In case you were wondering if the new Starbuck Trenta cup would hold an entire bottle of wine, someone has done the experiment for you.

• Drink up, lightweight.

The “cosmo-teeny,” “thin-mint mojito” and “cucumber slenderita” clock in at less than 200 calories, because they're made with low-calorie sweeteners and light liquors made by Asian wine-and-spirit company TY KU. Ra Sushi sells the drinks for $7; they throw in the reduction to your guilt complex and waist size for free.

In related news, Hotel Congress is offering a class in February on making low-calorie cocktails that also minimize hangovers. It's $25, and that includes a bar tool. More information here.

Finally, some genius puts hard liquor in a can.

A Panama based company with the possible deceptive name Scottish Spirits (although they do have an office in Glasgow) is putting whiskey in what appears to be a twelve ounce can, perfect for the day at the beach when a plastic bottle is too much, but a flask won't quite cut it. While the product is only available in the Caribbean and South America for now, doesn't this seem perfect for our hectic American lifestyles?

However, it turns out the people who market scotch aren't thrilled with the idea:

But last night the Scotch Whisky Association said it would try to ban the cans for breaching international labelling rules.

A spokesman for the body said: ‘We are concerned that consumers may be confused whether or not the product is real Scotch and we will be investigating the matter further.’

Call it what you want, this is a way better idea than the extra large Starbucks cup everyone seemed so excited about yesterday.

[Daily Mail via Dlisted]

Zinburger is opening a location on the East Coast. Here’s The New York Times story about it.

Mr. An opens his new restaurant at Casino del Sol on Sunday, Dec. 19. An del Sol will specialize in Chinese and Japanese food, and will have a sushi bar. More information here.

Thunder Canyon Brewery has its annual run of Ornament Ale on tap. This is the obvious choice of libations if you’re planning an inebriated outburst during Christmas dinner, and, yes, they sell it by the half-gallon. More information here.

As mentioned in Noshing Around, Hotel Congress’ Whiskey Weekend gets underway this evening and runs through Sunday. More here.

The Bears of the Old Pueblo hold a beer bust and chili feed at the Venture N from 3 to 7 p.m. this Saturday. It’s only $1 a beer, or $2.50 a pitcher, and bowls of homemade chili will be $2. Probably the best deal in town, and the money raised benefits Wingspan.

The new restaurant inside Nur Market sells the best freaking food, and the prices are low. The East African tea is unlike anything I’ve ever had, and you’d do well to snag a bag of the pita-like bread they sell in the market on your way out. You’ll thank yourself later.

Made any New Year’s Eve plans yet? The Tucson Weekly’s calendar of New Year’s events doesn't come out until next week, but it's already posted here. There are parties everywhere from the Meet Rack to the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort, and events ranging from fine-dining to laser-light shows.

Enjoy!

A blog at the food website Epicurious has speculated on what food trends will be big in 2011—and fortunately for Scorpion-selling stalwart Kon Tiki, tiki-bar cocktails made the list:

What's old is new again, not just in fashion but also in cocktails. Polynesian-style drinks, those multi-ingredient fruit juice and rum concoctions adorned with flowers and umbrellas, will be the quaffs of choice in 2011. Though you may be tempted to think this trend is yet another stylish symptom of the current craze for anything '60s-retro or Mad Men-inspired, the "new" tiki cocktails' roots go back even farther. Dale DeGroff, author of The Essential Cocktail and The Craft of the Cocktail and founding president of the Museum of the American Cocktail, told Epicurious, "the revival of the tiki trend, ironically, is closer to the classic tropical period right after Prohibition pioneered by Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt (a.k.a. Don the Beachcomber). The tiki movement today is coming from the craft bartending community, using fresh ingredients and attempting to find the original recipes. Julie Reiner's sophisticated take on tropical cocktails at Lani Kai in New York City is a perfect example."

The rest of the list? Food halls, Korean cuisine, macarons (not to be confused with macaroons), "meatless Mondays," foraging, pop-up restaurants, sweet potatoes, urban wineries and paprika cousin "Pimentón de La Vera."

The combination art gallery and bar known as Mr. Head's Art Gallery and Bar is open and ready to fulfill your artistic and alcoholic desires at 509 N. Fourth Ave. Hours are noon to 2 a.m.

The place is the brainchild of Micah Blatt, who owns the custom glass-art shop Fathead Glass at 513 N. Fourth Ave. Check the place out on Facebook for more information.

Anybody been down there yet?

This week, Kristian of Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails shows us how to make an Old Fashioned with a fig and clove infused Maker's Mark.

You can refrain from drinking wine and help no one, or you can drink wine at dozens of local restaurants while helping the Tucson Community Food Bank feed the hungry. We think you know what to do.

More information here.

In the second installment of our Secrets of Tucson Bartenders series, Amber of Harvest Restaurant shows you how to make their Honey Lick Martini.

Harvest is located at 10355 N. La Canada #141.

Well, that didn't last long. Phusion, the maker of Four Loko, announced late yesterday that they're only producing non-caffeinated (and -guaranad and -taurined) versions of their beverages from now on:

We have repeatedly contended — and still believe, as do many people throughout the country — that the combination of alcohol and caffeine is safe. If it were unsafe, popular drinks like rum and colas or Irish coffees that have been consumed safely and responsibly for years would face the same scrutiny that our products have recently faced.

In addition, if our products were unsafe, we would not have expected the federal agency responsible for approving alcoholic beverage formulas — the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) — to have approved them. Yet, all of our product formulas and packaging were reviewed and approved by the TTB before being offered to consumers.

We are taking this step after trying — unsuccessfully — to navigate a difficult and politically-charged regulatory environment at both the state and federal levels.

Enjoy the existing supply while it lasts, possibly while listening to Baby T's "Four Loko Sippin'":