Adding to their growing portfolio of flavored vodkas, (and proving they still don't have spell check over there), Stoli has introduced their newest infusion, Stoli Blakberi.

Made with natural blackberries married to their traditional Russian vodka, Stoli says its newest flavor's taste and aroma make it perfect for using in the many new "herbal" cocktails that call for ingredients like basil, sage, mint and lavender, that sound strange, but are gaining popularity.

If you want something unusual and don't mind some herb in your drink (which tastes better than it sounds), here are a few that are great for starting off the summer. More can be found at stoli.com.

Blakberi Blues (pictured)
2 parts Stoli Blakberi
1 part Stoli Blueberi
1 part cranberry juice
1 part simple syrup ...More

Or, after seeing this clip, rent him a hotel room.

I've returned rental cars in some sad shape. Like at the end of every Spring Break or road trip: putrefying half-eaten fast food in the back seat, beer cans on the floor, random bikini top hanging from the mirror. But nothing like Mike Rowe after a day of filming Dirty Jobs. Axle grease, mud, cow shit... I know they are running out of show ideas over there, so I'm thinking this might be a ploy to get "Rental Car Return Agent" listed as a dirty job. Sad, Mike. Very sad.
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You may have a cell phone that can make a call, play the latest video release, access the 'net, and give you turn-by-turn directions to the nearest steak house, but back in the late 70's, a gadget that could catch fish AND fit in your pocket is what got guys excited.

Early infomercials running on the limited channels of UHF television - many invented by the king of over-hyped gadgets, Ron "But Wait, There's More" Popeil - promoted products that made plaid-bell-bottom-wearing guys everywhere break out their BankAmericard and dial the toll-free number.

So in memory of a simpler time, before the number of apps in your handheld was a measure of your gadget-forwardness, let's take a look at the top five classic guy gadgets of the past.


The Pocket Fisherman
Essentially a toy version of a real fishing rod, it debuted in 1976 with Popeil proclaiming it as the wave of the future, ready to knock the fishing industry on its ass. A compact, folding rod and reel, made to fit in a pocket, some say that you can actually catch a fish with one. I'm thinking when the fish saw you with it, they gave themselves up because they felt sorry for you. Ridiculous a product as it was, by the end of 1976, one million units of The Pocket Fisherman were sold. And versions of it are still available today.




The Smokeless Ashtray
You gotta love a product whose commercial shows a guy, smoking in his car, windows up, wife and kids along for the ride, concerned he may be offending them. Never let it be said ...More

I don't care that the sports gods at ESPN choose to show professional bowling on Saturdays, and promote it with ads carefully created to make us think pro bowlers are "highly competitive athletes" and anything but the doughy, pasty adult-nerds they really are. Bowling is boring.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy GOING bowling. But watching it on TV? I'd rather watch an endless video loop of Roseanne Barr singing the National Anthem. So leave it to Howard Stern to make bowling watchable.

In his new show set off on on Howard TV this past Monday, Stern pits bikini-clad porn stars, Maxim models, Penthouse Pets and various other hand-picked hotties, against each other in a bowling tournament that makes for compelling sports viewing. (I'm kidding. It's a jiggle-fest.)

Can these women actually bowl? Who cares. Once they strap on their stiletto-heeled bowling shoes, begin the trash-talking and wriggle down the lane - sometimes sans tops - it wouldn't matter if they were throwing Nerf balls at the pins. ...More

Bored with the handle that came with your Mach 3 razor? Tired of shaving with something made of lightweight plastic? Upgrade to the '63 R series razor from John Allan.

Made of hefty zinc with a gunmetal finish, the '63 R has ergonomic lines inspired by the legendary roadsters of the 60’s that'll also give you a better grip on your shave.

A collector's piece, the razor comes in a custom leather box with its own zinc stand. For parking on your counter.

$195
www.johnallans.com

Last week I was invited by Saturn (corporate motto: "Not just for soccer moms. No, really."), to test drive some of their newer models and spend some time at the Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds in Millbrook, NY. A couple of days of blasting stuff into oblivion sounded good after the week I was having.

Sandanona is the oldest permitted shooting club in the country (the main lodge was built when Thomas Jefferson was president), and is located in the Hudson River Valley, about an hour north of New York City. But the quiet and serenity of the grounds (except for the occasional shotgun blast), makes it feel like it's a million miles from anywhere civilized.

They specialize in teaching us stressed-out city guys how to shoot sporting clays (clay discs that are launched from different angles and locations to simulate birds in flight), and how to fly fish. Both pretty good alternatives to your usual pressure-relieving activity, drinking until everyone is your best friend and you can't remember where you live.

After our shooting instructor, Pete, a former military shooting instructor, gave us some basic training and tips - along with all the safety instructions we needed to know to keep us from blowing a hole in anything but the intended targets - he positioned ...More

London Times correspondent Tad Safran is like most guys - he's spent the majority of his adult life trying to figure out what makes women tick. But when he started spending time with his two-year-old niece, Lou-Lou, he had a revelation. He realized she possessed "the undiluted, unaffected essence – the 'id' – of womanhood." And learned more about dealing with women from her in two months, than he'd gathered from two decades of dating.

The first thing he learned is to ignore them. Safran writes: "If I come into a room and bounce up to Lou-Lou like a clown, trying to amuse and entertain, she blanks me completely. It’s as if I don’t exist. If I walk straight past her, however, I guarantee she will call out my name and want to play with me." Sound like every pick-up guru's advice? Apparently it starts early.

The rest of the list runs from Bribe Them (with two-year-olds it's stuffed animals, with grown women it's jewelry), to Don't Tell Them What to Do, to Don't Argue (you can't win an argument with a two-year-old girl any more than you can win one with a 32-year-old girl), to Don't Make Them Cry.

To read the complete list of ten, click here.

Laying up on a par five and hitting the green in three may be good strategy in a golf tourney, but seriously, it's for pussies. If you're not going to pull out a big woods and at least try to slam it onto the green in two, you might as well hit from the reds on the next tee.

So I don't know if you saw, but this past weekend at The Players Championship, Top-Flite had a team of people positioned at the two par-5 fairways wearing black masks and NeverLayUp.com t-shirts. Their sole purpose was to pressure the pros into going for the green. If the guy chose to stick to his strategy and lay up, they'd show their disapproval by turning their back on him, revealing the words "C'mon... Man Up!"

Did any of the pros actually succumb to the peer pressure of a group of masked chuckleheads in black shirts? According to a Top-Flite rep, on the 16th hole the group asked Ben Curtis' caddy if he was going to go for it. The caddy responded by pulling out a wedge. The masked men responded by turning their backs. The caddie put the wedge back in the bag and took out a wood. And apparently later in the day, on the same hole, Todd Hamilton, 2004 British Open Champion, was asked if he would go for the green, he said with a smile, “Well, I have to now, right?”

Neither broke the top 40, but at least they still have their manhood.

Jack Bauer has had some rough days over the last six seasons of "24", and on May 20th you can relive the 24 hours that launched the 17 Emmy Award-winning series.

The brand-new, seven-disc “24” Season One Special Edition DVD set comes in a collectible metal tin and includes all 24 one-hour episodes in widescreen format. It's packed with over three hours of never-before-seen special features including an introduction by Kiefer Sutherland, five extended episodes, over 25 deleted and extended scenes, two all-new behind-the-scenes featurettes, the documentary The Genesis of 24, a trailer for the upcoming seventh season, and an alternate season finale ending.

Fox Home Entertainment isn't releasing the box set until next Tuesday, but three of you loyal readers will know this Friday if one is coming your way. I'm giving away three of the $50 sets, and all you need to do for a chance to win is enter your email address here.

Get on it. The clock is ticking...

“24” Season One Special Edition DVD

If you haven't fired up your grill since last season, and were too wiped out from your final beer and burger blowout to clean it properly before hanging up your tongs for the winter, you're going to want to get it in shape before that first steak hits the fire.

I tested the Grill Daddy Pro (there's also a smaller Grill Daddy), to see how well it fought the leftover grease and grime. Both brushes use heavy-duty stainless steel bristles and a powerful cloud of steam to rid your grill's grate of all that caked on grease. No harmful chemicals. No soap or cleaners that could ruin the flavor of your food. That got my attention, so I wanted to see how well a $25 plastic brush could do against a couple year's worth of neglect.

It needs heat to work it's grease-busting magic, so I fired up a grill at a buddy's community pool that gets a heavy workout, with minimal cleaning (if ever), and filled the Pro's huge reservoir with water. (It measures a long-ass 22-inches. You should have plenty of water without constantly having to refill.) Turning the Pro's valve to "on", lets water run out of the brush head, hitting the hot grill creating the grease-liquefying steam. (Not exactly rocket-science, but definitely a why-didn't-anyone-think-of-this-before feature.) And the makers of the Grill Daddy claim that regular cleaning with steam also helps prevent future grease buildup.

For really neglected grills, like the one I was up against, the Pro's rear handle and center knob give you the leverage ...More

A while back, I wrote a piece about classic drinks using bitters along with some updated recipes. (Read it here.) A few of you wrote and asked for more. As usual, I'm there for you.

Averna, the Italian amaro (a sweeter version of traditional bitters), I wrote about, held a nationwide search for the best cocktail recipe using their liquor. The five winners will head to Sicily in September to see whose is the best. In the meantime, just so you can invite a few people (read: "women") over and hold your own competition, those five winning recipes are below. They're a little complex, but I think you can handle it. Saulte!

San Francisco Winners:
Jeffrey Hollinger, Absinthe Brasserie & Bar
Midnight In Sicily
1 1/2 oz Amaro Averna
1 oz Tanqueray Gin
1/2 oz "Sicilian Style" Blood Orange agrodolce (sweet and sour sauce)
5 to 6 mint leaves
Flamed blood orange rind, for garnish

Combine ingredients in an ice filled cocktail shaker and shake for 20 to 30 seconds, or until well chilled. Double strain through a fine meshed strainer into a chilled cocktail glass. ...More

Remember back in the day when men were men, mustaches were cool, gas was cheap and muscle cars ruled the roads? Motorbrand USA does, and lets you relive those days with their retro-styled tees that pay homage to the muscle cars of yesteryear.

If there was a car that got mullet-sporting, jean jacket-wearing guys laid - like the Chevy Nova SS, the Chevelle or the big Dodge Hemis - they've got a shirt honoring it. Along with shirts sporting classic designs like Clay Smith's Mr. Horsepower and Ed Roth's Rat Fink.

They'll almost make you forget about that gas sipping, four-cylinder econo-box you have to drive now. Almost.

From around $18
www.motorbrandsusa.com

Touring pros get custom-made clubs tweaked and re-tweaked to fit their individual swings and course conditions, so why not you?

The interchangeable heads and shafts of Calloway's new game-breaking I-MIX technology let you reconfigure your driver depending on the course, how you’re swinging, or that day’s conditions. Need shot-shaping control? Grab the included precision wrench and lock on the FT-5 driver. Or is slamming it straight down the middle for yardage bragging rights what you need? Ratchet on the FT-i head instead.

And more than 70 of the most popular shafts are now manufactured with I-MIX shaft tips, which means you can choose from more flexes, weights, and materials than your golf-addicted brain can handle. Think of it as having an entire golf shop full of options in one bag.

FT-5 Driver - $435
FT-i Driver - $500
Shafts - $185-$435
www.callawaygolf.com

Made with Cuervo Black tequila instead of whiskey, the Black Julep works just as well as a Kentucky Derby drink (had I actually posted it for you last Saturday), as it works for celebrating Cinco de Mayo.




Black Julep
3 oz Cuervo Black Medallion
10 mint leaves
1 1/2 tsp extra fine sugar
Seltzer
Crushed ice
Mint sprig
Place mint leaves in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass or julep cup and add sugar. Crush with muddler or wooden spoon until the leaves begin to come apart. Add a splash of seltzer, fill glass 3/4 full with crushed ice, and add tequila. Top with another splash of seltzer, stir, and garnish with mint sprig.

Ever hear the lame expression meant to show humility: "I put my pants on same as you, one leg at a time"? Apparently these guys did, and decided screw that, we're better than the rest of you. Even though they are obviously jobless and have nothing better to do than spend hours sitting around, thinking up new and creative ways to put their pants on two legs at a time, to show the rest of us. (We can only hope a couple of them suffered ball-threatening zipper injuries during rehearsal.)

The only redeeming value I can see for having this skill is for when you're jumping out some chick's window naked, after her husband comes home early. ...More

Is your iPhone battery draining before you're done with all your talking and surfing and jamming and video watching? You can double its power with a Mophie Juice Pack, and I've got one to give away.

Made to slide snugly right over your iPhone, the Juice Pack has a soft, rubberized finish to give you a better grip on things, and weights just 3 ounces. It comes fully charged right out of the box and will give you up to 250 additional hours of standby time, 24 hours of audio playback, 7 hours of video playback and 8 hours of talk time. For you web and email junkies, you'll get up to another 6 hours of Internet use.

The first external iPhone battery certified by Apple, it's designed to deplete itself first, so when it's done just slide it off and your iPhone will still be fully charged.

They run $99.95, but this week I'm going to let one of you score one for free. Just enter your email address here, and on Friday, May 9th, I'll pick one of you at random. You can send me an email from your iPhone to thank me.

Enter to win a Mophie Juice Pack

It definitely ain't easy being green. And someone is going to have to break the news to Al Gore that the real inconvenient truth is the only way the planet is getting saved is if the alternatives are not inconvenient.

While a very small minority of you (11%), said you'll do whatever it takes to keep Mother Nature alive and well, 62% said that you'd be happy to help, - as long as it didn't take too much effort. Or extra cash. In that case the bitch is on her own. And over a quarter of you (27%), said the sky and the trees and the birds and the animals and the people can kiss your gas-guzzling, energy-sapping, landfill-filling ass. Somewhere, an old Indian is shedding a tear.

For this week's poll, I want to know who gets more attention from you on their Hallmark holiday: mom on Mother's Day or dad on Father's Day.

Whether you're looking for something to feed a bunch of people for a Cinco de Mayo party, or just a quick and easy dinner for you and your girl, these Tequila Herradura Shrimp Tacos are something you should consider including on the menu.

They take only a few minutes to throw together, and call for a healthy dose of Herradura Silver tequila and Newcastle Brown Ale. Shrimp sautéed in tequila and beer? How could you possibly go wrong?

Tequila Herradura Shrimp Tacos
(Makes 10 tacos)
1 lb Peeled, uncooked shrimp cut into smallish pieces
2 Large cloves garlic, minced fine
1/2 Cup cilantro, chopped fine
Peanut oil for sautéing
1/4 Cup Tequila Herradura Silver
1/4 Cup Newcastle Brown Ale
10 Corn tortillas, warmed ...More

On his hit cable show, Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe showcases regular guys who keep this great country moving. Honoring the unsung heroes who go home every night, covered in the muck and the mud, the dirt and the dust, gathered from doing the jobs you and I thankfully, don't have to do. A very noble thing, indeed.

But who knew, when left alone in his motel room, Rowe was such a dirty guy himself? ...More

Everyone knows what the Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo, is all about: it's an excuse to drink more tequila than any human should. But this year it falls on a Monday. Which means many of us will be celebrating all weekend. And calling in "cinco" on Tuesday.

I'll have several tequila cocktails over the next few days you can mix to make your party muy especial. The first is from premium tequila maker, Don Julio. This recipe was developed by Brian Van Flandern, a mixologist who has crafted cocktail menus for celebrity chefs like Mario Batali. Light and simple, with a crispness brought on by the ginger, it's an impressive drink to pour for your CdM celebration.

Agave Ginger Margarita
1 oz Don Julio Blanco
1/4 oz Grand Marnier
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice ...More

Just when you thought we couldn't think up any more creative and ridiculous ways to kill ourselves in the pursuit of fame, fortune and easily impressed women, come a few more actual inventions by actual guys, that were granted actual patents. These were discovered by Scott Seegert, after the publication of his book, It's a Guy Thing, and they prove, once again, there's no limit to the male imagination.






Nicholas's Portable Rotisserie Tanner (1954)
Every wonder what’s it like to be a chicken? Me either. But apparently Nicholas did as he looked at the birds roasting at his local butcher shop, turning all golden brown as they cooked, and thought, "Look at how tan those guys are getting!" So he cooked up this great idea: strap yourself into giant roaster, be turned slowly around until golden brown on all sides (except for those white horizontal lines where the bars are), then get out and enjoy a Lucky Strike with your fellow future melanoma patients. This thing would work better fulfilling Frank Perdue’s sexual fantasies than it would as a tanning device.

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