Friday

BYCU

A statement from Dr. Obvious: The Internet really pumps out novelties in the area of drinking.

If you subscribe to the (in)correct Twitter feeds, you'll see an unusual drink every day, often more than one. Come Christmas, hundreds (billions?) of holiday drinks will be splashed across blogs and online MSM outlets. Extreme beers seem to get as much cyber-ink as Taylor Swift (then again, I intuitively filter anything that says "Taylor Swift" from my surfing habits, though I far prefer her to the execrable Miley Cyrus, who, by herself, gives me ample reason to ban People magazine from my house).

After awhile, your attention deadens toward the glitz of novelty drinks, especially after you try (too) many of them and pretty much always comes away with the conclusion that the packaging and promise was far better than the experience.

You're better off getting your novelty drinks the traditional way: word of mouth, so to speak. That's how I came across one of the all-time best novelty drinks: Red Bull and vodka. When I first heard about that concoction, I was like, "Man, you're one decadent individual if you're mixing alcohol with extreme amounts of caffeine and taurine" (though not as decadent as this lawyer: "He'd make this cocktail, Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, and wash it down with Red Bull"). A few years later, I was hosting party and was really dragging. I had to "answer the bell," so I tried it. I was amazed. The vodka and Red Bull blends really, really well. I rarely drink it (I can't remember the last time), but if they ever come out with a caffeine-free Red Bull, I'd consider it much more often.

But if you're into high energy alcohol drinks and early heart attacks, you might want to try this novelty drink that came across my Twitter feed last week: the espresso martini cocktail. I'm not a big fan of coffee, so I doubt I'd like it, but it sounds like it might be worth keeping up your drinking sleeve if a guest ever needs a pick-me-up.