The debate over the drinking age in the United States is something we haven't thought about in quite some time, but it has recently come roaring back into the headlines courtesy of 100 college presidents. The esteemed group of educators from schools as varied as Dartmouth, Colgate, and Ohio State recently signed a petition calling on lawmakers to think about lowering the minimum drinking age to 18 from 21. The problem with the higher drinking age, they say, is that it encourages clandestine binge drinking by students. Bringing 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds onto the right side of the law would eliminate the need for them to procure fake IDs and "pre-game" at home before heading to venues where booze is verboten to them.

We're not even going to wade into the debate. Rather, we'll point out that the U.S. drinking age is the highest in the world, which is one reason so many college kids sign up for that semester in Europe. So where can an 18-year-old Yankee travel to enjoy the sweet nectar of booze? Pretty much anywhere. The drinking age is almost universally 18 around the world, with a few strange exceptions: Ukraine, Fiji, and Kiribati require drinkers to be at least 21 for some reason. And in much of Canada you've got to be 19 to tip back a Moosehead Lager. Beyond that, you're golden.

As for young travelers from the rest of the world coming to America looking for a wee nip, we can't do nothin' for ya. There used to be a few trendy enclaves where the drinking age was still 18 - the French Quarter of New Orleans and Washington D.C.'s Georgetown neighborhood come to mind - but they've all since fallen in line with the national standard of 21. So just think of your visit here as a rehab, of sorts. There's plenty of legal alcohol awaiting you back home, or wherever your travels take you next.

[Photo: Chicago Sun-Times]

Related Stories:
· 100 College Presidents: Make Drinking Age 18 [AP via Chicago Sun-Times]
· Drinking Travel Coverage [Jaunted]]]> Victor Ozols 2008-08-24T10:09:38-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/9/162225/4259

Seizing some rare down time, Victor Ozols popped into Brooklyn's Sweet Ups recently for a vodka martini. Okay, two vodka martinis. Here's the verdict:

Some bars cater to the early-evening crowd, while others don't get hopping until after midnight. Sweet Ups, a slick-looking lounge on a quiet section of Graham Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is one of those late-night places, which is why we always make a point to get there by 9:00 p.m. As dorky as that may seem, we're not on the make or dying to interact with the hepcat hordes, so it works for us. At that hour, we're able to slide into a dark, curved banquette, order up a couple of cocktails, and appreciate the dim lighting and funky music that make this a lounge that wouldn't seem out of place in downtown L.A. - but seems to suit Brooklyn even better.

So I asked the bartender for a dry vodka martini, and he proceeded to pour me a limply-shaken concoction that was about 1/3 vermouth. It wasn't the worst drink I've ever had, but I made a point to order my second drink from the other bartender, a shaggy-haired young man who got it right by just whispering the glass with vermouth. We sipped our drinks as old Morrissey songs played on the stereo and a handful of patrons trickled in from the street, chattering about their hectic lives and chaotic relationships. We took in the scene as the red light gave everything a romantic sheen. Soon, the regulars began to take their designated bar stools, so we stepped back into the sultry summer night and made our way home.

Related Stories:
· Sweet Ups [Official Site]
· Sweet Ups [Citysearch]
· Bars Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Victor Ozols]]]> Victor Ozols 2008-08-09T16:25:08-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/3/15492/27237

Weekend editor Victor Ozols had one too many on Friday night. His pain is your gain as he describes the scene at Brooklyn's Sound Fix Lounge.

We started out at the Brooklyn Brewery as we have so many nights before, enjoying some fresh beers right at the source. But the brewery closes at 11:00, and we were feeling like one more, so we ambled a few dozen paces up the street to Sound Fix Lounge, a kind of record store/bar/coffee shop that seems to hit all the right notes. The place looked welcoming at first glance, with a long wooden bar, subdued lighting, and a pressed-tin ceiling - always a hallmark of a good hangout - so we staked out three barstools and settled in.

An affable barmaid greeted us and quickly served up a round of drinks which included a bottle of Brooklyn Lager, a Guinness "pub can" poured into a glass (I guess the tap was out of service), and a well-crafted Manhattan, up. As we sipped our nightcaps and discussed geopolitical affairs and the rise of China and India, I began to really appreciate the laid-back vibe and eclectic musical soundtrack of this funky everybar.

Being connected to such a well-regarded record store, the place serves as a venue for many up-and-coming bands who perform mellow acoustic sets (the neighbors are trying to sleep) before rocking out at nearby music halls. On this warm summer night in New York, however, there was no band in sight, just a handful of patrons getting comfortable at the dark tables and benches, savoring the taste of Friday night and trying to stretch it out a little bit longer. It's not especially fancy nor sceney, but Sound Fix delivers the goods when the night calls for one more.

Related Stories:
· Sound Fix Records [Official Site]
· Bars Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Victor Ozols]]]> Victor Ozols 2008-08-03T15:50:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/4/10/142653/995

Flying American Airlines on one of those much-maligned MD-80s? You might need to get drunk at the airport to deal with the delays--and the fear of flying on a plane that might have some bogus wiring.

Luckily, Gridskipper has put together a great guide on where to booze at the airports aside from those token airport bars.

Some tips we didn't know? Inside those clubs usually reserved for members and first/business passengers, staffers wield free drink tickets which are usually a one ticket per person kind of deal. But Gskip says you can get around that.

If they like you, they'll slip you more than one. If you can't schmooze a drinks ticket, zero in on those blessed people who did and strategically position yourself next to them, so when they're running to catch their flight, they'll (hopefully) leave them on their table.

Another tip is the food court where salesmen tend to sit and drink their faces off. And you can always sit in the parking lot with a flask. if you have to resort to that, maybe the other AA might be a better stop.

Related Stories:
· How To: Getting Drunk at the Airport [Gridskipper]
· Drinking coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Heathrow drinking: James Cridland]]]> juliana 2008-04-10T16:41:09-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/6/28/222843/813

The biggest event in the world of classy drinking is about to drop in on New Orleans: Tales of the Cocktail starts July 18. Not that the Crescent City needs an excuse to party: it's the home of the Hurricane, the Sazerac, the Ramos Gin Fizz and probably a bunch of other drinks. (Not to mention brunch, which goes with cocktails like peanut butter loves jelly.)

Spread over what's sure to be a very long five days, TotC will invade some of the city's most notable restaurants and gin joints, places like The Library Lounge (at The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans), Arnaud's and The Swizzle Stick Bar (inside the Loews New Orleans Hotel). In addition to all the mixing, shaking and stirring, bartenders, writers and industry insiders will host panel discussions and seminars on the always popular topic of boozing. Tickets are necessary for most events, so we'd recommend buying them ahead of time if you really want to see Sasha Petraske discuss ice.

Hotel Monteleone is ground zero for the festival, so even if you're not formally attending, stopping in at the bar will sure to put in you in touch with some serious bartenders and barflies. (We'll see you there.)

Related Stories:
· New Orleans Travel [Jaunted]
· Hotels in New Orleans [HotelChatter]
]]> pbb 2007-06-29T10:53:34-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/6/5/01937/12519

Embedded Travel Guides: We are searching the world for folks who can take you on a field trip of their "backyard." When we find these folks, we then stealthy embed them into their local travel scene and ask them to be our eyes and ears out in the field.

We are expecting the same sort of grainy video, choppy sentences, and snapshot photos that you are use to seeing from embeds. The rub is, at the end of the day we should be left with a backyard travel guidebook like no other.

Our first embed is Matt Chesterton of Buenos Aires. You might remember this x-Time Out Travel star from HotelChatter's hit series The Thinkers' Guide to Staying in Buenos Aires.

Expect his guide to be dead on. Way back when, he told us that La Cabaņa is not the best steakhouse in Argentina, and rather, a national embarrassment, the kind of place that in previous epochs of "our" history would have been firebombed--reserved for Steakhouse Suckers, his words, not ours. This is exactly the kind of unadulterated sentiment you can expect to find from this embed.

Porteņos are heavy drinkers. Not alcohol, mind, they tread quite lightly on the hard stuff. No milk and cookies either, you're in South America now. But everything in between slides down the hatch, by the gallon, on a daily basis. Coffee, hot chocolate, licuados (smoothies), mate (see below), Diet Coke (gotta watch the figure), energy drinks (gotta still be dancing at 6am), more coffee, and -- if television advertising is anything to go by - a greater volume of indigestion draughts per capita per annum than any nation outside Poland. Tea is gaining some traction; cocktails too -- though if you, like me, are the kind of person who demands careful preparation of a Martini before knocking it back in the manner of marathon runner at a drinks station, you might as well have gringo branded on your forehead.

MORE]]> MattyC 2007-06-05T16:25:00-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/5/30/63644/8404

We kind of think ice bars should be reserved for those really, really cold nether regions of the earth, but the Absolut Ice Bar chain think otherwise. That's why they've just transported 45 tons of ice from Sweden to Shanghai to create Asia's first ever ice bar. Starting June 22, you'll be able to find it on Central Huaihai Road at Infiniti Plaza.

The only problem we have with the ice bar is that their attitude to customers is (necessarily) not the usual "stay as long as you like":

Customers will be given an Eskimo-style poncho to keep them warm, but they will be advised to stay for no more than 45 minutes at any one time.

But we figure if we drink plenty we'll feel warm enough to stay a bit longer.

Related Stories:
· Asia's First Ice Bar to Open in Shanghai [China Daily]
· Partying at the Ice Bar [HotelChatter]

[Photo: Squirmelia]
]]> amandak 2007-05-30T09:21:36-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/