Gear Patrol

Scotch must have been invented for autumn. Whether you’re warding off the chill on a Saturday afternoon in the bleachers, recounting adventures around a campfire or rewarding yourself for an afternoon of splitting wood, nothing warms the soul (and the belly) like a good single malt. And there’s no better way to drink it than…

The days of housing tequila on a Friday night may be in your taillights, but these Nesting Steel Shot Cups ($32) are still a great-looking alternative compared to typical jiggers. Sets of four 24 gauge 1008 cold rolled steel cups are available in slate gray teflon or nickel-plated finishes, and all are made in the…

Pistachios, olives… Jolly Ranchers — all three offer great snacks for guests to munch on, but what about those irksome shells, pits and wrappers? Designed by Joseph Joseph, the Double Dish ($18) is a brilliantly simple concept: a normal bowl atop a curved bowl, which offers an out-of-sight repository for snack debris until it’s time…

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….

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…

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…

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 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

It’s a commonly known fact that the months between New Years and Spring are dreary and depressing, especially for those of us on the East Coast. Being strong believers in self medication taking action, Gear Patrol set out to find a stiff drink to bust our winter blues, and came back with the Appleton Estate…

Nolet Silver Gin ($50) is a new brand of gin from a family that’s been making the spirit since 1691. Ironically, the Nolet distillery is more widely known today for its contribution to the world of vodka. That’s because 10th generation Carolus J.J. Nolet got the idea to break with tradition and make the Russian…

Face it, sometimes getting wasted with friends can take place under adverse conditions. When you’re doing tequila shots behind enemy lines, cheesy glass shot glasses you picked up in Cabo aren’t going to survive long. Time to call in the heavy artillery with the ShotShell AmmoCrate ($400. Six super-durable stainless steel shot glasses made to…

The Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection is composed of three unique beers that share a common background of aging in oak barrels that originally did time storing brandy in a previous life. Outside of that common ground though, the American Kriek, New World Tripel, and Stony Brook Red brews are each distinct specialty beers. The…

We love scotch, and if you or someone you know is of a similar mindset, then an annual membership to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ($200) is about as good as it gets.

Attaching something like “Snow Phoenix” to the name of an otherwise perfectly good bottle of single malt might lead many to think the master distillers have been reading a bit too much Harry Potter after work. The truth is, this special run is actually the result of disaster caused by record snowfall back in January…

In case you’re looking for an excuse to own yet another electric screwdriver look no further than the Bosch IXO Vino Cordless Lithium-Ion Screwdriver ($60). The driver includes an exclusive corkscrew attachment to make bottle popping a snap and even ships with a wooden box to fit in with the barback crowd. Of course, that…

Change up the tired sake bomb drinking routine with some good design. The cleverly designed Sake Bomb Set ($98) is hand crafted in Los Angeles using traditional kilns and sold in 4 different colors with a glazed finish. Besides the obvious visual pun, each of the shot-sized drinking cups can perch on the bomb’s spines…

Normally we’re not the type to encourage a lack of bar accessories, but in the case of the Nuance Wine Finer ($30) we’ll make an exception. That’s because it combines the functions of an aerator, filter, no-drip serving pourer, and stopper into one convenient wine accessory. That means using it should translate into less digging…

“A rum to put a beast in your belly”, The Kraken has washed onto the market and is bringing out the inner pirate in us all. An alternative from name brand rums, the Kraken ($20) provides a flavor that’s richer and stronger than the captain, and weighs in at a hefty 94 proof. Caramel sugars…

How many countless quarters have you piled into your local bar’s MegaTouch trying to get one more level further on Photo Hunt? Probably enough to buy your fair share of beers. Well, bring the good times (and frustration) home without the quarters with a home edition of MegaTouch, the MegaTouch Aurora ($3,995). The widescreen bar…

Fall may officially be here, but that doesn’t mean we’re all trying to squeeze the most out of the last few weeks of warm weather, and there is no better way to do it than with a lime-topped cerveza. Good thing you won’t need to over pack for the barbeque – just toss a Citrusaw…