Rating: NNNNN
when you think of new technology and being online, alcohol’s probably not the first thing that springs to mind. Drinking and sitting behind your computer isn’t advised. There’s nothing more embarrassing than being a bit loose-tongued, or -fingered, and banging out an uninhibited e-mail after a few pops at the pub. Using your computer to help you drink, though — now there’s an intriguing idea.
There are thousands of Web sites dedicated to booze. Many of them fall under the lad category. Some, like www.beer.com, are owned by massive breweries. And others range from photos of drunken people staggering around with or without clothes on to useful drinking games, drink recipes and how to avoid feeling like you’ve been thrown down a flight of stairs the next morning.
The best are below. As always, drink responsibly and try not to spill anything on your keyboard.
www.drunks.com
As delightfully lowbrow as it gets, featuring photos of drunken people, drink recipes and more than 200 drinking games.
www.webtender.com
Your online guide to booze. Recipes for hundreds of different cocktails, lists of the world’s most popular drinks and a “random drink of the day” generator for those looking for a surprise.
A helpful guide for discerning beer drinkers. Read about the difference between Russian stout and Trappist ale and rate your favourite pint. Dozens of tiny Canadian microbreweries get the nod.
Fantastically exhaustive, featuring ratings and descriptions of wines from around the world as well as guides to matching food with wine, features on different drinks, a wine store and a dictionary so you can know what phrases like “musky melon” really mean.
The Women’s Christian Temperance Union. For those who choose not to booze.
The online food delivery service is now licensed to bring booze directly to your front door. No more facing the nasty outside world for you!
www.hungover.net
For the morning after. Featuring reader-submitted cures, a rating machine to tell you what drink will cause what level of pain and games like “What’s the drunk guy slurring” to test how hung over you really are. mattg@nowtoronto.com
