Founded in 2006, Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction is an artist collective that takes its name from Walter Benjamin’s landmark 1935 essay. They sell a lot of random things from handcrafted soap to clothing to jewelry, but they also produce two really cool liquors, ROOT and SNAP, both of which are certified USDA organic. ROOT is a pre-temperance alcoholic Root Tea and SNAP is a spirit distilled from the ingredients traditionally used to make ginger snap cookies. Both also have really cool stories and I urge you to check out their website and watch the videos they’ve created for each of them.

I stumbled upon the above video of building a terrarium with the bottle you’re left with after enjoying the delicious ROOT and wanted to share it as I think it’s a cool concept and they do a really nice job on all the videos they create to promote their products. If you aren’t interested in building a terrarium, you might at least find the video entertaining. If you do plan on making a terrarium with your empty ROOT bottle or any other bottle, be sure to check out the ROOT website for directions and tips on how to do it correctly.

Note: Please also consider the environment and local laws pertaining to wildlife conservation or property rights when harvesting plant life for your terrariums. While it may be tempting to harvest mature mosses or ferns from state parks or other wooded areas, not only may it be illegal, but the delicate ecosystems required to sustain them are not easily recreated in a bottle.

This week’s installment of The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess brought to you by the Small Screen Network brings you the Clipper Ship Cocktail, an original cocktail created by Robert Hess for his friends at the Pacific Distillery in Woodinville, WA to highlight their Voyager Gin and Pacifique Absinthe.

CLIPPER SHIP COCKTAIL

• 4 parts Voyager Gin
• 2 parts St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• 1 part lime juice
• dash Pacifique Absinthe

Yes, pomegranates are awesome. We picked one up to snack on the other night at the Mutineer HQ and decided to blog about it for people who may not be familiar with fresh pomegranate. There may be more “correct” ways to prepare a pomegranate, but this is what we did. Continue Reading »

There are many ways a wine enthusiast can train and develop their ability to identify aromas in a wine. One that is overlooked and is of great usefulness to me is what I call, “The Apartment Building Aroma Training Program”.

Here is how it works: You walk through your building (on your way to your car or something, you don’t want to look crazy) and try and identify the aromas and smells on the way. Continue Reading »

It’s not just your favorite Doc Brown quote from Back to the Future; it is the all to common problem of ordering a great beer in a frigid glass. I can’t fathom why a bar would offer good beer and not train the staff on how to properly serve it.

In case you didn’t know, the colder a beverage is, the more muted the flavors are, that is why Jagermeister is served ice cold. That said, pouring a great beer into an ice-cold glass only masks the flavors the brewer worked so hard to create. Continue Reading »