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Raise a Glass with Boardwalk Empire

Photo Courtesy of HBO

With the season finale of True Blood last weekend, dismayed HBO fans don't have to wait long for more cutting-edge drama. The much-anticipated 12-episode Boardwalk Empire premieres tonight at 9 PM, from Martin Scorsese and Terence Winter of Sopranos fame. Canadian Club, formerly thought of as your grandpa's whisky, received a new fanbase as the choice drink of Mad Men's Don Draper. Now Canadian Club goes further back in time, partnering with HBO as the unofficial sponsor of prohibition in 1920s Atlantic City.

Canadian Club features prominently in the plot of Boardwalk Empire as battling gangsters fight over wooden cases. During Prohibition, Canadian Club was produced legally right across the Detroit River in Windsor, Canada. It's rumored that it quickly became the favorite of Al Capone, who centered his smuggling business on the fine liquid.

Look out for specially branded CC bottles in stores nationwide, as well as special events as speakeasie-styled bars across Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. And enter to win the Boardwalk Empire Sweepstakes for a chance to win your own suite for a year at Caesar's Atlantic City. To get ready for the show tonight, grab a bottle and mix up a cocktail. Exclusive recipes after. the jump.

Tags: Boardwalk empire, Cocktails, hbo, Martin Scorsese, Spirits, whisky

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Tru Blood Beverage For True Fun

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Who'd have thought that blood was just a little bit carbonated? In the world of Tru Blood it is - citrus flavored too. As a kid you probably enacted something you saw on TV or in a movie during play time. It didn't work like it did on screen, but it still felt fun, and you got to identify with your favorite characters. A whole generation of Star Trek fans do this on a somewhat regular basis. Tru Blood, the beverage, is a movie prop come to life for your hip vampire wanna-be moments. With the popularity of the undead at record levels - from vamps to zombies - it makes total sense to release a real (err, less blood-like) version of the synthetic blood beverage from the HBO series Tru Blood.

The bottle has be pretty perfectly replicated, along with the label and the color. To my knowledge there is just one "blood type" available, O Positive. The creators of the drink wanted the look and feel (not taste) of the drink to resemble as much as possible the product from the series. Check the gallery below for a long list of ingredients included to make the drink just viscous enough, with the right mixture of "blood red" and "punch red" to make the drink fun as well as appetizing. The label remarks that it is blood orange flavored. I can sort of taste that, though it feels more like citrusy fruit punch on my tongue. There is a mysterious quality to the taste, being very sweet, thick going down, and expensive. Actually, given how sweet it is, it isn't that caloric. A whole bottle is one serving size and 99 calories. Part of that is thanks to the addition of sucralose (Splenda) in addition to cane sugar in the drink. For this price, I am happy to see the omission of high fructose corn syrup.

When is a non-alcoholic beverage a luxury item? When it costs about $30 for four bottles. $29.95 is what you will pay (with shipping) to get a four pack of Tru Blood. You can buy it in larger amounts though, but not for much less I presume. A luxury item should be unnecessary, fun, and make you feel good (while being a little decadent). Tru Blood delivers in that department. Envision the drink being the star of a vampire theme or Halloween party, or even just a good prop to have around while watching the upcoming season 3 of the television show. The drink website even offers suggestions on cocktails made with the stuff. Add vodka to enjoy a "Fangbanger," or how about mixing Tru Blood with Citron, Cointreau, and lime juice for a "Plasmopolitan." Personally, I am going to go enjoy another glass. With each sip my ongoing thirst for human blood decreases, just a bit. Learn more or get some Tru Blood beverage here.

Ariel Adams publishes the website aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: True Blood Beverage

Tags: beverage, Blood, drink, HBO, review, Tru, tru blood beverage, True

True Blood Jewelry Designer Wants to be a Vampire - Exclusive Interview

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Udi Behr at the launch of his True Blood collection

The hit HBO vampire series True Blood has a terrific new collection of modern goth jewelry designed by Udi Behr (right), the Chief Designer for Love Peace and Hope. We attended the launch party for the fierce new True Blood line and chatted with Behr himself about all things jewelry and vampires. Read the interview to find out why Udi Behr wants to be a vampire, and then check out the gallery of the sexy bling True Blood inspired.

Luxist: Do you like True Blood?

Udi Behr: I love True Blood! I don't do anything I don't love.

L: What's your background? Where are you from?

UB: My background is very confusing. My father is Dutch, my mother is English, and they met in Israel, so I was born and raised in Israel. I moved to New York 26 years ago on Halloween Day.

L: Perfect.

UB: My first night in New York was the Village on Halloween night.

L: How old were you?

UB: I was 23.

L: Oh my gosh, that must have been the best night of your life.

UB: Exactly -- if you ask me what happened, this is all because of that first night in New York. I blame it all on the first night in New York! I live near the village today, and I still remember what I saw 26 years ago, but I don't remember what I saw last year.

L: So your True Blood designs are based around the infinity symbol?

UB: The infinity symbol and two fangs that link into it. If you look at my line, a couple of the specific iconic shapes are teardrops of blood with rubies, I'm doing the 8, eternity, and the chains. I use either leather or stainless steel, because vampires get very damaged if they wear silver, so, just in case Louisiana vampires or Texas vampires want to buy jewelry, tada! They can!

L: So, there's no silver in the collection?

UB: The rings are silver, and the earrings are silver.

L: So the vampires should shy away from those.

UB: Yes -- but there are people who want to protect themselves from vampires, too. Not all vampires are great. But, on a serious note, it's hard to manipulate stainless steel in rings, so all the rings and earrings are silver, and all the chains are stainless steel or leather.

L: So, who's your favorite True Blood character?

UB: That's a good question. Let's see, everybody likes Eric. Everybody wants to be Eric, he's the coolest vampire. He's so cool, you know? He's not in love, he doesn't want a girlfriend, and Tara, I like Tara very much, she's a really cool girl.

L: What do you think of her boyfriend?

UB: Well, for me, he just pisses me off every time I go to the gym. It's hard for guys to compete, you know?

L: I would imagine!

UB: I want to be a vampire. That's why I'm doing this. You sleep all day and you party all night! And you live forever! Only one thing: I like to go to the beach.

You can shop for Udi Behr's hot new True Blood collection at TrueBloodJewelry.com.

Gallery: Udi Behr's True Blood Collection

Sandblasted Silver Double Ring with Two Rubies in the Center

Seven Layer Stainless Steel Chain with Rubies

Seven Layer Stainless Steel Chain with Rubies (Clasp)

Silver Infinity Hoop Earrings with Rubies

Stainless Steel Double Chain Bracelet with Silver Accent

Tags: designer interview, DesignerInterview, discount code, DiscountCode, HBO, jewlery, True Blood, TrueBlood, Udi Behr, UdiBehr, vampires

Camacho Cigars Take Center Stage at HBO Emmy Awards Party

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars

And the Emmy Award goes to ... Camacho Cigars!

Camacho has announced that it will be the official cigar for the HBO Luxury Lounge® at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards. The lounge will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, From September 18 – 20, 2009. At the event, Camacho cigars will feature its top-end 10th Anniversary Robusto cigar, contributing to an already elegant affair.

"Camacho Cigars is proud to be a part of the HBO Luxury Lounge," said Dylan Austin, marketing director of Camacho Cigars. "We are excited to be aligning Camacho Cigars with HBO, the premiere name in cable television, to honor The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards."

[Photo via Camacho Cigars]

Tags: camacho, cigars, emmy awards, EmmyAwards, emmys, hbo, lounge

Bid On Carmela's Porsche

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions, Celebrity Shopping, Charity

The HBO series The Sopranos may be over but the fan base lives on. For those who loved the show here is a chance to bid on the Porsche Cayenne driven by Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco) during the show. In 2005, Porsche donated the car to the show. In the plot of the series, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) gave it to his wife Carmela as a gift. The Cayenne's exterior is Prosecco with a Sand Beige interior and it includes a bronze plaque signed by James Gandolfini and Edie Falco. The car will be auctioned off on October 6 in Las Vegas to benefit the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation.

Source

Tags: edie falco, hbo, james gandolfini, porsche cayenne, PorscheCayenne, the sopranos, TheSopranos