Well, that has to be something of a record, or maybe not. At any rate, the heinous “Get an Ugly Girlfriend”   site advertising Bacardi Breezers I wrote about on Friday is no more. In fact, the folks at Bacardi have apologized and say the campaign was shut down last year, just, I guess, didn’t actually get around to taking down the website till now.

Sean-Patrick M. Hillman, executive V-P of Corbin & Associates, a public relations agency working for Bacardi USA, wrote the following to the fab feminist site Jezebel, which has been all over this story:

The campaign you are referring to ran in 2008 for two months in Israel. Even though Bacardi Breezer is not sold or distributed in the United States, we immediately notified the appropriate Bacardi affiliate and had this website shut down.

Bacardi proudly celebrates diversity and we do not endorse the views of this site. We sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by this site and thank you for bringing it to our attention.

So, that’s great, and total props to all the rightfully outraged women out there who got the thing nixed. But still, why on earth would anyone think this is a good idea in the first place? It makes the whole notion of using scantily clad women to promote booze seem postively progressive.

OK, so booze companies aren’t exactly known for their PC, women-friendly ad campaigns, but in recent years they’ve been trying to TARGET women consumers, not drive them away screaming as if their hair was on fire. So I’d be intrigued to know what was running through the minds of Bacardi execs when they approved this ad campaign. Maybe they’d been enjoying a tad too much of their own product.

Basically, the idea is this: According to the sophomoric “Get an Ugly Girlfriend” promotional site for Bacardi Breezers, all a woman needs to be more attractive is to hang out with a gal pal who is uglier than herself. The campaign was apparently the brainchild of McCann Digital, an Israeli agency, that created it in English and Hebrew, with a Hebrew-only Facebook group. These geniuses decided that there were four ugly girlfriends worth hanging out with, each one some variation of fat, cross-eyed, horsefaced and/or sweaty, with bad hair and clothes.

I’m kinda hoping this is meant to be a hoax or a prank of some sort, but I have a sinking feeling it’s not. It’s enough to drive you to drink —  but NOT a Bacardi Breezer, thanks. After all, the fruity alcopops were already disgusting enough without the added ingredients of sexism and misogyny.

Here’s a must-have book for any fan of the legends of grape and grain — and it’s written by a pair of former Vancouverites to boot!

Spirits and drink historians Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown are launching their new book, a two-volume tome called Spirituous Journey: A History of Drink, next week at the London Bar Show. It’s taken them more than 15 years to research the thing, and in fact, it’s only volume one that will be appearing alongside the Bloody Marys (courtesy of Wyborowa vodka) on June 24.

None other than Gary Regan has written the foreword, and he says of Miller and Brown, “They are a pair of cocktailian mavens if there ever was one.” Seems only fitting for a couple that developed their fondness for the cocktail in Terminal City during the heady days of Delilah’s martinis and Trader Vic’s tiki drinks.

After the jump, here’s what the press release has to say:

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Just dropped by 6 Powell Street to find Josh Pape and a handful of others hard at work putting the finishing touches on The Diamond — seems their inspection went well last week, and after a taking care of a few final details, they’re set to open this Friday! The space is beautiful, and with the Mark Brand / Josh Pape / Sophie Taverner team behind the bar, you know there will be some seriously awesome cocktails happening here. Will report back as soon as I’ve had a taste of what they’re offering . . .

Variations on a theme — Manhattan style drinks ready for the judges

Fun times this week. Bill Samuels Jr., president of Maker’s Mark, has been in town the past few days, teaching local bartenders about his famous bourbon, and sampling just a few of the great cocktails the local talent has created with it. He’s a total celeb in these circles, so pretty much every professional bartender showed up to at least one event — as Dave Wolowidnyk said at the Voya bash on Monday, “No one is getting a decent Manhattan anywhere in the city right now!”

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So. A teensy bit too much wine consumed last night. Today a day of much queasiness. Will spare you the pitiful details; I’m just happy that this almost never happens any more, now that I’m all grown up and know better. Usually, anyway.

Of course, the fact that I haven’t had a killer hangover in a very, very long time meant that I didn’t know that my favourite hangover cure is no more. Yes, it came as rather an unpleasant shock this grim a.m. to find that McDonald’s orange drink had been discontinued. It is, or was, the perfect hangover beverage — no acidity, carbonation, tannins, caffeine, dairy, alcohol or anything except sugar and artificial flavouring. If you have an excruciatingly sensitive tum like mine, it’s the perfect thing to ease you into being able to consume real foodstuffs again.

But no more. I guess that means it’s moderation from here on in . . .

It’s not every day you get to drink wine with Superman. But if you drop by the Osoyoos Celebrity Wine Auction next Friday, you’ll be able to hobnob with Dean Cain, as well as Jason Priestley (Beverley Hills 9020, Hollywood & Vines), Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek, National Treasure), Tiffani Amber Thiesen (Saved by the Bell, Beverly Hills 90201), David Cubbitt (Medium), singer Jann Arden, Canadian Olympic Gold-medal winning athlete Michelle Cameron, Chef Ned Bell (Food Network), Terry David Mulligan (The Tasting Room) and Emmy-award-winning producer Cand Oakes — not to mention that you’ll enjoy entertainment by the Canadain Tenors.

The event’s being hosted by Black Hills Estate Winery, Thompson Okanagan Tourism and Destination Osoyoos, with celebrity emcees Jason Priestley and Chad Oakes. It runs from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, June 12, at the Walnut Beach Resort.  The auction is the centrepiece of the first annual Osoyoos Celebrity Wine Festival, and proceeds will go to Providence Children’s Centre, which cares for young children with disabilities. There will be plenty of Okanagan wine and canapes, and guests will be able to bid on rare wines from great Canadian wineries.

Tix are $99 and available at Tickets for the Osoyoos Celebrity Wine Auction are $99.00 each and are available for online purchase at www.ticketweb.ca.

For more info, contact Glenn Fawcett – President, Black Hills Estate Winery, 403.710.1667 or glenn@blackhillswinery.com. Or go to  www.blackhillswinery.com.

Still wandering around in a jet-lagged daze but finally catching up with everyone in the cocktail scene here in Vancouver.

Sampled Trevor Kallies’ fab new $45 cocktail, the 957, with Hennessy XO, Belvedere, vanilla liqueur, egg white and aged whisky bitters at the Granville Room; it’s terrif, definitely worth the price. (Read my piece next Saturday in The Vancouver Sun for the full story.)

Chatted to Mark Brand at Boneta about The Diamond, the new speakeasy / noodle bar he’s cooking up with Josh Pape and Sophie Taverner at 6 Powell St. They’re ready to go, just waiting for inspections and permits to go through — can’t imagine why it’s been taking so long, should have been approved months ago. There’s gotta be a story there.

Also been in touch with Ron Oliver, now repping Maker’s Mark bourbon. That quintessential southern gentleman, MM’s Bill Samuels Jr., will be in town next week, and a highlight of the trip will be the cocktail competition at Boneta on Tuesday. I’ll be judging, and can hardly wait!

After that, I hope to get a sneak peek at The Diamond before heading over to Maenam, Angus An’s new gourmet Thai restaurant in the former Gastropod location, to try the Asian-flavoured cocktails.

And tonight I plan to head over to Voya for Jay Jones’ last night behind the wood there. He’s off to open his own place, Pourhouse, later this summer.

I still need to catch up with Steve Da Cruz to see what’s happening at The Corner Suite, his new place, which will be awesomely located in the old Piccolo Mondo location, and Brad Stanton, now that he’s back in town, tho I’m not entirely sure where he’s landed, and everyone else who decided to up sticks and move while I was away.

Now THAT will teach me to take holidays!

The 30-euro martini — with rose — at the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz in Paris.

The Hemingway Bar at the Ritz Hotel in Paris is one of the most famous bars in the world, and its head bartender, Colin Field, has been called the greatest bartender on the planet by none other than Forbes magazine. So when we were in Paris a couple of days ago, we naturally had to make a pilgrimage.

Well. Let’s just say that it was probably the biggest disappointment of our entire European adventure.

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The Chateau de la Perriere, where the Giffard competition was held.

To give you a taste of what it’s like judging or competing in an international cocktail competition, here’s a gallery of photos from the recent Giffard international Cocktail Challenge, held Monday, May 25, in Angers, France.

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