Just in time for the Super Bowl, I have a couple of booze-infused recipes that you can make for the big game-watching party on Sunday.

First up is an entree - a Providence, RI TV station ran a recipe for grilled rum-soaked shrimp with mango lime relish.  Since a picture is worth a thousand words, not only does the site list the ingredients and cooking steps, but it has a video where the chef explains preparation of this dish.

Then it’s time for dessert - warm vanilla pudding cake with bourbon cherry syrup.  This recipe was originally created by a Louisville chef for the Kentucky Bluegrass Ball.

I’m getting ready for a Super Bowl party down the street at a friend’s house.  My buddy Chuck is preparing his famous Italian roast beef sandwiches - which doesn’t have any booze in it so the recipe doesn’t qualify to be on here - but rest assured I plan to wash it down with plenty of cans of PBR.

If you’ve ever checked out Mid-South Alcoholic Supply’s flasks section, you know that flasks aren’t just for guys anymore.  The shop is loaded with girly flasks, including this Ann Taintor “Why yes, I am that kind of girl” flask and this pretty in hot pink flask.

However, this Chicago Sun-Times article questions whether cute, girly flask designs encourage underage girls to drink.  At Mid-South Alcoholic Supply, we love our flasks.  They’re great to sneak booze into venues where beer and alcohol is sold at outrageous prices, and into events where booze is not on the menu.  However, they also allow girls under 21 to carry alcohol into venues where they would be carded and not allowed to buy.

We encourage you to look through our flasks and buy the one you like best… but only if you’re of legal age.

Did you know that last week marked the 50th anniversary of the aluminum beer can?  According to this Packaging Digest article (never thought I’d be referring to Packaging Digest on a booze blog), William Coors, president of Adolph Coors Brewing Company in 1957, sent his engineers to work researching a recyclable aluminum can.  At the time, their beer was packaged in tin cans, but people complained about the aftertaste, and tin was not environmentally friendly.

After much trial and error, the researchers found success with a seamless aluminum beer can similar to the ones sold today.  The can was introduced January 22, 1959, 50 years ago last week.

So pop open a can (and pour it in a Mid-South Alcoholic Supply beer glass) to celebrate its 50th.

Planning on drinking a few cold brewskis during the Super Bowl this Sunday?  The FanNation.com blog has a great post where they spell out the rules for a Super Bowl drinking game.  Not only does it keep people’s attention on the game, but it makes sure that everyone is thoroughly soused by the end of the fourth quarter.  I’ve seen several Super Bowl drinking games online, but this one is unique in that the rules could actually be applied to any football game, so this one can be printed off and save for the 2009 season.

Don’t forget that Super Bowl beer tastes especially good in one of Mid-South Alcoholic Supply’s beer mugs.

It’s Sunday, known as “Sunday Fun Day” to many in the world of alcohol.  Every Sunday my friends and I meet up at one of the local restaurants to indulge in Bloody Marys and mimosas.

This Washington Post article discusses a recipe for the Veggie Red Snapper, which it claims is “the superior version” of the Bloody Mary cocktail.  It’s called a “veggie” cocktail because the recipe calls for cucumber-flavored vodka.  Celery bitters are preferred over celery salt for mixing this drink; ask your local bartender where to find them.

If you want to give this drink a try, you can pick up a cocktail shaker and some highball glasses from Mid-South Alcoholic Supply.

Does it seem snobby to you when people swish and swirl their wine at tastings?  “Why don’t they just drink the stuff like normal people?” you may think.  However, according to this Creative Loafing Tampa article, there are good reasons for all the swishing and swirling.

Swishing, the article says, exposes wine to oxygen more quickly, opening up the wine more, getting rid of rough flavors and providing a taste that is more faithful to the winemaker’s intentions.  The article also notes that swishing is mainly for red wines and doesn’t have much effect on whites.

Swirling in your mouth moves the wine across all your taste buds, giving your brain a complete picture of the wine’s taste.  Different taste buds pick up different sensations - sweet, sour, salty, bitter.

You can find plenty of large wine glasses in our store that are perfect for swishing wine at your next tasting, or just to appreciate a fine bottle by yourself at home.

Maker’s Mark has always been my favorite bourbon, ever since a friend of mine gave me a shot of it my senior year in college.  I’ve always found it to be the smoothest of the American bourbons, good for sipping, or for mixing with Coke.

However, what I didn’t know is that Maker’s Mark is a “green” bourbon, recycling the products of the distilling process.  This Inhabitat.com article discusses how Maker’s Mark has an energy production facility that takes the grain and water mix produced during distillation and turns it into renewable energy.  The system currently produces 85 million BTUs of energy a day.  That’ll power a lot of air conditioners!  The system is projected to expand to produce more than double that amount over the next 10 years as production grows.

Maker’s Mark also recycles 95% of its other waste, including cardboard, glass, paper, plastic, metals, and barrels.

So be good to the environment and enjoy some Maker’s Mark in a shot glass, highball glass, or old fashioned glass.

Little Rock-based TV station Today’s THV reports on a study indicating that seniors who engage in light to moderate drinking may be better equipped than most to keep physical disability at bay.

According to the study, compared to abstainers and heavy drinkers, seniors who are light to moderate drinkers are less likely to develop minor disabilities that prevent them from performing common tasks such as walking, dressing, and grooming themselves.  They were found to be 9% less likely of becoming disabled or dying within five years than abstainers, and 3.7% less likely than heavy drinkers.

So drink up!  Get the grandchildren to order you some wine glasses or martini glasses from Mid-South Alcoholic Supply.

Okay, flowers in your hair aren’t strictly necessary, because the ’60s are over.  However, if you go to San Francisco between February 6 and 15, you’ll want to take a beer mug or two from Mid-South Alcoholic Supply.

More than 100 San Francisco pubs and breweries are organizing SF Beer Week in February to celebrate the recent craft beer renaissance.  There will be over 150 events spotlighting the Bay Area as a hotbed for artisan beers.  These will include beer dinners, beer and cheese pairing events, homebrew demos, meet-the-brewer events, and several large festivals, including the Bistro Double IPA Festival, the Toronado Barleywine Festival, and the Bay Area Beer Festival.

If you work for a national company, it may be time to start hinting around that you need to be sent to San Francisco on a business trip in early February… plenty to see and do, and more importantly, to taste, out there.

U.S. News and World Report recently published a survey listing the top 10 cities for drunks.  Not surprisingly, some of the nation’s most well-known party cities finished near the top, with Reno in first place with 9.4% of the population identifying themselves as heavy drinkers.  Palm Bay-Melbourne, FL, Boulder, Austin, and Charleston, SC rounded out the top 5.

Too bad they didn’t do neighborhood by neighborhood, rather than city by city… I’d put Mid-South Alcoholic Supply’s neighborhood of Downtown Memphis, TN up against any neighborhood in the country for percentage of highly accomplished drinkers.

They listed the most sober cities too, and again, no surprise… cities in Mormon-heavy Utah finished at or near the top.

Not a heavy drinker?  Mid-South Alcoholic Supply’s collection of drinking games will help you turn into one.