Veev:  An excellent substitute for vodka, Veev is actually manufactured from acai berries which are packed with antioxidants and anthocyanins.  What makes this drink even better, however, is the company’s commitment to the environment.  Veev donates $1 towards the Brazilian rainforest for every bottle sold, preserving their sustainable acai supply.  Veev is also the first carbon-neutral liquor company, powering all of their distillers through renewable energy.  Pass up the Smirnoff  and throw one of these back with friends (but don’t forget to toast to the Brazilian rainforest first!).

OneHope Sauvignon Blanc: I bought this baby on a whim at BevMo (5 cent sale, anyone?) and felt an instant karma boost.  With every bottle sold, OneHope donates 50% of the profits to the American Forest, a charity aimed at protecting, restoring, and enhancing our native trees and forests.  If you’re not a sauvignon blanc fan, there are several other wines to choose from, each with their own cause.  Drink chardonnay for breast cancer, merlot for AIDS, or zinfandel for our troops overseas.  Whichever you choose, you can bet you’ll feel a little buzz of goodness with every glass.

New Belgium beer:  This brewery from Fort Collins, Colorado has a long list of environmental actions and achievements.  I am not going to go through the whole list here because, well, I’m lazy.  Here are the most notable ones of the bunch:
* Decreased energy usage in their brewing and in the facility itself due to efficient lighting, sustainable building materials, and efficient brew kettles.
* Wind power and waste water are used to produce renewable energy for the factory.
* Encouragement of bike transportation by hosting an annual bike festival and giving every employee a free bike after 1 year of employment.
* Member of 1% For the Planet, meaning that they give 1% of their revenue to environmental non-profits.

ModMix organic mixers:  The name says it all – ModMix creates a line of fully organic mixers for your favorite cocktails.  This means no chemicals, no synthetic pesticides, and no harmful substances.  You can use ModMix for pretty much any drink you could imagine.  Their products include mixes for citrus margaritas, French martinis, lavender lemon drops, mojitos, pomegranate cosmos, and wasabi bloody marys.  Just be sure to mix these babies with a sustainable alcohol such as Papagayo organic rums, 4Copas tequila, or TruVodka.

Whether you’re working it at a beach barbecue or a hot club, a cool drink in your hand is a necessity.  There are the old standby’s like Jack & Coke, cranberry & vodka, and Corona with lime (oh, so many memories…er…lack of memories) that are guaranteed to get you through the evening.  But why just “get through the evening” when you can sail through on the wings of something delicious and interesting?

Say you’re at a hip lounge in some downtown area.  A cute guy catches your eye and walks up to join you at the bar.  He asks you what you’re drinking.  Do you want to reply with something he’s heard a hundred times before (“Uh, Miller Lite?”) or something that will get the conversation (and maybe something else) started with a bang?

After much deliberation and research (and some taste-testing), we have come up with a list of the most fun cocktails for the long, hot summer ahead.  Go ahead, have one of these and let your glass sweat it out along with the poor guy you’re about to attack on the dance floor. Just click on the image to get the delicious deets.

And now, a year has nearly passed, and I am about to turn the big 2-1. It is the day I can not only legally buy alcohol, but the day that all college students look forward to as their last passage into adulthood on campus (at least before senior year). It is the day that I can no longer get sent to student conduct council for underage drinking. The day I can walk up to the bar and order a mojito, legally. I no longer will have to worry about being carded when trying to order a drink somewhere. The day that I turn into a real adult – whatever that means – as decided by the world.

But really, how do I spend this occasion?

In my dream world, I would hire Girl Talk to do live mash-ups of Elton John, Britney Spears, and Guns N Roses while I dance alongside my best friends in dresses that aren’t just from H&M and Forever 21 in some sparkly New York City bar where we throw back pink cocktails in between cupcakes. But I don’t live in a dream world. In fact, I live in Roanoke, Virginia – which is as far from my dream world as I can get for my birthday, especially since there isn’t even a Forever21 of H&M for 60+ miles.

Although the reality of my 21st birthday may not sparkle in a New York City kinda way (however, my nails probably will in a cheap-nailpolish-glittery-concoction type of way), I am not going to let that stop me from having one of the best nights of my college experience. The question of how to do it, though – and not just do it, but do it well – plagues me.

Where do I have my party? In the sketchy upstairs backstage area of my university’s recital hall where I got caught with not one, but two bottles of champagne enwrapped in my arms last year as my friends and I stomped around to Miley Cyrus? What about in my boyfriend’s cheerless off campus house with his awful roommates skipping around the scene? At the bar in a town where college hangs-outs don’t really exist? Or maybe I should just have my party on my computer, testing out Skype for the first time with my friend who went abroad to Argentina? Does location even matter anymore, or is the night just about getting drunk?

Who should come? My close friends or anyone who somehow decides my birthday is important enough via the joke of a Facebook event they received? Do I invite my 18 year old sister and her boyfriend up for the weekend to witness the madness and hope that I keep my dress down (or up) for the night? What if I just invite myself and call it a day? Spending a 21st birthday alone – now that would be interesting.

Should there be a theme? Perhaps College Trainwreck would be appropriate? Afterall, images of Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears circa 2007 make great inspiration! Or should the theme simply be me making an ass out of myself, as if my last birthday wasn’t enough when I decided wearing hot pink tights with a black tunic that wasn’t long enough to stay down was a good idea?

But seriously, when it comes to the sport of turning 21, what is a girl supposed to do?

Should I run into the closest liquor store and declare that it is my birthday? Should I wear my driver’s license on my sleeve and shout out my birthdate: “02/24/1988″ over and over again? Do I wear a plastic tiara and carry in balloons with me just to pick up a bottle of rum or two (or three)?

Do I attempt taking 21 shots? Do I stick to one type of alcohol or jump around until the room spins and I call it a night? Do I invest in a blender to make cocktails, or should I just slap down the money on the bar and tell the bartender to pour me another?

Maybe I should keep it innocent and kick it old-school style. I’m sure I can find some clowns to come make balloon animals and paint butterflies and kittens on my friends’ faces for the same price I may spend on alcohol. Or maybe I could do an assortment of games, including pin the tail on the donkey and balloon races – bubbles and whoopee cushions can replace Jello shots as prizes! I’m sure that would make my mom proud!

I am the first of my friends to turn 21, and I feel that it is my contractual obligation as their friend to start the year off right, birthday-wise. 21 gives the impression of a college milestone, and another passage into adulthood. With so many options and so many high expectations, really … what am I supposed to do?

Now it’s your turn; tell me what you did to celebrate your 21st or how you plan to ring in your own birthday this year. I need ideas, people. Help!

One thing I had never really delved into was pie baking. Brownies, cookies, cakes — I loved them all and I could bake them fairly well. But pies…if it wasn’t refrigerated, I hadn’t tried it. And then I had a craving for apple pie.

My fiance being the loyal supporter he is, accompanied me to the store and watched me stare at the shelves trying to figure out what looked yummy. I’ve never been one for cooking apples (sometimes I have an issue cutting them uniformly) and since this was my first foray into pie-world, I didn’t want to risk screwing up the um, very essential filling. So, without an official recipe, and without really knowing what I was doing I came up with the following plan. No, it isn’t good for you, but it’s darn tasty with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream.

You will need the following:

2 frozen 9-inch pie crusts

1 can apple pie filling

1/4 cup of Hershey’s Caramel Ice Cream Topping

1 tsp. (or a little more if you prefer but don’t get crazy–it’s a pie, not a tropical mojito) of Malibu Passion Fruit Rum

1 gallon of vanilla ice cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slightly thaw the pie crusts. Press one into your pie pan. Poke light holes in the bottom with a fork (this is to keep the bottom crust from puffing too much)

2. Pour the apple pie filling into the crust and spread it evenly.

3. Sprinkle the rum over the filling.

4. Take a swig of rum (totally optional but very tasty!)

5. Drizzle caramel over the filling.

6. Take the second pie crust and lay it on top of the filling. Carefully, so you don’t tear the crust (if you do, no biggie, it’s pretty forgiving), pinch the edges of the top crust and the bottom crust together to seal the pie. If you want to get fancy, be my guest. I just wanted pie, so mine was very, um, “rustic” looking. Last, take a knife and make four slits in the top crust, in a sort of cross pattern, so that the filling can vent and you don’t end up with an apple pie volcano. Might be cool, but very inedible overflowing into the oven.

7. Bake at 350 for approximately 35-45 minutes or until your crust is golden brown. I definitely had to keep a watch on mine since I didn’t have a recipe to go by. Plus, every oven is different.

8. Once the crust is nice and brown, take the pie from the oven. I personally believe there is no reason to let that sucker cool unless you have to give the ice cream a little time to soften. But if you wish, you can. I think the best way to do it is to put the ice cream on top of the stove while the oven is still warm and let it slightly soften that way. Cut a slice of pie, top with your ice cream and additional caramel and go to town!

Trust me, this pie is worth every calorie.

(Pie pic courtesy of martyfahncke.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/appl)

After having, literally, maybe three beers all of high school (not a prude, just didn’t care for the taste of what was given to me), I came into college a drinking virgin and very quickly had to learn what my limit was. (Basically, by exceeding my limit night after night after night…) I had to learn what I liked to drink, how much and how frequently.

After downing five shots of Rubinoff in ten minutes and blacking out, punching my roommate in the face, puking all over the communal bathroom, changing in front of a guy friend of mine and destroying my laundry clothes rack (after falling into it), I knew I had to take this experiment with drinking a little differently. So I made a few rules.

In order to spare you from the same embarassment and loss of precious laundry racks, I thought it was a good idea to share these rules with you. You can follow all of them, or some of them; whichever you choose, just remember to take it slow. Real slow.

1. No shots of cheap, nasty tasting alcohol. If you wanna do shots, make it one (maybe two, who we kiddin’?), not five or six or seventeen… and never use Rubinoff.

2. Do NOT mix. Start the night with one drink and keep at it until you’re through. Mixing creates a whirlwind of different types of drunk that normally left me hungover and puking the next morning.

3. If you drink liquor (over beer), drink slower. For many – like myself – liquor (i.e., vodka, rum, etc) does a number on you quicker than a few beers. So, if you decide to brave the evening with some Rum and Cokes, make sure you pace yourself so you don’t end up hugging the toilet.

4. Do not compete with your friends. Especially dudes who can handle WAY more liquor than you can. I found that out the hard way when I tried to race my 220lb buddy in a case race. He finished 30 beers. I made it to 12 and puked all over my dorm. Soooo nice.

5. Stay away from the bad experiences. If you had a little incident with vodka like I did, stay away from the stuff for awhile. It’s good to find out what you can drink (by finding out what you can’t handle, pretty much), but give yourself a break from the not-so friendly liquors that have tainted your stomach in the past.

It may have taken my entire freshman year, but I got the drinking thing down pat. I now have a taste for wines, beers and liquor that I like, which are much tastier than the inside of my mouth after a night of puking.

[Photo courtesy of anvari.org]

You may have made it through Welcome Week without any run-ins with the campus police (congrats!), but you still have plenty of opportunities to meet them up close and personal.

There are going to be many times this year and well into your college career that you will find yourself surrounded by alcohol. And, naturally, you are going to want to partake. Just beware–while you are navigating the university party scene, your RA’s, Campus Police, and Public Safety units are gearing up to bust underage revelers.

Here are some tips on how you can avoid getting written up before your first semester is over.

1. Don’t act like ‘The Freshman.’

Just because you suddenly have access to alcohol, it doesn’t mean you need to consume ALL of the alcohol at once. Even if the cops are out and about, they don’t have the manpower to hunt down every single underage boozer. So, they’ll zero in on the kid stumbling around with a trash can on his head before thinking twice about the passive mingler. The same goes with your RA, who really doesn’t want to walk in on you peeing in the corner of elevator.

2. Beware of PDA.

True story: I was once stumbling across campus with a guy I liked, and was pretty much all over him. I was stopped by a Public Safety brigade, who proceeded to quiz me: Did I know this guy? Where were we going? While I insisted that he was a friend, one of the officers interrupted with “You’re obviously intoxicated and we want to make sure you’re not going to make a bad decision tonight.” Ouch. (Editor’s Note: Where were those guys when I was making out with the guy with the tats?)

Luckily, they let us continue on our way, but the situation could have easily ended badly. This anecdote should be a lesson to guys, too. I’m sure my friend was mortified when the Public Safety peeps pegged him as a date rapist. But, just like the crazy, drunken antics mentioned above will red flag a drunk college student, a pair of horny kids who can’t make it back to the dorm room will also raise the suspicions of the University 5-0.

3. Be careful with your Fake.

If you have someone who is of age that can make a beer run for you, don’t even try to buy your own booze. At my school, all of the campus liquor stores had walls covered with confiscated fake ID’s. It’s a lot easier to get served at a bar or restaurant than it is to purchase booze from the store. FYI.

Still, you need to research the bars you attempt to get in to. Everyone at my school knew which bars would let in the worst fakes, which states made for the worst fakes, etc. I once had a fake ripped up by the manager of a new campus bar, because they were on the lookout for New York ID’s after being watched closely by the Po.

One more little tale: I knew a girl who got fined because she left her wallet at a gas station, and somehow, the cops found her fake ID in it. If a cop sees you with a fake for any reason, it can constitute fraud. Just food for thought.

4. Keep it inconspicous.

If you are walking to a party, don’t crack open a Natty Ice on the street. Don’t fill a Coca-Cola bottle with vodka. And don’t help a friend carry a case of beer if you are a minor. In many states, you can’t even handle alcohol if you are a minor. So if the cops are scouting out the liquor store, and card you and your of-age friend as you drag a shopping cart full of Patron to your car, you might get in trouble, even if you’re stone-cold sober and the bottles are unopened.

Even if you are trying to hide the libations you are hauling to the party, be careful. Ironically, backpacks scream “hidden alcohol,” especially when you are en route to a quad party on a warm Saturday evening. The cops may ask you open your bag, and having 30 beers fall out might put a damper on your weekend.

5. Stay current on campus news.

If there are four bars on campus, and three of them have been raided in the past month, you might want to lay low in order to avoid a sting operation on the fourth bar. Try to catch wind of any rumors that Tequila Tom’s might get raided.

Of course, if you are friendly with the bar staff, they might look out for you as well, because they want to save their own ass as much as you want to save yours. I’ve been flat out told by bouncers that they couldn’t let me in because they anticipated a raid; a year later, those same bouncers planned an “escape route” through the kitchen for the only girl in our group who had yet to hit the big 2-1.

6. Don’t advertise.

This goes along with watching your behavior and being mindful of your fake ID, but it’s the number one reason a minor will get busted. If you’re drinking in your room, don’t leave bottles and cans strewn about for your RA to see. Don’t display your shot glasses and your funnel. Many schools today even have rules that no alcohol-related decorations (posters, etc) may be displayed in “dry” dorms.

Just being alert to the fact that many people on campus are looking out for underage drinking can help you make smart decisions. It’s really not difficult to evade the disciplinarians at your school, and before you know it, you’ll be passing down your fake ID to your younger siblings and telling them to use it wisely. Take your time to get to know your campus and it’s policies. You have four years of partying awaiting you, so there’s plenty of time to tune up your beer pong skills.

Upon arriving on campus we immediately headed to lunch where we began our meal with a Bloody Mary and some Mojitos. It was at that moment that I realized our leisurely Saturday afternoon was going to be anything but.

The combination of the rum pumping through my veins and my excitement at being back on campus got me feeling all nostalgic. I missed campus, I missed my friends, and, most of all, I missed getting completely sh*tcanned before a football game.

So we followed our hearts and decided to do it up college style.

I chugged Franzia with some frat boys (“BABIES! You can’t chug for your life!”), downed Boones Farm with my friends – and that was before we even left the lawn. I had a 40 on my way to the game, which I shared with some random band playing on a porch that belonged to people I did not know. And I sang bad 80’s songs into the mic.

I heckled people on my way to the game, took a swig from some random kid’s flask and stole a hot dog from the stand right outside of the stadium. We eventually made it to the game and as I sat in the hot sun watching my team lose (which wasn’t painful enough already), I patiently awaited the hangover from hell.

But the hangover never came! So, naturally, my friend and I decided to keep going. We stopped for some much needed pizza and nachos, picked up some more Boones and headed out for round 2 (in our sweaty game day clothes).

I drank more college kids under the table (a fact I am quite proud of) and even busted out my killer dance moves. I was feeling great. “I STILL GOT IT!” I screamed to anyone who would listen.

But now it is Monday. And I can’t get out of bed. In fact, I have only gotten up twice since returning from my College Day in Ann Arbor and that was to puke and to hydrate. My legs hurt. My arms hurt. My liver hurts.

Staring at the ceiling while a little man in my head hammers away on my skull I have come to a realization: I don’t still got “it,” unless “it” is a massive hangover.

I may be good at some things, but drinking like a college kid is not one of them. I tip my hat to you, college ladies. Enjoy your last night of Welcome Week and be sure to drink some boxed wine for me. I’ll be here watching 90210 reruns on Soap Net and willing myself out of bed.

At some point during my college career, I discovered that wine is stronger than beer and more consistent than mixed drinks, which are super weak at many stingy bars.

Wine became my go-to drink.

When I moved into an apartment with a fellow wino, we quickly realized that even 1.5 liter bottles of wine went too quickly, so to save gas on packy runs, we became avid boxers.

Boxed wine is completely underrated by many collegiates across the country. In the wine world, Franzia may have a bad rap, but come on; we’re college students. We have no money. We drink a lot. And we aren’t opposed to drinking Dubra when times are tight, so why exclude boxed wine from our list of libations?

In many states, wine comes in 5-liter boxes. That’s FIVE LITERS of booze for about $15. Depending on how much (or how little) you drink, that can easily be split throughout the night between you and your five closest friends, or you can suck it down yourself and not worry about another liquor run for a week or two. If you can’t find a 5-liter box, you’ll still be set with the “smaller” size box, which contains three liters of fermented grapes.

Heaven.

Instead of filling a water bottle with Captain and Coke and hoping the rum-soda ratio is strong enough to give you a buzz, but not so hard you black out after three sips, fill a bottle or two with boxed wine! It’s easy to transport, and you won’t have to shell out extra money for mixers. (On a side note, Chardonnay is the strongest white wine, so if you are looking for a party, skip the Sunset Blush.)

Even if you forego the ghetto water bottles and just lug the box around all night, it’s got a handle, and the box will get significantly lighter as the evening progresses. Just ask my roommate, who took a full 5-liter box of Sangria to a party and proceeded to drink it dry in one night (and lived to tell the tale).

The best part about boxed wine is that, like beer, it has inspired a plethora of party games. You can take the plastic bag of vino out of the box and have someone hold it for you and twist the spout for an insta-wine funnel. A variation of this sport is “Slapping the Bag,” in which you (or your friend) repeatedly – you guessed it – slaps the bag while you chug. This sounds odd, to say the least, but it’s so popular that the term “slap the bag” has become synonymous with the action of drinking wine in a box.

Cheap, portable and tasty? Maybe you should give boxed wine a try.

Sugary sodas and juices went out the window as soon as my parents realized the havoc they were playing with our health (not like the aspartame in diet soda is any better…but…I mean…let’s not think about that), and since that fateful dentist appointment 13 years ago, I have been very conscious of the hidden bad stuff inside innocent-seeming liquids.

Sometimes, even the good, “healthy” stuff can stab you in the back. Need some examples?

Glaceau VitaminWater (20 oz)

This shiz has 130 calories and 33 grams of sugar. I love VitaminWater because it makes me feel like I’m ingesting actual vitamins, but when I force myself to think about it…how healthy can something that tastes THAT sweet really be?

Pina Colada

This summer drink has 625 freaking calories and 75 grams of sugar. Do you KNOW how many miles on the treadmill that is? Give me some rum and a splash of lime — still tropical, but waaayyy less mean to the waist line.

Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino Blended Crème (16 oz)

Oh Starbucks, you tricky little chain store, you! First, you inject your coffee with crazy cocaine-like caffeine (am I the only one who feels like they’re on speed after a cup there?!), then you go and make a drink with 510 calories and 59 grams of sugar. I know you’re trying to take over the world one over-priced concoction at a time, but giving your loyal subjects drinks that could possibly lead to arteries clogging? Not the best idea…

I could go on for seven more paragraphs, but I think I’ll spare us all and just recommend that you look at the ingredients of everything you ingest — including drinks. Just because something has “HEALTHY” or “LOW FAT” or “REAL FRUIT” on the label doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Read the details. Treat yourself right.

…And don’t fall asleep with candy in your mouth.

Well, even if you don’t think out loud like some of us, no doubt you’ve run into a predicament that includes you needing to make something on the fly to impress someone, or just simply feeling a keen desire to impress your own stomach. But, if you’re anything like me, you’re A) a little lazy and B) too busy to make some kind of complicated recipe that will take hours and then be eaten in minutes.

That’s why this bananas in brown sugar with rum sauce dessert is like the Best. Idea. EVER. It’s fancy, it’s easy, it’s pretty healthy, and who doesn’t like cooking with a healthy dose of rum??

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon butter

1/2 teaspoon canola oil

2 tablespoons dark rum

1 teaspoon lime juice

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 small bananas, quartered

1/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

Directions:

Stir brown sugar, butter and oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until bubbling. Add rum, lime juice and cinnamon and cook until slightly thickened. Add bananas and cook, stirring, until tender. Divide between 2 bowls and top with a dollop of low-fat vanilla yogurt.

Serve with fancy utensils and be admired for semesters to come!