Got a bottle or two of champagne left over from New Year's? Here's a quick and easy drink to bring a little class to your weekend. Think of it as a manly version of a Mimosa.

Black Velvet
5 oz chilled Guinness
1 1/2 oz chilled Champagne

Prep:
Pour Guinness into champagne flute.
Add champagne carefully, so it does not mix with the Guinness.
Serve.

It's Friday. The week has been long. And stressful. You need a drink. A strong drink. Something in the martini family should do it. So you head out for dinner and open the drink menu. Have you seen the prices of "signature" drinks lately? $12. $14. $20. When did a little before-dinner cocktail become as expensive as the entrees? And are they worth the price?

Like with most things - some are worth it, and some are not.

If you are on the Upper East Side of NYC and are dining at the Bruno Jamais Restaurant and Club, their signature Platinum Bruno Martini will run you $38.

And, yes, it's worth every penny.

Owner Bruno Jamais shared the secret with me of what makes this drink so extraordinary. He wanted something special for his restaurant's signature cocktail, and wanted it to include his favorite liquor, Patron Platinum Tequila. (No better way to start.) And he wanted it strong, yet smooth.

Working with Mixologist Agenor Macaluso, Bruno liked the way the orange flavor in Cointreau or triple sec refined the taste of the tequila. (Something I'm gonna keep in mind the next time one of my wound-up, drunken buddies starts buying shots.) Rather than use orange flavored liquor they decided to go with fresh oranges instead. A little peach schnapps added in smoothes things out even more.

In case you can't make it to Bruno's for dinner and some live music, (or if $38 for a cocktail is a little out of your budget), you can make their Platinum Martini at home. But if you do make it to Bruno's, tell him BG sent you.

The Platinum Bruno Martini
Muddle four slices of fresh orange in a Boston shaker
Add 2 oz. Patron Platinum tequila and 3/4 oz peach schnapps
Shake
Serve up in a chilled double martini glass, garnished with orange slice.

www.brunojamais.com

Cold where you are? Yeah, it's gonna be a long, cold winter. You'll need a drink that'll take the edge off the chill.

Hot toddies? Warm apple cider? Come on. Maybe if you're by the fire with your girl. But if it's just you and a couple of buddies out at the stadium for the playoffs, standing in the snow in a just-cleared parking lot with eight-foot snow banks, huddled over a BBQ flame? Something much stronger is needed. Something with a little heat you can feel right away. That'll stick with you.

Try the Flaming Ring of Fire. It's a shot that starts hot and stays hot. And there's no mixers or fruit juice to water it down.

Flaming Ring of Fire

1/2 oz. Rum
1/2 oz. Whiskey
4-5 Drops Tabasco Sauce

Pour the rum and whiskey into a shot glass. Top with a few drops of Tabasco, and drink. Anyone yells "Fire in the hole!" before drinking, slap him.

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