[Written by Tuffy McF*cklebee]
Credit: from Tuffy from hopefully from somewhere legal
Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That’s all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.-Billy Yeats (1910)
I think that had Billy Butler Yeats been a cVillain, he too would look for/think about/enjoy a drink. I mean, come on. I think any of us would have a hard time admitting that we’re not thinking about a martini, beer, or Woo Woo right now. Maybe it’s just me, I don’t know.
But there is one party entity whose presence has continued to elude me in these three years living in Charlottesville: the ice luge. I love these things. They are to drinking what “Baby Got Back” is to a dance party– except “Baby Got Back” lasts for 4 minutes and 10 seconds, whereas an ice luge lasts all night long.
For those unfamiliar with the ice luge, let me paint a picture: it’s a giant ice cube with a sloping angle. Along said slope is a path or two carved into the ice. A drink is poured into the top of the path, runs down the chute, and ends up “all up ins your mouth.”* It’s an icy cold team-effort that gets you where you want to be, and people will line up for a try.
But! I can’t find an icehouse in town or anywhere that sells them. They’re typically <$40 in my experience, and well worth it. Does anybody know where one can procure one of these babies? If you do, the ghost of Bill Yeats and I will be eternally grateful.
Love,
Tuffy
*Another quote for William Yeats
Popularity: 9% [?]
Tagged as: Humor, Parties, Questions
ask mark of blue moon, i distinctly remember taking ice luge shots behind the diner a few years back. someone had to have made it, but then again, it could have been home-made
I don’t understand the appeal. It’s cold and sloppy and ruins a cute dress. An iced shot is way better! Or a whipped cream shot- thin mint or apple pie. Is this so guys can watch from the top and look down girls’ shirts?
The ice luge pictured is a sad example of an ice luge, though it does have a nice plastic base. I think it is a phenomenon of being in your early twenties and living near the University. I remember on several occasions having friends help drag a 300lb block of ice wrapped in a sheet up the steps of my apartment building and onto our porch. New years 1999 we had an ice luge which could only be described as heroic. Now I haven’t called about ordering a block of ice since I was 22, but when we got one in the nineties it was from Reddy Ice (or whatever the one was called in town then). I have been wrong before (and often - see previous comments) but their website (http://www.reddyice.com/) looks like they still have them. You want the big-ass block. Carving out the grooves is the most fun - though I caution against ‘testing’ the luge too much before the party. That was my demise in 1999.
While we’re on a ice and alcohol theme–from the Richmond Times Dispatch, 1/22/08:
Cold enough for you? No? Here’s a new place to chill
Two parts of Richmond’s newest club, Infuzion, opened over the weekend. The third part’s still on ice.
Infuzion’s lounge, which will feature live music, is open for dinner from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. And its club offers a 5,000square-foot dance floor from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.
But when Infuzion’s third component opens, it might literally be the coolest place in town. The Ice Bar is just that: a fully enclosed room with walls, bar and tables carved from solid ice.
“It’s going to be like nothing Richmond has ever seen,” says Paul Blacker, who owns the venue at 1401 Roseneath Road.
As a bar customer, you’ll be outfitted with an insulated jacket. The subzero temperatures are reputed to heighten your senses as well as the drinking experience.
The Ice Bar will make its debut in the next few weeks, on a date to be announced. Probably the world’s best-known ice bar is the Absolut Ice Bar in Stockholm, Sweden, which opened in 2002. According to Internet sources, there are only about a dozen ice bars worldwide.
Also in the works for Infuzion are salsa lessons and salsa dance parties.
Sad indeed the waste
Why power a compressor
When warm bods abound?
smiley, That’s really interesting. But I believe that place will die quickly in Richmond.
We had an ice luge after my friend’s wedding. Acutally, it was made out of one of the ice sculptures they had at the reception. Talk about ruining a dress. The bride was doing them all night in her white wedding gown. The groom, however, had the sense and gall to change out of his tux.
I’ve hear it’s a good way to catch herpes. Somehow that doesn’t seem right to me.
An ice bar? In Richmond? Cvillain road trip! Okay, maybe not. There’s still that pesky drive home. That straight shot up I-64 would be perfect for a robot car. It’s all up and down, with hardly any turns. It’s 2000 freakin’ 8! Where’s my robot car?!
Smiley… Stanley already beat them to it, with his redneck version of an ice bar. Visit his webby for pics. I warned him about the potential for getting a dose of ass-grapes but he laughed it off…. maniacally I should add.
Gobbler, I also hear about them being germy. But being partial to the beer bong, I can’t complain.
Salsa dancing at an ice bar??? It’s too ironic to be a dive.
If anyone throws my ‘mexican girlfriend’ down some icey slope, Im gonna go all bandito on their ass. I really dont understand the concept of novelty alcohol conveyance. Bottle to glass* to mouth to bloodstream. Its more efficient than the german train systems!
*sometimes optional
I’m with you on that one Yo
also re: 6 - Why - if you an opportunity to wear a tux - would you ever change out of it. Good formal wear is as comfortable as it get.
’cause it’s “good formal wear”, and he owns the tux. I’m pretty sure if it were a rental, he’da said F’ it.
Reddy Ice: 293-6421. Source: the phone book under “ice”.
Sil… are you James Bond?
Reddy Ice on Avon Ext sells the blocks, but they you have to carve it yourself. There are places in Nova and DC that do amazing ice luges…carved like animals or cell phones or race cars. You can even get an entire 6 foot bar made of ice with drink holders and ice luges built in at either end.
I friggin love those things.
Also, you cannot get sick from an ice luge. The germs all die from the cold, and the alcohol sterilizes. I have scientifically proved this through experiential research.
@8 Floozy: I understand very little of your post, but I still love you.
@9 Yupster: Nothing screams salsa like standing in a block of ice.
@10 Yo: Sometimes I just go bottle to mouth and leave out the middleman.
@11 Sil: Tuxedos should be de rigueur at all villain gatherings.
Nothing says college party like an ice luge.
Instead, buy the ice shot glass molds at Cha-Cha’s like I did. Much nicer for set up, clean up, and passing around.
i say it again
bodies are warm and salty
as bridesmaids confirm
Talk to me when you have an ice “tobacco” pipe and then I’ll be interested. I have an ice luge - it’s called a freezer. Gets the booze just as cold without the hassle.