Don't you just hate it when you ask for a sugar-free drink in a pub or restaurant and all they've got to offer is diet cola or water?
Or you're offered a pure fruit juice - "Well, that's sugar-free - isn't it?" No, it isn't - the sugar that occurs naturally in fruit juice is very high and that will play havoc with your blood sugar levels. But here are a few drinks you might like to try...
I got so fed up of the standard cola offer, I decided to experiment with mixing the different sugar-free drinks that are available and you might like to try these alternatives to 'just cola'.
The first experiment I tried was to mix a diet cola and diet tonic water in the same glass. Then I added ice and lemon. The mixture gives a slightly sharper taste and it makes a very long and refreshing drink on a hot summer’s day.
Then I tried splitting a pure orange fruit juice (you could also try pineapple or tomato juice) with a friend and added sparkling water to my half of the juice. You could also try mixing your juice with diet tonic water.
If you want to make a refreshing drink at home, this pineapple slushy will hit your dry spot: Take 1 can sugar-free ginger ale, add 1/4 cup of unsweetened pineapple juice and ice cubes. Place in a blender and blend until the ice cubes are crushed and you get a slushy mixture.
Why not experiment with other unsweetened fruit juices? And, if you want a little bit more of a kick, you could add rum extract to give it more flavor.
If you have any more ideas or recipes for a sugar-free drink I would really love to hear about them.
No one really knows exactly how the first beer came into being ...
Suffice it to say that, around 10,000 years ago, somebody let a primordial barley and hop concoction stand long enough for it to ferment. The result not only made anonymous history, it was the genesis of beer's own special influence throughout the ages.
Here are a few examples of note:
It was the accepted practice in Babylonia, as early as 4000 years ago, that for a month after a wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer, and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the "honey month" or what we know today as the "honeymoon." I have also heard that the custom included one of the most resourceful bits of propaganda ever created for husbands. As the story went, if the groom drank mead for an entire moon, it would enhance the chances of his wife bearing a male heir. The bride, however, had to abstain from drinking alcohol at all. I'll leave the punchlines to you.
After consuming a bucket or two of vibrant brew they called ‘aul,’ or ‘ale,’ a certain self-appointed breed of Vikings would head fearlessly into battle without armor, or even without shirts. In fact, the term "berserk" means "bare shirt" in Norse, and eventually took on the meaning of their wild behavior in battle. They believed that Odin’s favor was all they needed for protection, and if they were to die in combat, it was only because The Allfather decided it was their time to enter the hallowed halls of Valhalla. This was Odin's great ‘Castle of the Chosen Slain,’ where 'inductees' would spend eternity in Viking nirvana, ie- fighting all day, having their wounds miraculously heal at sundown, and then partying all night, with generous quantities of ale at their beck and call.
Before thermometers were invented, brewers would dip a thumb or finger into the mix to find the right temperature for adding yeast. Too cold, and the yeast wouldn't grow. Too hot, and the yeast would die. This practice is where we get the phrase, "rule of thumb."
The first known consumer protection act arose with the German Beer Purity Law of 1516, known as Rheinheitsgebot. This decreed that, in order to be called 'beer,' a beverage could only consist of four ingredients: malt, hops, yeast, and water. This is such a revered regulation that when the European Union-facilitated the introduction of other beers into the German market, it took a court order for many stores to sell them. Most of those beers contained preservatives, and to a respectable German, that meant --- and still does --- that such beverages were not beer.
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So, in olde England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase, "mind your P’s and Q's."
Also in England's olden days, pub frequenters often had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.
In 1740, Admiral Vernon of the British fleet decided to water down the navy's rum. Needless to say, the sailors weren't too pleased and called Admiral Vernon “Old Grog,” after the stiff wool grogram coats he wore. The term "grog" soon began to mean the watered down drink itself. When you were drunk on this grog, you were "groggy," a word that has been expanded to include the effects of too much beer and is still in use today.
There are numerous quotations which pay homage to beer. Allow me to list three of the wittiest:
"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink, I feel ashamed. Then, I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, 'It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.'"
-- Saturday Night Live's faux-philosopher, Jack Handy
"Put it back in the horse!"
-- W C Fields, disapproving of a sub-standard brew
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
-- Benjamin Franklin
Given a good pint, composed of God's natural ingredients and nurtured by man's learned craft, beer has made us very happy, indeed.
Just keep the joy below 0.08% of your blood content.
The Alaskan brewing company is the oldest operating brewery in Alaska, with their amber beer being their most popular brand. They produce two other brands as well, pale ale and Alaskan frontier amber. If you enjoy fresh amber beer, Alaskan brewing is what you want.
As you may already know, brewing beer in Alaska is very hard to do. The coastal community of Juneau doesn't have road connections to the lower 48 states, so everything arrives and leaves by water or air, with weather always having the final say.
In 1986, the Alaskan brewing company became the 67th brewery to operate in the United States and the only one to operate in Alaska. Since that time, the Alaskan brewery has received more than 30 major medals and awards, including the best beer in the nation award during the 1988 Great American Beer Festival.
The popularity of their beers has led to a lot of efforts to keep up with the demand from consumers. They also hold the unofficial record for the production on a 10 barrel brewing system, which produces an amazing 42 batches a week.
The Alaskan Brewery offers several different styles of the brew as well, which are listed below:
1. Amber - This is the company's flagship beer, based on a turn of the century recipe that was used to quench the thirst of the miners during the Gold Rush era. It provides a smooth, malty, rich taste that goes well with meals - or friends.
2. Pale - Pale is fresh, crips, and inviting. Alaskan pale is great with crab, pawns, and salads. The floral aroma of the hops is derived from dry hopping the tanks during the entire fermentation process.
3. Stout - The oatmeal style beer stout doesn't have the harshness of other stouts. Great with chocolate and hearty meals, stout is also ideal to enjoy while walking in the snow.
4. ESB - If you like hops, the infusion of hops in this delight will amaze your nose while the refreshing cascade hops will provide a wonderful crispness to both the flavor and the finish. This beer is great with spicy food, wild game, and other wintery food.
5. Smoked porter - Very exclusive, Alaskan smoked porter has a world-class reputation for its excellence. Brewed in the fall, this beer is ideal for storing in the cellar for later enjoyment.
6. Winter ale - This tender brew of spruce trees has been used for brewing in Alaska since the late 1700s.
Creating the perfect Bloody Mary cocktail is a lot like nurturing a fine wine. It takes time, creativity and experimentation until the ingredients are just right. But once those elements come together, it's pure bliss for the creator and those lucky enough to share a sip of their secret concoction.
There are countless Bloody Mary recipes, which is what makes this cocktail one of the most celebrated around the world. Depending on where your travels lead, you will find everything from horseradish and hot sauce to wasabi, jalapeno peppers and prawns in the mix. The only common ingredient in every recipe (besides vodka) is passion from those who create and consume this time-tested cocktail.
"The recipes for a Bloody Mary cocktail are like snowflakes - no two are alike," said Jennie Meador, a spokesperson for Finlandia Vodka and judge for the brand's annual Bloody Mary recipe contest. "Everyone thinks their recipe is the best, which is why we bring people together once a year and learn about the different approaches being taken to the cocktail."
Finlandia Vodka is now accepting recipes for its annual Bloody Mary recipe contest. This year, Finlandia is looking for recipes that have unique ingredients that make your Bloody Mary a one-of-a-kind cocktail. The grand-prize winner will receive $1,000 and special recognition when Finlandia attempts to create the world's largest Bloody Mary cocktail.
"What better way to celebrate the Bloody Mary than by creating the world's largest glass of it?" Meador said. "Whoever wins this year's contest may get to work with our mixologists to calculate their recipe into the world's largest Bloody Mary. And then, of course, we'll all have to help drink it."
The Bloody Mary cocktail has experienced a resurgence in recent years. Once thought of as only for brunch, it is now served throughout the day at bars, restaurants and in people's homes.
The Bloody Mary was first created in 1930 and became a true classic cocktail among Americans. It's the second-most consumed drink besides beer at tailgates and sports gatherings today, making vodka a popular spirit for entertaining or celebrating.
The world's favorite drink has to be a cup of coffee. Many of us cannot wake without that cup in the morning. Even though there are new additions and varieties nothing stops this trend. It has been since the day of its discovery. The first place coffee was consumed was in Africa. It is said a goatherd saw his goats eating some berries and acting quite funny. He tried out some berries himself and found it quite refreshing.
The word spread quickly and soon this berry was being cultivated in the Arabian Peninsula. Today' largest producer of coffee, Brazil started growing coffee in the 1700's whereas it was introduced in Europe in 1600's. In 1901 instant coffee was invented, decaffeinated in 1903 and freeze dried in 1938. Today coffee is the largest commodity second only to petroleum.
It might sound surprising but statistics say an average person consumes over 10 pounds of coffee in a year and about half of the US population partakes the beverage - worldwide yearly consumption adds up to over 400 billion cups! Most of the consumption is during breakfast and 35% prefer to have black coffee. Tea used to the favorite beverage but coffee seems to have displaced it - especially after the Boston Tea Party and considered very patriotic to drink coffee instead of tea!
Columbia and Brazil accounts for the production of ¾'s of the world coffee and it is mostly hand picked there. It is a seed of the berry and the unroasted coffee can last up to 2 years. Coffee is best when consumed directly after roasting as the flavor decreases once you roast it. Refrigeration does not help in keeping them fresh as most people believe and it might even taste strange as the roasted coffee will readily absorb the flavors from other foods.
The coffee beans have different varieties and flavors and the growing conditions affect the flavor of the coffee. To yield about 130 pounds of green coffee beans you need to cultivate 100 Arabica bushes. Coffee is of great use for us - It contains anti oxidants as well as minerals all which help in the prevention of some disease or the other. The risk of diabetes and Parkinson's disease is thought to have decreased by drinking coffee. . It has bacteria fighting elements that can help fight tooth decay. Some if its anti oxidants stimulate enzymes that may protect against colon cancer. All of us know that caffeine in coffee can help us keep alert and help in concentrating better. It also relieves symptoms of asthma by dilating bronchial tubes and gets rid of tension headaches.
