wagon.