Tag: Drink

Here is the story behind the Leidse Koffie!

Robin

In the Dutch city of Leiden, coffee comes in an alternative way: it begins with a base of black brew and then it gets a dash of cinnamon liqueur, usually topped off with a nice dollop of whipped cream. Now quite popular in the city, the spiced drink was born from a happenstance discovery and a very creative restaurant owner. Leidse koffie originated in Restaurant de Gaanderij in the early 1980s. Before Peter van de Hoorn bought it in 1982, the monumental building from 1558 was home to the distillery…

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Will Rogers: the inventor who created machine that turns beer and spirits into soft-serve Ice Cream

Robin

The innovative Below Zero ice cream machine uses a unique technique to freeze alcohol, which allows you to turn beers, cocktails and even spirits into delicious soft-serve ice cream. If getting drunk on ice cream it was a dream, now thanks to Will Rogers, inventor and owner of WDS Dessert Stations in Hinkley, Illinois, it has become a reality. The man, who runs his own ice cream shop, was trying to create a highly-caffeinated espresso ice cream flavor when he realized he could use the same technique with alcoholic beverages.…

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Kissel: the dessert that’s also a meal

Ivan

Depending on the person you ask and what part of Eastern Europe he hails from, kissel is either a thick juice, a dessert soup, or a gelatinous porridge. Just one thing is certain: it is a veritable medley of forest-born ingredients and a constant presence at the dessert table. Traditionally, Kissel is a soft, fruit-based dessert, generally made from berries, sugar and either cornstarch or potato starch. Its name comes from the Russian word “kisliy” meaning ‘sour,’ because sour fruits are traditionally favored. Its recipe varies from country to country,…

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Jeppson’s Malört: the world’s worst tasting liquor?

Robin

If you’re not into liquors and probably all taste bad for you, there’s a particular liquor that, apparently, everyone agrees tastes horrible. It’s called malört and, over the years, it has been compared to battery acid, pesticide and gasoline. Carl Jeppson Co., a Chicago company, has built a minor social media empire around malort’s “brutal” flavor. Although Jeppson’s Malört is most often associated with the American city of Chicago, its roots are in Sweden, where where “malört” is the word for “wormwood”, a weedy plant that’s also the key ingredient…

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Edivo Vina Winery: dive for a drink at Croatia’s first and only underwater winery!

Danijel90

If you love wine and wandering around French vineyards or visiting California Wine Country isn’t adventurous enough for you, a trip to Croatia’s Pelješac peninsula might need to be your solution! Edivo Vina is first and only underwater winery, and if you want your very own hand-selected, barnacle-encrusted, underwater-aged bottle of vino, you’re going to have to dive for it! The unique winery, located in Drače on the Pelješac Peninsula about an hour north of Dubrovnik, is the brainchild of Edi Bajurin, who combined his two favorite hobbies to create…

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The fascinating story of Nocino, the witches’ liqueur.

randomcollabs

Patron saints. Every Italian town has one and a local public holiday for celebrating their heavenly protector. In some italian regions, San Giovanni Battista or John the Baptist, is venerated with evening bonfires or fireworks and the night between 23 and 24 June, is also linked to the preparation of a culinary specialty handed down from ancient times: the harvesting of green walnuts to make the liqueur nocino. Many families still preserve the “secret family recipe” of nocino, a liqueur made from green walnuts, often enriched with those particular herbs…

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Boilo: the original Coal Miner Liquor

Leo S

In Pennsylvania’s Coal Region, chilly winters have long been accompanied by a powerful and potentially explosive companion, known as boilo. Typically, it’s an orange brew made of liquor, honey, citrus fruit, and spices and, sometimes, raisins or ginger ale are added to the mix. My brother recently learned many truths about boilo, but none more prominent than this: everyone loves talking about its propensity to explode. And it’s understandable: heating up a vat of alcohol over an open flame is not exactly the safest kitchen mission! Boilo is potent to…

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23# Julmust: the soft drink that outsells Coca-Cola during Christmas seasons in Sweden

Nathan

Julmust is a soft drink that is typically consumed in Sweden during the Christmas season. Its name come from from Jul, the Swedish word for “Christmas,” and must, a common winemaking term for what you call the not yet fermented juice from fruit meant for wine or cider production. Julmust, which tastes like a blend of cola and root beer, was created by Swedish chemist Harry Roberts in the early 20th century as a nonalcoholic alternative to beer. Harry got the recipe from Germany where he studied chemistry and have…

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Mocha Cat Café. Take a break, with Japanese Cats!

Anya016

Mocha Cat Cafè it’s a brand very popular in Japan. With ten branches and counting, this popular chain knows how to deliver a cat-cafe experience to every cat lover. It seems that the cat-cafè located in Akihabara (in photo) is one of the most larger. Given the neighborhood, it’s especially popular also with tourists, and staff are prepared to accommodate visitors in English (more or less). There are 28 resident cats, including a lot of very fluffy and pretty cats and exotic breeds. There are three spacious playroom areas, with…

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Pinch ‘n’ Sip: in Edinburgh, you can assemble your cocktails via kitschy claw machine! ~

Leo S

Here we are: Yes. It’s all true! Strange but true! At a subterranean Edinburgh bar, in Scotland, every drinkers can assemble their cocktails via kitschy claw machine. At Hoot the Redeemer, a subterranean bar in Edinburgh, alcohol comes in many crazy and unusual forms. Hoot the Redeemer is a 50s-styled New Orleans funfair-themed dive bar and here, amidst the 1950s-themed decor, sweet-toothed patrons spoon boozy ice cream straight from the carton, and competitive drinkers play board games on the backs of menus. Furthermore, arcade gamers can win a bespoke cocktail…

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Marula Beer: a great Tradition in South Africa~

Leo S

Here we are: In South Africa, women transform a tart fruit into a famous sour brew. Even if many have questioned myths about drunken elephants wobbling through piles of fermenting marula, it’s established that humans have found multiple ways to turn the South African fruit into a beverages, from the commercialized Amarula Cream Liqueur to the more local specialty known as marula beer. The history of the Marula tree (Scelerocarya birrea) dated back thousands of years. Several archaeological evidence shows the marula tree was a source of nutrition as long…

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