Whether you have beer on tap and are looking for its matching faucet handle, or you collect all types of unique tap handles, no matter what the brew style, you’ve got to check out our growing selection of rare branded tap handles.

We’ve got hard-to-find tap handles from Hook & Ladder Brewery, Spring Heat Spiced Heat, rare Red Hook offerings, and so much more. Check out all of our newest beer brand tap handles now, before they’re gone!

More tap handles are arriving everyday, so be sure to check back often!

TAGS [ TAP HANDLES | BEER TAP HANDLES | BEER FAUCET HANDLES | BRANDED TAP HANDLES | DRAFT BEER EQUIPMENT ]

We’ve shipped a whole lot of tonic water from our warehouse in the past few days! I’m not one to brag but when it comes to premium tonic waters, we have the best selection available.

I’m thrilled that we’re not the only ones who realize that while tonic is good, GOOD tonic is simply incredible. If you ask me, there’s no better way to celebrate summer than relaxing on a deck, patio, or boat with a crisp, refreshing vodka and tonic (or gin and tonic) – made the right way, with the right tonic.

Most tonics served at bars and sold in grocery stores are loaded with artificial ingredients and high-fructose corn syrup but you probably wouldn’t know that because you’ve never had the good stuff. When it comes to top-quality tonic waters, we’ve got options. Fever-Tree Premium Indian Tonic Water blends spring water with handmade cold-pressed oil from Tanzania, cane sugar and natural quinine from a plantation near the Rwanda-Congo border. Q-Tonic is made from hand-picked Peruvian quinine and Mexican agave. Fentimans is botanically brewed with all natural ingredients and the sharp flavor of ginger to create a perfect balance of bitter sweetness.

We asked our unbiased friends, Deron and Sara, to try them all and let us know what they like best. Their official tasting notes are below.

*Disclaimer: The following opinions are simply that, opinion. Every taste bud is different! Should you disagree with our conclusions, simply comment and let us know what you think. We’re all about discussion and great drinks. Cheers!

Tonic Water Tasting
Monday, June 29th
Rochester, NY
Tasters: Sara & Deron Weet

Tonic Water Samples tasted:

• Q Tonic
• Fentimans Tonic
• Fever-Tree Tonic

All tonic waters were tasted with 1-ounce of Grey Goose Original Vodka, room temperature, and 3 ounces of each tonic water, refrigerated, in a 12-ounce rocks glass with 4 ice cubes.

Please note: Store brand tonic water was not sampled against these, since we ran out of vodka, and did not have any other unflavored vodka in the house.

Comments:

Q Tonic
"The least carbonated of the three." "Clean, not overly sweet, with a dry finish." "Uncomplicated, and lets the flavors of the vodka shine through." "Possibly a bit undercarbonated." "Soft citrus fruit undertones with no aftertaste." "This is the tonic for people who want the flavor of the vodka to be the star." "Don’t mix with rotgut vodka."

Fentimans
"Almost too sweet to be a tonic water." "Citrus fruit bomb, almost resembles a lemon-lime soda with a shot of grapefruit juice." "Full bodied, with some herbal notes in the background." "Some slight sour notes on the swallow, after the taste buds have done a little dance." "May be good at hiding the off flavors of cheap vodka."

Fever-Tree
"The most well-balanced of the three." "A restrained fruitiness, almost seltzer-like." "A bit prickly on the tongue, but very balanced." "Good aftertaste without being too sweet or cloying." "Mouthfeel is a bit slick." "A clean, uncomplicated tonic with a finish that is just dry enough to do the job." "Best of the three."

So, the consensus was that the Fever-Tree was our #1, followed by the Q, then the Fentimans. The Fentiman’s tasted a bit too much like a citrus soda than it did a tonic water, and you might not want to drink lime/lemon/orange/grapefruit flavored vodka with it. The Q was the most unobtrusive of the three, where it in no way would interfere with the flavors of whatever vodka you’re drinking. The Fever-Tree was the best, we felt that it would go with gin as well as with vodka.

Either way, all three were a hell of a lot better than supermarket crap.

Grab a Premium Tonic Water Sampler Pack with 2 bottles of each brand, try them all and let us know what YOU decide.

TAGS [ TONIC WATER | PREMIUM TONIC WATER | PREMIUM TONICS | Q TONIC | FEVER TREE | FENTIMANS | Q TONIC WATER | FEVER TREE TONIC WATER | FENTIMANS TONIC WATER ]

This is a highly competitive track event called "The Beer Mile." The details of this event are quite unique. Competitors actually drink beer while they race. Which means, yes, drinking beer while running! I wanted to know how these two activities go together. I found this pretty interesting being a runner myself, although the thought of consuming beer while running doesn’t exactly quench my thirst. I know beer is offered usually after races, but during the run? Certainly you will need a designated driver after running the Beer Mile.

There are official rules for this race of course. Each runner must drink one can of beer before every lap on the track (4 laps). Every beer must be in a standard container and consumed before every quarter mile. Runners receive penalty laps if they do not keep the liquid inside of them before finishing. The mile record is close to 5 minutes flat. Here are the official rules:

The Beer Mile Official Rules
The Beer Mile Info

Here is one of the many Beer Miles caught on video:

Cheers!

TAGS [ THE BEER MILE | BEER RUNNING | BEER RACE | BEER RACE VIDEO | BEER MILE VIDEO ]

Damn, these people must have really wanted to catch a buzz. Aren’t there easier ways to get free beer? I think I know a few tricks, and none of them involve vehicular assaults.

Read about these crazies here.

TAGS [ BEER NEWS | BIZARRE BEER NEWS ]

The thermometer may not be representative of it, and I can count on one hand the number of days that the sun has been out for the majority of the daylight hours, but apparently, here in upstate New York, we’re nearing the middle of summer. So it would be a very appropriate time to discuss what’s universally heralded as the beer of summer: Hefeweizen.

In a nutshell, Hefeweizen is traditional, unfiltered wheat-based ale originating in southern Germany that is made especially for consumption during the summer. Always cloudy, always quirky, always spritzy, and most importantly, always refreshing.

Hefeweizen was first brewed in the Bavarian house of Degenberg, in the 1400’s. It started to get pretty popular, but due to some jealousy and feuding amongst the local royalty, it fell into obscurity until the late 1800’s where the Schneider Brewery did a fantastic job of resurrecting the style and modernizing the brewing process. Unfortunately, the brewery was a casualty of World War II, and it fell into obscurity once again. However, Hefeweizen refused to be denied, and in the 70’s it was rediscovered yet again. Nowadays, 30% of the beer made in Bavaria is weissbier.

Hefeweizen is pale straw to a dark gold in color, with a thick, mousy, long-lasting white head, which looks particularly pretty in those big, fluted glasses designed specifically for them. Due to the high protein content in the wheat, clarity is always a bit impaired, but a haze is somewhat variable. The aromas these beers give off are very phenolic (spicy); the two biggest culprits being clove and banana. There is little to no noble hop character, combined with a citrusy tartness, some vanilla, and some bubblegum.

The flavor you’ll be experiencing is a low to moderately strong banana and clove flavor, where sweetness and roundness should ideally be in perfect balance. Showing up in the background is a touch of that Pils malt character with very little hop bitterness or flavor. The finish will be very dry, setting your palate up for the next delicious sip of this beer. And one last thing – the mouthfeel should be medium light to medium, and never heavy. This is where the texture of the wheat imparts a sensation of a fluffy, creamy fullness with some spritz and effervescence. Thirsty yet?

Hefeweizen is one of the most versatile beers out there that you can pair with a variety of foods. Think scrubbing bubbles – lifting fat, cutting through starch, and balancing spice. Hefeweizen is dynamite with Indian, Mexican, and Asian food, and it can challenge a mimosa for the ultimate beverage with brunch. Light and refreshing, it’ll pair well with almost everything on the table, most of all with salads. It won’t overpower greens and the acidity of the beer will stand up to almost any dressing you can think of.

So, next time you’re out on the patio, ducking the rain and not having to remove your sunglasses off your head….whoops, that’s just here…..grab one of these, and cheers!

Butternuts Heinnieweisse

Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis

Schneider Wiesen Edel-Weisse

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier

TAGS [ HEFEWEIZEN | HEFE-WEISS | HEFE WIEZEN | TOP HEFEWEIZENS | BEST HEFE-WEISS | BEER REVIEW | BEER REVIEWS | SUMMER BEER | SUMMER BEERS ]

The term "on the rocks" has a whole new meaning! Usually, of course, when one orders liquor on the rocks, it’s poured over ice. A great way to chill your favorite spirit but unfortunately, equally as great at watering it down.

Enter On the Rocks Whiskey Stones. Handcrafted by soapstone workers in Vermont, the set of 9 stones can be kept in your freezer and added to a shot or two of your favorite spirits for a great "on the rocks" experience, without the dilution factor of actual ice. Now, I may not be one to chill my bourbon, but I’d sure try it with some premium vodka.

Get your own Set of 9 On the Rocks Stones for just $19.95.

Cheers!

TAGS [ WHISKEY STONES | LIQUOR STONES | ON THE ROCKS | ON THE ROCKS STONES | SOAPSTONE ICE | BAR ACCESSORIES ]

If you haven’t yet checked out Imbibe Magazine, you should! This publication is something like a bible for anyone who loves drinks as much as we do. In their most recent email blast I found an article from the May/June 2007 issue, titled "Not Your Daddy’s Lager; Crisp, cool lawnmower beers are getting a makeover, pre-Prohibition style." The well-written feature tells about the history of lagers and how they’ve changed over the years.

Here’s what the late beer historian Alan Eames, author of "Secret Life of Beer: Legends, Lore & Little-Known Facts" had to say about the matter;

"America’s genius is to take a good idea and beat it to death. I’ve been drinking professionally for half a century, and lager nowadays is the least interesting beer you can find."

According to the rest of the piece, the classic, more flavorful German-style lagers are coming back (with an American twist).

You can read the entire thing on Imbibe’s website, here: "Not your Daddy’s Lager"

TAGS [ LAGERS | OLD STYLE LAGERS | GERMAN LAGERS | AMERICAN LAGERS | NOT YOUR DADDY'S LAGER | IMBIBE | IMBIBE MAGAZINE ]