Welcome to New Year’s Eve Weekend, 4 nights where we can all let loose and still have a day to recover. I thought we should take a moment to cover the basics for survival of all the drinking to ensue.

First, an article on mixing great drinks at home, not only will this help stretch your drinking budget, but using fresh mixers and premium spirits will help to ease that New Year’s Day Hangover. Don’t … Read more

New York City’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Del Posto (owned by Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich and Lidia Bastianich), has put a new twist on an old favorite this holiday season with Del Posto’s Blood Orange Bellini. In keeping with its use of seasonal ingredients, Del Posto’s Blood Orange Bellini incorporates the sweet and tangy crimson fruit which originated in the southwest region of Italy.

Spruce up a traditional glass of champagne this New Year’s or enjoy with … Read more

Ho, ho, ho!

Your turkey and your guests will love you!

Ingredients

1 lb fresh cranberries
2 cup sugar
4 tbs Maker’s Mark
¼ cup sugar

Instructions

Place berries in a shallow pan. Sprinkle with 2 cups sugar. Bake covered at 350 degrees for one hour. Remove from oven and sprinkle with bourbon and remaining sugar. Refrigerate. Ready to serve anytime. Also makes a super gift; just fill a small jar for giving!

Courtesy of Maker’s Mark Kentucky … Read more

Being a part of Federated Media puts us in good company and involved in some pretty cool stuff. One of these is the Holiday Gadget Guide, now in it’s second year and expanding beyond tech gadgets, adding toys, clothing, books and home gadgets. Just as last year, the editors of tops sites such as Boing Boing, Make, OhGizmo and CrunchGear have picked their favorite gadgets from the world of tech, design and plain old coolness.… Read more

We’ve been busy adding in a bunch of new holiday cocktails and punches for you to enjoy. So with out further ado…

First, we have two festive cocktails from Absolut Vodka that feature the new Absolut 100:

Seasons Blingings
Winter Breeze

Next, from Maker’s Mark, their special Hot Toddy recipe.

And, finally, and warm punch from Jacob’s Creek “Shira-la-la-la-az” Winter Warmer, an Australian twist on the European Mulled Wine tradition.

For those who don’t know the Dale DeGroff, the legendary bartender who grew to fame at New York’s Rainbow Room, this is a great introduction to the man and his no nonsense cocktail philosophy. He is not only responsible for the Cosmopolitan, but for helping to make bartending the creative, respectable profession it is today.

When asked, “Any tips for home mixologists on making drinks at home?”

Says the King of Cocktails, “If you have … Read more

Turning through the Sunday paper, I ran across this classic holiday recipe for rum cake. Light, moist and full of rum. Ooh, and a wonderful rum glaze! What did you expect from the House of Bacardi?

Here’s the recipe for the cake:

Ingredients

½ cup Bacardi Gold Rum
 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
 1 – 18 ½ oz package yellow cake mix
 1 – 3 ½ oz package instant vanilla flavor pudding mix
 4 … Read more

Jan writes in,

“I received a bottle of limoncello recently as a gift. How do I serve this? Are there any special drinks that I can make with this?”

Well, I like it best served ice cold—I keep a bottle in the freezer—in a shot or cocktail glass. Sip accordingly. It is also very nice served with a small bit of lemon sorbet and a shot of vodka.

It is a terrific lemony addition to … Read more

The nice people at Maker’s Mark and Herradura sent us some great new holiday-themed cocktails.

Stocking – A combination of Herradura Silver Tequila and pomegranate juice

The folks at Herradua tell us “This authentic Mexican cocktail combines the season’s most celebrated fruit, the pomegranate, with the culture’s symbol of good luck, the herradura (the horseshoe). Historically known within Mexican culture as the fruta de la abundancia (fruit of abundance), the pomegranate plays a significant role … Read more