Not everyone's a fan of the bubbly. And there's no law that says you have to toast the New Year with champagne. If you'd rather lift a glass of something else this December 31st, you're not alone.

TheBar.com, a website created by Diageo - the premium drink powerhouse behind brands like Crown Royal, Jose Cuervo, Captain Morgan, and Smirnoff - conducted a survey called Toasts & Tastes. The survey found that with cocktails making a comeback, 33% of adults responding prefer vodka cocktails as an alternative to champagne on New Year's Eve. 24% go for rum drinks. (No word on whether DeVito and Clooney will be requesting Limoncello).

In case you, and some of your guests, would rather ring in the New Year with vodka, here's a great recipe from theBar.com that has some bubble to it:

Vanilla Crush
1.5 oz. Smirnoff Vanilla Vodka
3 oz. lemon-lime soda (like Sprite or 7-Up)
1 splash orange juice

Fill a glass with ice. Add Smirnoff Vanilla Vodka, lemon-lime soda, and orange juice. Stir well.

Here's your chance to join the ranks of Gonzo Journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

Thompson was a friend of the founders of Flying Dog Brewery in Colorado and wrote their tag line, "Good People Drink Good Beer". In fact, all of the brewery's brands have been named by employees or friends.

Now the brewery is adding to their litter of ales and want you to name it. Enter their contest and you could not only follow in Hunter S. Thompson's footsteps, but you'll win a trip for two to the 2007 Great American Beer Festival. And achieve beer immortality.

Enter by going to www.flyingdogales.com

It's been a tough week. Late, last-minute gift hunting in overcrowded, under-stocked, stores. Hundreds of other stressed-out shoppers pushing, shoving and banging into each other. In the parking lot.

The week was spent cramming five days of work into three, so you can take a couple of days off over the holidays. And your family is in town. For two weeks.

You need a drink.

Try the Mission Accomplished. Besides being appropriately named, it's not the typical creamy, noggy "holiday" drinks that have been forced on you lately. Perfect to mix for your girl who's working to fit into her New Year's dress. Or to get her out of it.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
4 oz. vodka
2 oz. Triple Sec
2 splashes lime juice
2 splashes grenadine

Mix the ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well and serve in an old-fashioned glass.

Recipe reprinted with permission from the book The Daily Cocktail - 365 Intoxicating Drinks and the Outrageous Events that Inspired Them, by Dalyn Miller and Larry Donovan.

Quick. Make a mental list of places where you thought, "Wow. I could really use a drink right now." Hanging around the pool? In line at the DMV? Sitting through the second hour of watching your nephew play a camel in the Christmas pageant? Sure. All good places. But can you actually get a drink at any of them? No. And they frown on drinking in line at the DMV. If the employees have to make it through the day there sober, so do you.

My point is, there are plenty of places where a having a drink would be a great idea, but where bringing glass bottles is either not convenient, not advised, or not allowed. You could grab some small airline bottles and stash them in your pocket. (Very carefully.) But you'll need mixers. (Ever seen tonic in a 50 ml bottle? Me either.) And then something to drink out of. Premix at home? Sure. But you'll still need a container. And glasses for everyone. Which means you'll still have stuff to haul.

A good way around all this is to grab some ShotPaks. They are 50 ml, premixed, single shots of four popular drinks. In tough plastic pouches. With tear-off tops and pour spouts. And they cost less than a dollar each. You can carry them anywhere in your coat pocket, tear open, drink, and dispose. Boom. Done. Perfect.

Just don't tell the employees at the DMV.

99 cents each. www.shotpak.net
Email your orders to ignus@shotpakinc.com or marc@shotpakinc.com.
And tell them BG sent you.

Friday night was happy hour with guys from the office. And it turned into a happy five hours. Saturday night was dinner with friends, and a bottle of wine or two. Sunday was beer at the game. Monday is a throbbing headache and eyes so red Santa might ask you to help guide his sleigh.

Weekends are tough on the body. Good weekends anyway. My philosophy? I'd rather have a rough Monday than a boring weekend. The problem is, (and there is absolutely no scientific fact behind what I am about to say) the more exciting the weekend, the more damage to the body. No one has ever stumbled into work Monday morning completely torn up from reading a novel all weekend.

Long nights, too many drinks, and smoke-filled clubs are usually on the weekend menu. But you're not going to stop partying, so you might as well do something to counteract the effects if you plan on enjoying many more weekends.

For a couple of weeks, I've been drinking Urban Detox from Function. I had read that a growing number of celebs and athletes were drinking it to recoup after partying. I am the last guy to follow whatever some overpaid, whiny celeb does, but I figured no one parties more, or harder, than they do. If they swear by it, maybe I should give it a shot.

Since it's Monday, I have a bottle right on my desk. And according to the label it is "the perfect tonic for city living: it protects your lungs and sinuses from airborne pollution, corrects the nutritional deficiencies from excess alcohol consumption, and supports your healthy liver and immune system." Pretty much what every Monday calls for.

But if it tastes like something that came out of the drainage tank of a tour bus, it's not doing me any good. Fortunately Urban Detox has a great citrus and prickly pear flavor. And it mixes well with vodka for an incredible Detoxtini. (I made that last part up. But I'm sure someone in Hollywood will try it. If they haven't already.)

I've found that drinking it definitely helps me feel better faster. And if you're going to party like a rock star, you might as well detox like one.

$58 for a 24 bottle case www.functiondrinks.com

Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don't.

That's essentially the underlying context of Robert Louis Stevenson's Victorian era masterwork, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. (Yeah, I could have said it's a deep psychological study of the duality within human identity and the struggle between the good and evil that lies within all of us. But you'll see where I'm going in a second.)

That first statement could also could be the underlying context of most guys' nights out. Sometimes you just want to have a couple of beers and watch the game. And sometimes you want to throw in a bunch of hair product and tear it up. Depends on your mood. And what (and how much) you feel like drinking.

Long Tail Libations, the newly launched subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch (who has had the beer thing down for a while and is finally jumping into the spirits game), gives us Jekyll & Hyde, a pair of liquors that hold true to their namesakes. And to your moods.

Jekyll, the mellower of the two, has a wild berry flavor that goes down smooth. Hyde hits you a little harder. Jet black, spicy and licorice flavored, this one grabs you from the inside and doesn't let go.

Drink them together as a layered shot called (not surprisingly) The Jekyll & Hyde, by chilling both, pouring 3/4 of an ounce of Jekyll into a shot glass, then slowly pouring 3/4 of an ounce of Hyde down the side of the glass so it sits on top. And you can get recipes from www.drinkjekyllandhyde.com for drinks with names like Brain Hemorrhage, Two Faced Freak, Liquid Nightmare, London Fire and Evil Italian.

I know. Asking your date if she would like a Brain Hemorrhage doesn't exactly elicit the same response as asking her if she would like Sex on the Beach. See if she'll go for a night with an Evil Italian.

www.drinkjekyllandhyde.com

Here's a question I get asked a lot - Should I bring anything to a holiday party, and if so, what's appropriate? To answer, I'll give you the same advice Mother of Bachelor Guy used to give me. It was something she lived by: "Never show up at a party or a dinner empty handed. Ever."

It didn't matter if the invitation specifically said, "We got it. Plenty of food and drink. Don't bring a thing. Seriously. We are not kidding." She had to bring something. And for her, that something was usually a dessert.

Bringing a dessert is a safe option. It doesn't insult the host's/hostess's cooking skills. Desserts are always appreciated, especially if they are homemade. And if there is a story, or tradition, attached? Even better.

Guys? We usually bring a bottle of alcohol. Another safe bet. Not terribly personal. Or original. But safe. And most of us aren't skilled enough at baking to risk an attempt at making a dessert.

Here's a suggestion for something to bring that you can make yourself, contains alcohol, has a story behind it, and can be a dessert. (It's a stretch, but it could, possibly, be considered dessert. Depending on who you are serving it to.) It's Grandma Hawkins' Irish Cream.

I made a batch on Thanksgiving, and as anyone who had some that night can tell you, it's better than anything you've had out of a bottle. And, yes, there really is a Grandma Hawkins.

The story: While in Alabama last month on my golf trip, I was at a dinner with several other invitees, including Connie, Grandma Hawkins' granddaughter. The conversation at the table turned to after-dinner drinks, and Connie mentioned making her grandmother's Irish Cream to give to family and friends for the holidays. Apparently Grandma, (whose own grandparents emigrated from Ireland and Scotland), never liked the taste of alcohol, but loved to have a little of this at Christmastime. And it's been a tradition in their family for generations. I convinced Connie to give me the recipe, and permission to post it here. She did. Make some, put it in a bottle, and bring it to all your family and friends. Just make sure to toast Grandma Hawkins.

Grandma Hawkins Irish Cream

1 3/4 Cup Irish whiskey (Jamison's is best), or brandy
1 14 oz can Eagle brand condensed milk
1 Cup whipping cream
4 eggs
2 Tablespoons chocolate syrup
2 teaspoons instant coffee dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Serve over ice, or add to coffee. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month, tightly covered.