Bierbox Subscription

With a week left to meet their goal, The Bierbox crew is trying to bring the beauty of 5 gallons of beer and the art of the nuances of hops and barley to your front door. Every three months they release a new recipe. This takes the guess work, and fear that your home brew will suck after all the work, out of the equation. The co-founders know their stuff having been in the home brew game for almost a decade. They are also supported by the awesomely, smart folks at Brooklyn Kitchen. With that deck of contributors you’re delivered a royal flush every time a box arrives. More proof? They made this history of beer infographic and a comprehensive homebrewing guide. Get knowledge. Buy beer (making kits).

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Drink | Non-Alcoholic

Richard’s Rainwater

This week I taste test rainwater. Richard’s Rainwater to be specific. This first seemed asinine but, as the video reveals, I was quite surprised. Catching rain and channelling it into cans seems like the shame of the century but in reality is quite brilliant. Richard is a guy but it’s not like he is sitting in his back yard collecting it. In fact, the team collects it locally to where it is distributed cutting down on expenses, energy and labor waste to get it into your grubby hands and unquenched throat. As it turns out rain water is the purest form of water on earth. If you catch it before it hits the ground and soaks up any rat droppings, diesel exhaust or saliva from the 70 year old guy who stands out front the bodega with his Skoals canister, you’ve got yourself one tasty beverage. I’m not sure how they get the sparkling flavor to bubble…Magic clouds?…but either version has an unprecedented and surprisingly, delicious taste. After Richard snaps the pure water out of mid-air they triple filter and drop some ozone in the mix to make sure it’s as pure as possible. I tested it against some rainfall in my back yard and against my heralded NYC tap water. The results may surprise you. We’re still scratching our heads on why this took almost 30 years to show up at our grocery store.

Drink | Liquor

Gray Whale Gin

Gray Whale gin could be the hardest working spirit in the business. As gins become more and more interesting to me I’ve begun to seek out the less straight forward botanical mixes. Thankfully the UK is having a craft gin explosion and on a recent trip to California, I discovered the US isn’t far behind. Gray Whale gin chose its flavors based on the migratory path of the gray whale. Aside from being so #verycalifornian the foraged ingredients made for a unique taste and that, after all, is what I am after. With foraged botanicals running from Baja all the way up to Mendocino, the effort for that flavor may be unmatched by any other craft distiller. The outrageously mesmerizing aquamarine bottle that has an enticing depth illusion adds to our allure while their simplistic, contemporary, labeling design sold us. We’re suckers for a well-branded spirit.

Drink | Non-Alcoholic

7 Election

It’s been five elections now since 7-Eleven started this brilliant campaign. This year dubbed “7 Election”, customers show their support for their favorite candidate by choosing the appropriate Speak Up Cup. It’s as simple as that. End of the day — they count the cups and gauge American’s sentiment. I’m not sure Hil and Trump pay much attention to the convenience store’s stats but I’ve always thought it was a smart way to see a non-partisan, anti-bloated government, data set. Plus, you wind up with a hot cup of coffee when done voting. From what we can figure out, this year, stats are being hosted on The Onion. Kinda weird they don’t have their own website but, hell, The Onion makes sense…I guess. Get out there America, it’s your birthright. Morning coffee that is. Voting is good too.

Drink | Non-Alcoholic

Shatto Milk Company

We haven’t been this excited about milk since we discovered Frosted Flakes in 1982. 100 years ago the Shatto family started raising cattle. In 2003 they decided to start making their own milk and then cheese, then, butter, cookies, ice cream and now juice. They also decided to brand everything with an irreverent and slightly off utter humor. They developed a list of core values for their brandd and then punned the hell out of them. Lines like, “No hormones. Yes Whey.” and “Udder to store. Under 24.” We love everything about the Shatto Milk Company but mainly their milk. It’s a testament to a pure and best-in-class, raw ingredient being the cornerstone of so many other products. In the case of the Shatto family, that means their OWN products. Ohh right, and they brought back the milkman too. OMG. Yes. My Frosted Flakes will never be the same. Now, if I only lived in Kansas City.

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