A while back, I wrote a piece about classic drinks using bitters along with some updated recipes. (Read it here.) A few of you wrote and asked for more. As usual, I'm there for you.

Averna, the Italian amaro (a sweeter version of traditional bitters), I wrote about, held a nationwide search for the best cocktail recipe using their liquor. The five winners will head to Sicily in September to see whose is the best. In the meantime, just so you can invite a few people (read: "women") over and hold your own competition, those five winning recipes are below. They're a little complex, but I think you can handle it. Saulte!

San Francisco Winners:
Jeffrey Hollinger, Absinthe Brasserie & Bar
Midnight In Sicily
1 1/2 oz Amaro Averna
1 oz Tanqueray Gin
1/2 oz "Sicilian Style" Blood Orange agrodolce (sweet and sour sauce)
5 to 6 mint leaves
Flamed blood orange rind, for garnish

Combine ingredients in an ice filled cocktail shaker and shake for 20 to 30 seconds, or until well chilled. Double strain through a fine meshed strainer into a chilled cocktail glass. ...More

Made with Cuervo Black tequila instead of whiskey, the Black Julep works just as well as a Kentucky Derby drink (had I actually posted it for you last Saturday), as it works for celebrating Cinco de Mayo.




Black Julep
3 oz Cuervo Black Medallion
10 mint leaves
1 1/2 tsp extra fine sugar
Seltzer
Crushed ice
Mint sprig
Place mint leaves in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass or julep cup and add sugar. Crush with muddler or wooden spoon until the leaves begin to come apart. Add a splash of seltzer, fill glass 3/4 full with crushed ice, and add tequila. Top with another splash of seltzer, stir, and garnish with mint sprig.

Everyone knows what the Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo, is all about: it's an excuse to drink more tequila than any human should. But this year it falls on a Monday. Which means many of us will be celebrating all weekend. And calling in "cinco" on Tuesday.

I'll have several tequila cocktails over the next few days you can mix to make your party muy especial. The first is from premium tequila maker, Don Julio. This recipe was developed by Brian Van Flandern, a mixologist who has crafted cocktail menus for celebrity chefs like Mario Batali. Light and simple, with a crispness brought on by the ginger, it's an impressive drink to pour for your CdM celebration.

Agave Ginger Margarita
1 oz Don Julio Blanco
1/4 oz Grand Marnier
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice ...More

OK, I get that Bud Lite had to come out with their own lime-squeezed pseudo-cerveza following the success of Chill from rival Miller. Gotta stay competitive, even if it means messing with a classic formula.

I even get that the lame name for it, Bud Lite Lime, had to come from some decision-by-committee that probably drove the marketing people to the edge of insanity as all their more creative names got shot down. ("It's Bud Lite. It's got lime in it. How about... Bud Lite Lime!") Wouldn't want to risk confusing us unsophisticated beer drinkers with a clever name.

What I am having a hard time getting is what's up with the Lime-Guy they're using in their ads? It looks like Steve Nash and the Green M&M had a love child. ...More

I'm a big flavored and sports water drinker. Have been since I gave up soft drinks a few years ago. And watching the recent commercials where water companies argue over which one has the least added sugar made me take a look at the carb and sugar content of some of these drinks. And a few of them actually have more sugar than some candy bars. Not exactly good for the physique, considering I go through several bottles a day.

But even though nutritionists and doctors say plain water is the healthiest thing you can drink, it's boring. Sometimes you need a little flavor. Which is what Hint water gives you.

Hint is pure water, infused with a small amount of all-natural fruit essence. And nothing else. It comes in nine different flavors, including traditional ones like Lime and Tropical Punch, and a few not so traditional ones like Mango Grapefruit and Peppermint. (Which tastes better than it sounds.)

It has zero fat, zero calories, zero sodium and zero carbs. Just like plain water, but not as monotonous. And, because I'm always looking for healthier mixers, it's great in cocktails too. If you're looking to mix up a few drinks this weekend for you and your carb conscious girl ...More

When I'm mixing a drink I want as little messing with the taste, or watering it down, as possible. But when making a vodka drink that requires a little fizz, you have no choice but to add soda or tonic. Which can alter the taste, and dilute the flavor.

O2 Sparkling Vodka makes it possible to mix full-strength drinks with a carbonated buzz, without having to add anything to the mix. After two years of development, International English Distillers came up with a straight up, 80 proof, whole grain vodka that's filtered and distilled three times in 100 year-old copper pots before being infused with bubbles.

Pour an ounce or two in a glass, add some juice (or don't), and you'll have a drink with a light fizz that's got full-on flavor and nothing else in there interfering. A bunch of us did a tasting one night and mixed O2 with orange juice, blueberry juice, Red Bull, and anything else we found in the fridge to see how it would mix. And everything mixed well. Too well.

The big question is how long the bubbles last after the bottle is opened. The answer is I don't know. We burned through the whole bottle in one sitting.

Available in Premium (80 proof) and Super Premium (94 proof)
www.sparklingvodka.com

Good news for you whisky lovers: the Ardmore distillery in Scotland has just released their Ardmore Traditional Cask in the US. It's their first single malt Scotch whisky to be widely available here, and it's the only Highland single malt to be 100% peated, giving it a rich, sweet flavor laced with smoke and vanilla.

Only 3000 cases have been produced, making it a rare find, and a great bottle to give to dad, a grad, or that buddy of yours who is about to walk down the aisle. And he'll need its powerful 92-proof kick to get him there.

$45-50 per bottle
www.ardmorewhisky.com

It's part of the well-known legend of Samuel Adams beer that founder Jim Koch began brewing the Boston lager in his kitchen in 1984 from an old family recipe he found in his attic, become a pioneer in the US craft-brewing revival, and proved that the sometimes even a little guy can become an industry powerhouse.

Never forgetting his home-brew roots, Koch has been giving a shot to other craft-brewers with his Samuel Adams American Homebrew Contest since 1996. Every year, brewers of bathtub-sized batches of beer compete for a chance to have their unique recipes produced on a large scale, with nationwide distribution in the LongShot six-pack. The 2007 winning brews are available now, giving you a chance to enjoy two great beers you wouldn't otherwise have the ability to experience.

The first winning beer is a complex Weizenbock brewed by ...More

The next few months are loaded with holidays and occasions - graduations, bachelor parties, weddings, Father's Day, even Mother's Day - that are perfect for giving the gift that brings joy to so many: a bottle of booze.

And to set your bottle apart from the half dozen or so the groom-to-be or graduate will likely receive, present the lucky recipient with one personalized just for them.

As a service to loyal, registered "regulars", thebar.com, will let you order up to 5 personalized labels of your favorite spirits (as long as those favorites are Crown Royal, Johnnie Walker Black, Buchanan's, Bushmills, or Don Julio tequila), each month, for free.

Once you register (which is also free), you select the brand, the bottle size, and enter a 3-line custom message of up to 22 characters each. (You can see what the finished label will look like as you type.) In about two weeks your custom labels will arrive at your door, ready to stick on the bottle.

Now you can give dad a bottle of Johnnie Black with a label that reads "For Everything I Put You Through Growing Up Happy Fathers Day 2008", or give the groom a bottle of Don Julio that let's him know "In Case of Marital Emergency Break Out a Glass".

www.thebar.com

If you have a young lass headed to your place tonight to shake her shamrocks, here's a quick, simple cocktail with couple of ingredients, a quick shake, and a cleverly carved garnish that'll get her kissing your Blarney Stone faster than a Leprechaun's little feet during a St. Patty's Day jig.

HERRADURA GREEN AGAVE
1 1/2 oz Tequila Herradura silver
3/4 oz Melon liqueur
Squeeze of lime

Fill a shaker with ice and add the tequila, melon liquor and lime. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a shamrock carved lime.