alcohol Archives - Dad of Divas

Hotel STARLINO Brings You A Delightful Drink For Anytime

October 10, 2020 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Hotel STARLINO Vermouth, Aperitivos and Maraschino Cherries bring fresh appeal to growing category

Fine wine and spirits company Biggar and Leith today launch an exciting new brand – The Hotel STARLINO range of STARLINO Rosso Vermouth, STARLINO Rosé Aperitivo and STARLINO Maraschino Cherries. STARLINO Vermouth and Aperitivos hail from the Vergnano family’s distillery, Torino Distillati, in Piedmonte, North-Eastern Italy whilst STARLINO Maraschino Cherries are produced in San Gennaro, Vesuviano, close to Naples.

STARLINO Rosé is a delightful and refreshing Aperitivo – made by blending Rosé wine, spirit, pink grapefruit peel, orange peel and 8 other botanicals including Wormwood and Coriander. Delicious served over ice with a premium tonic or sparkling water and delicious as a Spritz – 1 Part STARLINO, 1 Part Sparkling Wine, 1 Part Soda Water, garnished with a slice of pink grapefruit or lemon.

STARLINO Rosso (Red Vermouth) – a classic “Vermouth di Torino” – made from a blend of Italian white wine, Sicilian Ansonica and Cataratto wines and Marsala Wine. This is then blended with a careful selection of botanicals including Wormwood, bitter orange and cloves. The Red Vermouth is then aged in Bourbon Barrels for six months to give a rich, spicy, vanilla flavour – perfect for Negronis, Manhattans, on the rocks or with a splash of soda.

At 17% alcohol, both drinks in the Hotel STARLINO range capitalize on the trend for lower alcohol cocktails.

STARLINO Maraschino Cherries mature for 15 days in their natural Marasaca juice, then rest for an additional seven days to reach perfection. The result of this artisan production method is an all-natural, luxury cherry that is delightfully sweet and tart. STARLINO Maraschino Cherries are made from high-quality, Italian Marasaca Cherries, also known as some of the highest quality cocktail cherries in the world. Marasaca Cherries are a type of sour Morello cherry made from Royal Ann, Rainier or Gold Varieties Cherries. The de-stoned, plump, ruby red cherries produce a small “pop” after every bite, with a distinct sweet cherry flavour experience.

The packaging for the Hotel STARLINO Vermouth, Aperitivos and Maraschino Cherries is inspired by and celebrates Italy’s incredible turn of the twentieth century design and architecture. This design style, known in Italy as Stile Liberty, is famous in Torino. The Hotel STARLINO Aperitivos and Vermouth are packaged in beautiful, heavy apothecary-style bottles. They are finished with ceramic and wooden stoppers, reminiscent of an antique door knob. The premium packaging features an elevator floor indicator, skeleton key, and bellman’s cap, inspired by the great luxury hotels of Italy. The front label resembles a vintage luggage label and the back label an elegant old-fashioned “Do Not Disturb” door hanger. Besides, as Ronco said, “We have so many friends and visitors to our distillery we sometimes refer to it as a Hotel!”

My take on the drinks

These drinks were amazing and each very unique. I tried creating drinks with both and found that they were simply delicious. Adding in the STARLINO Maraschino Cherries brings even a more robust taste that has made the drinks even better. If you are looking for a delightful and unique cocktail, these are ones I would highly recommend. Get ready for a great evening and a great drink!

Clear Coast From Perrin Brewing = Crisp & Refreshing

November 17, 2019 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Clear Coast is a crisp, clean, pure hard seltzer inspired by the coastline of Michigan and made with freshwater and hints of tantalizing fruit flavors. At just 100 calories and 5% ABV, the low carb, gluten-removed hard seltzer comes in three seasonal flavors: Cran-Raspberry, Grape Pomegranate and Dark Cherry.

Each flavor is light and bubbly with fresh, effervescent fruit flavors that pair perfectly with warm, spicy autumn dishes and your favorite fall activities.

My Thoughts on Clear Coast

I had the opportunity to try out the brand new hard Seltzer from Perrin. I never tried a hard Seltzer before but I was quite impressed with the light flavor as well as low calorie count says he’s offered. Have you tried this it is in effervescent drink with a very light tint of flavor within it. I tried each of those different flavors of the shelter and found that the 5% alcohol was adequate but also the flavor was adequate for the light taste that this allows you to have. For someone that does not like a heavy flavor in a drink but something that is very light in flavor but also and how it makes you feel after you drink this is definitely something that you might enjoy. It does have a hard carbonation within it but it reminds me a lot of straight seltzer water with flavoring that also with alcohol within it.

Outside of the Seltzer I also tried their new Stout and this was a s’more Stout which truly did have flavor that made you think of eating a s’more. Hints of chocolate, marshmallow and more mixed in with a dark Stout flavor make this an amazing drink especially as the colder weather is start to arrive.

I had not tried drinks from Perrin in a while but I am very impressed with put the flavor as well as the variety that they are offering consumers. I’m looking forward to seeing what other types of beers and other drinks that they offer in the future.

Tips for Parents to Surviving Hangovers

July 4, 2019 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

For those parents that still have young children that need attention, that shouldn’t mean you can’t still have fun and a good night out. However, if it has been a while, and your one drink turned into several that you hadn’t prepared for, then it might come as quite a shock to you the next morning when there is a price to pay. That price is spending the whole of the next day suffering and wondering how to not only survive your hangover but also look after your small children.

Follow these tips so you can make it through to the end of the day when you can finally drop onto the sofa and not move until bedtime, which is likely to be an early one!

Wake Up Time

Gone are the days of waking up at midday and reliving the night before with a nice coffee to help you out. The reality now is that you are more than likely going to be woken in the early hours of the morning, probably not long after you used to get home back in the day.

Go downstairs and put the kid’s television programs on as soon as you can. This gives you some leeway to working out how to cure a bad hangover, and fast!

The first thing you need to do is get the eggs on the go. Eggs contain a chemical which can help the liver clear free radicals so mix them with some stodgy food such as muffins and sausages to help you get your head straight.

Movie Time

Although movie night is usually reserved for a Saturday night with the family, don’t feel guilty about starting a new tradition of ‘Sunday morning movie time’! This gives you a chance to digest all the food you have just eaten and figure out what you can do to survive for the rest of the day.

Fresh Air

By now, you should be feeling a little less rough, so get the kids dressed and head outside. You can either send the children into the garden, and you can sit and watch from a garden chair or take a trip the park, but make sure you avoid the swings and the roundabouts if you don’t want the nausea to return!

Nap Time

Hopefully by this point, either the children are young enough to still need naps, or you have made them run so far at the park that they need one. This means you can have a nap on the sofa while they sleep too, which will really help with the hangover.

Make it Convenient

There’s nothing better than pizza and chips for a hangover, and the same food is always a favorite of children so get that cooking in the oven, and once you are all fed, you can start putting the kids to bed.

Once they are asleep, you can congratulate yourself for surviving the day. While it’s important, especially as a parent, to have fun and let your hair down once in a while, just make sure you take advice from resources such as this article, to help get you through the following day.

How to Keep Your Teens Safe From Alcoholism and Addiction

January 17, 2018 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

During our child’s teenage years, our involvement and influence in their lives have a tremendous impact on their ability to confront and handle uncomfortable situations and emotions. In the future, they may experience exposure to drugs and alcohol. It is imperative we equip them with not just the knowledge of substance abuse consequences, but with the emotional tools that can steer them away from that path all-together.

We have the ability to keep our teens safe from alcoholism and addiction, and here’s what to do:

Bring awareness to the subject

Alcoholism and addiction are not happy and comfortable subjects to talk about. Rather, they are issues that need to be treated seriously and spoken about often. Inform your teen about the short and long-term consequences of drugs and alcohol. What may seem like a simple experimentation can turn into a lifelong addiction. Furthermore, a majority of addicts had no intention of becoming addicts in the first place, and your teen is no different nor can they convince themselves that one drink or smoke won’t hurt; many recovering addicts can testify against that with their own experiences.

Introduce them to healthy coping mechanisms

High school is going to be overwhelming for your teen. They’re stressed because there are countless exams to study for, piles of homework, college plans to consider, after-school activities to keep up with, a social life to maintain, and they need to maintain their own personal well-being in the midst of all that! This stress may cause them to act irrationally, such as taking dangerous drugs to help them study for a test or cope with anxiety by turning to a substance that temporarily numbs their body. Encourage your teen to discover new hobbies and emphasize that expressing stress through a creative or healthy outlet is not only healthy, it’s fulfilling for their self-esteem and confidence. In conjunction, learn new ways to deal with stress together such as relaxing in mindful and silent solitude or taking slow, deep breaths. By directing your teen towards healthy and reliable activities and coping mechanisms, you won’t have to worry about what they are doing on a bad day without your supervision.

Communicate daily and often with them

Try to be your teen’s friend. Now, you don’t necessarily have to talk about serious or deep things with every moment alone with them! To put it simply: get to know them. Be consistent with asking how their day has been or how they have been feeling. Acknowledge their feelings and validate what they share with you. Gradually, it will become easier for them to communicate freely and honestly with you about any subject. Evidently, your teen will undeniably want more of your involvement in their life! Genuine communication builds a foundation of trust between the two of you and solidifies to them your intention of being caring and concerned, not interrogative or intrusive.

Set an example with your own actions

Be someone you would want to admire and respect. That will unquestionably illustrate itself to your teen. Don’t be a parent that speaks negatively about drugs and alcohol but uses them yourself. Being hypocritical not only sets a bad example for your teen – you will have no credibility in their eyes whatsoever for anything. Why would anyone, especially your own child, want to trust you who does the exact opposite of what they criticize?

Our teenagers are wonderful and unique people and we always want to trust them to make the right decisions, but everyone faces an unexpected and negative roadblock that can consequently impact their life sometimes. Because we are parents, we have a responsibility to positively influence our children and guide them the best we can. While alcoholism and addiction are uncomfortable topics to talk about, they are important to confront. But by sitting down and bringing awareness to the subject, our teens will gain awareness, learn of healthier alternatives to express their emotions, and hopefully seek to attain fulfilling lives that do not include drugs or alcohol.