Ft Rock Sunday April 14

(FORT MYERS, FLORIDA) Sure the beaches and the golf courses will be packed this Sunday all over Southwest Florida but east of I-75 on the grounds at Jet Blue Park, 14 bands will play on two stages at  Fort Rock, the biggest rock concert ever in the 239.

The lineup for the inaugural Fort Rock Festival features some of the biggest  ‘active rock’ bands with several ‘headliner’ acts and the concert is already drawing attention from across the nation.Three of the hottest rock tours of 2013 will converge in the town that is now known as ”Dunk City’ when The Offspring, 3 Doors Down and Stone Sour all play at Fort Rock.

Danny Wimmer Presents and AEG Live created Fort Rock and they represent part of the team that has produced several successful festivals  including Rock on the Range in Columbus, Ohio, Charlotte, North Carolina’s,  Carolina Rebellion and the the Welcome to Rockville festival in Jacksonville, Florida.

Seven bands will perform on the ‘Monster’ Main Stage and  in addition to The Offspring, 3 Doors Down and Stone Sour, the main stage will host Papa Roach, Volbeat, Pop Evil and Danko Jones.

‘Girl on Fire‘ kicks off the festival at 11:50 am on the ‘Jägermeister’ Second Stage. Also performing will be  In This Moment, Escape The Fate, Device (with David Draiman), Otherwise, Hell Highwater and  Gemini Syndrome.

Gates open Sunday April 14 at 11 am and the first band starts before noon for the event that will have continuous live music until 11 pm in the shadows of ‘Little Fenway’ in Fort Myers, Florida. Several ticket options are still available including the very reasonable $44.50 General Admission tickets.

Danny Wimmer said in a recent interview, “AEG and I have found another market with a strong rock culture and influential rock station–99X–that is starving for a big rock festival. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner or location. We’ve been thinking long and hard about creating a festival in this area and now we’re ready to pull the trigger,” Wimmer added.

Marcum Enfield (L) is hysterical after hearing his father Andy (R) decided to uproot his family for a football school in California

Guess we’re supposed to say, “Thanks Andy”.

Thanks for putting us on the map.

Thanks for the dream week of college sports in the land of duffers and deep sea charters.

Thanks for showing that a T-shirt other than one by Guy Harvey or from Sloppy Joe’s can still sell in Florida.

Thanks…but so you know…we know that you didn’t have to do this…and now you can gather up your things and head out, because we’ve been telling ourselves and each other that you were somehow different than the ones we only read about before this.

This area of the country doesn’t get snubbed too much, and ask the real year round residents here, and they’ll tell you that they really don’t want any publicity or increases in flights to RSW.

We have elite golf courses and unbelievable beaches, fine dining and both theater and opera. Miami and Mickey are just a short drive away and we get our share of celebrities but they usually like to visit, stay and then come back often. 

We thought you were grounded and secure enough to know that you could do something monumental here. You could have been our Digger Phelps, our Dean Smith…hell, Coach K equals Duke and you were being added up and worked into every equation.

See our real  ‘dunk city’ is one that people dream of being a part of. 

This area has much to offer that others don’t and SWFL  adopted you after a 3-big game win streak. A community rallied and showed more than just bandwagon support. A thankful University and an entire area was ready to hand you the keys to three counties and find ways to get you money on the come.

This past Sunday in some churches locals stood and applauded Andy and his team while in others they prayed he’d stay.

the 239 was buzzing and the prophets from the bars to the gyms were all had reasons Andy might stay.  Some centered on him being a ‘multimillionaire’ but the core remained that he was a ‘family man’ that had it all. Great wife, three kids and the love and respect of an entire area.

After all it isn’t always about the money is it?  It’s USC Andy…not the hallowed ground of UCLA, there won’t be any Dead concerts with Walton and no comparisons with Wooden.

It’s USC Andy…. OJ’s Alma Mater and Todd Marinovich’s too.

It’s a film school, a school rich in tradition of NCAA violations, and from this fans perspective great basketball players don’t go to football schools like USC, they go to Basketball Schools like Gonzaga, Georgetown and Syracuse…. just like football players don’t go to Kentucky, North Carolina or Duke.

Andy…you let us down and signed up for the first shiny lure.  Go do your thing… we’ll say we knew you before you went to  #punkcityusc

USA All American Organic Spirit Launches in Florida

American Harvest Organic Spirit is further proof that Vodka doesn’t have to be foreign to be excellent.

Once you sip the final effort that starts with Americans gathering small batches of All-American Organic Winter Wheat from an American owned farm and then having Americans distill it with care using water from aquifers deep beneath the Snake River in Rigby, Idaho, you may get a bolt of patriotism and feeling of pride that once again…’Made in the USA’ means something great.

 American Harvest is finally coming to Florida as the supply of this super clean and All-American spirit has increased since it was first launched in just seven states back in May 2011. After critical acclaim and consumer approval in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Oregon and South Carolina the brand has satisfied production demands and has made it to Florida just in time for ‘season’.

American Harvest is the creation of Sidney Frank Importing Company, Inc., a third generation family business that is 100% US owned and operated and the development of this ultra-smooth neutral spirit with a proprietary blend of organic ingredients  has created a unique specialty vodka profile.

It’s got a clean nose and very light hint of sweetness and vanilla flavor that delivers soft and lush with enough wheat and heat to balance as it rolls over the palate.

 Sidney Frank was the man, and still is the company that built the biggest Vodka Empire in history when they created the concept of Grey Goose Vodka back in 1997.  Grey Goose was an idea of Sidney Frank himself who chose France to be the home of his vodka that was priced over $30 and that had more cache than Absolut or Stolichnaya.

Frank sold the Grey Goose brand to Bacardi in 2004 for the record breaking and staggering sum of $2.2 billion just two years before he passed away at the age of 86.  Sidney Frank was a visionary who brought such brands as Jagermeister and Gekkeikan Sake to popular and iconic stature in the United States  

The Sidney Frank Importing Company Inc. continues to be run by his family, but because of the terms of the Bacardi deal, the Sidney Frank family was prohibited from going back into the vodka biz – until American Harvest.  But now it’s All-American and not French and while Bacardi has Grey Goose priced up around $40, this organic and patriotic American Harvest Vodka will taste even better at a $25 price.

Naples Showcase Live Every Thursday Musical Orange Juice 02/21/2013 (photo Chelsea Wieland)

American Harvest has been developed with great care for the quality, organic nature and sustainable growing practices of all of its ingredients.  Bill Henderson, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising at Sidney Frank Importing Company, Inc. said, “American Harvest was built on a promise; from field to bottle, to create the finest quality product, without compromise to the environment or our nation’s natural resources. American Harvest is crafted with the same American values that this country was built on and that continue to drive the country forward today. Integrity, opportunity, independence, hard work, innovation and pride,” Henderson added. 

American Harvest Organic Spirit
Special Introduction Pricing featuring Indian River Select Juices

Banned in Canada!

The Government has apparently changed their mind in Manitoba, the province in Canada that is best known for its capital city of Winnipeg but it’s going to be easier to find a Ron Jeremy movie than it will be to find his rum.

Ron de Jeremy, is a seven-year old, 80 proof rum produced in Panama by One Eyed Spirits, and for some reason and has pulled it from shelves and removed it from its stores.

Last month the  Manitoba Liquor Control Commission ordered 60 cases of the rum distilled by Master Blender Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez who was selected to create the rum which started as a play on words by One Eyed Spirits a marketing company based in Stockholm Sweden.

Olli Hietalahti is the CEO and founder of Ron de Jeremy, the brand of ron, which is the Spanish word for rum, that bears the likeness of American adult-film star Ron Jeremy.

The project was launched in 2010 and first appeared in the US in 2011 and while it has been marketed as the ‘adult rum’ the bottle or in store marketing shows no connection and makes no reference to Ron Jeremy’s work as one of the most prolific male porn stars in history.

Ron de Jeremy, the rum…launched in 2011

Jeremy who always makes hundreds of personal appearances annually, many of which are associated with the adult industry is a more of a pitch man for the Ron de Jeremy brand.  Jeremy who turns 60 years-old in 2013 and has appeared in thousands of pornographic film has been on-location for bottle signings of Ron de Jeremy ‘adult rum’ and in on-premise night club and Gentlemen’s Club appearances.

Fort Myers Miracle Vice President and General Manager Andrew Seymour with Larry ‘Smokey’ Genta at the 2013 Ballpark Festival of Beers

(FORT MYERS, FLORIDA) Long before ‘the boys of summer’ find themselves on a ‘west coast road trip’ there is one event that is held on Florida’s west coast that unofficially signals the start of the new season.

In fact, to many it’s the symbolic start of two new ‘seasons’ in Lee County Florida when the Fort Myers Miracle holds their Annual Ballpark Festival of Beers on the open weekend before the Super Bowl.

It’s not only the first beer festival of the new year, but in Southwest Florida, its when the anticipation for the start Major League Baseball’s Grapefruit League picks up to the point that you can feel its just around the corner.

Ft. Myers  Welcomes  Baseball and 2013 Ballpark Beer Festival – www.239Buzz.com

The Fort Myers Miracle is the Class A-Advanced Major League Baseball affiliate of the Minnesota Twins and one of the premier minor league franchises in the Florida State League and for nine consecutive years they have also held the Premier Beer Festival in Southwest Florida.

“We have a big beautiful stadium that we like to show off and this is a local fund raising opportunity and a chance to sample from over 90 beers”, said Andrew Seymour, General Manager of the Ft Myers Miracle.

The annual event gets a great response from the community and every year the Miracle chooses a local charity effort to benefit from the tips and offer service to the guests. Local Beer Distributors J.J. Taylor and Suncoast Beverage Sales help facilitate the expansive beer tasting.

The great local band SuperBot entertained the crowd again this year and BeverageUnderground was on-location to visit with area beer aficionados as well as local celebrities like Big Mama of B-103 FM’s highly rated morning drive program.

Some of the many beers available were Sweetwater 420, Holly Mackerel Golden Ale, Florida Avenue Ale, Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan, Dogfish 90 Minute IPA, Sierra Nevada Narwhal, Wells Banana Bread, Rogue Hazelnut Brown, and Tampa’s own Cigar City Hotter than Helles Lager.

ULLR Brings Cool Heat

The roar of  winter is a great reason to fill a flask, but it was a balmy 81 ° with  Gulf breezes when the Florida based tasting team of Beverage Underground chilled shots of ULLR, the Nordic Libation that pays tribute to the ‘god of snow’.

When we first heard of the unique 90 proof combination of peppermint and cinnamon schnapps we were curious, but when we found out we couldn’t get it in Florida…we understood…but we knew we had to have it.

ULLR is a Scandinavian icon, the norse god of skiing and is known as the Patron Saint of Skiers. The image of ULLR on skis holding a bow and arrow, is widely worn as a talisman by by skiers in Europe. As a part of Norwegian and Swedish folklore, Ullr was Son of Sif, step-son of Thor and was a hunter god and considered a superb archer and skier of high speed.

ULLR in Florida!

At Ski Resorts around the world you may hear management, employees and guests call on the Spirit of Ullr with a desperate plea for fresh snow, and on the bottle of Ullr, the Spirit there indeed is a ‘Prayer for Snow‘. 

But we didn’t need snow…and all that tasted this excellent balance of ‘fire and ice’ had varied memories of other attempts at hot and cool shooters but it was unanimous that after tasting Ullr, all said they liked this version and said they’d buy it. It was incredibly smooth served right from the bottle and was far more balanced than either of the leaders in the separate flavor categories.

“I don’t drink Rumpleminz or Goldschlager anymore…but I’d do shots of this” remarked one of the ‘blind tasters’ in our taste test.

Ullr Nordic Libation is a tribute to the Scandinavian god of skiing, but this outstanding…and award winning elixir is a   product of Hood River Distillers in Oregon which has been making wine, brandies and spirits since 1934 on the banks of the Columbia River in the shadow of Mount Hood.

Launched in 2007 in the Pacific Northwest, Ullr Nordic Libation immediately was recognized for it’s quality with a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (2007), a Silver Medal from The Beverage Testing Institute (2007) and in 2008 received the Gold Medal and was named Best in Class at the International Wine & Spirits Competition (2008). That same year  (2008) The Tasting Panel gave Ullr 92 Points, “Highly Recommended”.

Hood River Distillers spirits include Pendleton® Whisky, Pendleton 1910™, Broker’s® London Dry Gin, SinFire™ Cinnamon Whisky, Yazi® Ginger Vodka, ULLR® Nordic Libation, HRD® Vodka and the complete line of Monarch® distilled spirits.

Mr. Q Cumber Soda is a Cool Quencher that makes Creative Cocktails

We liked it before we cracked opened the first 7 oz bottle of Mr. Q Cumber, the sparkling, non-alcoholic soda that certainly qualifies as an underground beverage.

Packed in a green bottle that you may have seen before as a pony beer or a souvenir salt & pepper shaker this sweet…yet tart, fruity but sour beverage is delicious and so very refreshing…if you can find it.

Chances are, when you do find Mr. Q Cumber Soda you’ll want more of this all-natural slice of cucumber in a bottle that is sweetened with cane sugar and once you add it to spirits you may just make it a part of your back bar. Far from mainstream, this is one of those products…and brands that IS the category and that  creates cocktail creativity and sales curiosity.

It’s an automatic delight when Mr. Cucumber is added to your vodka and it falls somewhere between the tonic and ginger on the flavor chart but it made a cheap ‘house gift’ white wine a 5-star Spritzer, and no matter what it’s nice to use a cucumber wheel as garnish. We worked it with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Reisling too, but liked it best with a $6 Pinot Grigio.

Mr. Q Cumber has a hint of citrus and slight aromatic nose reminiscent of slicing into a juicy cucumber but as far as mixers or sodas go, it stands alone.

It is only one unique soda from a unique and little known company called Global Beverage Enterprises, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.   While they are a bit obscure, make no mistake they are no doubt global.

They offer a line of Sweet Blossom Soda Flavors that may have to be ordered…from the specialty store that carries Mr. Q

Sweet Blossom Soda features Jasmine, Rose and Elderflower and have recently added Lavender to their unique flavored sodas

Cumber Soda.  Their color alone will turn your head and spark interest, but if Sweet Blossom Rose Soda, Sweet Blossom Jasmine Soda,  Sweet Blossom Elderflower Soda or  Sweet Blossom Lavender Soda sounds as delicious as they do fragrant, then you are probably making notes right now. 

Their Mabi Soda is a Caribbean specialty soda called the ‘energy of the Caribbean’ that is specific to the islands of the Domican Republic and Haiti and known as Mavi in Puerto Rico.

Global Beverage Enterprises also developed Sparkling Cow with a target on providing a healthier alternative to sugary soda and fatty milk shakes for kids. Sparkling Cow Soda is America’s first low sugar, vitamin enriched, milk- based “carbonated” drink according to their website.

But Mr. Q Cumber Soda is the flagship and the one you are most likely to find, but while word is spreading fast Mr. Q in  the little green bottle there’s a real good chance that you can be the pied piper to a list of  outrageous cocktails.

The King’s Ginger Liqueur

The King’s Ginger…has been fit for a King…since 1903

Holland

How many spirits can say they are fit for a King and then brag about it? The King that inspired The King’s Ginger was King

Edward VII who was known to have devoted himself wholeheartedly to a more leisurely lifestyle.  The Berry Bros. were commissioned by by the Royal Physician in 1903 to formulate this ‘rich and zesty’ 82 proof liqueur. Delicious as a shooter, over ice, in juice or as a foil to triple sec in your Margarita, The King’s Ginger  liqueur is created by “the careful maceration of ginger root, enlivened by the judicious addition of citrus in the form of lemon oil for an unexpectedly fresh lift”.  The elixir accompanied King Edward VIII as  way to “stimulate and revivify His Majesty whilst exposed to the elements on morning rides in his new horseless carriage“, according to their website.

Ginger’s Kooky Cocktail

The King’s Ginger Liqueur and Mr Q’s Cucumber are hard to find…but worth it!

1.5 oz King’s Ginger Liqueur
1 oz Kern’s Pear Juice
2 oz Mr. Q’s Cucumber Soda
Garnish with Lime or cucumber wheel

Mixing Notes: Build in an iced shaker. Add Kern’s Pear juice to the flavorful King’s Ginger Liqueur then shake and strain into champagne flute or martini glass. Top with the refreshing Mr. Q’s Cucumber Soda. A wheel of Cucumber or lime works for this delicious sipper called Ginger’s Kooky Cocktail.

Fuzzy Zoeller’s Ultra Premium Vodka continues to win awards and accolades

(NAPLES. FL) There’s is no better place to call your home away from home than Southwest Florida, but  former Masters Champion Fuzzy Zoeller has been able to do just that for over 40 years.

This Saturday Night December 8th, Fuzzy Zoeller will be at one of his favorite local spots, Randy’s Fishmarket Restaurant for “the freshest seafood in the entire area’ and to see some of his longtime friends in Naples.

But Fuzzy never had a problem making new friends and since he launched his handcrafted Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka back in 2009 he’s made a lot more. His quest to find the smoothest vodka resulted in making vodka, and after a four year process of trial and error distilling, he felt he had a vodka that was ready to have his name on it. 

 You’ll be able to meet Fuzzy, try his award winning vodka and also purchase autographed bottles of Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka only at Randy’s Fishmarket Restaurant in North Naples this Saturday Night December 2 beginning at 6 PM.

Make no mistake, like Zoeller himself, this vodka is the ‘real deal’.  Distilled five times from corn, Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka starts with pure Cascade Mountain spring water. This ‘Made in the USA’ vodka is exceptional and it immediately received critical acclaim and has been awarded two gold medals and a 94 rating from the Beverage Testing Institute.

 In addition, Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka also received the 2012 Chairman’s Trophy for the Best Unflavored Vodka from the Ultimate Spirits Challenge, rating it as the best in the world.

Now available in 36 States, Zoeller himself, along with a team of beverage industry professionals are on the road introducing and pouring Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka at golf courses, restaurants, hotels, bars and retail stores.

Jerald O’Kennard, Director of the Beverage Testing Institute said,  “94 is an extremely good score, and unusually high,” Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka is quite exceptional, and our review places it in the upper echelons of vodkas worldwide in terms of quality, flavor and smoothness.”

But his vodka is just one of his calling cards and long before he was a distiller, Fuzzy Zoeller made his name on the golf course.

It was Frank Urban Zoeller’s initials that got him his nickname Fuzzy, but it was the chance to play golf in Florida that got him to head south after high school growing up in New Albany Indiana. 

Zoeller first came to Southwest Florida in 1971, fresh out of High School and after shunning  offers to play golf for a few northerncolleges he chose the then Edison Junior College in Fort Myers. After two years at Edison, Zoeller transferred to the University of Houston for a year before getting his PGA Pro tour card.

The PGA Champion has always been known as one of the tours most personable jokesters as well as one of the best competitors.

In 1979, Zoeller became the first golfer since 1935 to win The Masters in his first appearance in the event, and he did it in grand fashion when he came from six strokes behind in the last 13 holes to tie Ed Sneed and Tom Watson. In the playoff Fuzzy holed an eight-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole, clinching the $ 50,000 first-place prize and a place in golfing history.

Zoeller also won the 1984 U.S. Open and it also took an 18-hole playoff with Greg Norman. But before winning it all, Fuzzy became famous for waving a white towel in mock surrender from the fairway of the 72nd hole of the tournament after Greg Norman holed a long putt on the 72nd green to tie Zoeller for the tournament lead forcing the playoff.

But the playoff was “All Fuzzy’ and he won by 8 stokes which prompted Norman to return the joke and wave his white towel the end of the 18-hole playoff the next day. 

Zoeller was voted the 1985 winner of the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Associationin recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.

Chef Randy Essig is known for both his restaurant and his fishmarket, but he also makes the very best Key Lime Pie in Florida

Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka
Saturday December 8, 2012
Tasting & Bottle Signing 6-8 PM
Randy’s Fishmarket Restaurant
10395 Tamiami Trail North
Naples, FL 34108
(239) 593-5555

The Inaugural Art of the Olympians Golf Tournament Tuesday December 4

(BONITA SPRINGS, FL) This  Tuesday December 4, 2012 marks the Inaugural Art of the Olympians College of Life Foundation Premiere Olympian Golf Classic at The Colony Golf & Country Club in Bonita Springs, Florida.

The official start of the three-day event begins Sunday with a private dinner for players and a limited number of the highest charitable donors and all players and contributors have been invited for an after dinner Cigar Social and ‘Meet & Greet’ at The World Famous Cigar Bar.

Gary Sheffield former MLB All-Star will host the ‘Meet & Greet’ event and his Sheffield HR 500 Cigar will be featured and offered to all players and guests Sunday Night from 6-10 PM at the WFCB Gulf Coast Town Center location.

The event was organized locally by  Bob Beamon, the 1968 Olympic long jump gold medalist.  Beamon recruited his longtime friend NBA Hall-of-Fame icon Julius ‘Doctor J’ Erving as the headliner and soon after the field of athletes, actors and celebrities grew.

In just the first year of the event the ‘Art of  the Olympians’ can boast a field of over 50 celebrities that include Hall-of Fame Athletes and All-Stars from multiple sports, and such Olympic Champions as track stars Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner Kerse, Harvey Glance, Ralph Boston, Lashawn Merritt, Will Claye and Justin Gatlin.

Bob Beamon, is the CEO of Art of the Olympians and the1968 Olympic long jump gold medalist whose world record leap lasted for nearly 22 years.

Gold Medal Swimmers Peter Vanderkaay, Rowdy Gaines, Darvis Tarwater and Tyler McGill will also tee it up, as will Gymnasts Carly Patterson and Shannon Miller, who is the most decorated US Gymnast having totaled 2 Gold, 2 Silver and 3 Bronze Medals in her 1992 and 1996 Olympic games.

Even Mike Eruzione, the captain of the historic 1980 US Gold Medal Hockey team will appear. Eruzione, scored the winning goal in the infamous ‘Miracle on Ice’ game vs Russia.

NFL Alumni Thurman Thomas, Nat Moore, Cornelius Bennett, Fred McCrary, Everson Walls, Victor Green, Ki-Jana Carter, Chris Doleman, Mike Vanderjagdt and Ickey Woods are just a few football stars to expect.

 Professional Golfers Lee Elder, Mark McCumber and Bobby Nichols, Tennis Pro Tom Gullickson, NBA Hall-of-Famer Artis Gilmore and five time All-Star Chris Mullen as well as ESPN broadcaster Jeremy Schaap are also scheduled to play Tuesday at The Colony in Bonita Springs.

Golf will become an official Olympic Sport for the first time in history at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.  This Inaugural Golf Tournament will celebrate the blending of these sports arenas and enrich the lives of youth by sustaining Art of the Olympians programs of art, sport and culture through the 2016 Olympic Games and beyond.

The partnership between Art of the Olympians and College of Life Foundation formed from a mutual emphasis of the importance of education.

The Olympians College of Life Foundation Premiere Golf Classic provides immediate exposure and relationship building opportunities for supporters and participants and creates  long-term benefits by enhancing the lives of young people.