G.T. Dave's Enlightened Raw Kombucha: Out-Hippy Your Friends!

Dixie

"Just try it, you'll like it." Famous last words of the person at the other end of the spoon before a young child clamps their mouth shut, refusing to try a new food. Well, I can't really promise that if you try kombucha that you will like it, but at least you will have an interesting new food experience under your belt. Plus, if you enjoy being smug and out-hippieing your friends, then kombucha will probably give you some bragging rights. At least until someone bops in holding a bottle full of wheat-grass and aloe chunks. Ahem. Not that I have done either of those things.

Kombucha is a polarizing taste experience. It seems cliche to say you will either love it or hate it, but it's really the truth. There just isn't a whole lot of middle ground. My good friend Wikipedia tells us that kombucha is an "effervescent fermentation of sweetened tea that is used as a functional food." What that means in normal people speak is that it is bubbly fermented sweet tea. A batch of kombucha starts with a culture that contains bacteria and yeast, similar to sourdough bread, and ends up as a tart brew that can be mixed with various juices and good-tasting substances to create a delightful drink (or a puzzling concoction, depending on your taste preferences). Besides the end result of the taste, a properly brewed batch of kombucha contains probiotics and amino acids.

May The Luck (And Alcoholic Tolerance) Of The Irish Be With You!

Kolby

We've got a two-fer of a pick me up for youse today.  Today is Friday! Yay!  Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day!  Yaaaaay!  And, try to contain your excitement, here are your Hot Links!  OH MY GOD I CAN'T EVEN TAKE IT.  Ahem, carry on.

St. Patrick's Day is the yearly celebration of the day before the worst hangover of your life.  Let's get the party started with some not at all puke-inducing green cocktails.  (Matador Network)

And after you tie on a feedbag of bad decisions, and then inevitably wake up promising the gods to never drink again, pamper your tummy with this (really delicious looking) Hangover Casserole.  (Chicago Tribune)

In honor of the yearly bracket frenzy inspired by March Madness, Bleacher Report gives us the Bracket...Bracket.  (Bleacher Report)

It's About To Get Mad Men Up In Here: Drinks For New Year's Eve

The Ladies of Hot Ink

New Year's Eve is coming and you know what that means: DRINKING! WOOOOOO! We here at Hot Ink like drinking. Wine, beer, liquor, all of the alcoholic things. So we feel like we know good beverages when we see them. Lovely awesome that we are, we've decided to share some of our favorites with you. Aw. Enjoy!