I’ve been wanting a patio bar for a long time–one with a sink and an outlet to plug in a blender. Commercial portable bars are very expensive, and they don’t have all the features I wanted. So I decided to build one of my own.

My portable bar is based on the instructions at Bar Plans Online. Rather than build a 10-foot indoor bar, I modified the plans to shorten the bar to about 6 feet across the bar top. Wheels make it easy to roll around on the patio, and hose hookups for water and drain get much-needed water to the bar. The outlet and under-cabinet lights round out the features.

Rather than go into the details here, download the PDF file which has basic instructions for building the bar. I’ve even included a materials and price list. I’ve reviewed the list, and created the assembly drawings after building the bar, but do double-check all measurements in case I made an error. You also may want to make the bar about 3 inches shorter–I didn’t plan for the additional height created by the wheels. Even so, the bar is very serviceable.

Mobile Bar Plans (PDF)

Things I learned (and remembered) while building this bar:

• Wood is far more forgiving than metal.
• Metal is also sharp.
• PVC glue is instant.
• When you get tired, stop. You’ll just goof up otherwise.
• Remember what your Dad said: Measure twice, cut once. Cut plywood with a skil-saw good side down.
• Don’t sweat the imperfections. Otherwise, you’ll be too paralyzed to even start, fearing the results won’t be perfect.
• Building stuff gives you an incredible sense of accomplishment and self-sufficiency.
• When you’re done, go ahead and plan something else. You’ll be hooked.

UPDATE: I sent pics in to Bar Plans Online, and they’ve posted my photos on their site! I highly recommend their site if you dream of having a bar of your own. Their plans, as you can tell, are highly adaptable for whatever style or size you want.

Also, if you need supplies and equipment for your bar, Bar Plans Online has an excellent store. Check it out! Tha Mixologist Barstore

I think I’ll go see Watchmen this weekend. It’s gotten just enough bad reviews to signify that it’s probably a good move. You know what I mean, movie critics always suck at telling us what’s actually good and what’s not.

My friend Patrick emailed me about it. And though he was a teensy bit disappointed, still recommended it. I guess I can see that, and if I had been a nit-picker I would have said the same thing about LoTR. But in this case, I’ve read that some people are saying it’s too faithful to the original, so movie-goers miss out on some of the mythos surrounding Watchmen that wasn’t in that one work or in the movie.

I think that people need to realize that some works really are un-filmable as they are written. LoTR was one, and it sounds like Watchmen is another. Some things can’t be fully translated from one media to another, just like some words can’t be as fully articulated in one language as they can be as one word in another.

While searching for pics of Dr. Manhattan on Google, I came across a alcoholic tribute to the Big Blue Demi-God: The Doctor Manhattan. Maybe I’ll have one before I go to the movie.

I did not know this until recently:

Actual production and bottling of [Skyy Vodka] is outsourced to Frank-Lin Distillers Products in San Jose, California. Bulk ethanol is delivered in railroad tank cars to Frank-Lin’s railroad siding near the San Jose rail yards. The ethanol is mixed with filtered and deionized water, flavoring is added, and the product is bottled using a 42-head US Bottlers Machinery Company filling machine to ensure uniform product level.

The ethanol is purchased from MGP Ingredients of Atchison, Kansas, a bulk ethanol producer for beverage, industrial, and fuel applications. [Emphasis mine.]

Thanks, but I’ll stick to vodka that’s actually distilled, like Absolut, rather than mixed in a vat.

One night not too long ago I visited a small bistro, and it seems their vodka supplies were low. Somehow they were out of cranberry as well. So I had vodka and pomegranate. The first was with Absolute, and it was delicious. The second was with Grey Goose, and was quite harsh. The last made with Ketel One was amazingly smooth.

(I told our waiter that they should be sure to always recommend that their guests try the pomegranate. It was spectacular.)

Before this inadvertent comparison, I had not had Grey Goose or Ketel One. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, other than that they all should be about the same. Others have said that there really is no difference among vodkas, but this accidental taste test proved otherwise. I was actually surprised that the Grey Goose was so unpleasant, since it’s positioned as a premium brand and is significantly more expensive than Absolut. Ketel One was simply sublime, and online is only slightly more expensive than Absolut.

I never drink “well brands” anyway, but for me it’s Absolute or Ketel One from now on.

Or Smirnoff.

I consider myself a martini purist. If it’s something other than gin and vermouth, or vodka and vermouth, it’s not a martini. Not appletinis, not chocolatinis, none of those things–they’re just cocktails served in a pointy glass (and there are many non-tini drinks served in that glass, by the way). I say this as a purist who has to get hammered before he can actually drink pure straight-up alcohol, or has to have it dirty.

However, because of its sheer audacity, I hereby accept the McNuggetini into my martini lexicon, if only as an awesome joke.

Via DListed.