Thanksgiving is all about tradition; Seattle’s Jones Soda Company is all about innovation. What happens when the immovable object is struck by the unstoppable force? Something strange, to be sure, and this year, “strange” comes in a bottle labeled “Tofurky & Gravy Soda“.

One look at this product will have you wondering who in their right mind is going to drink it. The soda is a cloudy, murky, dirtwater brown… you’d at least assume Jones would tint the bottles but noooo. Get past the swampy visuals and – wait a minute, just what do we have here?

Tofurky & Gravy Soda seems to scream “wrong!!” on so many levels it’ll make your head spin. Granted, Jones had a surprising amount of success selling their original Turkey & Gravy Soda since 2003, and beginning the next year it was accompanied by a bevy of bizarre beverages concocted to evoke other holiday favorites like Green Bean Casserole, Cranberries, Mashed Potatoes with Butter, and Fruitcake. Successful? You betcha: even empty bottles were bringing up to $10 a pop (sorry) on eBay.

Turkey & Gravy soda was the hands-down, throw-up favorite though, and Jones knew enough not to mess with success. They did shuffle the side-dish sodas from year to year, however: 2005 brought us Wild Herb Stuffing, Pumpkin Pie, and Brussels Sprout sodas. 2006’s edition of the Holiday Pack included carbonated Sweet Potato, Dinner Roll, Pea, and Antacid sodas. Yes, Antacid… though it was only a flavor, not a nostrum.

Yep, the Jones boys were on a (dinner) roll with each Holiday Pack of their sodas more popular than the next… and then they stopped. Nothing for Thanksgiving in 2007 or 2008. Was Turkey & Gravy soda destined to become a legend in its own, very short time?

Yes… and no. Here we are, back in 2009 and Jones is back as well with Tofurky & Gravy soda. Smart moves, guys – one can’t capture past glory in a bottle (even a soda bottle) so Jones has moved beyond merely bizarre to absolutely wacko. There never was any meat in Jones’ original Turkey & Gravy soda, yet the company has tipped their hats to vegetarians and vegans by remodeling the holiday fave as a Tofurky drink.

Tofurky, for those who don’t know, is a turkey meat substitute made from organic tofu and wheat gluten, flavored to resemble turkey. This has lead to a situation where imitation turkey is being used to flavor a drink that contains neither turkey nor imitation turkey yet is being marketed as a holiday favorite on a holiday centered on eating turkey. It’s all starting to make sense now… or, I’m going completely insane. Thanks to Jones, those who disdain meat, solid food and tradition will finally be catered to. One can’t wait for the intravenous drip version.

We thank Steve Levenstein for this guest post and look forward to read more of thanksgiving from him-:)

Most of the times when we go out, we end up cursing the fact that we are not able to cook on our own. Even when we amp outside, it becomes quite a burden to carry a huge grill in the car, especially if you have too many people with you.

Thus, the need for a sleek and small grill which is portable comes to the picture and when such a machine is available, it would definitely be appreciated by the market. Pizzoni transformable Grill is something that every steak lover must have. The grill can be folded easily and can be carried like a kit. Without the requirement for any tools or sophistication, you could just unfold it to reveal a minimalist and chic grill which can be used anywhere you want.

It even comes with an amazing sealed charcoal tray which allows the chef to dismantle the grill as soon as the work is over. At $320, it is quite cheap and worth every penny you would spend on it. I guess no longer would you have to worry about not being able to eat your favourite teak cooked your way when you are out.

The handheld device called Smartcellar was designed by Incentient, New York, to keep track of inventory, but it quickly became more than that. This intuitive and simple to use device helps the diner to choose through categories: ‘red’, ‘white’, ‘dessert’, ‘dry sparkling’ and rosé and gives information including vineyard, region, price, producer and whether it’s in stock.

Smartcellar is also great news for the sommelier who now has more time to attend to more diners and is relieved of updating the wine list everyday.

Jason Ferris, SD26’s wine director, said: “We see a lot of customers accustomed to using their iPhones in dining rooms, scouring the Internet looking for information about the wines on the list. So this is just the next logical step.”

Mr. May said, “People don’t know what to do anymore with those big leatherbound books.” Mr. May hopes to put up the wine list on the SD26 website “in the same format as the computers given to our customers,” he said.

Via NYtimes

Keep Cups are unique coffee cups that are not disposable and can be used again and again. They were designed after cafe owners got tired of all the garbage that consisted of disposable cups. They are made of polypropylene,santoprene and silicone and are thus lightweight and easy to clean. They can be safely washed in the dishwasher and you could also microwave it, and it would not melt.

In fact, the Keep Cups mimic paper cups and thus you could get your Espresso much easily than you would using mug as these cups fit the machine in a better fashion. The coffee would be protected by a sealable lid which will make sure your caffeine drink does not spill or cause a mess.

It would also protect your fingers from getting burned as the temperature always remains constant outside and it makes sure it does not hurt the user. There is no information about the price but you could contact the manufacturer if you want to buy them.

Via: Design Boom

Red Truck Winery Mini-Barrel is for those people who cannot stop taking peg after peg of their favourite drink. Not much of a peg, but glasses of wine, if you ask me. You would no longer need to carry a bottle or a box to store your wine and carry it around, and you could simply carry the Red Truck Winery Mini-Barrel when you want to serve your guests or friends with some amazing dry or red wine.

It can store up to 4 bottles of Red Truck’s wine and it comes in many different flavours too! You could choose between the flavours of chocolate, berries, cherries and even black pepper finish. All the wine lovers would love this amazing barrel as it gives the opportunity for people to store wine in a large sized barrel which is not too monstrous to be carried around.

With about 4 bottles of wine easily fit inside the barrel, you can rest assured that you and a couple of other friends or guests can have an uninterrupted supply of wine when the need of the hour arrives. The Red Truck Winery Mini-Barrel costs just $30 and is worth every penny.

Via: Uncrate

If you’re into making win e and other great tasting intoxicating drinks, then you know how important it is to make sure that no one gets your secret recipe. Then again , if your recipe doesn’t impress anyone then just hang around because in a few hundred years it may be appealing to people.

Environmental engineer, Peter Moston, was going through an archive of essays and articles some three hundred years old when he found something quite interesting, and perhaps even quite valuable. Morsten found an old, extremely old, recipe for making wine out of birch. Morsten then spent the next years trying to create the wine and he finally, he seems to have come round and gotten it right. Named Sav, Morsten must have gotten the recipe just right because he is also marketing the birch-made wine.

Each corked bottle of Sav is enveloped in a tissue of crinkled black and white that mimics the silvery bark of the birch trees from which it is made. The constituents of Sav are also supposed to make it a quite healthy drink, but who has ever cared for a healthy wine.

Via: WeHeartStuff

California would bring to your mind the glamorous hills of Hollywood and the exquisite streets of San Francisco but the region is also famous for its delicious grape wine. Much to the delight of locals, Hall Wines, an establishment in St. Helena has been certified at the LEED Gold Level and is one of the most famous in the Napa Valley.

Kathryn Hall and President Mike Reynolds have developed this ultra modern winner which exceeds all expectations expected out of a vineyard. Most of the materials used in the vineyard and packaging department are sourced from within 500 miles and it is a great thing too, as it supports the local industry.

Moreover, the facilities are green and eco friendly and they do not waste a lot of energy, if at all any. Wine industry in California has taken a beating due to the current recession and that makes them even more aware of the corporate responsibilities and being eco friendly, in order to win the patr9onship of savvy customers.

Via: Greener Buildings

Flying does not really leave you with a clean green concience if the claims by George Monbiot are anything to go by. London artist research reveals that Richard DeDomenici even says that a return transatlantic flight generates CO2 equivalent to driving a car 30 miles a day for a year. This has led the man to develop what he likes to call the Plane Food Café. Apparently, the concept will discourage folks from further flying and delight them with some sumptuous aviation cuisine.

An effort supported by some 20 radical artists keen on confronting climate change head on, the Plane Food Café comes with an inflight movie that tell you about the dangers of flying as well as on how to deal with Canada Geese like the ones that brought down that plane into the Hudosn river.

One the movie is over, the dinner is served from the cart. DeDomenici informs that the lower air pressure in the cabin at flying altitudes dulls the taste buds, so they do not want to add salt as it will dehydrate the passengers. This means that they have spiced up things a little bit. The Café has been made from aircraft parts with the food coming in from a London City Airport caterer.

Via treehugger

If you are the kind of guy who just cannot stop drinking beer, you should start carrying your beer with you. However, it might get a little uncomfortable to carry all the beer bottles with you and that is perhaps why some smart alec thought of this awesome Beer Holster.

Etrelles is selling Beer Holsters for $125 each and is made of vegetable tanned leather. The leather is hand cut, wet molded, sanded, assembled and edged. Each belt would measure about one inch wide. The holster would sit on your hips and hence they need your measurement. If you have a shapely butt the Beer Holster might actually look good on you.

Being a man, you would certainly need to show off your asset which includes all the beer that your back can carry! You could get your initials signed for an extra $35 to $65, depending on how long your name is. Keep a bottle of beer in the holster and walk around drinking and attracting appreciative and admiring looks.

You must have gotten tired of the beer that they serve in the tavern down the lane. Most o0f the times, the bartenders don’t realize how you actually like your beer to be served.  They either make it too cold or give you a can from the refrigerator. What you would need in such a situation is this awesome Wunderbar Thermo Beer Dispenser. At about 145 Pounds, it serves you beer at the temperature you want.

You can drink draught beer with your friends and also smoke, for there are no rules against smoking inside the house. It works well with a 4 or 6 litre barrel and you would certainly like the golden liquid straight out of the keg at the most luxurious and delicious temperature.

The idea of Wunderbar Thermo Beer Dispenser is to turn your living room into a pub. It works with standard 4, 5, and 6 litre barrels. It can cool between 3 and 9 degrees and you can adjust yourself. It weighs about 12 kg so if you are strong enough you may want to take it to a picnic as well.