Tag: drinks

May 13th World Cocktail Day

May Holidays

The word cocktail has something to do with the way a horse’s tail can fan out… what that has to do with a mixed drink, I’m not sure but if you have enough of the drinks, you don’t really care anyway. Supposedly the idea of the cocktail began in 1806 as mentioned by the Balance & Columbian Repository. (Whoever they are) They described a cocktail as something that may, or may not, contain sweets, waters and/or bitters. Somehow I imagine a cocktail was available prior to 1806 but just not stated as such. Bartenders and mixologist create these drinks for customers who require something more than just booze.

How to celebrate – Decide which cocktail you like best. Become a bartender. Look for who created your favorite drink.

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July 24th National Tequila Day

July Holidays

July 24th National Tequila Day

You can thank Mexico for it’s blue agave juice for today. Add a little lime and salt around the time of your glass and you have your nearly perfect drink. It’s actually refreshing as well as intoxicating! It’s history dates back to the 16th century and is either named for the town it is originally created in or the town is named for the drink… that depends on how much Tequila you’ve had. Over 300 million blue agave plants are harvested every year to create the drink. Bottoms up!

How to celebrate – Have a Tequila. Try growing your own blue agave plants. Stock up on your salt and lime.

February 24th World Bartender Day

February holidays

Not everyone can make the perfect drink but if anyone could, it would be your local bartender. While I have never found a place like “Cheers” of TV, I am sure they do exist, where the bartender becomes a friend and listens to all your problems and offers sound advice. Why you would go to a bar to get good advice is a little curious to me but let’s play along. If you are friends with everyone there the moment you walk in the place, perhaps you may be visiting a little too often. And if you think those salted peanuts are on the counter just to be friendly, think again… salt makes you thirsty! It is true, however, that a good bartender is an artist, knowing when enough is just enough.

How to celebrate – Learn how to become a bartender. Learn how to make a number of mixed drinks. Test several bartenders by asking for you favorite drink and see how different each one makes it.

February 24th World Bartender Day

February holidays

Here’s another one of those bizarre holidays that no one seems to have placed on this day but somehow it ended up here anyway. Bartenders have been around since time began, in fact the first person to ever serve a drink of any kind was a bartender. Not only do they learn how to make drinks but they have to learn how to listen to others as well. It probably has something to do with drinking alcohol but for some reason we all tend to tell our problems to bartenders. Maybe it’s so we don’t have to pay such high rates for professional help. However, a bartender is a professional as well so maybe there is something there after all.

How to celebrate – Go to a bar! Become a bartender yourself. Find out what is really in a Harvey Wallbanger!

December 24th National Egg Nog Day

December holidays

It seems only natural that we should celebrate National Egg Nog Day on Christmas Eve. There is no other drink so associated with the holidays as egg nog. You can make it yourself, you can buy it in a store and you can add a little whiskey or cognac, or both, for the adults in your crowd. It’s become a tradition in many families, starting around Thanksgiving and lasting until the end of the year before being put up for the next season. I was unable to find a true history of egg nog, though honestly I didn’t look real hard for it, but it seems to have been around since the middle ages. It’s simple enough to make, is sweet and flavorful and requires nothing that wasn’t readily available even 800 years ago. So before it disappears again for another year make sure you add egg nog to your parties and holiday get togethers. If you don’t like egg nog, just add a bit more booze and you won;t even know you are drinking it.

How to celebrate – Have some egg nog. Check out all the items made to taste like egg nog. Make your own egg nog drink.

September 20th National Punch Day

September Holidays

This day is open to your celebrating a number of different things, since none are highlighted I guess it’s your choice! You can punch someone (in the arm), you can have punch as a drink, you can use the tool called a punch to cut through wood or metal, or you can celebrate Punch and Judy the puppets. I am sure there are probably more punches out there that I’m not familiar with. So pick your punch and celebrate, but if it’s the hitting kind, be nice! Maybe you can celebrate them all on the same day if you are ambitious!

How to celebrate – Pick your punch and go for it. Dress up like Punch (from Punch and Judy). Remember all those times as a kid you tried to spike the punch!

July 19th National Daiquiri Day

July Holidays

In 1898 Jennings Stockton Cox came up with the idea for the modern day daiquiri. He was a mining engineer in Cuba and was looking for something that would be refreshing and alcoholic, his fellow miners needed something to look forward to at the end of the day. It was a success! The favorite flavor then, as it is now, was strawberry. It was the dead of summer and he felt that the drink would lighten the spirits, one way or the other! It was named for the village the Venus Bar was located in. All I have been able to find in the Spanish translation is that is a noun, I presume someone’s name. Ernest Hemingway found a way to make it even more refreshing and talked a Havana, Cuba bartender to put ice in blender and create the frozen daiquiri. That was in the 1940’s. Any fruit can be used to make the daiquiri and it can be frozen of chilled. Add a little rum and it’s nearly the perfect adult drink.

How to celebrate – Have a daiquiri! Invent your own flavor of daiquiri. Visit Cuba (Once it’s legal again).

August 16th National Rum Day

August Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

August 16th National Rum Day

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The pirates drink of choice… maybe because it was so easy to get. Rum comes from molasses or sugar cane and blends well with many different types of mixers. It comes in many flavors these days for those who seek variety.

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The most sought-after rum seems to come from the Caribbean Islands, perhaps why it was the pirates drink of choice. It also may have led indirectly to the American Revolution when the Crown placed a tax on sugar, in 1764, that helped start the disenchantment between England and America.

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How to celebrate – Have some rum tonight! (If you are old enough) Explore the different types and flavors of rum. Invent your own special rum drink.

June 8th National Name Your Poison Day

June Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

Name Your Poison Day June 8th, 2018

National Name Your Poison Day

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Name your poison has long been referred to from old pirate or old west days in historical legend. It is a bartenders way of asking what sort of drink do you want, since alcohol was considered poison. However, the truth of name your poison actually falls on making choices.

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In many cases, no matter which choice you make you might end up losing. So the idea of choosing your poison means, since neither choice is a good one, which way will you go.

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It falls right in with choosing between a rock and a hard place or choosing to teach by tough love.

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How to celebrate – Go to a bar and “Name your poison”. Take the day to make some of tough decisions you have been waiting to make. Dress up like an old west pirate.

July 10th National Pina Colada Day

July Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

National Pina Colada Day – July 10th

“If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain…” Bet you didn’t know that the Pina Colada wasn’t invented in 1963 at a club called Barrachina in Puerto Rico!

Made with White Rum, Pineapple Juice and Coconut Cream it can be one of the most refreshing drinks ever!

Imagine yourself sitting on the beach, watching the waves gently roll in while sipping a Pina Colada, with or without crushed ice! It doesn’t get much better than that.

How to celebrate – Have a Pina Colada today! Make virgin Coladas so the kids can sip along with you. Sing the Pina Colada song and see if others want to go out for a drink after work!