Net-Neutralitini, anyone? Cocktail makes debut today

The Congressional Internet Caucus is hosting its annual all-day State of the Net conference today, with keynotes by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Howard Schmidt, incoming cyber security coordinator for the White House.

After the back-to-back panel discussions, a closing reception will feature a specialty drink tailored for the occasion, poking fun at the most-talked-about issue of the day: net neutrality.

The Net-Neutralitini, inspired by the Open Internet Coalition, will be served to remind cocktail-hour goers of why they should support regulations that would require Internet companies to treat all traffic equally. (We wonder if Comcast's Roberts will partake?)

Here's the recipe, which will be prominently displayed on the bar:

The Net-Neutralitini
 (the drink of openness)

3 oz Calvert gin

1 oz Effen vodka

1/2 oz Lillet Blanc

Add a non-discriminatory lemon twist

Pour into an unfiltered cocktail glass

Serve shaken, not tiered.

And don't forget the cocktail napkins. They'll  be printed with a "quick response" code that, when captured by a mobile device's reader, launches a webpage that lets people add their names to a petition advocating the FCC's proposed rules.

It's all part of the coalition's "Protect the Net" campaign, which kicked off earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show.

As for the recipe, I'm told it was modeled off of a concoction invented by James Bond in the 1953 novel Casino Royale. According to Wikipedia, Bond says, "This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I can think of a good name."

Oh yes, patents--another topic that will undoubtedly come up today.

Stay tuned.