#alcohol

1 oz (3cl) Amaro Montenegro 0.5 oz (1,5cl) Cointreau 1 oz (3cl) Rye whiskey 0.75 oz (2cl) Lemon juice 2 Dashes Meyer lemon bitters Lemon twist

1 oz (3cl) Amaro Montenegro 0.5 oz (1,5cl) Cointreau 1 oz (3cl) Rye whiskey 0.75 oz (2cl) Lemon juice 2 Dashes Meyer lemon bitters Lemon twist

2 ounces gin 1 ounce heavy cream 1 egg white (or 1/2 ounce of egg whites from a carton) 1/2 ounce lemon juice 1/2 ounce lime juice 1 ounce simple syrup 2-3 drops orange flower water Soda

2 ounces gin 1 ounce heavy cream 1 egg white (or 1/2 ounce of egg whites from a carton) 1/2 ounce lemon juice 1/2 ounce lime juice 1 ounce simple syrup 2-3 drops orange flower water Soda

2 oz Baker's bourbon 1 oz Fresh lemon juice .5 oz Simple syrup .5 oz Grenadine (Employees Only) .25 oz Absinthe bitters

2 oz Baker's bourbon 1 oz Fresh lemon juice .5 oz Simple syrup .5 oz Grenadine (Employees Only) .25 oz Absinthe bitters

2 1⁄2 oz. rye whiskey 1⁄4 oz. green Chartreuse 1⁄2 tsp. simple syrup Absinthe rinse 2 dashes lemon bitters Lemon twist, for garnish

1 oz mezcal 1 oz antica formula sweet vermouth 1 oz green chartreuse regans’ orange bitters according to taste Stir for a rather long time with loads of ice. This cocktail needs some dilution!

1 oz mezcal 1 oz antica formula sweet vermouth 1 oz green chartreuse regans’ orange bitters according to taste Stir for a rather long time with loads of ice. This cocktail needs some dilution!

2 oz Aviation American Gin 2 slices Red bell pepper 12 leaves Mint 1 oz Freshly pressed lime juice 3/4 oz Simple syrup

2 oz Aviation American Gin 2 slices Red bell pepper 12 leaves Mint 1 oz Freshly pressed lime juice 3/4 oz Simple syrup

2 parts Pimm's No. 1 1 part Fernet Branca 3 parts ginger ale Sliced cucumbers Sliced lemon Fresh mint Garnish: cucumber slice

Gin Whisper 2oz Gin .25oz Simple Syrup .24oz St. Germain Muddled Mint 1 egg white

To fully enjoy drinking whiskey, you first need to know some of the basics about the spirit itself

To fully enjoy drinking whiskey, you first need to know some of the basics about the spirit itself

Winter Warmth Syrup 1 1/2 cups water 1 cup raw, demerara or turbinado sugar (granulated will do just fine if you do not have them) 1/2 apple, peeled, cored, and diced 1/2 pear, peeled, cored, and diced 12 walnut halves 3 cinnamon sticks, broken up 6 whole

Winter Warmth Syrup 1 1/2 cups water 1 cup raw, demerara or turbinado sugar (granulated will do just fine if you do not have them) 1/2 apple, peeled, cored, and diced 1/2 pear, peeled, cored, and diced 12 walnut halves 3 cinnamon sticks, broken up 6 whole

Ingredients 2 ounces bourbon or rye whiskey (use something good, but not over-the-top) 1 teaspoon superfine sugar (or 1 sugar cube) 2-3 dashes of bitters; Angostura is traditional and works well; Fee Brothers’ Whiskey Barrel-Aged Old Fashioned Bitters are better

Frustrated that people continued to consume so much alcohol even after it was banned, federal officials had decided to try a different kind of enforcement. They ordered the poisoning of industrial alcohols manufactured in the United States, products regularly stolen by bootleggers and resold as drinkable spirits. The idea was to scare people into giving up illicit drinking. Instead, by the time Prohibition ended in 1933, the federal poisoning program, by some estimates, had killed at least 10,000 people.

According to Ted Haigh (aka Dr. Cocktail), the French 75 is one of two cocktails named after the French 75-mm field gun, which was commonly used in World War I. "One barman in 1947," reports Haigh, "called it a Tom Collins with champagne instead of club soda. Vive la difference!" Here's Haigh's version of the recipe, from his wonderful book, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails.

This recipe uses the International Bartenders Association's ratios of tequila, cointreau, and citrus juice, which makes a pretty strong margarita. Feel free to add extra syrup or to water it down some to suit your own tastes. To make short work of your lemons and limes, read our citrus juicer review here.

But an old-school daiquiri is an exercise in purity, as beautiful in its unadorned simplicity as a well-made martini or Manhattan. Of course, "well made" is a big factor here, as well: to fully realize the daiquiri's inherent beauty, be sure to measure your ingredients; free-pouring, while easier and cooler-looking than eyeballing a measuring cup, frequently leaves you with an odd-tasting drink. And while you can mix the daiquiri with different rums or in one of its fruit-enhanced variations, the use of fresh lime juice is absolutely essential; those little green plastic limes and day-glo bottles of Rose's should stay as far from your daiquiri as possible.

The Brooklyn may be less well-known that its neighbor, but it's equally delicious. The maraschino liqueur (we recommend Luxardo) adds a rich sweetness, which compensates for the fact that dry rather than sweet vermouth is used. You may have trouble tracking down Amer Picon, a French version of Amaro, an apertif most commonly made in Italy. Amer Picon is difficult to find in the United States, but an Italian Amaro such as Ramazzotti will substitute quite well. Or, you can skate by with a few dashes of bitters.

Ingredients 4 ounces rye whiskey 2 ounces sweet vermouth 4 dashes Angostura bitters Garnish: 2 Maraschino cherries

While enjoyable at any time of year, the crisply bitter Negroni seems particularly well-suited to springtime imbibing. Composed of only three ingredients measured in equal amounts, a Negroni is also remarkably difficult to foul up (though I won't way it hasn't happened) even by novice bartenders.

This isn't a Negroni. It is, however, the Negroni's long-lost autumnal cousin. First noted in print in 1927 in a slender volume called Barflies and Cocktails, and forgotten almost ever since, the Boulevardier takes the same Negroni formula--a good dose of gin brushed up with equal parts Campari and sweet vermouth--and gives it a twist by substituting whiskey for the gin.

That's one reason why, every year, hundreds of spirits and cocktail aficionados from around the world converge in the swampy heat of New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail, a five-day conference celebrating everything shaken and stirred. Now in its fifth year, Tales of the Cocktail is currently in full swing, and countless tipplers--myself included--are scouring the French Quarter, asking bartenders at venerable watering holes such as the Carousel Bar, the Napoleon House and Tujaque's to mix up a perfect Sazerac.

Ingredients 1/2 teaspoon Benedictine 1 dash Peychaud’s Bitters 1 dash Angostura Bitters 3/4 ounce rye whiskey 3/4 ounce cognac 3/4 ounce sweet vermouth

Perfectly suited for a hot afternoon or evening, the Ramos Fizz holds special appeal as a breakfast or brunch drink. I'll be in New Orleans in two weeks for Tales of the Cocktail, and I expect to get on the outside of several of these during the week. But for a drink this good, it's best to start warming up now—who's with me?

With a formula almost as old as the republic, the mint julep is a product of an era in which things were done much slower. Somewhat labor-intensive to properly make, a good mint julep can't be rushed, and cranking them out by the hundreds using prepared mixes and flavored syrups can only result in sadness.

It's Friday afternoon, and if you're lucky you've got about 60 hours before you have to think or speak for anybody else again. Time for the Whiskey Sour--the comfortable T-shirt of drinks.

Spawned from the rum-soaked genius mind of "Trader Vic" Bergeron, the mai tai is one of the most regal refreshments in the exotic-drink universe. Originally made with 17-year-old Jamaican rum, imported French orgeat, Dutch curaçao and fresh-squeezed lime juice, the mai tai quickly became a phenomenon; it also quickly became perverted. Hordes of Trader Vic-wannabes took wild stabs at recreating Bergeron's long-secret recipe, and the result is what we all-too-often experience now: a sweet, murky drink filled with assorted fruit juices and syrups, with little resemblance to the original swoon-worthy concoction.

The Planter's Punch flowed out of the rum-rich Caribbean well over a century ago, and its origins date back centuries. Originally a simple combination of a full-flavored rum with lime juice, sugar, some form of spice and plenty of ice, the Planter's Punch morphed over the decades into elaborate concoctions containing pineapple juice, grenadine, several types of rum and so on, and the drink is the common ancestor of all those tiki drinks and punches that are once again in vogue.

The Cosmopolitan is a cultural touchstone because once upon a time, Dale DeGroff got one into the hands of Madonna at the Rainbow Room and it became the drink to be seen with. Then HBO and SJP, of course, made the drink ubiquitous and clichéd.

The Tom Collins dates back more than a century and a half, but its welcoming crispness keeps it fresh always. So established in the libational world, the Tom Collins even has its own eponymous glass (tall, with plenty of room for ice). Over the years, the drink has faced some challenges--bottles of Holland House Collins Mix in my parents' liquor cabinet spring to mind. Was squeezing a lemon really so difficult? But successfully navigating its course from horse-and-carriage days to the digital age, the Tom Collins is built for survival. Keep some lemons and soda water on-hand this weekend and knock together a Collins in between grilling stints.

Ingredients 3/4 ounce gin 3/4 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice 3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur 3/4 ounce green Chartreuse

With the onslaught of holiday parties upon us, a bad case of the sniffles could threaten your merrymaking. Luckily science has swooped in with the jolliest solution of all: You can boost your immune system, a new study claims, by drinking that spiked eggnog.

Some telomeres are too long, and some are too short. Perhaps striking the right balance of caffeine and alcohol is the key to keeping them just right—as if you needed an excuse to have another hot toddy.

Some telomeres are too long, and some are too short. Perhaps striking the right balance of caffeine and alcohol is the key to keeping them just right—as if you needed an excuse to have another hot toddy.

When you experience a vague sense of inequity or deprivation but don’t have a template for whether your expectations are fair, drink.

When you experience a vague sense of inequity or deprivation but don’t have a template for whether your expectations are fair, drink.

Like any other drink, it is only as good as its worst ingredient. Fortunately, the basic margarita only has three: tequila, triple sec and lime juice. Choose a spirit made of 100% agave, stock your bar with a solid orange-flavored liqueur, squeeze fresh lime juice—think of how strong your forearms will get!—and nail the proportions and you'll have a wonderfully balanced sweet, tangy, slightly earthy (that's the 100% agave) drink to sip this Cinco de Mayo and throughout the summer.

Obviously, "brogrammers" aren't the only ones in our community who enjoy alcohol. Ryan correctly points out that drinking is widespread, yet "brogrammers" are, thankfully, a small though obnoxious minority. So we can ask bigger questions - What is it about alcohol that we like? What does it do to us? Then finally, how should we incorporate it into community events?

Obviously, "brogrammers" aren't the only ones in our community who enjoy alcohol. Ryan correctly points out that drinking is widespread, yet "brogrammers" are, thankfully, a small though obnoxious minority. So we can ask bigger questions - What is it about alcohol that we like? What does it do to us? Then finally, how should we incorporate it into community events?

This stuff just has to be awful. "Each Pocket Shot is sealed in a near unbreakable, flexible, squishable, pocket stuffable pouch making them perfect for active activities, outdoor adventures, and glass restricting venues."

During the 20th Century, various bad ideas encrusted the Old Fashioned. Here we will strip off those barnacles to expose the amazingly simple and sublime drink beneath.

During the 20th Century, various bad ideas encrusted the Old Fashioned. Here we will strip off those barnacles to expose the amazingly simple and sublime drink beneath.

When he arrived at the warehouse, the first thing he noticed (after “the beautiful, sweet, mellow smell of aging Canadian whiskey,” he says) was the black stuff. It was everywhere—on the walls of buildings, on chain-link fences, on metal street signs, as if a battalion of Dickensian chimney sweeps had careened through town. “In the back of the property, there was an old stainless steel fermenter tank,” Scott says. “It was lying on its side, and it had this fungus growing all over it. Stainless steel!” The whole point of stainless steel is that things don’t grow on it.

"I found a solution at ZENSTOVES.COM which describes a number of options for making alcohol stoves yourself out of recyclable and readily available materials. ... The small stove has been modified slightly make it specific for brewing. A stove made for boiling water will heat up the mokka pot too quickly and the brew just won't be what it should be. ... I made a stand out of an empty coffee can and some coat-hanger wire. Light the stove, place the stand over top, and put the mokka pot on top. In the magical three minutes, I have a fresh pot of mokka pot espresso to enjoy! With practise, I have found just the right ammount of fuel so that it extinguishes itself shortly after the coffee is ready."

Had another Dragon's Milk tonight at Ashley's in Westland. Tasty, tasty stuff.

"If you're the kind of person that thinks Guinness is too bitter, try this: add a single shot of vodka (no more, no less) to a pint of Guinness. It somehow makes it super sweet."

Mmm... complicated mead

Mmm... mead