Cocktail: The Elliots Feature #3: Christmas Crackers

Ahoyhoy internets and a Ho ho ho to you all! I must first apologise for the inactivity this week, but as you can imagine, this is the craziest week of the year at work, which isn't really conducive to blogging. However, over the past week we've accumulated a lot of material that will be coming out over the coming week or so, including a Drinking a Man's drink feature and some major Deathwatch progress, watch this space! So with the festive period well and truely upon us, we at Elliots thought it would be nice to make you a couple of winter warmers to brighten your day and give you that Christmas spirit (or spirits in this case). Today's Elliots feature is showcasing a couple of cocktails by perhaps our most talented bartenders, our esteemed master of ceremonies and bar manager, Mark and the guru of all things liquid, David McJ.

Some updates

Ahoyhoy all, just a few updates tonight whilst building some more of the Deathwatch. The Cocktails and Dreams page has been updated with all of the 3++ Birthday celebration week drinks and the latest Elliots Feature. Along with that, I've added another link to the 3rd Party Cocktails section, Andy Gemmell's Christmas Cocktails to hopefully give some of you a few ideas for winter warmers.

Further, Hunt the Alien recieved a small update, but obviously more will come as painting begins on the DW.

Speaking of that actually, tonight I'll be posting up the new look Commander Severus and the squad of Sternguard finally. I don't hold out much hope for painting before Christmas with increased demads at work, but I'm trying to get a guest author for some more weekly 40k related articles, so if you are interested or know someone that is, please email me at: lord_davidoff@hotmail.co.uk

Love, Dave

3++ Week Day 7 - And Finally...

The ultimate cocktail to celebrate with, some sweet tasty action, hits like a freight train and is unashamedly a man's drink. I've had a lot of fun with these cocktails this week for you Kirby and the gang, I hope you've enjoyed them too!

If anyone has any requests from me and the gang, give me an email with the contents of your liquer cabinet and we'll see what we can shake up.

Sweet Manhattan #3++

Sweet Vemouth  2 Measures
Bourbon             2 Measures
Cointreau          1/2 Measure

Method:

In a boston/mixing glass filled with ice, pour the sweet vemouth and stir in ice for 20 seconds. Drain liquid, keeping the ice. Into the glass pour the bourbon and the Cointreau and stir again for another 20 seconds. Fine strain into a Old Fashioned glass over ice or into a chilled martini glass neat. Garnish with a cocktail cherry and an orange peel, squeezing the oils of the peel over the drink.

Love, Dave

3++ Week: Day 6 - VT2

Prepare yourselves internets...it's time...for Him. On a serious note, I love VT2's work. He is frank, cuts right to the core and doth-takith no $%"£. Plus he's a gem to be on chat with. Particular favourite articles of mine? Any Formuitis article, I think they are all a hoot; his "coverage" (well...verbal decimation) of the ETC was a riot and his review of C:SM actually helped me to pick Vanilla over Space Wolves for the Deathwatch.

Kirb, think you made a good choice with this one. VT2, we salute you!

The Black and Blue VT2

Blue Curacao  1/2 Measure
Tia Maria        1/2 Measure
Baileys            Float

Method:

We have our first shot of the series! In fact I think it may be the first one on the site, I'll have to double check.(Edit: It totally is!!!) Dead simple, half fill your shot glass with blue curacao then layer the Tia Maria on top (our black and blue). Then gently float a thin layer of Baileys Irish Cream on top of the shot and shoot for what should taste something like an orange coffee. What can we do to change it up you ask? Replace the Tia Maria for Creme de Cacao for something akin to a chocolate orange. Oddly festive I think.

Love, Dave

3++ Day 5: Koop/Koopa/MKoop/Mat *error!! error!!*

Ahh we come to a relatively new 3++ author who has more names on that site than I have had hot dinners - we're gonna run with Koop though for the purposes not causing a fatal system crash coherency. In that time though Koop has come out with a few good articles, I'm loving his continued progress on his Hybrid BA and found his article on paint thinning to be very helpful.

Koop, we at CSNS salute you! POST MORE!!!

Koopa Libre

Gold Rum     1 Measure
Amaretto      1 Measure
Pepsi/Coke   Top

Method:

Pour everything into a highball over ice and squeeze in the juice of two lime segments. Thrown them in and add an orange peel to garnish. Dead simple, variation on a Cuba Libre that we all know and love -well...I know Brother Loring REALLY knows and loves it- just with that added amaretto twist. You can use any gold rum, but I found that Havana Especial or El Dorado 8 complemented the sweetness of the amaretto the best and gave the smoothest outcome.

Tomorrow (Edit: in a couple of hours) we will enter the wicked mind of VT2...be prepared for your face to explode with disbelief.

Love, Dave

Playing catch up

Well it's that time of year where the hours in the industry pile up anf free time becomes zilcho which is a shame because I'm neglecting my blog duties. SO today I'm playing catch up from the past few days of non-activity; the rest of the 3++ cocktails will be going up once every two hours starting from 14:00 GMT.

Futhermore, hopefully before I head off to worky work tonight I'll manage to get a little Deathwatch update out, Severus has been remodeled using some plastic Captain components and progress on the first unit of Sternguard is coming along nicely.

3++ Week: Day 4 AbusePuppy

AbusePuppy produces some really interesting articles on 3++, really making you think about how to use certain rules well -eg his latest post about the Stealth rule- and talking frankly about the game and staying into it. I like that, because these articles really make you think about the little nuances of this game we all love.

Time to commit some animal cruelty and get a puppy drunky!

3++ Week: Day 3 Fester

Fester (with a little f...but for the purposes or accurate english has a capitol at the beginning of a sentence) is one of my favourite writers on 3++. He's frank but fun and one hell of a guy to be on chat with. His enthusiasm for the hobby is inspiring and he should be treated as a fine 40k writing talent.

We salute you fester 40k!

3++ festering 6ft Down Under

Black Grouse                 2 Measures
Sugar Syrup                1/2 Measure
Bitters                            1 dash
Pressed apple juice        1 measure

Method:

Pour all ingredients into an Old Fashioned glass and fill with ice. Stir for 20 seconds. Garbish with a slice of apple and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Serve. Dead simple cocktail here, we have a peaty blended whisky stirred with sugar and apple to give it a bit of sweetness that makes it a bit more palatable for those unused to the taste of a straight whisky. The small amount of bitters serves those who do like their drink strong though, as it brings a sharpness that brings out the taste of the isla malts in the blend. Leaves an almost spicey aftertaste. Tastey as sin and will definately take you to an early grave if consumed too much...which it's easy to do with this bad boy because it's damn drinkable.
 
Tomorrow, expect AbusePuppy to get some loving  for a change.

Love, Dave

40k: Hunt the Alien - Lord Severus and new inductees

Ahoyhoy interwebs, a bit of Deathwatch news to update you all with. I've decided to switch to C:SM for the Deathwatch, and as such am moving for a more Sternguard/Tactical themed army. So you can find V1 of the C:SM list at 1500pts HERE. I think it might be amended to add another unit of SG in, with combi meltas/flamers and heavy flamers, but more about that later.

Now, in a Sternguard themed army we have to have a Pedo. He may be a bit guff but he's thematic, so he'll be used in the "fluff" themed lists at 1750+ and (as yet un-named) Librarian will be used in competative play. Woo Hoo!

3++ Week: Day 2 BroLo

Ahoyhoy internets, here we find ourselves on day 2 of the 3++ birthday week marathon, today celebrating with our favourite all round awesome dude, Brother (Doctor Love) Loring.

Here's one for you, you rum mad monster!

3++ BroLong Daquiri

Rum          2 Measures
Cointreau  1 Measure
Lime Juice 1.5 Measures
Sugar Syrup 1 Measure
Lemonade Top

Method:

Another mega simple 3++ cocktail that can easily be made in any bar. Pour all ingredients except the lemonade into a cocktail shaker over ice and shake vigourously for  10 seconds.  Pour into a highball glass over ice and top with lemonade. Strong like a mofo and tastey as sin, a must for anyone who likes their classic rum cocktails and wants a little bit of a contemporary twist. Garnish with a wedge of lime.

Love, Dave

P.S. Tomorrow our favourite friend with the little "f" - fester!

Happy Birthday 3++

Ahoyhoy internets, DaveHowitzer here with some great and wonderful news! In my mind the ultimate 40k advice site has turned 1 today; 3++ is the new black. Our awesome Aussie, Kirby and his gang of epic authors have skyrocketed to stardom on the 40k and gaming blogsphere over the past year and rightly so. As stated on the blog, it's like YTTH without the emo bitching; you'll only ever see helpful gaming advice from a dedicated group of talented authors who teach rather than mock -well...we don't talk about VT2...-

I love the style, and the interwebs do too. So 3++ we give you the CSNS salute the only way we know how.

Let's get drunk with a week of cocktails for all you author types!!

Today Kirby, tomorrow our favourite bro, Brother Loring! Expect some rum madness.

Day 1:- 3++ Kirbtini
Vodka              1 Measure
Pineapple Juice 1 Meaure
Raspberries       3
Rose Champagne Top

Method:

Add the vodka, pineapple and raspberries to a cocktail shaker, over ice and shake vigourously for 10 seconds. Fine strain into a champagne flute and top with rose champagne. Garnish with candy of your choice. A variation of the Flirtini with an unashamedly pink twist, keeping with the theme of our beloved Kirby himself. Sweet, sweet cocktail, perfect for a celebration. It even comes with some sweets! Who can say no to that! add a cupcake on the side with a sparkler to really celebrate.

Love, Dave

P.S. Long live King Kirby.

77 Years since the USA became cool again.

Ahoyhoy internets, today we celebrate a great day for our cousins on the other side of the pond -or well...ON that side of the pond if you are actually American- Yes, we just HAD to feature something about this momentous day on CSNS and proudly so.

Today marks 77 years since the end of prohibition in America, the day the states became cool again. Let's explore a little bit about The Noble Experiment and it's history and see the effect that it has had on the drinking habbits of the world today.

COCKTAIL: The Elliots Feature #2

"Holy crap...I'm on the internets?!"

Ahoyhoy internets, DaveHowitzer here and still on a mission to get you all into something a little bit different in the bar! This week The Elliots Feature is showcasing a young up and coming talent in the bar, Mr Andrew Crook.

Andrew is a fine young talent who hasn't really been given his shot...yet, but he's been coming up with some interesting concepts. His style differs vastly from my own; where I try to exploit the sour and the bitter part of the balance -as was taught by my masters Andy, Dave and other Dave- he will go for something a bit sweeter. Very savvy of him, it takes note of the collective taste of the area in which we are situated and will appeal to a wide audience.

Knowing what the American/London/Edinburgh cocktail style is perhaps Andrew's creations wouldn't fly out of the bar as well as they would here, but that does nothing to take away from the fact that in his short time in the industry he has shown himself off as an intelectual bartender who can give the people what they want and experiment with flavours that have perhaps fallen out of favour with his peers. One to watch in the future if you're ever in a high class bar in Scotland ;)

Dave's Day Off #5

Enjoy your Saturday everybody. Remember to be safe and look after yourselves and each other. Get out and party.

40k: Hunt the Alien - A new approach?

Ah Codex Space Marines, how long it has been since I looked upon thee. I think I got far too wrapped up in my obsession with SW representing Deathwatch I missed the charm of the original codex. Here's a little list idea, give us a shout with what you think compared to the current SW list.

Deathwatch 1500

Librarian 100
Null Zone, The Avenger

Tactical Squad 90
Razorback 40
LasPlas 35
165
x2

Tactical Squad x10 180
Flamer
Combi Melta
Multi Melta
Rhino 35
225
x2

Sternguard Vets x5 125
Lascannon x2 30
Rhino 35
(190)

Land Speeder 50
Multi Melta 10
Heavy Flamer 10
70
x2

Predator 60
Heavy Bolters 25
Storm Bolter 10
95
x3

Big thanks to Archnomad and VT2 for giving me a boot up the arse with it; the end result being a far better list than the one I originally considered.

Love, Dave