High octane beer and spirited debate go hand-in-hand at political drinking clubs like New York-based Drinking Liberally.

High octane beer and a little heated debating go hand-in-hand at Drinking Liberally, a drinking club of political liberals that began in New York City in 2003 and since has mushroomed into a 228-chapter organization covering 47 states, Washington D.C. and a few international spots. The idea: “Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher.”

The group started with nothing more than a few friends discussing politics at their favorite local dive. Since they happened to be registered Democrats, they came up with a few slogans they thought Democrats ought to be using, then made buttons and gave them out to fellow Dems. The buttons and the spirited barstool politics chats got so popular that the group decided to go national. Not that they went all official on us. The group remains informal, meetings non-programmatic and talks free-flowing. But organized chapters and events have sprouted all over the country.

Says the group’s website: “You don’t need to be a policy expert and this isn’t a book club – just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it’s not taboo to talk politics… Bars are democratic spaces – you talk to strangers, you share booths, you feel the bond of common ground. Bring democratic discourse to your local democratic space – build democracy one drink at a time.”

Of course, group members are encouraged to drink liberally, but responsibly and to make good use of designated drivers.

“Drinking and driving is reckless and irresponsible, like a neocon war or corporatist tax cut. Liberals, don’t do it.”

That goes for you too, Conservatives! In fact, TauBu high octane beer is a non-partisan thing. We invite all points of view – political and otherwise. And we believe that hanging out with friends and enjoying a few drinks creates the perfect atmosphere for discussing just about anything. So raise that can of Evil Apple, Wicked Punch or Midnite Berry high octane beverage, voice your opinion and start your own barstool revolution.

Who knew TauBu malt liquor cake tasted so good?!

You loved it when your mom busted out that Betty Crocker box and whipped up a moist, yummy cake for dessert. And you never knew the difference when she supplanted the eggs and oil with a can of soda. Do a Google search on “Diet Coke cake” and you’ll see that it’s a longtime favorite recipe. We’re not sure why. After all, a can of soda can’t possibly have the same nutritional value as an egg. We just know it tastes awesome. So, we got to thinking…

Why not an Evil Apple TauBu malt liquor cake? Or a Midnite Berry TauBu malt liquor cake? Or a Wicked Punch TauBu malt liquor cake? After all, malt liquor has been used in all kinds of recipes from baked cakes to grilled chicken to fried onion rings (check our blog for more of those coming up). So, we headed to the grocery store for a few boxes of Betty. We couldn’t decide if we wanted a white cake or a chocolate cake so of course, we got both. Back at the homestead, we donned our aprons and went to work.

Just like the Diet Coke cake, the recipe is pretty easy. Just mix everything as the box says, except skip the eggs, oil and use a 24-ounce can of your favorite TauBu flavor instead. We used Evil Apple with the white cake mix and Midnite Berry with the chocolate mix. The verdict? “YUMMMMM!,” said the TauBu staff and a few of our corporate office neighbors.

Want to be a big hit at your Memorial Day weekend shindig or any other party you’ve got coming up? Mix up a TauBu malt liquor cake and watch your family and friends lick their fingers to the bone, begging for seconds.

Got another great malt liquor recipe? TauBu wants to try it out. Just post it as a comment on our TauBu Facebook fan page.

Here's an idea for a great Memorial Day celebration from TauBu Girl Anna - throw a 1940s USO dance theme party!

Hey everyone. It’s TauBu Girl Anna and I’m hoping that everyone is planning a Memorial Day celebration of some sort this weekend. Memorial Day is Monday, May 30 and, frankly, it’s one of the most meaningful, yet most overlooked holidays on the calendar. The men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms and civil liberties deserve more than a half-off sale at the local discount store while you lay on the beach never giving a thought to the day. Seriously – let’s have some fun but also show some respect to the guys and gals in uniform – especially those who can’t be with their families. Here are a few ways to remember and to celebrate with the people you love:

1. Have a patriotic-themed picnic or party
2. Visit a veteran’s cemetery
3. Fly an American and POW flag (half mast until noon, then full mast, according to tradition)
4. Don a cute red, white and blue outfit
5. Help a veteran or veteran’s widow/widower (Cook them meals, weed their gardens, do a little handyman work around their homes, etc.)
6. Participate in the National Moment of Remembrance with a quiet prayer or reflection
7. Teach a kid the words to a few patriotic songs, including “Taps”
8. Start a Memorial Day tradition such as planting a tree or holding a candlelight service in your neighborhood, community or school
9. Take a day trip to a place that recognizes fallen soldiers, such as a battle site, memorial park or monument
10. Go to a parade or memorial service – there’s certain to be one in your areas.

Personally, I’m starting the day with the Memorial Day parade downtown in the morning, throwing an afternoon barbecue for my grandparents (he’s a vet, she was a “Rosie the Riveter”) then dressing up and heading out to a 1940s USO dance-themed party.

Got something great planned? Take pics and post them on our TauBu Facebook fan page. And be sure to enjoy your TauBu responsibly!

Bessie Stringfield busted through social and racial barriers as one of the earliest and bravest women motorcycle riders. She would have been a TauBu Girl, for sure.

Betcha didn’t know that May is Women Riders Month. It’s a Harley Davidson-created annual campaign to celebrate and promote women who ride motorcycles. And seriously – who doesn’t dig a chick who digs bikes?

Turns out, women’s love of motorcycles is just about as old as the motorcycle itself. Alas, it was not always so that a lady could enjoy a ride without drawing the ire of proper society. Remember that line in Titanic where Rose was shocked at Jack’s suggestion that she ride a horse not sidesaddle but with one leg dangling on each side? Scandalous! Yet, there were a few bold souls with enough grit to take on the taboo and defy the rules of social acceptance of the day. Grab a can of your favorite TauBu high octane beer, pop the top and enjoy a look back at a few of history’s motorcycle-riding would-be TauBu Girls:

Effie and Avis Hotchkiss: As soon as 20-year-old Effie Hotchkiss felt the call of the open road – and a came into a nice chunk of inheritance cash – she headed straight for her nearest Harley Davidson dealership (yes – they were around back then. The first opened in 1904 in Chicago). She blew it all on a 1915 3-speed V-twin and a plan for a cross-country trek. At first, mom Avis said “no way!” But that open-road fever is catching and Avis turned out to be one cool mama. She finally okayed the trip with one caveat – that Effie take her along in a sidecar. The two roared out of Brooklyn and hit San Francisco two months later, just in time for the World’s Fair. Their transcontinental trek made history as the first for women motorcycle riders.

Bessie Stringfield: Here’s a would-be TauBu Girl if we ever saw one. Bessie was more than a gal with spunk. She was an African American woman with the fortitude to stick it to Jim Crow in a very public way. Though it could easily have gotten her killed, Bessie busted through racial and gender barriers making eight solo cross-country tours at a time when it was a rare feat for women and a downright dangerous one for African Americans. She also raced – and won – flat track competitions disguised as a man and proudly served as a World War II United States Army civilian motorcycle dispatch rider. Top that, Oprah!

Dorothy “Dot” Robinson: Bike history buffs know her as the “First Lady of Motorcycling.” In 1940, she co-founded Motor Maids, the nation’s first organized women’s motorcycle club. The club was granted a charter by the American Motorcycle Association the next year. She went on to become the first woman to win an AMA national championship and paved the way for other women riders to man up against the men in the competitive arena.

If you’re a modern day “Motor Maid” we want to hear from you. Post a pic on the TauBu Facebook fan page. And be sure to raise a TauBu high octane beer toast to the pioneers of women’s riding.

May 2011 TauBu Girl Yashira is a Renaissance woman with a fiercely competitive spirit.

There’s no wonder our May 2011 TauBu Girl Yashira is a Gemini. Just when you think you’ve figured out this gorgeous pageant girl who’s got a knick knack cabinet full of tiaras and can play a mean Vivaldi on the violin, she throws you a wicked punch. Perhaps literally, if you happen to be in her path on the roller rink. When she’s not wowing the pageant judges, she’s puttin’ a whammy on her competitors in the local roller derby league. And there’s no telling what she’s up to in between.

“I can only take so much of the tiaras and taffeta before I’ve got to get a little aggression out,” says Yashira, who admits a fiercely competitive spirit since before she can remember. “Whether it’s on the runway or on the rink, I’m out to beat you and I’m not shy about saying that. I want to win – period. Second place sucks.”

Yashira loves having grown up in a family that traveled extensively and enjoyed a dizzying range of interests from the arts to sports to the little-known cultures she’s experienced worldwide. Her iPod has Beethoven next to Billy Idol next to Billie Holiday next to the Black Keys. It’s an apt reflection of her personality and provides a little insight into how she can seamlessly go from derby queen one night to beauty queen the next. Just ice that knee, dab a little concealer over those bruises and she’s ready to rock that pageant girl parade wave again. It’s that perfect combination of grit and glam that makes Yashira the perfect TauBu Girl.

Think you’ve got the goods to be a TauBu Girl? Sign up online, submit a headshot and a full body shot and we’ll contact you for an interview.

Katherine Hepburn - Our pic for the first Way Back TauBu Girl. Photo by AP.

Each month, we choose a fresh faced new TauBu Girl to help represent the TauBu brand in gorgeous style. But then we got to thinking – there are a lot of gorgeous gals from the past who we’d love to have shared a few beers with. So, we’ve decided to launch a periodic “Way Back TauBu Girls” feature, giving props to some of the most tantalizing and taboo women in American history.

Our first honorary Way Back TauBu Girl is Katharine Hepburn, who would have celebrated her 104th birthday today. Hepburn was born the daughter of Katharine Houghton, an outspoken suffragist and co-founder of Planned Parenthood, so she got that strong-willed spunk honestly. And father Dr. Thomas Hepburn insisted that his daughters swim, ride horses and play golf and tennis. As a result, young Katharine excelled at figure skating and golf and took regular dips in the frigid Connecticut waters well into her 80s. And she attracted a lot of industry attention when she performed her own pratfalls in films like “Bringing Up Baby” (1938).

Before entering the film business, Hepburn attended the Oxford School (Now Kingswood-Oxford School) and Bryn Mawr College, where she was suspended for breaking curfew and smoking – a little indulgence that was frowned upon for women back in the day. By day, she studied for her history and philosophy degrees – by night, she swam naked in the college’s Cloisters fountain. In 1928, she graduated college and landed her Broadway debut – a bit part in “Night Hostess.”

Hepburn went on to become one of Hollywood’s favorite – but most troublesome – stars. She was a non-conformist and often showed up at interviews dressed in men’s suits. She said the suits were simply more comfortable and never meant to make a feminist fashion statement. But women everywhere admired her devil-may-care attitude and began wearing trousers themselves – yet another decidedly unladylike behavior in those days. Her off-screen antics eventually landed her the moniker “Katherine of Arrogance” (a reference to Catherine of Aragon) and in 1938, exhibitors voted her “box office poison.” Her career got a boost in 1940 with “The Philadelphia Story” but got bumpy once again when she boldly spoke up behalf of fellow actors, directors, and screenwriters facing the notorious McCarthy blacklist of the 1940s.

The outspoken demeanor and acerbic wit that got Hepburn scorned back in Hollywood’s earlier days is just the thing that fans most fondly remember about her today. It’s also just the thing that makes her a perfect Way Back TauBu Girl. Which TauBu flavor might have  been her favorite? We’re guessing Wicked Punch – like the one she gave the Hollywood establishment. Happy birthday, Kate!

Prussian King and military phenom Frederick the Great credited his soldiers' success with a good strong beer.

Love high octane beer? Apparently, so did quite a number of historic figures, from American patriot Ben Franklin to Prussian King Frederick the Great. Each waxed poetic about the virtues of a tall, cold and stout beer enjoyed responsibly. We’re betting they’d have enjoyed raising a toast with one of our high octane beer flavors – Wicked Punch, Midnite Berry or Evil Apple.

Here’s a sampling of beer-loving quotes by some of history’s most distinguished drinkers:

“Drink is the feast of reason and the flow of soul.” -  Alexander Pope, English poet, 1688-1744

“There can’t be good living where there is not good drinking.” -  Benjamin Franklin, American patriot, inventor and humorist, 1706-1790

“Beer, if drank with moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit, and promotes health.
I wish to see this beverage become common instead of the whiskey which kills one-third of our citizens and ruins their families.” – Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States, 1743-1826

“Many battles have been fought and won by soldiers nourished on beer.” - Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, 1712-1786

“No animal ever invented anything as bad as drunkenness – or as good as drink.” - G.K. Chesterton, English writer, 1874-1936

“He was a wise man who invented beer.” – Plato, Greek philosopher, 429–347 B.C.E.

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. So, the next time you pop open a TauBu high octane beer, raise a toast to the illustrious imbibers of the past, enjoy your TauBu responsibly and – just for fun – send us your own pro-beer words to the wise. Leave us a blog comment or post your not-yet-famous quote on the TauBu Facebook fan page.

Happy Mother's Day from TauBu!

Hey everyone out there. TauBu Girl Courtney, here. I just want to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there: The natural moms; the adoptive moms; the stepmoms; the foster moms; the grandmoms and godmoms; the expectant moms; the not-yet-but-maybe-someday moms; the working moms and the stay-at-home moms; the pearls-and-pumps moms; the SUV-driving soccer moms; and the tattooed, motorcycle-riding moms; and the big sisters and aunts and family friends who step in and do double duty as moms.

Hope you’ll all do right by your moms this weekend. I’ve got a big bouquet of flowers on its way to my mom. Gonna get together with all the family for a day at the beach and a dinner cruise. What’s on your Mother’s Day agenda? Whatever you’ve got planned, make it special.

From all of us at TauBu, if you’re a mom, you rock! Enjoy your day.

TauBu Girl Lauren's fave Cinco de Mayo recipe for Seven Layer Bean Dip - shamelessly stolen from the Food Network.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! TauBu Girl Lauren, here. Know what the holiday means? Betcha don’t. If you’re like millions of others, you probably think it’s Mexico’s Independence Day. If so, well, you’re wrong. Contrary to popular belief, it’s actually a commemoration of the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French Forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Mexico’s civil war that lasted from 1857 to 1860 wrecked the country’s finances, so new President Benito Juarez suspended payments of foreign debts in 1861. French Emperor Napoleon III was not amused, so he sent his troops to collect the debt racked up by the previous government. Long story short: confusion, negotiation breakdowns and rains that left the main battlefield a muddy mess led to a victory for the people of Puebla over the French troops.

Here in the United States, Cinco de Mayo is simply a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. And celebration means food. So here’s my fave Cinco de Mayo recipe – Seven Layer Bean Dip. Everyone loves it and nobody has to know that I actually ripped it from the Food Network. Enjoy!

Here’s what you need:

• 1 15-ounce can of refried beans
• 2 tablespoons of your favorite hot sauce (I use Tobasco)
• Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
• 4 scallions cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 16- to18-ounce jar of green chili or tomatillo salsa
• 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro
• 1 15-ounce can of black beans
• 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
• 1 16- to 18-ounce jar of chipotle salsa
• 2 cups of sour cream
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 2 ripe avocados
• 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
• Salt
• 2 diced plum tomatoes
• Pimiento-stuffed jumbo Spanish olives or black olives, chopped
• Tortilla chips

Here’s what you do

• Heat the refried beans in a small nonstick pan over medium heat and season with hot sauce. Transfer the beans to a small, deep casserole dish. Scrape pan clean with a rubber spatula and return to heat.
• Add a little extra-virgin olive oil to the pan and raise the heat to high. When the oil smokes, add and sear the scallions for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the green salsa to scallions and heat through. Add cilantro, remove the salsa from heat, and layer it on top of the beans.
• Return the same pan to the stove, lower the heat to medium and add the black beans. Heat through and season with the cumin, then layer it on top of the green salsa.
• Top the black beans with a layer of chipotle salsa. Mix the sour cream with the lime zest and juice and spread the mixture on top of the chipotle salsa.
• Combine the meat of two ripe avocados with the garlic, lemon juice, jalapeno and salt to form a chunky guacamole and layer it over the salsa. Garnish the dip with the final layer of diced tomatoes and sliced olives.
• Pop open a big bag of tortillas and a few cans of your guests’ favorite TauBu malt liquor flavor, put on that cheap faux-sombrero you bought last summer in that tourist shop in Tijuana and get your Cinco de Mayo partyin’ on.