Most Americans are too busy with all the last minute Christmas planning (Here’s hoping you got everything from The Guy Gift Guide that you wanted!) to figure out what they would be doing as the ball dropped. This means there are really only two choices left: throw the party yourself or get on Facebook and actually read the twenty-five events you RSVP’d “maybe” to. Regardless of what you ultimately decide, don’t be the guy that shows up without something to drink because that’s serious party foul territory. Unless you plan on not having friends come 2010, you also don’t want to be the guy that shows up with a thirty pack of Icehouse (Note: Two thirty packs MAY be acceptable if there is beer pong). Check out these sites to help ring in the New Year and numb the ringing in your ears.
Drinks Mixer
Drinks Mixer revolutionizes alcohol poisoning like Wikipedia revolutionized the educational system. You can search the entire database of drinks, click through alphabetically (Who knows why you would only want drinks that begin with the letter “z,” but there’s 45 possibilities), generate a random drink, and even get nutritional information (Helpful in determining how long you will have to live on the Jared diet). Drinks Mixer takes it one step farther by allowing you to create accounts where you can save recipes and all the components of your home bar. Once you tell it everything in your “library” it will generate all the possible drinks you can create with so many different variables it will feel like algebra…with booze.
Drink Hacker
If your Grandfather knew what the Internet was, he would use Drink Hacker for all his cocktail recipe needs. Which is not to say that Drink Hacker is old, ornery, and set in its ways because it is anything but. Just like Grandpa, Drink Hacker brings a certain credibility to the art of drinking. (The fact that Drink Hacker does this while having a “Lemonparty” cocktail is baffling.) Drink Hacker really is a place for the discriminating drinker and has cocktails that opt for more unconventional ingredients like bitters, liqueurs, scotchs, and Limoncello. There is also a very extensive list of alcohol reviews (including beer and wine) on the main page that will guide you in your purchases.
What To Drink
If you have questions about cocktails, What To Drink will have the answers. With over 8500 drink recipes – including a special New Year’s Drink section – What To Drink has drinks for every possible occasion. Make sure to check out the New Year’s section for that special fruity concoction to make for your “girlfriend.” We have no idea what a Lemon Rose Bellinie is, but anything that combines sorbet, fresh fruit, and two types of liquor into one glass is awesome – assuming there’s a female within five feet you can use for cover.
Webtender
Webtender may be the Craigslist version of cocktail recipe websites, but why fix what ain’t broke? Yeah, it’s basic, but it’s as easy to use as AOL and has an extensive (FREE!) Bartender’s Handbook complete with any single gentleman’s most valuable weapon – drinking games. If you’re planning on a New Year’s party that will never be forgotten – but hardly remembered – don’t forget to get the recipe for the 1-900-FUK-MEUP currently ranking #1 on the weekly Top 20 Charts and courtesy of the good folks at TGI Fridays.
Tastings
Tastings is the Internet home of the Beverage Testing Institute and it’s as official (read: hardcore) as an Institution can possibly be. Because of it’s “official” nature, Tastings is more of a resource for the upscale soiree than it is for the bass-thumping, Tiesto-powered, wall-shaking party, but it’s like that cool college professor that tricked you into learning. By the time you are done scouring the wines, beers, and spirits based on styles, ratings, and producers you will have gotten an education in alcohol you didn’t even know you wanted. Yes, you will know how to pair wine with seven different types of cheese; no, official degrees are not offered.
Liqurious
Liqurious.com not only packs an entire lifetime of all things alcoholic into a beautifully designed webpage, but also provides an entire party planner’s dream of variety and taste.
iDrink
The success of this website is self-explanatory because i-anything is sure to be a hit. Then again, it could be because of the 32000 drink recipes they supposedly have in their database. Thankfully, there is a search bar to simplify the process of looking through thousands of drink recipes (You can also specify what ingredients you have, but there’s no way to save except to become a paid member). The real benefit of iDrink comes from the Best and Worst lists. Some of the recipes have more votes than the other sites have recipes and how can thirteen THOUSAND people possibly be wrong about Sex on the Beach?
All Recipes
The Cocktails section on All Recipes is as close as you can come to an alcoholic version of Food Network without actually watching Food Network. You won’t find out how to make Zombies or Jungle Juice and there is no repository of card or dice based reasons to consume. However, All Recipes will help you get snazzy with classic cocktails like the Manhattan, Martini, and Gimlet. Because inevitably there is always that one guy that shows up that wants something crazy you have no idea how to make (If you happen to be that guy, bring your own booze!). Who knows, Manhattans might become your go-to drink at the bar when you want to show off your worldly side. If nothing else, you can make them for your Dad when he comes over. The best part about All Recipes? There’s videos (Sorry, no Food Network hotties here) showing you the correct process.
123 Drinks
123 Drinks is just that – and only that. There are no food recipes, no reviews, and no “my bar”. What the site lacks in terms of functionality, it makes up for in simplicity (And yes, Google Ads) – browse alphabetically, search by liquor title, or just view the Top 10. Even though 123 Drinks may lack some of the features the other sites have, it has that homey Geocities feel that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy…before you’re actually all warm and fuzzy. That, and it always has a new random drink on the homepage so you finally have use for your F5 key again.
CD Kitchen
If you want any sort of drink that can be described using the word effervescent, CD Kitchen is the place to go. There are more champagne recipes on this site than there are bottles of Brut in your nearest liquor emporium, and more possible fruit combinations than that fruitcake you wish you didn’t get for Christmas. Not only does it include difficulty ratings, you can text recipes so you don’t forget to pick up pomegranate juice. Go ahead, get down with your “baller” self; everyone drinks champagne on New Years.
Bonus Sites:
The Bachelor Guy
The Drink section of The Bachelor Guy doesn’t let you search by cocktails, requires some amount of reading, and doesn’t alphabetically list the cocktails. Why is it on here? Because sometimes a man just needs to be told what to do. Taking advice from The Bachelor Guy about drinking would be like taking advice from Hugh Hefner on how to pick up chicks. Plus, now you have a reason to enjoy champagne (by adding tequila) and you can actually make the “Hare of the Dog.”
The Cocktail Calculator
Want to know precisely how much it’s going to cost you to recreate the rave scene from The Matrix? Or maybe you just want to budget your money for Denny’s afterwards. Cockeyed’s Cocktail Calculator will break it down into dollars so you know how much you should expect to spend. (Sense not included, that’s all on you.)
Guyism – What Your Booze Says About You
How do you want to end 2009? It doesn’t matter if you want to throw down in fisticuffs, be a cast member on Jersey Shore, or die – Guyism will tell you HOW to achieve the desired result.
