It's Five O'Clock Somewhere
Given the latest headlines about the economy, a stiff cocktail is quickly becoming one of the only remaining bastions of calm we men can cling to. The Emergency Cocktail Station ($850) from Urbancase is a tongue and cheek interpretation on the role booze plays during these hard times that isn’t exactly priced for a recession. [...]
Serves You Right
The Urbancase Sidebar ($3,100) is a proper workspace worthy of any aspiring mixologist. More than just a pretty face, the handcrafted walnut cabinet features a laterally sliding panel which hides adjacent compartments for liquor and glassware, providing some much needed personal space between your Macallan and that handle of Old Grand-Dad you swear was left [...]
Cold and Calculating
The purpose of a Beer Froster ($550+) should be self-evident. What may not be so obvious is how it’s different from a standard freezer. Anyone who has ever attempted to cool down some brews quickly in the freezer and then forgot about it has learned that the consequences of combining beer with freezing temperatures can [...]
Fine Wining
The Code38 Stealth Wine Knife ($410) is the type of thing you’d expect to learn about from tales of King Arthur pulling it out of a lake, or by catching a movie with Harrison Ford fleeing a cave with the Stealth in hand. It’s designer, Jeffrey Toering, cut his teeth as an instrument fitter in [...]
The one pyramid scheme we'll back
The only connection the Fridge Monkey ($7) has with primates is that it’s rather skilled at organizing our favorite beverages. Measuring 9 3/4″ x 4″, this glorified rubber matt is good for holding 10 cans or beer bottles, or up to five wine bottles perfectly in place thanks to some purposeful ridges. Translation: it’s a [...]
Bring the bar to you
Think of the Alpina Mobile Bongos Beer Bar ($11,300) as a graduate degree in outdoor drinking. The mobile party center features an integrated kegerator, 8kg of ice storage, and customizable tops for adding everything from a gas-powered grill to extra serving areas. Thanks its four sturdy wheels and a specially designed refrigeration system, there’s also [...]
Now you see it, now you don't
The Mirage Wine Rack ($45) is another ingenious project born from the social product development community Quirky. Its key point of differentiation involves a clever extendable rack system that holds between one and eight bottles of your favorite vintage. That may sound over-engineered for vino, but it helps avoid the pitiful impressions standard racks give [...]
Double or Nothing
We love our single malt whisky. So when we came across the Highland & Island Malt Stack ($115) from the Scottish “liquid deli” Demijohn, pinching — nay punching — was required to ensure we were still among the living. The top bottle contains a relatively unknown 12 year old Linkwood Single Malt from Elgin, that’s [...]
Tapered for your pleasure
Graduating from Jack and Coke to single malt Scotch whisky is a positive step on the path towards booze enlightenment. But drinking it out of plastic tumblers and commemorative Superbowl glasses equates to painting a Ferrari hot pink. Put bluntly, if you’re going to shell out for the good stuff, acquire appropriate glassware like Glencairn [...]
Le Corbusier would be proud
When Design Within Reach asked Singaporean designer Nathan Yong to expand upon his already successful media console he returned with another man-essential, a home bar. The Line Bar ($2,995) has devestatingly handsome mid-century looks enhanced by a healthy dose of functionality. It is a bar after all. Two drawers with leather pulls, 12 bottle storage [...]
Shaking Up the Vodka Pack
Eristoff’s roots are in Georgia; that’s the former Soviet Union satellite, not the birthplace of MLK Jr. and Cee Lo Green. It was created by Georgian royalty back in 1806 when times were tough, and since the country is known for its wolf population, the spirit inherited the mascot. We bring up this little Discovery [...]
For the Ultimate Bakgård Party
The Viking Refreshment Station ($3,600) is to beverages and appetizers as Nimitz-class super carriers are to F-14 Tomcats. In the beverage department, its cold water sink performs double duty either as a, sink or cold water bottle bath that’s capable of holding two cases of drinks and can be plugged in to stay frosty. If [...]
Deadly, but not silent
The Ninja Professional Blender ($95) doesn’t get credit in our book for being the first product to bring Ninjutsu into the kitchen — that honor stays with our trusty Ninjabread men. Still, its unique six blade technology and 1000 watts of power are quite deadly to anything you feed it. That’s because, unlike typical blenders [...]
Have shaker, will travel
Hitmen may carry their “equipment” in stainless steel brief cases filled with foam padding or possibly a fake crutch depending on the job. Construction workers have tool belts and trucks. Professional Wrestlers have tight-fitting spandex outfits with a few spare syringes and bandannas, just in case. The point is, every trade gets their gear to [...]
Win(sn)o(w)
An excellent glass of wine after a long day of skiing is often just what the doctor ordered, particularly when your quads start to remind you how long you’ve been off the slopes. This Ski Rack Wine ($700) could be symbolic of that partnership, or just clever decoration for a chalet. In either case it’s [...]
