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Sacramento Kings guests can use 'smart' bottles to pour their own drinks
The Sacramento Kings are fond of using technology as a hook to fill seats, but their latest may be particularly alluring if you're in the position to score premium tickets. The basketball team is using connected bottle tops from NINA that let you pour your own alcohol in a suite or loft. You only have to open a tab, choose what you want to drink and pour until you get the quantity you paid for. This might let you focus more on the game than asking a bartender for more libations.
Postmates' speedy booze delivery begins drop-offs in NYC and Texas
Postmates' on-demand alcohol service is now available well beyond California's borders. On top of an expansion to Miami in May, the internet delivery mainstay is now making its Drinks feature available in New York City (in Brooklyn and Manhattan) as well as Austin, Dallas and Houston. As before, the aim is to bring neighborhood stores' booze to your door in 25 minutes or less. You'll have to be in the mood for certain drinks depending on where you live, though. The NYC service focuses on wine and spirits, while the Texas offerings revolve around beers.
Recommended Reading: Kentucky distillery uses music to flavor its brandy
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. This Kentucky Distillery Is Blasting David Bowie Songs to Flavor Its Brandy by Ashlie Stevens Munchies Sounds strange, right? I thought so too, but it actually makes a lot of sense. The vibrations of the barrels triggered by subwoofers placed around the Copper & Kings distillery in Louisville, Kentucky, constantly circulate the company's brandy. This means that liquid spends more time in contact with the oak barrels, much more than the typical, stationary aging process allows.
Smart liquor bottles can keep tabs on your bourbon collection
A close friend of mine returned home from vacation to discover his house sitter -- his brother-in-law -- had downed an entire bottle Pappy Van Winkle 20 year bourbon. A tragedy, really. However, if an alcohol tech duo in Europe has its way, keeping tabs on your stash while you're away could become much easier. Diageo (an alcohol company) and Thinfilm (a printed electronics maker) teamed up to create a "smart bottle" that serves up cocktail recipes and can detect when a bottle has been unsealed. Thinfilm's OpenSense label sensor tags pair with a smartphones NFC chops to run the system that's also capable of tracking supply chain, in-store stock and promotional offers for brands and retailers. The pair constructed a prototype Johnnie Walker Blue bottle that'll be on display at next week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but there's no word on when a similar solution could make its way to your local liquor store. Maybe the final version will be able to determine how much is left in a bottle, keeping sneaky house quests at bay.
Ring in the new year with Warhammer Online's Keg End
Amidst the news of server merges, Warhammer Online fans could probably use something to celebrate, something to lift the spirits a bit. So it's fortunate that the annual Keg End celebration is just around the corner, giving everyone a chance to get drunk and rowdy even by the already aggressive status of the world's inhabitants. Running from December 14th until January 4th, Keg End is a chance to celebrate in style in the Dwarven tradition. The rewards for the event haven't changed much this year, with the usual assortment of Party Kegs, Keg Taps, and Battlebrew Backpacks. There are giants roaming the field looking for their own ale and a handful of sporting battles, and there are plenty of special drinks to be sampled just for the event. So get yourself ready to log in tomorrow and take a nice roll through fields filled with blood, beer, and battle. Especially beer.
PA Walmart stores getting CCTV-enabled, breathalyzin' wine vending machines
Whenever technology is used to solve a real problem, it warms our hearts. It really does. But when technological perambulations are needed to work their way around antiquated state liquor laws (the likes of which have tormented at least one poor Engadget editor since he reached the age of majority), it just seems sad. For instance, it's illegal to sell alcohol in grocery stores in Pennsylvania, but it's not illegal to install a vending machine that dispenses wine: as long as the user is asked to take a breathalyzer test, swipe their state issued ID or Driver License, and then show their mug to a state official sitting somewhere in Harrisburg, who is keeping an eye on the proceedings via CCTV. Simple, right? Maybe not, but it does protect the state's monopoly on liquor sales. The Pronto wine vending machine is currently only available in select grocery stores in the state, but it's just been announced that the PA Liquor Control Board has given Walmart preliminary approval to put the things in some of their locations outside of Pittsburgh. We'll try one out ourselves, as soon as they start carrying Blue Nun.
The Queue: Shoo map, don't bother me
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. Today's introduction video is something... special. Since people got a kick out of what I liked to call the Worst Video Ever, I figured I'd let you all see another misadventure is moviemaking from Sunday morning. One of my early attempts at recording the Love is in the Air boss went poorly, to say the least. Alternate title to the above video: When Addons Attack Jaena Vashj asked... "I was leveling my death knight in Dragonblight the other day and notice Ysera in the Emerald Dragonshrine. Didn't think much of her till I got closer and I noticed she was on top on this statue of a figure, what is this thing and why is it so special to Ysera?"
Drinkspiration: a drink recommendation app with a twist
The following app is rated for mature audiences. Reader discretion is advised. I just had to write that, because, in the spirit of liability, Drinkspiration by Absolut (iTunes link) made me confirm my birth date upon initial launch. That, and I'd have a major guilt trip if little Jimmy went out on an all-night drinking bender because some iPhone app encouraged him to do so.Like legions of apps before it, Drinkspiration aims to solve an age old question that has dogged mankind: What drink should I get? And while some like featured apps provide similar functionality, it's Drinkspiration's delivery that sets it apart from the crowd.
