Getting drunk is not cool.

Boozing till you puke is not cool.

Losing your mobile phone or wallet after a few drinks is not cool.

Sure, we’ve all been guilty of these at some point but the point now is that losing self-control when drinking is truly anti-social behaviour. But this seems to be an escalating social issue among youths who binge drink to be embraced by their friends. But what exactly is binge drinking? Ministry of Health has publicly stated that this occurs with the consumption of 5 or more alcoholic drinks for guys, and 4 or more for ladies, in a single session.

We don’t believe that this is the way to enjoy a good beer, whisky or wine. After all, you won’t be able to appreciate the goodness of each drop when you’re tipsy.  Hence, we’re supporting Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore’s ‘Get Your Sexy Back’ campaign to encourage responsible drinking among youths and adults alike. Across town, keep a lookout for 20 life-sized posters, depicting youths in “very un-cool” drunken poses. There’ll be QR codes on each poster so if you see them, snap and share the images with your friends via Facebook and Twitter, and help spread the message that losing control when drinking is really not cool. Get Your Sexy Back.

To see all pictures of the Get Your Sexy Back campaign,  visit www.facebook.com/GYSB.sg

This year, Guinness Singapore is holding the celebration at Muddy Murphy’s tonight, 22 September, from 6 to 8pm with Guinness pints at $10 and with limited t-shirts up for grabs!

Be there at 1759h to be part of the toast to Arthur!

Enjoying a pint of India Pale Ale is an acquired taste, given its tendency for being very hoppy, dry and bitter. And often with a higher alcohol level. If you’re new to the world of IPA, don’t start your session with one and don’t try chugging a few down at a sitting. We’re fans of IPA but in Singapore, the only place you’ll be assured of IPA on tap is Brewerkz, which by all accounts is a good brew, having notched several awards to show for it. So when we found out that Archipelago Brewery had launched their own IPA, we were thrilled, it’s about time!

A brewmaster once said, "Never underestimate what a good glass can do for beer."

The Archipelago Hickory Smoked IPA is a unique hybrid of beer styles, the popular English India Pale Ale & the German smoked Rauchbier styles, with American hops, resulting in a beer tasting closer to the American IPAs that the English. Making this brew was a collaboration with Smokey’s BBQ restaurant (located at 73 Joo Chiat Place) where the Hickory wood chips used by Smokey’s BBQ, an authentic smokehouse restaurant, to smoke the malt to create this limited edition Hickory Smoked IPA.

Because it’s smoked, it’s got a beautiful amber glow and very aromatic. Made with a combination of three American hops – Centennial, Chinook & Tomahawk – which are all commonly used in a lot of American pale ales, the Hickory Smoked IPA has a savoury yet citrus taste. If you’re new to IPAs, it may need a few sips to start appreciating the smoky aftertaste on the palate and scents of smoky essences. Here’s a tip, have it at Smokey’s BBQ and pair it with their pulled pork, which is cooked over 18hours or even with a bowl of their chilli. It’s a perfect combination!

A chef once said, "Never underestimate what food and do for a beer."

If you’re into the whiskeys like Oban, you’ll love this beer, the smoky aftertaste is quite similar.

The Archipelago Hickory Smoked IPA was created for Beerfest 2011 and will be available at Smokey’s BBQ and other Archipelago concept bars in the coming weeks.

An uncle once said, "Never underestimate what a beer babe can do for beer."

3 years in a row. 4 consecutive festival days. 250 beers from 20 countries. All from $3 a pop.

These are just some numbers to tease you with but the one that’s had us at hello is the opportunity to sample more than 250 beers in a single seating. In a repeat of the past 2 years, Beerfest Asia 2011 makes a re-appearance at the Marina Promenade behind the Singapore Flyer from 16 to 19 June 2011.

Beers and ciders from Armenia to Sweden to the Czech Republic will be available for sale on the festival grounds. If you love your India Pale Ale(IPA), check out the booth by Beerstyle Distribution who will be carrying brews from American favourites like Rogue and Stone. Commercial brewers like Carlsberg will also be showcasing their portfolio of brands with the inclusion of the Russian Baltika and crowd favourite Somersby Cider. And Singapore’s newest mircobrewer AdstraGold will also be quenching thirsts at the festival.

The U2 Show - Achtung Baby

Beerfest Asia 2011 will also see the debut of the All Star Showstoppers along with three tribute experiences of The Beatles, The Blues Brothers and The Rolling Stones. Tribute bands “The Killer Queen” and “The U2 Show – Achtung Baby” who performed last year are back by popular demand to belt out classic hits.

Asia Beer Awards will be staged again this year and for the first time, the Asia Brewers’ Conference will be held on the trade day (16 June 2011) of Beerfest Asia 2011.

Tickets are on sale at www.sistic.com.sg from $15 onwards including two free beers for selected tiers. For more information on Beerfest Asia 2011, visit the official website at www.beerfestasia.com.

We blogged about the kick-off of the 2011 Diageo Reserve World Class season back in February where we featured the 2010 winner Erik Lorincz and his potion.  Singapore’s search for our representative at the global finals of Diageo Reserve World Class 2011 in India is underway with bartenders having being put through a series of challenges.

While we’re sure most of you have been adventurous with mixing drinks, especially at wedding dinners with the traditional lethal concoction of Guinness, Martell VSOP, chilli stirred with a raw egg for the groom, being World Class takes a little more than a sense of deviousness. To be anointed Diageo Reserve World Class bartender is an arduous process. It includes a 6-month long programme which covers training and three challenges followed by national finals, before culminating at a week-long global finals in New Delhi. Making this year’s event more delightful for the public, for the first time ever, some of the most impressive cocktails entered for the challenges are being served on the bar counter.

Five signature serves, the best from the first two challenges, made with either Ron Zacapa Rum or Ketel One Vodka, are being served at the respective bars where the creators can be found. From truffle infused rum and nitro frozen chocolate meringues to Burmese honey and curry leaves – these clever and creative drinks deserve a place in any aficionado’s little black book of cocktails.

Patrick's Signature Ron Zacapa - by Myat Zaw Win a.k.a. Patrick at Tippling Club

Distinto-Diferente - by Zach Elias at TAB

Indulgence in the Clouds - by Akihiro Eguchi at Orgo

Ketel Kurrie - by Raveen Misra at Nektar

Hello Mother - by Myat Zaw Win a.k.a. Patrick at Tippling Club

Home - by Zheng Pan at No. 5 Emerald Hill

Other than Home, all the drinks are being served at their respective bars between $18 to $30. If you would like to follow the progress of this event, check out their Facebook page.

This just in: Fellow drinkers, Diageo’s agency has just informed us that ‘the public will be able to sample the winning drinks from the final challenges at the respective bars after the national finals wrap up so those who are interested can have a taste of the creations presented at the finals although they are not able to attend.’

These days, people travel to Amsterdam, Paris, New York to see a Van Gogh

Van Gogh Vodka

on a wall. His self-portraits, his visual representations of cafes, the night sky, sunflowers, his possessions have been imprinted onto fridge magnets, posters, greeting cards, t-shirts to name a few. Very few artists can lay claim to such a palette of commercial products. And even fewer have a vodka and gin to their name, even though Van Gogh was known to consume copious amounts of Absinthe.

I was given a bottle of the Van Gogh Classic Vodka (80-proof) a few years back and it’s one of the few empty bottles I’ve kept given how it’s artfully designed with accolades of his work lining the inside walls of the bottle. The vodka itself was superb, very smooth due to it being hand-crafted using a triple distillation method and the water quality from Schiedam, Holland by privately-owned by Royal Dirkzwager Distilleries. It used to be available at the airport Duty Free but haven’t seen much of it in recent years. If you do see it, look out for over 20 varieties of vodka and gin under this label.

While seeing Van Gogh on the inside walls of a vodka bottle is quite a different way of seeing the artist, the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands is now presenting an avant garde approach to appreciating the Dutch master with the world premiere of Van Gogh Alive – the Exhibition. Showcasing images of his works from his most prolific decade from 1880 to 1890, his art is not presented within the stillness of wooden frames but injected with a multitude of sensory elements through an intelligent orchestration of music, light and projection technology.

When I was first invited to the premiere, there was skepticism as we’re all primed to appreciate such masterpieces in their true form – locked in a frame and best viewed from 3-feet. But this experience was about his work being projected through more than 40 high definition projectors onto walls, columns, roofs and floors, accompanied by the familiar tunes of Yanni. It was truly an immersive hour of sensory delights with Van Gogh being illuminated, layered, transposed across what would have been very plain walls.

Conceptualised by French photographer Albert Plecy, at his research centre (Cathedral d images) in the quarries of Provence (France), this is the first time this exhibition has left France. On till 6 November 2011, this is one exhibition highly recommended. Vodka not included.

Apollo 11’s foray into space the summer of 1969 turned out to be third time “lucky” for NASA when the men onboard successfully navigated their way to the moon, planted their feet and came back safely. But “lucky” isn’t an inclusive word to describe this immortalized moment in the history of mankind. Technological advances, reserves of greenback, weather, prayers and sheer human courage were just among the list of conditions that created that moment. But it also comes down to A, B, C – Armstrong, Buzz and a particular Collins – were the names of the crew who made that journey.

If Carlsberg had their way, they would have loved to have been the C-word propelling Apollo 11 to a first ever lunar landing. We’re sure the Danes would have sneaked in a case of beer aboard Apollo 11 but what they have done instead is launch a new Spaceman advertising campaign and tagline to appeal to the sense of adventure and courage inside all of us, challenging us to do the right thing in every situation and earning a Carlsberg as a reward. Hence the introduction of a new tagline “That calls for a Carlsberg” ushering out the distinctive “Probably the best beer in the world.”

A Crown, a Hope Leaf and a beer born in Copenhagen in 1847

Accompanying this change is new packaging with a refreshed logo which have hit our stores and kopitiams already, see if you can tell the subtle differences, it took us awhile to figure it out! Well, we dare say this is one of the best Carlsberg TV commercials we’ve seen on our screens in recent years. There’s always been an irreverent sense of humour to the Carlsberg ads like the recent cheerleaders, pyramid commercial during the World Cup. But it’s the Spaceman commercial that takes the cake with a Jerry Bruckheimer ending, leaving us to wonder if there’ll be a sequel to it. After all, what good is a beer in hand when you can’t taste it? Not that it would have mattered anyway since normal beer cannot be consumed in space as it is on earth. Read our previous post of Vostock Space Beer to find out why.

And this concludes our first post in 2 weeks, now this calls for a Carlsberg!

But what makes a truly good bartender? Drinks on the house? Someone who makes a whisky sour with egg white? Ability to consistently pour a pint of Guinness with a shamrock? What if a dash of Andy Warhol’s creativity, the humour of Conan O’Brien, the theatrics of David Copperfield, Nobu’s palette, Tom Ford’s style was mixed and shaken to create the ultimate mixologist? Last month, we had the privilege of meeting someone close to this DNA match.

Erik Lorincz, Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender 2010

Erik Lorincz, Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender 2010, was uncovered from among 6,000 bartenders from 24 countries. Through a series of challenges including distinguishing 20 aromas from spirits, blind tasting and food pairing with Diageo Reserve brands such as Tanqueray No. Ten, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Jose Cuervo Platino and Ketel One vodka. Erik was crowned Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender in Athens last year. When we met, he was dressed in a suit which looked straight out of the wardrobe of Mad Men with his hair slicked back, we were treated to an afternoon of exceptional cocktails. What truly surprised me was his liberal use of yuzu (a type of Japanese tangerine) given that his Slovak roots and having spent most of his life in Europe. Sampling his signature cocktail, named Rising To The Sky, garnished with a botanical steam, was very apt given that we were seated at City Space overlooking the city. Rising To The Sky had a refreshingly sour taste, one very perfect for a hot afternoon day by the pool.

Erik's "Rising To The Sky", a touch of Yuzu with Tanqueray No. Ten

This year’s final of World Class 2011, labeled, the Oscars of the industry, will be held in New Delhi in July. Diageo is expecting 10,000 participants this year, to follow the competition, check out their Facebook page.

Mini's on the Moo

Exactly a week ago, we attended Mini’s launch of their new Countryman which was “grazed” by the presence of 2 unlikely potential drivers. And to be perfectly honest, we didn’t even consider blogging about it as this blog isn’t about automobiles, even though we do love our cars.

Can you spot the car?

But being surrounded by a bevy of cowgirls, who were obviously distracting our attention from the cow and the Mini cars, it reminded us of the conversations we’ve had with our wives when deciding on a new car. For them, it was always about the colour of the car, ease of entry when wearing a skirt, and cupholders! How many cupholders are there? What size? Where’s it located?

In our drives, anything that has potential for spillage or smell, let alone durian, stays outside the car, and choice of car would never come down to cup balancing skills. But we believe Mini may have got this one female consumer insight right. After all, 52% of all new vehicles purchased are influenced by women.

With that, we proceeded to test how well the new Mini Countryman could hold a plastic cup of Heineken. The result: Pass. Park. and Pub.

P is for Pub

Remember, don’t drink and drive, you don’t want to be spilling beer all over your new Mini leather seats.

Goldilocks couldn't decide which to drink at first...

Well regarded in Singapore and by our reckoning even sought after by the Japanese and in London, Tiger Beer has come a long way since its humble debut in the Republic in 1930. Some Wiki facts:

• In the USA, Tiger Beer’s brand is well known in New York and San Francisco.
• In the UK, Tiger Beer can be found in more than 8,000 premium bars/clubs and distribution outlets in its major cities.
• Tiger Beer gained considerable popularity in Detroit in October 2006 due to the Detroit Tigers Baseball Team’s entrance into the 2006 World Series.

Since then it’s won numerous awards, 40 to be exact, and over the years its gone on to reinvent itself. With the recent launch of Tiger Crystal, where the beer is filtered at a chilling -1 degree C to retain its full flavour, there are now a stable of over 40 brand and variants to the Asia Pacific Brewery owned label. So what’s the Tiger up to this rabbit Lunar New Year in Singapore?

Beverage beauties beaming over brews and bullion

Touted as ‘Singapore’s largest dinner gathering’ – The Tiger Lunar Extravaganza 2010 – a dining extravaganza is being organised to bring to life the concept of Togetherness or 聚 [pronounced as jü, 4th intonation], in the Chinese language, as part of their “Celebrate togetherness with Tiger” campaign. APB likens it to ‘Singapore’s own version of Oktoberfest’. Hmmmm.

Would the Fab Four drink Tiger?

Leveraging on in-depth consumer insights and attitudes on gatherings and reuniting with friends and loved ones this Lunar New Year, the brands under the APB Singapore umbrella are all set to redefine the concept of “togetherness” this festive season. Key highlights include:

·         TIGER BEER LAUNCHES 聚LUNAR NEW YEAR CAMPAIGN : “CELEBRATE TOGETHERNESS WITH TIGER”

·         聚: CELEBRATE TOGETHERNESS WITH TIGER AT SINGAPORE’S LARGEST DINNER GATHERING!

·         TIGER BEER LAUNCHES SEARCH FOR SINGAPORE’S FAVOURITE CHINESE NEW YEAR DISH

·         RAINING GOLD IN THE HEARTLANDS: LEE HON MENG, FIRST WINNER OF TIGER BEER’S GOLD GIVEAWAY

·         APBS PARTNERS KRETA AYER-KIM SENG CITIZENS’ CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE THIS CHINESE NEW YEAR IN SUPPORT OF THE MEAL & GROCERY PROGRAMME

·         BE THE PERFECT HOST AND GUEST WITH GUINNESS: LIMITED EDITION GUINNESS BAK KWA GIVES TRADITIONAL CHINESE NEW YEAR DELICACY A TWIST

Tickets for Tiger Lunar Extravaganza 15-course Chinese buffet line at the renowned Peach Garden Restaurant are on sale at SISTIC from 19 December 2010 at $88 per ticket, inclusive of free flow beer. Just for early birds, purchase your tickets before 10 January 2011 and receive 10% off! Tables are 6-seaters or 10-seaters so gather your friends and come celebrate togetherness with Tiger Beer. Consumers also stand a chance to win a limited-edition 1kg solid-gold bar as well as 88 other 100g gold bars worth over a total of $100,000.

Read more about these celebratory events here. Good luck and good hunting! (tiger and rabbit hunting, geddit? No? Sigh…)