*Mutineer Magazine does not condone tequila as being a cure for holiday depression, and recommends a subscription to Mutineer Magazine as a possible cure for holiday depression. “Stop hiding, and start living with Tequila!” This is the proclamation made in the short film “Tequila”, and to be fair to Tequila, a long and detailed list of side effects are mentioned true to the form of the major pharmaceutical companies. Yes, tequila is everything I thought it was and more.

New Years Eve is quickly approaching, which we are all pretty psyched about ever since our IT guy found the following message in a fortune cookie up at the Pike Place Market last night: 2009 Will be the Year of the Mutineer…but I digress. I caught wind of a New Years Party that has all the ingredients to be a hit: great location, great food, and ABSINTHE. Yes, this party is the real deal. The theme is Moulin Rouge, and I suspect this theme will be taken a little too far, or at I hope that is the case. The location is Lucques, a very cool restaurant in West Hollywood that is definitely worth checking out regardless of whether of not you go to the New Years Eve party. The evening’s food will consist of five and six-course menus depending on the seating. Obsello Absinthe will be flowing, literally, from fountains, which will seal the deal on this party being well worth attending. You may remember Obsello Absinthe from the article we wrote about them in Mutineer Issue #2. If not, here is a link to brush up on everything you don’t know about the ever-intriguing absinthe. More details about the event can be found here.

In Mutineer Magazine Issue 3 we highlight twelve blogs that were represented at the Wine Bloggers Conference. Here is the first of twelve full interviews from the conference. Site: www.brixchicks.com Bloggers: Liza S. & Xandria P. Location: Oakland, CA Launched: August 2008 Mutineer Magazine: Most blogs are written by a single person. How do you approach writing the blog as a team? Liza: The philosophy of our blog is ‘adventures in wine are all around’, and we’re trying to share that experience with our readers, so we immediately share it together when we are going out and learning about different kinds of wine and food and how the two interact. So we immediately share experiences together, but then have a different take on things when it comes to the blog. What was the inspiration to start the blog? Liza: It’s very interesting because we actually met at a wine tasting, and what we found is that as we got to be more serious about wine and food pairing, our friends would just roll their eyes at us, but we become so impassioned by the discoveries that we made with wine and food, particularly in Northern California, the opportunities to learn and explore and experience different things all around us that we bonded over that and started looking for more opportunities to explore food and wine. Talk about the blog as it is today. Liza: The blog is more or less a journal of the different things that we are experiencing at events, exploring topics that interest us, and that being said, we have a little bit of a divergent sense in what interests us. We have a strong interest in sustainability and green topics, with Xandria being the palate. Xandria: I’m not a super taster, I write more about my wine experiences while describing the wine and talking about why I liked it. How do your different perspectives and levels of experience translate into the blog? Liza: I tend to get more involved with commercial topics, I have a big interest in fine dining and food and wine pairing, whereas Xandria tends to be much more about actual wine along with food and wine pairing. Xandria: I think what we get into is what is interesting to us at the moment, which includes lots of topics. Do you rate wines on the blog? Liza: No, we do not rate them, we just describe them. Xandria: We believe that ratings are challenging because a person’s perceptions are so unique and so personal and based on your own experiences and tastes, literally. So what we try and do is share with people our experiences while making recommendations for things we really consider to be wonderful, and if we aren’t into something we just don’t blog about it. Why should people be excited about your blog? Liza: Adventures in wine are all around, and we are looking forward to readers commenting on their own adventures while giving us feedback on what we’ve done. Do you think your blog has a strong feminine voice? We can’t help but have a feminine voice being that we are both females, not to mention the name of the blog “Brixchicks”. So if the blog did not have a gender identity to its name, would readers still notice that feminine voice? Liza: Gender colors experiences, and I think that the female influence is a part of our writing just because that is the frame of reference of everything that we do. It’s not pink, and it’s not girly, but you can tell that there is a strong feminine vibe to the work we do on the blog.

Leave it up to the guys at The Beerbelly to come up with something so extraordinary, so usable, and so practical. The WineRack is a sports-style bust-enhancing bra, but instead of using some space age material you fill it with your favorite beverage. Not only does it increase your bust size by two cups, it holds 750ml of liquid. Forget the ThighMaster, this is a much better way to “tone” those difficult areas.

This award winning ale is brewed inside a Bavarian-style brewhouse with copper kettles that the owner, Ken Allen, brought from Germany. Dedicated to quality, Anderson Valley uses water drawn from wells on the brewery property along with Pacific Northwest hops to create their classic line of beers. The Winter Solstice Ale is medium bodied and easier to drink than some of the other seasonal ales, and its a good introduction to this style.

For the last 33 years Anchor Brewing has released a special Christmas Ale to celebrate the season. Each year the brewery changes the recipe to commemorate the rebirth of the Earth and the coming spring. The ale is available from November through January and will store for a number of years. This years left over pumpkin pie, a pint of Christmas Ale and a movie would be a perfect pairing for a winter evening. I suggest buying a magnum and four of the matching pint glasses and saving it for next years Christmas celebrations. Check out Anchor Brewing Steam Gear.

Beer: Santa's Private Reserve Ale Brewer: Brett Joyce Brewery: Rogue What is the perfect food to pair with this beer? “Holiday Ham” Describe this ale in five words. “Balanced Double Hopped Red Ale” Why should this be someone’s go to holiday beer? “Santa deserves a beer.” After delivering millions of presents all across the world no one needs a beer more than Santa. You can see from the label he is pumping his fist in the air, this could be because he is done delivering presents or the quality of the quaff in his glass. Either way there is no doubt in my mind that St. Nick has plenty of this American Amber Ale ready for consumption when he returns from what has to be the most brutal delivery day in the history of humanity. Quick Santa Fact A legendary figure who is the traditional patron of Christmas in the United States and other countries, bringing gifts to children. His popular image is based on traditions associated with Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian saint. Father Christmas fills the role in many European countries. Source: Encyclopedia Britannica