Christiania Vodka – the World’s Smoothest Vodka? Not!
Christiania Vodka's trademark is "The World's Smoothest Vodka". We had a chance to review a bottle of the spirit and we came to the conclusion that Christiania Vodka is anything but the world's smoothest vodka. Actually we found it quite nasty.
There are a number of better vodka's which we have had the opportunity to review here and consider quite superior to Christiania Vodka - Trump Vodka, Zyr Vodka, heck even bargain priced Sobieski Vodka is waaaay better than Christiania.
Christiania Vodka has a great story, and a slick marketing campaign - but all that does not make a great vodka. We found Christiania Vodka a bit too strong and harsh, especially for a six time distilled potato based spirit. Potato based vodka's are supposed to be the smoothest of the smooth, and if you ever have the opportunity compare Christiania Vodka to another potato based spirit - Trump Vodka.
In my opinion, Christiania Vodka represents everything I dislike about vodka - an average product trying to brainwash consumers with a slick marketing campaign. This review might be a bit harsh but this is my personal opinion. There are some who seem to like Christiania Vodka - but I'll let you be the judge. In the meantime somebody please pass me a bottle of Zyr Vodka ....
Sobieski Vodka
Let's see, there hasn't been a vodka review or a post about vodka period ever since Gabriel from Cocktailnerd did a guest post. I haven't posted anything here in awhile, mostly because I've been extremely busy hanging out with the Search Engine Optimization and Affiliate Marketing crowd, which resulted in the creation of Selfpreneurs.com. Selfpreneurs has been a great success for me in it's very short existence because it has led to a couple of paid consulting projects for a few small business owners. As much as I love blogging about cocktails, it is a very expensive hobby to maintain.
So imagine my surprise when I was contacted by the folks at Imperial Brands who wanted to know if I'd like to review their new product, Sobieski Vodka. Vodka?! Regular readers of my blog already know that Gin reigns supreme here, and most a lot of the mixologists I run with in the mixosphere share a dim view on vodka. However after sampling Sobieski Vodka I realized ...
Nokia N95 8GB North American Version | Technical Specs
The Nokia N95 8GB has a new, black colored US version. The MicroSD slot is gone, replaced by 8GB dedicated storage. The system RAM has been increased to 128 MB. The newer N95 has improved battery life - a major issue in the past. The N95 has a larger and brighter screen, and a whole lot more. So if you have the original N95, give it away give it away give it away now! and get an upgrade.
Technical Details
Operating Frequency
- WCDMA 2100 + E850/900/1800/1900MHz
- Automatic switching between bands and modes
Dimensions
- Weight: 129 g
- Thickness(max): 21 mm
Memory Functions
- Up to 100MB internal dynamic memory for messages, ringing tones, images, video clips, calendar notes, to-do list and applications
- Up to 8GB internal flash memory for multimedia content such as music, pictures, ringing tones, map data
- Operation times may vary depending on radio access technology used, operator network configuration and usage.
Power Management
- Battery: Nokia Battery (BL-6F) 1200mAH
- Talk time: up to 210 minutes (WCDMA), up to 300 min (GSM)*
- Stand-by time: up to 280 hours (WCDMA and GSM)*
*Changes to product details are possible without prior notice. Application offering may vary. Dynamic memory means that the available memory is shared between dynamic memory functions. When any of these functions is used, there is less available memory for other functions which are also dependent on dynamic memory.
Display
- Large 2.8" QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) TFT display with ambient light detector and up to 16 million colors
User Interface
- Operating system: Symbian OS version 9.2
- User interface: S60 3rd Edition
- Dedicated media keys
- Multimedia menu
- Active standby screen
Call Management
- Contacts: advanced contacts database with support for multiple phone and e-mail details per entry, also supports thumbnail pictures and groups
- Speed dialing
- Logs: keeps lists of your dialed, received, and missed calls
- Automatic redial
- Automatic answer (works with compatible headset or car kit only)
- Supports fixed dialing number, which allows calls only to predefined numbers
- Conference call
Voice Features
- Speaker independent name dialing (SIND)
- Voice commands
- Voice recorder
- Talking ringtone
- Integrated hands-free speaker
Messaging
- Text messaging: supports concatenated SMS, picture messaging, SMS distribution list
- Multimedia messaging: combine image, video, text, and audio clip and send as MMS to a compatible phone or PC; use MMS to tell your story with a multi-slide presentation
- Automatic resizing of your megapixel images to fit MMS (max 300 KB size depending on the network)
- Predictive text input: support for all major languages in Europe and Asia-Pacific
Data Transfer
- WCDMA 2100 (HSDPA) with simultaneous voice and packet data (PS max speed UL/DL= 384/3.6MB, CS max speed 64kbps)
- Dual Transfer Mode (DTM) support for simultaneous voice and packet data connection in GSM/EDGE networks. Simple class A, multi slot class 11, max speed DL/UL: 177.6/118.4 kbits/s
- EGPRS class B, multi slot class 32, max speed DL/UL= 296 / 177.6 kbits/s
- GPRS class B, multi slot class 32, max speed DL/UL= 107 / 64.2 kbits/s
Digital Services
- Java™ and Symbian applications available from Nokia Software Market
- JavaTM MIDP 2.0, CLDC 1.1
- Flash Lite 2.0
Imaging and video
- Up to 5 megapixel (2502 x 1944 pixels) camera, Carl Zeiss optics, Tessar lens, MPEG-4 VGA video capture of up to 30 fps
- Direct connection to compatible TV via Nokia Video Connectivity Cable (CA-75U, included in box) or wireless LAN/UPnP
- Front camera, CIF (352 x 288) sensor
- Video call and video sharing support (WCDMA network services)
- Integrated flash
- Digital stereo microphone
- Flash modes: on, off, automatic, red-eye reduction
- Online album/blog: photo/video uploading from gallery
- Nokia Lifeblog 2.0 support
- Video and still image editors
Mobile Video
- Video resolutions: up to VGA (640x480 pixels) at 30 fps
- Audio recording: AAC mono
- Digital video stabilization
- Video capture: up to 215 min (VGA, 30fps)
- Video file format .mp4 (default), .3gp (for MMS)
- White balance: automatic, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent
- Scene: automatic, night
- Color tones: normal, sepia, black & white, negative, vivid
- Zoom: digital up to 10x (VGA up to 4x)
Mobile Photography
- Image resolution: up to 5 megapixel: (2592 x 1944 pixels)
- Still image file format: JPEG/EXIF
- Auto focus
- Auto exposure - center weighted
- Exposure compensation: +2 ~ -2EV at 0.5 step
- White balance: automatic, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent
- Scene: automatic, user, close-up, portrait, landscape, sports, night, night portrait
- Color tone: normal, sepia, black & white, negative, vivid
- Zoom: digital up to 20x (5 megapixel up to 6x)
- Viewfinder grid
- Sensor: CMOS 5 megapixel (2592 x 1944 pixels)
- Carl Zeiss optics: Tessar lens
- Focal length 5.6 mm
- Focus range 10 cm ~ infinity
- Macro focus distance 10-50 cm
- Shutter speed: mechanical shutter: 1/1000~1/4 s
Music Features
- Digital music player - supports MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC/eAAC+/WMA/M4A with playlists and equalizer
- Integrated hands-free speaker
- OMA DRM 2.0 & WMDRM support for music
- Stereo FM radio (87.5-108MHz /76-90MHz)*
*Operation times may vary depending on radio access technology used, operator network configuration and usage.
Navigation
- Built-in GPS with A-GPS support *
*A-GPS is a network dependant feature that requires a data plan. Additional charges may apply.
- Easy-to-use e-mail client with attachment support for images, videos, music and documents
- Compatible with Nokia Wireless Keyboard (sold separately)
Browsing
- Nokia Web Browser with Mini Map
Digital home
- Play video, music and photos on home media network- compatible TV, stereo and PC over WLAN/UPnP (Universal Plug and Play)
Java Applications
- Java MIDP 2.0, CLDC 1.1 (Connected Limited Device Configuration (J2ME))
- Over-the-air download of Java-based applications and games
Other Applications
- Personal Information Management (PIM)
- Advanced S60 PIM features including calendar, contacts, to-do list, and PIM printing
- Settings Wizard for easy configuration of e-mail and video sharing
- Data transfer application for transfer of PIM information from other compatible Nokia devices.
- WLAN wizard
Connectivity
- Integrated wireless LAN (802.11 b/g) and UPnP (Universal Plug and Play)
- Bluetooth wireless technology with A2DP (Bluetooth stereo audio)
- USB 2.0 via Micro USB interface and mass storage class support to support drag and drop functionality
- 3.5 mm stereo headphone plug (Nokia AV Connector) and TV out support (PAL/NTSC)
- Nokia PC Suite connectivity with USB and Bluetooth wireless technology
- Local synchronization of contacts and calendar to a compatible PC using Nokia Nseries PC Suite
- Remote over-the-air synchronization
- Send and receive images, video clips, graphics, and business cards via Bluetooth wireless technology
RealPlayer Media Player
- Full-screen video playback on the device to view downloaded, streamed or recorded video clips
- Stream media files from compatible media portals
- Supported video formats: MPEG-4, H.264, H.263/3GPP, RealVideo 8/9/10
Standard Sales Package Contents*
- Nokia N95 8GB
- Nokia Battery BL-6F, 1200 mAh
- Nokia Travel Charger AC-5
- Nokia Music Headset HS-45, AD-54
- Nokia Connectivity Cable DKE-2
- Nokia Video Connectivity Cable CA-75U
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New Unlocked Nokia N95 8GB 3G GSM WiFi GPS CELL PHONE |  |
US $245.56 | 3d 53m |
Sexy Beast – The Ferrari 612 Scaglietti 60th Anniversary Edition
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
For Ferrari's 60th birthday, the automaker decided to roll out 60 limited edition models of the 612 Scaglietti. The Scaglietti, which is also the only 2+2 "four seater" Ferrari (I wouldn't really try and fit anything larger than a toddler in the back seat - but why any toddlers would be in a 6-speed F1-S gearbox equipped 540-hp V-12 Ferrari beats me) gets XM Radio and XM Nav Traffic, another first. The Scaglietti also boasts a special electrochromatic panoramic glass roof that darkens and lightens at the touch of a button.
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Ferrari : 612 2007 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti Blk/Tan 9k miles | |
US $142,444.00 | 1h 32m |
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Ferrari : 612 FERRARI 612 SCAGLIETTI LIKE NEW LOWERED RESERVE PRICE | |
US $135,000.00 | 2h 27m |
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Ferrari 2DR CPE 2008 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti F1 HGT2 Package Pozzi Blue over Rosso 6689 Miles! | 0 Bid | US $191,880.00 | 1d 20h 22m |
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Ferrari : 612 Scaglietti 2005 FERRARI 612 SCAGLIETTI COUPE - 11K MILES HEATED NAVIGATION DAYTONA MUST $EE | 18 Bids | US $44,444.44 | 6d 21h 42m |
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Ferrari 2005 FERRARI 612 SCAGLIETTI F1 DAYTONA SEATS POWER SEATS TUBI 17200 MILES | |
US $129,800.00 | 7d 21h 17m |
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Ferrari : 612 2005 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti Black on Black California Car with Service Records | |
US $119,999.00 | 14d 20h 54m |
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Ferrari : 612 Scaglietti 2005 FERRARI 612 SCAGLIETTI SHOWSTOPPER EXCELLENT LUXURIOUS - POWERFUL | |
US $109,000.00 | 15d 21h 14m |
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Ferrari : 612 SCAGLIETTI 2005 FERRARI 612 SCAGLIETTI F1 SILVERSTONE TAN EXCELLENT LOW 10K+ MILE BEAUTIFUL | |
US $125,000.00 | 17d 1h 42m |
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Ferrari : 612 Scaglietti 2006 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti! TDF Blue! Daytonas! RARE!! | |
US $139,900.00 | 17d 22h 52m |
Mixology Mondays – Bathtub Gin | How to Make Your Own Gin at Home?
Today's topic, Gin - is a big favorite around here and you can read this previous post for a brief history of Gin.
On a recent visit to the best liquor store on the East Coast, I wandered over to the gin section looking for a brand to review or use in a recipe for todays MixMo. One particular, pale yellow gin stood out from the rest - maybe because it's price tag was $70! If you're a gin aficionado or you've probably guessed that I'm referring to Old Raj. It was hands down the most expensive gin in the store. I love you readers - but not that much, so at the suggestion of the store owner I settled for Broker's Gin instead. An excellent choice, but that post is for another day.
The pale yellow color in Old Raj comes from the addition of saffron (probably why it's so expensive) - but that got me thinking - instead of reviewing a brand why not "make" my own gin instead? Gin is a neutral grain spirit flavored at least in part by juniper berries. The juniper berries give Gin it's distinct "twang" or profile. All brands have the juniper berry in common, and what differentiates one brand from another are in the botanicals used - Old Raj sets itself apart by using saffron, Hendrick's uses cucumber, G'vine Gin uses a grapevine flower. Guess what? We're going to make us some Bathtub Gin?!
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Recap Sundays – Other Grandiose Posts from around the Mixosphere
Welcome to another edition of Recap Sundays - a recap of grandiose posts from other blogs in the Mixosphere.
- Gabriel at cocktailnerd reviews a book, "How's your Drink?" by Eric Felton and gives it four stars out of five
- The Good Doctor pairs a Martini with Celery & Stilton soup. Is that a new logo Doc?
- Robert explains Why Vodka Sucks at Explore the Pour
- Gwen serves up a Cucumber lychee sake
- Natalie's still living it up in Paris and does drinks in the Ritz Hotel at Bar Hemingway
- Jeffrey's Wassail recipe makes it into the Nation's Restaurant News
- Luxist discusses the Worlds Priciest Cocktails
- Rick reviews Stiletto Vodka
- Scott discusses a bunch of Ginger Ales, and throws in a few Ginger Beers for good measure
- Who is this Mysterious bearded fellow?
