St. Patrick's Day Beer Cocktails

Happy St. Patrick's Day! In case green beer isn't enough to get you in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, try these beer cocktails to mix things up a bit. 

Black and Tan

This is becoming a popular drink for more than just St. Patrick's Day. If poured correctly, these two beers make a perfect "black and tan" layer in the glass.

- 8 oz. Guiness stout beer
- 8 oz. Pale ale beer

Pour the pale ale into a pint glass. Float the Guinness on top to fill the glass, by pouring it over a bar spoon over the pale ale.

Black Velvet
This drink was supposedly created and served in London while the country was in mourning over the death of Queen Victoria's husband. It is a strange combination but it is actually quite good, and feel free to share the story of its origin to impress your friends.

- 4 oz. Champagne

- 4 oz. Chilled stout

Pour the chilled stout into a champagne flute, add champagne.

Irish Car Bomb (Not for the faint of heart)

Have you been looking for an excuse to chant "CHUG, CHUG, CHUG, CHUG" at a bar? Now is your chance with this festive and delicious beer cocktail.

- 3/4 pint Guinness

- 1/2 shot Irish cream liqueur (ex. Bailey's Irish Cream)

- 1/2 shot Irish wiskey ( ex. Jameson)

Pour the Irish cream into a shot glass, and pour the Irish whiskey on top. Pour the Guinness into a pint glass 3/4 of the way full and let settle. Drop the shot glass into the Guinness...and CHUG! 

The chugging that takes place is not just for show this time, the drink will actually curdle if you let it sit long enough, so drink up.

Next Stop Frankfurt

10 days after Vegas we boarded a plane and headed to Frankfurt, Germany. We arrived in the morning and headed straight to the Messe Frankfurt to set up the booth...in no time at all Top Shelf was international!

The overall concensus was that this was our favorite booth out of all of the shows. It was chic but fun, clean but colorful, attention getting but not over the top...it was Top Shelf. 

The most obvious difference between this show and shows in the US was the booths. They were massive! We had a lot of fun walking around the show, and with 11 buildings there was a lot of walking.

The show was cool, but the best part about Germany was the food and drinks!

Some of the best beer we have ever had from a restaurant called Ginheimer Wirtshaus, they make it themselves. It was smooth and delicious!

You can't go to Germany and not have sausage. It sounds weird but some of the best sausage there is at the train station. We had to make a pit stop at the main train station before heading back to the airport for one last German sausage.

Messe Frankfurt had the BEST ice cream! Some of us ate it everyday.

Top Shelf had a great show at Ambiante in Frankfurt and we can't wait until Tendence in July!



Fabulous Las Vegas!

It's been, well...awhile since we last posted and for that we apologize. January and February has been a whirlwind of traveling to trade shows. It's been tiring, fun, and everything in between...but we love every minute of it because we are excited for people to see Top Shelf!!

After snowy   icy Atlanta, we headed to sunny and warm Las Vegas! Each show is completely different from the next, and Las Vegas was no exception. Unlike Dallas and Atlanta, we aren't in a permanent showroom in Vegas, meaning everything is set up by the Top Shelf crew.

Before we worked our trade show booth magic

After!

Our booth wasn't the only impressive thing at Las Vegas Market...the buildings themselves were awesome! We wish all of you could see them in person but a few pictures will have to do for now.

Now, it wasn't all work and no play while we were in Vegas. Here are the places we recommend visiting the next time you make a trip to Sin City:
- Cosmopolitan Hotel - it's brand new and the inside is very chic
- Holstein's - unique burgers and it's inside the Cosmopolitan so you kill two birds with one stone
- Earl of Sandwich - perfect for a quick lunch or late night snack, located in Planet Hollywood and it's open   24 hours
- Beatle's Love - this Cirque de Soleil show does not disappoint. So amazing some of us got chills!



The Super Bowl...Texas Style

This year the Super Bowl is being held in the great state of Texas! In honor of that, below are ingredients and directions for some Texas inspired snacks for the big day:

Texas Caviar (does not include actual caviar...don't worry)
This popular Texas food can be used as a dip (a healthy alternative to queso) or as a side dish.

2 (15 to 16 oz.) cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 (15 to 16 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large red onion chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
Cumin vinaigrette (recipe below)

Mix all ingredients and let marinate in the refrigerator for several hours. May be prepared a day before serving. Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Cumin vinaigrette: Combine 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk in 1/2 cup olive oil.

Queso (my personal favorite)
This queso recipe is easy and delicious!

16 oz. cubed velveeta
16 oz. Monterey Jack cheese
2 (10 oz.) cans of RO-TEL diced tomatoes and green chiles

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot.

Texas Sheet Cake (aka Whacky Cake)
This is not your average chocolate cake. It is incredibly moist and glazed with an amazing chocolate icing.

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup water
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Freshly made chocolate icing, still warm (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a jellyroll pan measuring about 10x15 inches.
Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl
In a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in cocoa and water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Add eggs, buttermilk and vanilla and beat for 1 minute. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove cake from oven and spread with the chocolate icing while both the cake and the icing are still warm and hot.

Chocolate Icing: While cake is still baking, heat 1 stick of butter, 4 tablespoons cocoa and 6 tablespoons of buttermilk in a saucepan. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and combine with one box (3 3/4 cups of sifted powdererd sugar, beating until smooth. Use icing before it cools, so that it will distribute evenly without tearing the surface of the cake.

These iconic Texas recipes are sure to be a hit at any Super Bowl party. Remember: Texas food is always a winner.


All recipes courtesy of the Dallas Morning News

Atlanta Show!

Top Shelf is in Atlanta! It has been an exciting trip so far. A little more exciting than we had expected but hey, it keeps life interesting. Let us give you a little break down of our trip so far.

Sunday: Landed in Atlanta around 12:30, beating the snow. Took the Marta, Atlanta's underground train, to AmericasMart and saw our booth for the first time! It looked great, but needed a few finishing touches. It started to lightly snow around 8:00....and thats when things got interesting. 

Monday: Woke up to...well this:

         It looks pretty and fluffy from far away, but do not be deceived. The snow is covered in about a 1/2 in. layer of ice. This makes traveling interesting to say the least. But the Top Shelf crew are no wimps, and we treked through the snow  ice to AmericasMart. 

Tuesday: The news in Atlanta reports that the ice will not start metling until around Friday! So we sucked it up again and made it to AmericasMart with minimal slipping on the ice. Our booth is almost done! It looks so bright and fun!

Wednesday: The mayor of Atlanta announced that snow plows will be plowing the roads today! Yay! Finally! Just in time for the first day of the show! We are very excited for everyone to see all of our products.  Just look for the Top Shelf purple in the Gib Carson showroom!

Countdown to Trade Shows

We are busy over here at Top Shelf getting ready for all the trade shows in January and February! We will be attending the Atlanta Gift Show, Dallas Gift Show, Las Vegas Market, and Ambiente in Frankfurt, Germany. We are quite the jet setters these next 2 months! We went and visited our booth at the Dallas Market today, and it looks great! Once the finishing touches are added it will be even better. We are located in the Omni Sales Group showroom, 333-WTC. We can't wait for the show in 2 weeks, we are looking forward to seeing all of you there!

Our under construction booth in Dallas:

Sneak Peek 2

We have another early Christmas present for all of you! This week it's one of our new wine glass designs, "Indulge the Diva" (we seem to have a diva theme going on here). The perfect gift for that glamorous woman who appreciates the finer things in life.