"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee.com – brought to you by Absolut, Avion, Fireball, Pama, Red Stag and 2 Gingers – is back for another round! The whole month of February, we're serving up intoxicatingly fun articles on bars and clubs – including guides, the latest trends, bar reviews, the results of our Best of Bars poll and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!
Welcome to another set of OnMilwaukee.com recommendations, as well as Bar Month. And seeing that it is Bar Month, it would only be fitting for this round of recommendations to be a literal round. Okay, not literally, but all of our recommendations this week are alcohol-themed. Drink up!
Boxxle – Hey, box wine drinkers in denial (such as myself), here’s a trinket for you. The Boxxle is a stainless steel wine dispenser that attractively masks the fact you have a box of wine on your counter. Also, it automatically compresses the bag, keeping it fresh for six weeks – which is slightly longer than it stays fresh in the box. Although the stigma of drinking boxed wine has decreased in the past few years, the Boxxle makes it even more acceptable, or at least more obscured. Cheers. – Molly Snyder
Herdade do Esporao 2012 Monte Velho Red – This wine was something totally new to me, as I'd never before tried anything like it. It's vinted from a blend of aragones, trincadeira, touriga nacional and syrah. And it was a nice surprise, which is perhaps to be expected considering my love of brightly acidic barbera. This blend's 6.86 g/l acid level is firmly in the barbera zone, so Monte Velho has the same crispness, the same bright flavor – with dark red berry overtones and a nice toastiness – the same deep ruby hue and a comforting medium body. At $9.99 suggested retail, it's also a great bargain. –Bobby Tanzilo
"Drinking Buddies" – "Drinking Buddies" is a great film. At only 95 minutes, it's also good for those who can't stand long, drawn out relationship flicks. Set in Chicago at a local micro brewery, "Drinking Buddies" is a character driven, smart relationship movie that makes you think (don't worry; not too hard) and laugh in equal measure. Yet, one can draw many conclusions about what this Joe Swanberg directed film is saying about modern relationships. The characters are strong, and the quality acting from Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick and Ron Livingston really brings the story to life. I won't ruin it for you. I'll merely recommend it for a solid Netflix selection. – Jeff Sherman
The Original Whiskey Ball – When it comes to drinks, ice is both a blessing and a curse. It keeps your tasty beverage cold, but of course, eventually it has to melt. And say you were slowly savoring your glass of whiskey. Suddenly, that delicious whiskey tastes like a pale, sad, watered down imitation of the delicious whiskey you once had.
Thankfully, my family recently discovered the whiskey-preserving wonders of the Original Whiskey Ball. It's basically just a mold that you fill with water and freeze to make an ice cube, but you know ... a ball. It may not sound exactly like a NASA-level scientific development, but as it turns out, the ice ball has more volume and less surface area than your typical ice cube. As a result, it melts slower, preserving the taste of your preferred beverage for a bit longer.
It doesn't seem like much of a difference going from an ice cube to an ice ball, but you'll notice your drink staying colder longer without getting that sad, watered down taste so quickly. – Matt Mueller
