Back in the 1970’s when AOR radio ruled the world of rock music, WMMS in Cleveland was one of the biggest and most influential radio stations in the country, led by DJ and program director Kid Leo. Every Friday afternoon at 5:00, the station kicked off the weekend by playing Bruce Springsteen‘s “Born to Run,” a tradition started by Kid Leo. Outside of New Jersey, Cleveland was a second home for The Boss and Kid Leo was his biggest fan. I remember discovering Springsteen’s music several days before The River hit the stores. Kid Leo got his hands on a copy and played the entire double album front-to-back five times throughout the day! I caught it in the afternoon, and then made sure to come back and listen after dinner for two more sessions. I was hooked.
As we thought about our new Happy Hour feature for Friday afternoons, adding a great song in the form of an embedded music video to the drink recipes, beer and cigar reviews and other Happy Hour features seemed like an obvious idea, and kicking it off with “Born to Run” with Bruce Springsteen made perfect sense.
So, enjoy the video, which was released back in 1985 to promote Springsteen’s live album. Bruce looks younger and Clarence looks like a character from one of those bad 80’s movies starring Andrew McCarthy. It’s probably the best live version of “Born to Run” I’ve heard, and the video (particularly the second half) captures the energy and fun of a typical Springsteen concert.
As part of our new Happy Hour feature, we decided to go with a tequila drink as our first Drink of the Week, since nothing gets a party started like tequila!
1 1/2 oz Cabo Blanco Tequila
3 dashes Tabasco Sauce
Cover the bottom of a shot glass with Tabasco sauce and fill the rest with Tequila. Finish with a lime wedge.
So, grab that hot girl you met in the office and invite her to happy hour. See if the bartender can make you this drink or anything else with tequila, and you’ll get a pretty good read on whether she likes to have fun. If you have any legitimate shot with her you’ll probably find out tonight!
We are introducing a new Happy Hour feature on the blog that will go up every Friday. We’ll start with a post about a recent beer review or cigar review from the site, followed by a drink recipe in the next post. There’s nothing like a drink to kick off the weekend!
Then we’ll follow that up with a song video to kick off the weekend every Friday at 5:00 PM EST. Check back soon to see our pick for the first song.
As for the beer, we’re in the middle of Spring, so this review from Mike Barkacs is a good choice to kick things off.
The Belgians do not have a monopoly on great wheat beers, even though it may seem like it when you look at the store shelves. Ayinger Brau-Weisse from the Bavarian region of Germany is one of the best wheats you’ll ever have. To me, nothing says spring like a good wheat beer, after slogging through a long, cold winter, drinking those dark and heavy beers to keep warm, or drunk enough to not care. As soon as the snow starts to melt, it’s time to celebrate with something that tastes more like warm sunlight rather than a warm fireplace.
Brau-Weisse is the perfect beer for that. Springtime in a glass. The cloudy, pale straw colored beer is topped with a dense white head that will fade to solid lacing. Like any respectable wheat beer, it is unfiltered and hazy with yeast. Be careful with the pour if that bothers you, but this is a beer that gets even better with the extra sediment. The aroma is of bananas, but more like some sort of banana flavored candy. And cloves. All the cloves promise that this isn’t going to be some sticky, sweet tasting mess.
Today is Cinco de Mayo, and we’re going to help you get the party started with a review of an excellent tequila.
The Cabo Wabo brand of tequila was created by The Red Rocker, Sammy Haggar, who also owns a night club with the same name in Cabo San Lucas, Baja, Mexico. This premium tequila is the genuine article – 100% Weber Blue Agave.
The folks at Cabo Wabo were kind enough to send us bottles of all three varieties you see above, and we definitely had some fun giving them a try. The bottles have recently been redesigned, and as you can see they’ll look great in your bar or drink cart.
You can read more about the different kinds of tequila here, but the difference in the types of tequilas come from the amount of time they are aged from the time of distillation to the time they are bottled. The Blanco (or Silver) is bottled right away, while the Reposado and Añejo are aged longer which give them more color and more complex flavors.
I liked the Blanco the best, but all three varieties were great. If you’re only experience with tequila involves cheap shots at the bar, you’ll be shocked when you try a premium tequila like Cabo Wabo. The tequila is delicious and can be sipped like other high end spirits.
Of course, you can also shoot it and use it for great mixed drinks, so when you’re enjoying Cinco de Mayo today, order up some good tequila like Cabo Wabo and impress your lady friend!
We are introducing a new Happy Hour feature on the blog that will go up every Friday. We’ll start with a post about a recent beer review or cigar review from the site, followed by a drink recipe in the next post. There’s nothing like a drink to kick off the weekend!
