Last month, a bar called the Silly Goose a few blocks away from the Mid-South Alcoholic Supply World HQ started doing Depression Mondays, in observation of the recent economic downtown.  From 5 to 7 PM they sell 16 classic Depression-era cocktails for a dollar each.  Cocktails like the Rob Roy, the Manhattan, the Cuba Libre, and the Tom Collins are on the list.  They also serve free tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches in honor of the ’30s soup and bread lines.  For beer drinkers, they sell PBR for a buck.

This weekly event is quite popular with my group of friends.  We go down the list every Monday, trying various cocktails.  There are lots of gin drinks, some bourbon drinks, rum, even one made with absinthe.  But, one of my friends pointed out, “There’s not a single drink on this list made with vodka.”  I wondered why.

This Detroit Examiner article on flavored vodkas has the answer. We were slow to adopt vodka in the United States after Prohibition, seeing it as a Commie liquor.  As of the end of World War II, the article explains, not one in a thousand Americans had tasted vodka.  It finally gained acceptance in the 1950s, when a cocktail called the Moscow Mule, made with vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer, became a big hit.

Nowadays, we Americans can’t get enough of vodka.  Check out our bartenders’ guides for classic cocktail recipes and modern vodka-based recipes.

WikiHow.com recently ran an article on how to make your own vodka.  Basically it’s a 13-step process that guides you through the creation of a still, and then a mash.  Then you have to add yeast, distill, filter, and dilute.  Wow that sure looks like a whole lot of work.  I think I’d rather just drink vodka instead.  By the time I finished with the vodka-making process, I’d sure be ready for some vodka.

Learn how to make other forms of booze in Mid-South Alcoholic Supply’s bookstore.

I missed this Handmade Gifts article in time for Christmas, but it’s still a great suggestion if you’re into flavored booze.  In this article, a LiveJournal blogger teaches you how to use sticky-sweet Skittles candy to create five flavors of vodka.  This is a brilliant idea.  Skittles vodka would make a great gift, or you could make all five flavors and have a Skittles vodka tasting/party.

Not sure how you’d serve these… in shot glasses maybe?  Or martini glasses?  There are also a number of mixer possibilities with these vodkas.

If Christmas or holiday parties have run you out of liquor, WalletPop.com has an article that will help you restock on a budget.  Some of its advice includes

• Smirnoff (James Bond’s favorite) for vodka, or if you want something a little more upscale, Svedka
• Old Grand-Dad as a substitute for Jack Daniels
• Old Crow as a sipping bourbon
• Gordon’s gin to replace Tanqueray or Bombay Sapphire
• Cruzan as an affordable rum

Check out the entire article here.  To save even more money, take a look at our selection of cocktail shakers and electric mixers.  We have some real bargains on them in our store.

Quick post today, but it’s a good one:  Here’s a recipe from our friends down under for a drink made with vodka, brown sugar, crushed lime, and mint.  This cocktail “will get your dinner party off to a flying start,” according to the creator of the recipe.

If you need tools to crush the ingredients, don’t forget that Mid-South Alcoholic Supply sells bar sets.

One of the rules we live by here at the Mid-South Alcoholic Supply World HQ is, “Everything’s better with bacon.” What’s better than a cheeseburger? A cheeseburger with bacon. What’s better than a grilled chicken sandwich? A grilled chicken sandwich with bacon. The Baconator sandwich from Wendy’s is often heralded among my group of friends as the best food ever made.

This article notes that it’s common for many bars in the United States to fill large vats of vodka with fruit, creating their own house fruit-flavored vodka. However, a bar called The Saint John Ale House in New Brunswick, Canada, is trying something different… they’re infusing their vodka with the flavor of bacon. They’re serving their new bacon martini during Sunday brunch time, from 11 AM to 4 PM. Mmmm… that sounds like a winner… may have to put this idea in the heads of a few of my local bartenders.

Be sure to enjoy your favorite infused vodka - be it flavored with bacon or otherwise - in one of our fine martini glasses.

Red Bull and Vodka has been popular among drinkers for a while, to give them that energy boost along with the effects of the booze. Vodka makers have now incorporated that idea into vodka itself. Check out this review of P.I.N.K. vodka, which was the first vodka to be infused with caffeine.

I wonder if that will hurt Red Bull’s market share? I wonder what percentage of Red Bull sold is used as a mixer with vodka or other forms of alcohol.

Speaking of Red Bull… I just did some searching on Amazon and noticed that they have 24-packs of Red Bull for $45.99. That’s not a bad price. They have sugar free Red Bull too. Less than 2 bucks a can. Not a bad price at all. Maybe I should add an energy drink section to Mid-South Alcoholic Supply.

Few non-alcoholic drinks are as Southern as sweet tea. So it makes sense that a liquor manufacturer would eventually make a product that would appeal to the large Southern sweet tea market. A winery in the South Carolina area has done it: They have begun manufacturing Firefly Sweet Tea vodka, made with Southen grapes.

The winery’s owners note that a great recipe is 2/3 sweet tea vodka, 1/3 lemonade. They expect to sell the vodka in 20-25 states within the next year.

When I say “green” vodka, I’m not talking about vodka that has been dyed green. This isn’t St. Patrick’s Day.

It was bound to happen. A vodka maker has jumped on the current environmental craze. Square One Organic Vodka is being called the world’s first organic vodka, made from 100% American rye. It’s also made from pure spring water, and the bottle is not frosted because that would involve chemicals. The label is printed on paper made from bamboo, bagasse, and cotton, all sustainable, renewable sources.

Enjoy a drink made with Square One in one of our fine martini glasses, and know that as you’re drinking, you’re doing your part to sustain a healthy environment.