—Josey

Whether the open bar is a Tuesday night Absolute vodka or Go Girl energy drink-sponsored party at a fancy downtown nightclub, a company holiday party, friend’s wedding, or the UC Davis law school prom, the pairing of these two words is the alcohol enthusiast’s siren song.

But how can we make the most of the two to eight hours of gratis libations?

1. Arrive early and get in line for the bar immediately. Saying “what’s up” to your buddies can wait, and so can checking your coat, scoping out a good table, getting food, eating food, using the restroom (just piss your pants like a real drunk), or, you know—enjoying the party. That long line for the bar is growing longer by the nanosecond, and let’s face it: You’re never going to enjoy the party sober anyways, so get thee to the booze line, stat.

2. Tip your bartenders. Sounds obvious, but surprisingly sometimes forgotten in free booze situations. In addition to being the right thing to do, tipping will endear you to the over-worked event bartenders and help ensure you won’t be ignored during your next 18-29 visits. A friendly chat, warm smile, and some cold, hard cash will go a long way towards ensuring good service at a chaotic event.
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—Christian

For the record, I’ve been enjoying Cognac ever since listening a certain Master P song about Hennessey a few too many times in college. It has all the wonderful characteristics of whiskey: strong, rich, delightfully long lasting flavor; a warm, buttery feel in the mouth and belly; lots of badass pop culture references. But Cognac takes it to a different level. The smell of cognac is overpowering and each brand is different. Because it is fermented from wine, there is none of the dryness that grain alcohol tends to take on. And the broadness of flavor is unparalleled by all but the finest of other distillates.

In our ruthless (trembling) pursuit of knowledge, your humble Enthusiasts recently attended the The Barbary Coast Conservancy of the American Cocktail’s Cognac tasting class—in large part because we were sure our $20 admission fee was going to be a great value from a purely liquid standpoint. But little did we know how much more there is to Cognac than we had originally assumed. Here is what the remarkable fellows from Beverage Alcohol Resource (Steve Olson, Andy Seymour and Leo DeGroff) taught us that magical night we spent in the Boothby Center for the Beverage Arts.

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Whether you’re single or spending this Hallmark holiday with a significant other, insignificant cohabitator, sugar daddy, mistress, fuck buddy, or all of the above, there’s one lifetime love all Enthusiasts share and should not forget to celebrate this evening. Our longest term relationship, best friend, worst enemy, confidant, lover, hater, and then lover again—booze.

We weren’t sure what to get booze for Valentine’s Day this year, as booze seemed a little cannibalistic (wait, what?). So we thought we’d continue to write our endless love a never-ending love letter. And we’d talk dirtier to her then ever before by giving the Enthusiast a sexxxy-as-hell new look.

Welcome to the new and improved Alcohol Enthusiast. Hotter and boozier and hotter than ever before—and we hope you love it as much as we do.

So cheers, fellow Enthusiasts: whether you’re using booze to drown tears and an aching loneliness this evening or to connect more deeply with other humans, just remember that the Alcohol Enthusiast—and alcohol herself—will always love you.

XOXO,
Josey and Christian

—Josey

When we saw the name of the class—“Mixology for the Alcohol Enthusiast”—we knew Jeebus herself wanted us to sign up. But admittedly, when we left the unseasonably sunny February afternoon behind and wandered into club Mist, a little worse for wear from Friday happy 12-hours, we were shocked to find other students that were not just us crowded around the bar. Then we realized where we’d mis-assumed—of course!—these drunks had named their blogs the Alcohol Enthusiast, too. Duh. Duh. We’re so dumb.

Once the initial surprise wore off, and we sent enough knowing and not-at-all-creepy winks around the bar at our classmates, it was time to start mixologying, 101-style.

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—Christian

We’ve already definitively determined that booze is good for you. Numerous studies have shown that drinkers live longer, have stronger hearts and are generally just healthier than non-drinkers. (My personal favorite is the finding that people who drink moderately but don’t exercise are actually more often healthier than people who exercise regularly and don’t drink at all. Take THAT, everyone that said drinking and not working out was bad for me!) But in the throes of cold and flu season, and with a burgeoning sore throat, the familiar question arose in my mind of whether or not drinking actually helps to A) prevent one from getting sick and B) remedy minor illness after its onset.

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