Beer's New Role: Cocktail Mixer

64-ounce takeaway bottles offer cheaper alternative to bar-hopping

(NEWSER) - Looking to host your Super Bowl party with beer that’s a bit more interesting than Coors Light? Look no further than the current beer trend sweeping New York: Growlers. The 64-ounce glass containers allow for fresher, cheaper, more interesting beer in the comfort of your own living room—and everyone, including parents with kids in tow, is jumping on the bandwagon, reports the New York Times . More»

Don't just cook with it; mix a drink with it

(NEWSER) - After decades relegated to a spot in the cooking aisle, sherry is making a comeback. The Spanish fortified wine is becoming a trendy cocktail ingredient, especially in Los Angeles, the Times reports. The drinks can get pretty swanky—one involves gold dust; another, reportedly loved by Frank Sinatra, flamed orange oil. “You see a lot of going back to classic cocktail ingredients,” says one restaurateur whose establishment aims to recapture “Old Hollywood swell-egance.” More»

One new highbrow bottle, with 27% alcohol, costs $150

(NEWSER) - Beer with a high alcohol content is in the spotlight after two breweries announced supercharged creations—Boston Beer Company's Utopias, with 27% alcohol, and BrewDog's Tactical Nuclear Penguin, with 32%. Are they good for the average guzzler? Salon gets details from expert Brooks Hamaker:

• They don’t come cheap: Utopias will set you back $150 a bottle.
• Yes, it is beer: Regardless of alcohol content, it’s made from barley, malt, hops, water, and yeast—but it’s not carbonated, "or at least not very well," because of its high sugar content.

(NEWSER) - The affinity for fresh, local produce in US restaurants has spilled out into the bar, USA Today reports. Many mixologists—or the new term of art, “bar chefs”—are starting their days scouting farmers markets instead of ordering syrups. “The flavor in the produce is not only better,” one bartender said, “but I love the idea that we are contributing to a family-run, neighborhood farm.” More»

West Indies drinks hit it big in New York

(NEWSER) - Shaken, stirred—or swizzled? This summer, many bartenders are urging patrons to choose the last. An authentic “Swizzle”—as the trendy drinks are called—doesn’t use a plastic stick; rather, a real stick from a Caribbean tree, with prongs that make it nature’s own Mixmaster, reports the New York Times. The result? The drinks come out “almost like an adult snow cone,” says one bartender. More»