Have a DIY Gin & Tonic Bar at Your Next Party. What’s better than serving gin and tonics at a party? Having a whole gin and tonic bar, that’s what. A few weeks ago I went to an event for Beefeater in San Francisco. They had your traditional bar there, with a bartender mixing up fancy cocktails.
Triumph’s Street Triple looked just like the Speed Triple of the time but with the engine out of the Daytona 675 – and it was a revalation. It's light, fast, fun. Check out what we're doing to our Raider. We'll show you all the accessories and mods we add on, and all the work we do, as we do it. What’s better than serving gin and tonics at a party? Having a whole gin and tonic bar, that’s what. A few weeks ago I went to an event for Beefeater in San. How to Eat Street Food Anywhere in the World Without Getting Sick. Your bike was great off the lot, but it’s time to make it truly yours with new parts. Shop thousands of aftermaket parts for motorcycles, ATVs and more. An auto-dimming mirror may not sound like the most exciting car part, but call it by another name—electrochromic mirror—and you begin to suspect that there’s. Triumph's Speed Triple and MV Agusta's Brutale 1090R square off in a big-bore streetfighter showdown.
There was also a DIY Gin & Tonic bar. You could ask the bartender for just a glass with ice and gin in it, and then use the assortment of tonic waters and accouterments on the table to build your own. The idea was so fun I started doing it whenever I had friends over. We all want to pretend we’re masters at cocktails, but truth be told most of us have pretty much no idea what we’re doing. A gin & tonic bar is a pretty low- key attempt at an open bar. Even for those that have never had a G& T before, it’s a tough one to really screw up.
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For the most part, you can put whatever you want on the bar as options, and (almost) any concoction your guests come up with will be drinkable. As someone who always becomes the default bartender in my group of friends, I really liked not being in charge of everyone’s drinks for once, and everyone in attendance seemed to really like experimenting on their own. Here’s what you need to build your own: Get a few bottles of gin. Different gins will have different flavors. It can be fun to experiment with different options. Some of my favorites include: The Botanist, Aviator, and Bulldog. Get a few tonic water options.
Just like the gin, tonic water will add different flavors to your G& T. I love Fever Tree’s Tonic water. Other good options include Q and Fentimans. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous you can also make your own. Cut up fruit and veggies and put them on a plate. In general, grapefruit, cucumbers, lime and oranges go well with gin and tonics. I’ve seen people use more adventurous fruits like strawberries, watermelon, peaches and blueberries as well.
Grab at least three or four options from your local grocery and cut them up, displaying them on a plate for guests. Offer a few spices. I really love muddling a bit of basil in the bottom of a glass and pairing that with grapefruit for a G& T. Fresh basil and rosemary can both be great options to have on hand. Cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, juniper berries, and cardamon can also be big hits. Think about what flavors you like in a G& T and then pick things that will enhance that. You can lay these out in their respective containers, or put them in small bowls.
Set everything up on a side table (I use a long, short bookshelf near my dining room table). You’ll want to lay out everything I listed above, and then put some (small) glasses and a bucket of ice (as well as something to scoop it out) on the table as well. Small glasses are key here. That means your guests can make a few drinks over the course of the night, and nobody gets carried away and uses half a bottle of gin to make something horrible. For guests that don’t know what they’re doing, I’d suggest starting with a basic 1: 1 recipe one ounce of gin to every one ounce of tonic water, that’s easy enough to eyeball), and then telling them to select just one or two ingredients from the table to enhance it. Light drinkers can double the amount of tonic. It’s VERY hard to go wrong with just adding a few of the fruits (although I’m sure someone can do it).
Spices should be used sparingly, but those are pretty difficult to screw up as well as long as you’re limiting your selection to just a small amount of one. As the night progresses, you’ll be surprised what awesome creations your guests come up with, and they’ll definitely be talking about it much more than they would if you labored over their drinks all night.
MV Agusta Brutale 1. R vs. Triumph Speed Triple R . Next to the Triumph, the MV Agusta Brutale cruises along with both tires on the ground.
A rise in the road provides the opportunity, and a slight tug on the bars brings the MV’s front wheel level with that of the Triumph’s. The riders glance at each other and shake their heads. You can’t see it through the dark visors, but they’re grinning like idiots. World Of Warcraft Game Card Keygen Crack. Again and again this happens, 1. Monterey, a good portion of them on the back wheel only.
Before stabbing out an inflammatory E- mail scolding us for antisocial behavior, take a moment to consider the bikes we were riding: the Triumph Speed Triple R practically begs to be wheelied, and keeping the Brutale 1. R’s front tire grounded is as difficult as getting a CBR2. R’s afloat. Combine plenty of power with the high center of gravity brought by a naked bike’s tall handlebar and that’s what you get: Bikes so willing to loft the front that we’re almost powerless to resist. Scratch powerless; utterly unwilling to act like adults, is more like it. We’re not kidding. There are more reasons to love these bikes than their ability to unlock your inner hooligan.
Both are beautiful, with limited bodywork, comfortably upright ergonomics and enough style to make any Bike Nighter swoon. Most people notice the MV first. It appears more exotic, purposeful, and intense. The chiseled tank, single- sided swingarm and meticulously welded mufflers positioned impossibly close to the rear wheel speak to the MV’s handmade status.
Those details are juxtaposed with sloppy wiring, an unsightly exhaust flapper, and a dated dash. It’s as though the Brutale’s main form came from a master’s hand, then a junior engineer was left with the task of making everything fit. The Speed Triple R is no slouch in the looks department, and the more you inspect it, the better it looks. It’s been around for awhile, and the refinement shows.
The wiring is carefully concealed and everything looks in its place. These details are important on a naked bike, as there’s no place to hide dirty design work. The forged aluminum wheels—made by PVM in Germany—are exquisite, with a glossy finish that puts the MV’s painted wheels to shame. Gold suspenders, red accents, and carbon fiber give the Triumph a truly custom look. Yet the MV received universal praise from casual observers, while the Triumph was occasionally shunned—always due to the my- fairing- was- crashed- off appearance of those funky headlights. The Brutale isn’t just a naked version of MV Agusta’s F4 superbike.
The Brutale is its own beast, purpose built to give performance addicts a power shot that’ll leave them reeling. The engine is a version of the F4. RR 3. 12 mill and shares the same 7. Brutale’s purpose. The bike’s most recent overhaul in 2. The tank, tail, and radiator shrouds were reshaped with sharper lines, and a one- piece seat and more compact headlight were added. The bike received a new tubular- steel trellis frame and longer, lighter aluminum single- sided swingarm, as well as revised engine internals including a counter- balance shaft, new cylinder head, oil pump, engine cases, throttle bodies, and transmission parts.
On our Super. Flow dyno the Brutale turned out 1. To help handle all that grunt, the Brutale is outfitted with an electronic rider- aid package that includes two power modes (Sport and Rain), eight- level traction control, and electronically controlled engine braking, just like on the current F4. R and F4. RR superbikes. Like the MV, the Speed Triple R is its own machine, and the most thuggish bike in Triumph’s lineup.
The Speed Triple has earned numerous accolades, including two Best Naked Bike awards (2. Motorcycle of The Year balloting. For 2. 01. 1 Triumph updated the Speed Triple with a new frame, swingarm, and wheels, and also altered the ergonomics considerably. And added those polarizing headlights. The engine’s peripheral systems were likewise massaged to improve performance. The base model Speed Triple is a stud; the latest R model, which debuted in 2.
ABS, is simply outstanding. Triumph’s “R” packages rival those of Ducati, and like the Daytona 6. R, the Speed Triple R receives . Besides some redesigned transmission components, the Triumph’s engine is as it was. Strapped to our dyno, the big triple churned out a respectable 1.
Nearly 9. 0 percent of that torque is available at just 2. Triumph quick off the line and eager to loft the front wheel. If the Triumph is partial to wheelies, then the Brutale is properly obsessed.
That’s due mostly to short final gearing. First gear is a liability to your license, so it’s best to shift to—or even start out in—second. Even in Rain mode the Brutale power wheelies, and we left the TC system off most of the time since it doesn’t really help on dry pavement; the Brutale doesn’t spin the rear Pirelli, it lifts the front instead!
The Brutale is surprisingly compact considering its XL- sized engine. The bars are fairly narrow and sit close to the upper triple clamp, while the footpegs are close together and set back. The 6- gallon fuel tank is massive, but its tiny waist leaves barely any bike between your knees. Besides a hard, slanted seat, the Brutale is comfortable, though it does throw off some heat in traffic. The Triumph has fewer cylinders, but feels wider at the waist and has a more spacious cockpit. The bars are a tiny bit lower, flatter and several inches wider. There’s more padding on the seat and more space between your knees, though legroom is somehow lacking.
The footpegs are unnecessarily high, but at least they’re knurled, unlike the MV’s slick cast aluminum pieces. Both bikes feel familiar within a few turns, and offer the erect riding position and quick, balanced steering that make a rider feel connected and in control. As with all Triumph triples, the Speed Triple R sounds stellar. There’s that raspy growl from the intake, a high- pitch whine from the primary gear, and a deep, full exhaust note. The Brutale emits a lot of intake noise and has good tone from the slash- cut cans, but the sound isn’t as stirring as the Triumph’s song. Around town the Triumph is comfortable and composed.
The clutch action is smooth, throttle response is exact, and that big triple has enough torque to pull away from stops on a mere whiff of throttle. Rolling the stick back reminds you that there are a trio of 3- inch pistons reciprocating down there, churning up mild vibrations as the revs rise. Still, the wide- set mirrors remain clear and the internal bar ends do their job to quell perceived vibes. The engine runs cool, so there’s no heat warming your feet like on the Brutale. The MV has slightly more compliant suspension, but it’s more, um, brutal, in all other respects. It’s an exhilarating machine that demands focus and care in the city, so it can be tiring to ride. A light ride- by- wire throttle, a grabby hydraulic clutch, and flawed low- rpm fueling makes stop- and- go traffic a headache.
A flat spot off idle followed by a surge of power that invariably lifts the front tire requires you to either drag the rear brake or slip the clutch away from a stop. Then there’s the bizarre engine braking behavior: Roll off throttle at higher rpms and the butterflies remain open, allowing the bike to freewheel like a two- stroke. At 4. 20. 0 rpm the butterflies snap closed and it feels just like you applied the brakes. In town you cross that 4.
On a fast, flowing road, however, the Brutale starts to make sense—mainly because it handles like a proper sportbike. At higher rpm there’s no hint of the fussy fueling that makes low- speed travel so frustrating, and the throttle butterflies remain open on decel, allowing the Brutale to coast into corners. The lack of engine braking feels strange at first, but once you get used to it, it helps you carve through corners faster and smoother than on other bikes. The base- model Speed Triple is outstanding in most respects, but slow to turn at higher speeds, making it fall short as a sportbike. The R rectifies that with lighter forged wheels that speed up turn- in, plus firmer suspension that keeps the bike riding higher in the stroke for quicker direction changes. At first, however, our test bike felt too stiff.
Taking a turn of preload out of the fork and speeding up the shock’s rebound damping increased compliance, and the reduction in front ride height made it turn in even faster. The Brutale doesn’t snap onto its side as quickly as the Triumph, but its slower steering makes for more stability once the pace picks up. In faster stuff, the Speed’s steep steering geometry and wide bars make it feel somewhat shaky. But on tight, twisted roads, the Triumph’s smooth power and quick- flick abilities let it walk away from the Brutale, as the MV’s snatchy throttle and wonky engine braking again become problematic. If you’ve abandoned self- control and given in to the corruptive lure of horsepower, the only thing keeping your speed in check will be lack of wind protection. The Brutale’s riding position—mostly from the narrow bar—is better to counter the windblast, which is a good thing since the MV is an absolute rocket.
It accelerates as ferociously as a superbike and rips into triple- digit speeds in a hurry. The Triumph goes nearly as fast, but takes longer to get there. After advocating the Triumph as a potent force for so long, we’re still trying to wrap our heads around the fact that it feels slow compared to the Brutale. The Speed Triple is strong at any rpm in any gear, but the MV simply walks away with arm- stretching, cackle- inducing thrust. Out in the twisties, everyone wants to be on the MV. It’s more fun to flog, if only because the power satisfies some daredevil desire for excess. Even speed freaks have to stop sometimes.
Here, the Triumph’s front brakes prove less than ideal. They have a soft initial feel, presumably due to the ABS plumbing—the Brembo components and braided lines should yield top- notch performance.