i’m a fan of sake. cold, hot, sparkling, and now… infused! yes, even sake is not safe from the cocktailain experimental flavor movement… japan’s rice wine was bound to become adulterated at some point… and thank god for that!

enter stage right SAKE2ME, whose ready to drink, single-serve bottles have been hand crafted from premium japanese junmai rice sake. (and to all you GMO freaks like myself…. don’t worry because japan has banned GMO rice, so SAKE2ME is safe to drink). only non-gmo rice with natural flavors, colors and cane sugar are used (gluten, sulfite-free). each is about the same proof as a bottle of light beer, so one can really suck these babies down. one – namely me. (junmai, BTW, represents a grade of sake made with the top 15% of all japanese-made sake).

SAKE2ME lightly sparkling flavors:
YUZU (a variety of japanese citrus fruit)
ASIAN PEAR
GINGER MANGO
GREEN TEA

i didn’t try mixing with these but i know they would be very good mixers. the problem is that they taste so good alone they kind of never made it to the mixing glass…

SAKE2ME ECO facts:
• bottles made with up to 70% recycled glass. (granted, this is a rather ambiguous figure, but it’s impressive none the less).
• all packaging MADE IN THE USA. (hello auto bailout… keep jobs here peeps and buy US made stuff)
• sake imported in bulk from japan and then infused in the USA.
(think about it… imported beer is so UN-ECO. it involves shipping huge amounts of glass, boxes and empty space inside the cases, across the ocean in fuel sucking-freighters).

…about $13-$14 for a four pack.

My wildest dream has come true… I will be having a trunk show at Henri Bendel New York this holiday season! Henri’s has long been one my fave shopping destinations in NYC. The coolest stuff in the whole city is somehow always found sitting on their shelves.

I will be personally unveiling Intoxicated Zodiac’s new ECO candle packaging that was designed specifically for Henri Bendel. It is super sexy and cheeky galore… like, what sexual garnish does your zodiac sign prefer, and what drinking game is best for your zodiac sign, and such…

so stop in and check it out anytime from december 8 through december 21. i hope to see you there!

only $199 from WILLIAMS-SONOMA, this little birdie is ECO-FRIENDLY too! transform regular tap water into sparkling seltzer using CO2 refillable cartridges. santa… put this on my list!

go forth and gather pumpkins dear tipplers. set your infusions now so they are ready for thanksgiving dinner. and while we’re giving thanks, be sure to thank cancer for this concoction. the moon rules the pumpkin due to it’s rather hard outer shell and really soft interior, making it a cancerian fruit or vegetable. even the experts can’t decide on which!

cancers are usually careful and rarely careless. especially when it comes to their home and family. of course who doesn’t want thanksgiving dinner to go exceedingly well? but cancer wants this especially so. they NEED to make sure thanksgiving dinner is just right. well, girl, you can’t go wrong with this one. granted it’s only for the sweet tooth crowd (me). but your guests will be sucking these down hard. kind of like drinking a liquid lollipop… be sure to collect keys at the door, these tend to sneak up on you.

PUMPKIN SPRITZER
2 oz pumpkin-infused gold rum
2 oz beet syrup
cream soda (all natural type, i used boylan’s creme vanilla)

combine rum, beet syrup and stir very well. pour into ice-packed glass and top with cream soda. stir and serve.

PUMPKIN RUM: fill container with cubed pumpkin (you can leave skin on if you wish) and cover with gold rum. allow to sit for 1-2 weeks and strain.

BEET SYRUP: one of the many eclectic ingredients this giant swedish furniture store sells. who knew that beet syrup was used in ginger snap cookies!? one taste and you will see that it tastes just like a liquid gingersnap cookie. add 1 c beet syrup to 2 cups water and heat on stove until dissolved. add splash vodka and store in fridge.

This Saturday I’ll be a guest on LA Talk Radio’s PSYCHICSTYLE, with renowned Hollywood psychic, Justine Kenzer. phone in with your psychic question and get a free reading, because Justine (aries, btw) takes calls during the show!! Trust me, the girl is good. (323-203-0815 / noon PST). Or just tune in for justine’s cutting-edge healthy-living tips. she has an uncanny skill for ferreting out cool new products before anyone else has even heard of them… if you miss the show, no worries – catch it on archive 24/7. i hope to “hear” you there!

love love love these wicked cool zodiac cameos from MARNIER ROCKS. ($125 + up)

also, MILESTONE GIFTS will engrave your natal chart on a jade, onyx or agate pendant. how unique are these?!! (£25 + up)

PRAIRIE CERTIFIED ORGANIC VODKA is pretty. its bottle is almost feminine and dainty, yet strong and minimal in design. the tastefully muted colors on it’s letter pressed label are almost shabby chic. those very same colors would have certainly been in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s flower-printed dress. i love this bottle, and i love the love that went into this bottle even more. backed by giant PHILIPS DISTILLING, 900 local farmers (who are stakeholders in the brand) work in tandem on the minnesota prairie to create this unique vodka. distilled from organically grown yellow corn, it is both eco and kosher. and remember, anything that is organic is free from genetically modified ingredients. GMO’s cause sterility, tumors, death to monarch butterflies, silkworms and honey bees. support GM-free crops when you can. pick up a bottle of PRAIRIE VODKA for a mere $25 and garner a few hundred good karma points for doing it.

AND to all you cocktail snobs out there, Prairie was recently honored with a Gold Medal Spirit Award at the 2008 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirit Awards.

honestly, the spirit is one of the nicer vodkas i’ve tasted, almost sweet in fact. it was very tasty— and knowing that it is such a deep shade of dark green made it even more so.

be sure to check out the brand’s very funky, animal-friendly WEBSITE.

or read TREEHUGGER’S review.

in honor of our new president and vice president elect, i present you with the OBAMATINI. this recipe is based off of LAMB MARTINI’S now famous libation, the BARACKTAIL. phil went to the great trouble of creating a drink that called for “native obama ingredients,” such as, pineapple. pineapple comes from hawaii where barack spent much of his childhood. the cardomom-infused vodka is a tip to indonesia, another one of barack’s global stomping grounds, of which we really no so little. i added orange as a salut to leo, barack’s sun sign.

all though barack’s sun is in leo, libra is the president-elect’s rising sign. due to libra’s ascending influence in barack’s natal chart, he portrays himself as a pleasant looking, diplomatic, refined, and cocky (yes i did say this) individual. this libran placement only heightens his innate leoan star power.

however, as i tasted this cocktail, the cardomom flavor far outweighed any other. for that reason, i have listed this particular libation under the rulership of scorpio. the spicy flavor of indonesia’s cardomom makes it an herb of mars, ancient ruler of SCORPIO. ruler of death and rebirth, scorpio will assist in the killing our antiquated ways and help birth a new america. scorpio is the great healer, and the great destroyer… So which traits of scorpio has obama adopted for his own?

in his victory speech, barack stressed that he can’t create change alone. he asked that we prepare to chip in and help rebuild the united states. barack is not a magician, but he has instilled within us magical hopes. thoughts are things, and these should manifest into reality. i think the very first thing we can do to help is to sip this intriguing tipple. cheers to change…

there are a few more obama-inspired cocktails out there… FELICIA’S SPEAK EASY and SACKBEE.

THE OBAMATINI

* 1 oz rye
* 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
* 1 oz pineapple juice (fresh is best) or 2 oz pineapple puree
* 1 oz cardamom vodka
* 1 oz fresh orange juice
* 1 oz homemade grenadine

Shake in a iced cocktail shaker, strain, serve in a cocktail glass. garnish with pomegranate seeds, pineapple wedge or orange twist.

cardomom vodka: add 1c cardomom pods to 750 ml vodka and infuse for about a week. strain and store.

grenadine: add the seeds from 1 pomegranate to 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in sauce pot. Bring to boil, stir and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Strain into final storage container, adding 1 oz vodka as a preservative. Store in fridge.

OK, so i’m a little tardy on this one… just found out that PROJECT RUNWAY had a zodiac episode! how cool is that? check out all the winners and their couture astrological creations on the NSC FASHION NETWORK. the top four winners are below… i think they all capture the essence of the sign they are supposed to except for sag, which i feel isn’t flamboyant enough. BTW, PROJECT RUNWAY’S host, heidi klum, is a naughty little gemini.

AQUARIUS by korto and kelly

SAGITTARIUS by Jerell and Jennifer

ARIES by Joe and Daniel

SCORPIO by Leanne and Emily