For many drink enthusiasts, Scotch and Bourbon stand strongest at opposite ends of the “brown spirit” battlefield. To the West, the sweet punch to the face of Bourbon, America’s whiskey; to the East, Scotch whisky — a deep, smoky Highland warrior.

While plenty of whisky — or “whiskey,” take your pick — drinkers cross sides, most have their favorite kind. Far more, however, couldn’t tell the difference between a Maker’s Mark and a Johnnie Walker, or don’t realize there’s a difference in the first place.

If you’re only experience with drinking whisk(e)y involves a chaser, you’re doing it wrong. Not that shots suck (never would I say such a thing), but they do limit the drinking experience to “not drunk” and “drunk,” without leaving room for a bit of beverage enjoyment – you know, tasting the whisky, not just washing it down.

Between that and not knowing where to start among the thousands of different whiskeys, it doesn’t seem worth the effort when alcohol still works, regardless of what you know.

But with a little bit of knowledge, a whole new world of drinking is opened up to you. Plus, people will think you’re smart. Here’s how to spot the differences and appreciate Scotch and Bourbon alike. (more…)

If you know anything about the mischievous “Green Fairy,” you know “real” absinthe was banned in the U.S. for nearly a century because of the hallucinogenic ingredients in worm wood, from which absinthe is partially made. But unless you’ve been paying close attention to ordinances passed at The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), you might have missed some of the newly legalized “true absinthe” on the State-side market.

After studies found that the quantity of thujone (the mind-altering substance in wormwood) too minuscule to cause any of its infamous effects, the TTB allowed absinthe to be sold in the U.S., with restrictions on the amount of thujone a stipulation. So for the first time since 1915, let me present to you Pernod, a “real” absinthe.

Neon green, extremely high in alcohol content and flavored like black licorice, absinthe requires a tempered tongue to enjoy properly. I learned of absinthe long before trying it for the first time, which I did in what could have been Jesus’s bedroom–a stone, candle-lit, cave of a bar in Jerusalem, Israel.

All I knew was that it f**ked you up, and some of the greatest artists of all time – Van Gogh, Picasso, Hemmingway (to name a few) – all are known absinthe drinkers, and have recorded experiences with the beverage in their work.

I’d been lucky enough to have the press trip to this tumultuous land pawned off on me by my boss, who’d just had a baby and was afraid of going to a “war zone.” But instead of suicide bombings, I found myself awash in great food, wonderful company and better booze.

Despite a travel itinerary fit for the Special Forces, some of the other 12 or 13 journalists and I found the energy to drink until dawn every morning. So with only a single night in the most disputed city on Earth, we ventured out to discover Jerusalem’s bar scene, and found ourselves at the first, dark joint we came to in this strange, haunted city.

With glasses of wine from dinner and a beer or two sloshing in my stomach, I stumbled behind a few of my fellow compatriots on the way to the bar, blathering away beside a newspaperman from the Jerusalem Post, who was covering our trip, for some reason. The quote he used wasn’t bad, compared to some of the sh*t I drunkenly mumbled into his microphone. (more…)

If you know anything about the mischievous “Green Fairy,” you know “real” absinthe was banned in the U.S. for nearly a century because of the hallucinogenic ingredients in worm wood, from which absinthe is partially made. But unless you’ve been paying close attention to ordinances passed at The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), you might have missed some of the newly legalized “true absinthe” on the State-side market.

After studies found that the quantity of thujone (the mind-altering substance in wormwood) too minuscule to cause any of its infamous effects, the TTB allowed absinthe to be sold in the U.S., with restrictions on the amount of thujone a stipulation. So for the first time since 1915, let me present to you Pernod, a “real” absinthe.

Neon green, extremely high in alcohol content and flavored like black licorice, absinthe requires a tempered tongue to enjoy properly. I learned of absinthe long before trying it for the first time, which I did in what could have been Jesus’s bedroom–a stone, candle-lit, cave of a bar in Jerusalem, Israel.

All I knew was that it f**ked you up, and some of the greatest artists of all time – Van Gogh, Picasso, Hemmingway (to name a few) – all are known absinthe drinkers, and have recorded experiences with the beverage in their work.

I’d been lucky enough to have the press trip to this tumultuous land pawned off on me by my boss, who’d just had a baby and was afraid of going to a “war zone.” But instead of suicide bombings, I found myself awash in great food, wonderful company and better booze.

Despite a travel itinerary fit for the Special Forces, some of the other 12 or 13 journalists and I found the energy to drink until dawn every morning. So with only a single night in the most disputed city on Earth, we ventured out to discover Jerusalem’s bar scene, and found ourselves at the first, dark joint we came to in this strange, haunted city.

With glasses of wine from dinner and a beer or two sloshing in my stomach, I stumbled behind a few of my fellow compatriots on the way to the bar, blathering away beside a newspaperman from the Jerusalem Post, who was covering our trip, for some reason. The quote he used wasn’t bad, compared to some of the sh*t I drunkenly mumbled into his microphone. (more…)

While some may consider the oh-so-voluptuous Scarlett Johansson a bit prudish next to Jessica Biel and her bare-assed role as a stripper raising a child in Powder Blue, she has proven to be quite the opposite…in a way.

In response to the possible union strike Johansson has signed on to no less than three movies – He’s Just Not That Into You, Frank Miller’s The Spirit and Mary Queen of Scots – all to be filmed back-to-back-to-back.

Mmm…back-to-back. (more…)