Drunk Geeks @ The Hide Bar

The Drunk Geeks went on to visit a fine cocktail establishment called Hide Bar near London Bridge. Surprised that there was still a great bar we had not visited yet in that area. Rather to our embarassment we found.

The bar was a professional cocktail establishment with a quirky 70's prefab ceiling and a dedication to quality drinks ranging from cocktails (hurr durr) to freshly ground organic coffee. The food was tasty and varied. We definitely recommend the Saffron and chorizo arancini and the goat's cheese and spinach in filo pastry. Om nom nom...

The staff seemed well-trained and eager to help a customer in finding a drink, or varying the recipe to his need. We were served by the delightful charming Nastasia and the skillful quirky Sam.

Sam was a highly skilled and stylish. Shaking and pouring our drinks with a superb dexterity. He made us a Death in the Afternoon, and an Old-Fashioned.Nastasia was helpful, humble and rather well-skilled at finding our ideal cocktails, coming up with a Blood & Sand and a great smoky mezcal & Campari.

If you ask us, they were the Yin and Yang of a rather perfectionist cocktail evening

Our top drinks were:

- A chili-infused raspberry martini

Codename B: You taste the fruity and sweet raspberries first and then immediately that fiery kick of chili that fuses almost seamlessly with the vodka.
Codename T: A simply amazing cocktail


- Death in the Afternoon:

Codename T: My poison of choice, good choice to go for the narrow glass


- Old-fashioned:

Codename B: I love that sweet bourbon with the fresh zest of that grapefuit. Great adaptation Sam!





And with that, Codename Bourbon signing off

Efficacious hang over remedies

Sometimes it happens to the best of us, we drink too much and we forget and have a bad time.

You may be aware of this sensation, maybe not. If you've never had a hangover then, my phantasm, you are blessed. We will sing songs of your glory and triumph over the beast that lurks in us all always waiting, scratching at the door for release after that second to last shot


My favourite hang over remedy is pretty simple, it requires one litre of water, one seriously strong black coffee and twenty minutes. These are the instructions which are to be followed to the letter with no deviation. This is important:



Drink the water
Drink the coffee
Spend twenty minutes on your bed crying softly ' my god, my god, what have I done'



I find this to be a most excellent remedy to most self perpetrated ills. Honest maria, give it a go next time you drink to excess.



Please do write in with your remedies detailing what do, how do and time required. You may win a pint


Codename T, signing off with a furious hangover but still much peace, power and love to you

~~ Celebrate life with Rickstasy ~~

In England, possibly the rest of the world, the media spends a lot of time building a celebrities fame and character in the public eye before suddenly demonising or mocking. When that person dies, the media usually performs a hard 180 and sets the pace for the nations guilt and mourning with constant reminders for a month before the pattern is repeated with a fresher faced celebrity.

It's a roller coaster ride for the celebrity, compounded and worsened by any existing 'problems' that the media will dig through tons of raw sewage for evidence thereof.

Amy Winehouse has died; she had a great voice, some real personality, some addictions and some poor choices. She also had a great taste in booze, in memorium I'd like to encourage the blog readers to celebrate Amy Winehouse's life with her 'favourite' delicious and potent cocktail.

It's called a Rickstasy

You will need:

• 1 shot of Baileys
• 1 shot of Banana liqueur
• 1 shot of Southern Comfort
• 3 shots of Vodka

You will need to:

• Pour the shots over ice
• Stir it
• Drink it

So, there it is. Whatever you're doing today, get yourself one of these and celebrate life. Have managed two before needing a little sleepy on the sofa

Codename T, signing off with much power, peace and love

Caipirinhas @ Spiritual Bar

In London you have every so often the opportunity to find those hidden gems of a pub/bar. Completely tucked away in a little sidestreet near a huge shopping road. They make the search for a good venue that much worth it however!
Last weekend we had the privilige of walking into Spiritual, a Brazilian bar in Camden dedicated to Cachaça, and the country's flagship cocktail: the Caipirinha.

The bar itself was a bit small but was packed full of atmosphere and, we were told, had space for musical events. Although sadly not on Sundays it seemed. The staff itself was friendly, social, and perhaps most importantly: passionate about their trade.

Downside was the little wonky table which can be rather problematic when you're drinking shots. And gauging from the sticky surface that's the exact same sentiments of its previous occupants.

The spirit of the house was Germana: 

This cachaça -which unlike rum is made from fresh cane juice- had a beautiful golden colour that hinted at its exceptional sweet taste. The drink itself had a great palate for a spirit and ended with a smooth finish.

The Caipirinha's in the bar were traditionally made and shaken. A fact which as far as caipirinhas are concerned, is unfortunately a rare thing nowadays. They tasted fresh and the balance of all the ingredients was a perfect match. A truly great cocktail. To top it off it was only 3£ during Happy Hour which made both our wallets and taste buds go ecstatic.

We found it to to be the perfect ending for a warm and sunny day. 

~*~ Cocktail of the NOW ~*~

The image you are viewing is of a Salty Dog cocktail with Gin. I promise you this friends, it is a great cocktail and most importantly; the easiest you will ever, ever make. And it's delicious.

What you need:

Gin (or vodka if you prefer)
Grapefruit juice
Salt
A glass

What you do:

Apply salt to the rim of a glass
Add a shot or two of gin (or vodka)
add two shots of grapefruit juice
drink

See, that was so very easy and entirely delicious. It's a great cocktail, sour and salty. I use Gordons gin in mine but Hendricks is very nice, mix it up a little; try different brands until you find the one you like. The same with the grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed is the best but from concentrate is still good.

Personally, I managed three of these before I had to have a  little sleepy

Give it a go and drop us a line with your own cocktail recipes - we'll try them and write about them

Codename T signing off with much power, peace and love

Vodka: food or alcohol?

Quite late at night yesterday after our beertasting trip I read http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14232970
It's not just a stereotype to think of a mad Russian with one (?) vodka bottle in his hand. After all, how else could we explain this:



This isn't the first time Russia undertook action against a heavy drinking culture either. Their first one being to double the price of the oh-so-cheap wodka. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-starts-year-with-war-on-cheap-vodka-1855406.html
And we need to see the latest (only on the surface surreal) action of making beer legally alcohol and not food, in the same light as a government trying to put the lid on an exploding kettle of binge-drinking.
Fruitless really but let's not get into that hornet's nest.

This double-edged knife of wodka and beer seems all too familar however http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gin_and_Beer

Back in ye olde 19th centure gin was the most popular drink as it too was cheap, and got you drunk far quicker. Up to a moment where the government was promoting beer because ... it was more nutritious to the poor.

And all this writing now has made me hungry, ... or was it thirsty?


Codename B signing off

Bitters @ The Kings Arms

Such an archetypical pubname immediately evokes a "ye olde" pub atmosphere and this pub had it all: Some old English landscape paintings, a brass bar, red tapestries, and a few bar wenches thrown in for good measure.
We met some fellow beer-loving tourists and after exchanging some advice and having had T questioned on his accent, we departed much the wiser.

Oh yes, the bitters, here they are:

SUSSEX BEST:

The Flagship bitter of the Harveys brewery in Sussex and winner of several awards. This one is certainly worthy yet we found it a tad too dominant in its pallate.

Codename B: Slight hint of citrus, and a strong, dominantly bitter palate with a lingering typical bitter aftertaste
Codename T: Very refreshing, citrus, hint of salt. Strong aftertaste. Moistlike finish.

FLOWERS:

Flowers Original, A.B.V. 4% Our absolute favourite of the day, this bitter was a nice and fruity gem and had an exquisitely mild yet deep aftertaste.

Codename T: sweet & chocolate and flowery bouquet. Nice dry finish.
Codename B: Packs a wonderful flavour. Nice sweet and full taste. Fruity undertone and well balanced all-round

~~ T.E.A 4.2% Traditional English Ale ~~ Neat

T.E.A @ The Lord Clyde, Clenham Street

We were strolling around and we found this pretty expansive pub tucked away down a side street. It looked neat and had some friendly faces on the outside, the regulars were friendly and bearded. Still, a massive sausage fest. The bar staff were neat and very friendly. It was like walking into an old gents pub...Infact, it was walking into an old gents pub - wood panelling everywhere. Perhaps a shotgun beneath the counter. Dart boards. Photo's of the Empire at and it's engineering triumphs. It was okay

THE BEER: TEA Traditional English Ale (ABV 4.2%). It's brewed by The Hogs Back Brewery down in Tongham, Surrey. TEA is The Hogs flagship ale. We agreed:

Codename B : Liquorice, sweet earthy taste.Good finish. Tasty

Codename T : Sweet, light and fruity. Lovely bitter.

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION:
The brewery’s flagship ale is pale brown, with a hoppy and slightly fruity aroma supported by malt in the taste. A well crafted, bittersweet beer with a long dry finish. A classic Best Bitter.


This was a great beer, really enjoyable and we debated whether it could be drunk all day. . Possibly. Hogback people, if you are reading this; our compliments! if you'd like to send us some samples, we'll gladly review them

PRICE GUIDE:Around £6 for two pints and a pack of peanuts. Salted. Quite acceptable

Codename T: Signing off with much power & love to you

~~Moondance 4.2% Best Bitter~~ HOWLing at the cost

MOONDANCE @ The Goldsmith SE1


We walked into the pub and it was a good atmosphere, a bit small, a massive sausage fest but nicely decorated. "Homely" Codename B would say, "Bored" Codename T would say. Unlike most of the pubs in London Bridge, it did not smell bad and the barstaff were keen on the constant cleaning of all the wipable surfaces. There were real potted plants dotted around and some nice leather furniture. Quite tasteful. It did give the impression that we, two geeks, were outdside of our economic league. The food menu was excellent and very varied but srsly, can anyone answer what the obsession with baked camembert is?*

THE BEER:  Moondance 4.2 % ABV - it's brewed by the Triple FFF Brewery in Hampshire. It won awards in 2002, 2009 and 2010 for being the best bitter. We disagreed:

Codename B : Light, citrus as a first taste and a strong bitter aftertaste. 6/10

Codename T : Sour, bitter, chemical with a trace of spoiled fruit. 3/10

Official description: One of our original recipes, amber coloured best bitter with copious amounts of Cascade hops. Wonderfully aromatic floral nose balanced by a gentle bitterness with a hint of sweetness. No wonder this beer has won the most awards of all the beers in our range.

Perhaps it was the pub? If anyone from Triple FFF Brewery is reading this, please send us a sample of the beer as it should be and we'll gladly retract our negative review. We like free things

* If you know what the obsession is, please write us - you will win a free pint and the pleasure of our company.Email in with your answers


PRICE GUIDE: For two pints of Moondance and some peanuts it cost a whopping £8.50. We were way out of our league here. We had an informative discussion regarding processors and graphic cards

Codename T: signing off with much love & power to you

Drunk Geeks - First Go

GENTLEMEN!! LADIES!!

Drunk Geeks is a new blog written by geeks who like to drink beer. what you must know is this; not all beer is good - some is excellent, some is mediocre and some is chemical death.

In this blog, we will present you with our opinions of not just the pint but the pub itself. We do not limit ourselves to just beer though. Sometimes we have cocktails. Mostly we drink lots of beer and discuss the imponderable. Over time, we will work on the presentation of this blog and fill it with mixed media - simply because we can.


A little bit about the team:

Codename B: Is equipped with a full beard, biting wit and a formidable knowledge of computers, programming, and linguistics. He sometimes takes momentos.

Codename T: Is equipped with an indepth knowledge of out of date sci-fi, a passable knowledge of computers and a squint. He sometimes dresses erratically.