Simple thoughts from a complicated girl...

Random musings from a girl who's a little bit country and a little bit of a rock-n-roll rodeo...

[vikingcougar]

RTD Cocktails: Are they worth your $$?

RTD Cocktails: Are they worth your $$?

*Disclaimer:  This post is sponsored by CW Spirits and Drink Brody’s.  This post also contains affiliate links where I receive a small commission when a product is purchased.* Through my partnership with CW Spirits, I received some RTD’s to try from Drink Brody’s.  For the purposes of this post, I have chosen two to highlight.  But first, a little about the brand. About Drink Brody’s Brody’s was…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

The Stoned Mule

Have you ever had…*ahem*…herbal vodka? Or something that smells like it?  This vodka from Dr. Stoner’s makes for a fun take on a Moscow Mule that I call “The Stoned Mule”. Dr. Stoner’s Fresh Herb Vodka While it’s illegal to infuse *actual* marijuana into alcohol, there’s nothing saying that you can’t infuse it with herbs and spices that give the essence of MJ.  Dr. Stoner’s Fresh Herb Vodka does…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Literary Cocktails - Paradise Sauced

I have this amazing book called “Tequila Mockingbird” and it is all literary-themed cocktails.  I have posted some of these recipes over on the Tikkity-Tokky.  However, I never thought about posting them here. Well, that’s about to change.  I am going to try and post as many of them as possible, along with the link to the original video. The first cocktail I’m choosing to feature is the Paradise…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Kentucky Derby & The Mint Julep - A Match Made In Heaven

Well hello again.  I know it’s been a hot minute.  Life is crazy, so what can I do?  Let’s just move on and talk about the upcoming Kentucky Derby!! The Derby is just around the corner.  What better way to celebrate than to drink the official drink of the Derby – the Mint Julep. While this cocktail may not be the first thing everyone thinks of when they create Bourbon-based drinks, this one is…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Free Is A Very Good Price…but at what cost?

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Shifting gears

2022 was one hell of a roller coaster year. I started the year by getting a new-to-me car (yay!!). In March, my aunt passed away after a hellish battle with brain cancer (boo! F*ck cancer!). Over the summer, I got a significant raise (yay!!). Somewhere in the fall, I started working waaaaaaaayyyyyyyy too much. Like no less than 5 hours of overtime a week too much. My new-to-me car the day I…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Elevate your drinking - Tequila Edition

Elevate your drinking – Tequila Edition

DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links in which I receive a small commission if a purchase is made. Products mentioned have been provided for sampling purposes. Who else has gone round after round with Jose Cuervo and regretted it the next day? I freely admit that I’m one of those. What I didn’t realize is that Jose Cuervo isn’t *good* tequila. Let me introduce you to some of the…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Summer Bar Essentials from Country Wine & Spirits, part 2

Summer Bar Essentials from Country Wine & Spirits, part 2

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I receive a small commission if you choose to purchase a product using my link. All opinions are my own. If you missed part one, you can go back and read it here. Just the Tipsy. Oh boy. Where do I start with this one? The bottle is…interesting. It is exactly what you think it’s shaped like. Now, as much as the bottle is a novelty, the wine itself…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Summer Bar Essentials from Country Wine & Spirits - Part 1

Summer Bar Essentials from Country Wine & Spirits – Part 1

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I receive a small commission if you choose to purchase a product using my link. All opinions are my own. Wow. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to sit down and write! Life at the World HQ has been crazy, but what does one expect? The world has been losing their collective mind since late 2019/early 2020. There’s so much to get into!…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Five Takeaways from the Wine Media Conference

Five Takeaways from the Wine Media Conference

I just returned from a weekend at the always entertaining, yet still educational, Wine Media Conference.  This conference was put on the backburner in 2020 because of Covid restrictions.  This year, we saw a smaller conference, but it wasn’t scaled down in terms of quality content. I *loved* the slower pace of this conference.  After attending the wild & crazy conferences of the past, where you…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Invading the Southern Willamette Valley: Wine Media Conference 2021

Invading the Southern Willamette Valley: Wine Media Conference 2021

*Disclaimer* In exchange for a discounted registration fee, I agreed to write a set number of posts in regards to WMC content. Hear ye, hear ye!  Wine Media “Summer Camp” is back! This year, members of the wine trade and media will take over the Southern Willamette Valley and the city of Eugene, OR.  I am honestly looking forward to this conference.  The city of Eugene is one of the best cities…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Shutdown Diaries - AGAIN???

Shutdown Diaries – AGAIN???

So if you haven’t been paying attention, parts of the US are shutting down again. 

Here in Washington, where this sites World HQ is, we are in a strict lockdown.  Restaurants and bars (including wineries, distilleries, and breweries) are either to-go only or outdoor dining.  Some places have chose to close completely, as it doesn’t make financial sense for them to be open.  Whether or not that is…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Takeaways from the Wine Media Conference

Takeaways from the Wine Media Conference

So I’ve had some time to fully digest what was presented at the Virtual Wine Media Conference.  I had a few key takeaways that I’m going to summarize here.

 I need to up my photo game.  From lighting to composition, I need to up my game.  Period.  I spent a fair amount of money on replacing my camera, I need to make good use of it.

I need to break out of my comfort zone and do some video…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Quarantine Diaries: Wine Media Conference, Corona, and Life

Quarantine Diaries: Wine Media Conference, Corona, and Life

Technology…wine…what’s not to love?

So 2020 was supposed to be my grand return to the Wine Bloggers…errr…now Wine Media Conference.  It was going to be 2 hours away from me.  How could I *not* go?  I was going to go down to Eugene, hang out, drink some wine, go see My Favorite Bitch who lives a mere 20 minutes from downtown Eugene, and just have some fun.

Then…a little global pandemic threw those…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Quarantine Diaries: 5 Lessons Learned 90 Days In

unsplash-logoEdwin Hooper

On Tuesday, 4/21, we celebrate a grim milestone in the USA…that date marks 90 days, 3 months, since the Coronavirus was confirmed to be in the United States. As of the time I’m writing this post, there are 761,964 confirmed cases, 35,314 deaths, and 70,337 that have recovered. (Source: Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 tracker)

What have we learned in the last three…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Quarantine Diaries Days 3, 4, 5, and 6: Thinking Outside the Box and Stay Home!!

So days 3, 4, 5, and 6 of quarantine were spent thinking.

On Day 3, Saturday, my Mom and I went to Stoller Family Estateand picked up my wine club shipment. If you’ve ever visited Stoller, you know that the drive in is STUNNING. You also know that they’ve got a lot of buildings on their land. They have the drive thru experience down to a science. I give them credit for giving this a “trial…

View On WordPress

[vikingcougar]

Quarantine Diaries Day 2: Virtual Happy Hours

What’s your poison?

So in these days of uncertainty, we’re all trying to cope. For us wine people, it’s no different.

So how have we been coping? Virtual Happy Hours!

What are Virtual Happy Hours? Just exactly what they sound like. Happy Hour done from the comfort of our own home using videoconferencing software such as Zoom or Whereby. We grab the drink of our choice, maybe some food, and just…

View On WordPress