Macallan Ice Ball "Machine" ~ runs on gravity and the frictional heating capacity of copper at room temperature with the icea... within moments perfect spheres!

A tasty combination of Scotch, grapefruit and Sortelage borne out of Thursday Drink Night.

Vampire Weekend's Horchata-inspired cocktails.

LA Times says Pisco is becoming more popular in the US ... to which I say yay!! (Pisco Sours are awesome .. and that's just the start)

Catdaddy Moonshine Zombie Punch - and its strong.

Happy 500th birthday, Benedictine. Here's an Acacia cocktail to celebrate.

This year don't bother with the fad cleanse diets and try The Detox cocktail instead.

Warm up with a Hot Apple Pie Hot Toddy

The Crispin Cider Company, known for their line of all natural hard apple ciders, is launching a new label and packaging for their “blue line” of ciders. Created by UK-based design firm White Works, the new packaging features a larger Crispin Tree logo, as well as richer, bolder colors and embossed lettering to give the bottle an even more premium look and feel.

The 'Insomniac' at Detroit's Atlas Global Bistro starts with Patron XO Cafe, adds espresso beans, freshly shaved chocolate, and Sambuca. It ends with -- believe it or not -- fire.

Tequila drinks at San Francisco's 15 Romolo

Sriracha Bloody Mary - A new and spicy twist to bloody mary and garnishing ideas

Marshall tells the secret of where you can find those beautiful cocktail glasses like your favorite bar uses.

Dr. Bamboo uses a healthy dose of lime juice (among other things) to make the Embassy.

The Jack Appleman - A winter cocktail made w/ Laird's 100-proof apple brandy, vanilla-infused Knob Creek, fresh Meyer lemon & ginger juices, Chinese five-spiced simple syrup & lemon bitters.

A planter`s punch with pompous name - the Hotel Drake Vesuvius Coktail on SoD blog.

Creme de Violette and Prosecco, with a dash of Maraschino if you wish!

Experiments with Spike Your Juice, a product that turns juice into fizzy alcohol.

RumDood reviews Ron Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva and uses it to make an Ancient Mariner cocktail.

South Beach Hostel's A-Bar serves up cocktails for the hostel crowd, including this Backpack Cooler. Vodka, mint tea, and sauv blanc? My kind of backpacking.

Syllabub is a creamy punch with wine and madeira adding the kick.

A look at spirits auctions, and the really really really expensive stuff in the Washington Post.

Review of Mozart Dry, a chocolate spirit that seeks to improve the state of chocolate cocktails.

Tiare over at A Mountain of Crushed ice mixes the 3rd Tiki cocktail from Grog Log and makes a twist of it as well in honor of the preservation of the endangered sea turtle.

LA Times explores sherry cocktails, including the Montresor & Fortunato by Damian Windsor of the Roger Room.

Think pineapple and tamarind belong only in tiki drinks? Think again with the Writer's Block, an easy bit of tropical elegance.

Adorable packaging and typography ~ beautiful sake bottles ~ see these and more (also really cool opening tab) ~ ahh, packaging based impulse buys strike again!

The Ward 2010: Freshly squeezed Meyer Lemon and Tangerines with Spiced Rum, Maraschino Liquor & Peychaud bitters. A modern revamp of a classic cocktail.

Vieux Carre Absinthe - Gorgeous presentation of Absinthe from the people behind Bluecoat American Dry Gin.

Great "anti-hungover" drink - famous Zombie Cocktail in Trader Vic`s version. Happy New Year :)

Brian Miller of New York's Death & Co. shares his recipe for the mocktail Ginger Fizz with the Chicago Tribune.

Gorgeous limited edition bottles of Magners Pear Cider exclusively for Bungalow 8 London by Cake

Sonoma based HelloCello has released the first Organic Limoncello made from distilled wine country grapes and slightly sweetened with agave.

Vodka Packaging vs Absolut - THEN (when they first launched their apothecary like bottle) and NOW. A bit biased, but still pretty and fun to see

Stumbled across this beauty on the Raspberri Cupcakes blog while furiously researching New Year's Eve treats: The Raspberry, Lychee and Pink Moscato Granita ... YUM!

Warm up with a glass of Boston Grog! An Orange Pekoe tea-flavored toddy perfect for when the winter winds start howling.

Newly released, very exclusive Angel Champagne comes in hand finished silvered bottles and is not sold in liquor stores. Prices range from $800 a bottle to $400,000 for their special edition!

The color and unusual flavor of this Champagne cocktail is provided by a dried red plum steeped in Fernet Branca bitters and candied in sugar syrup.

Sidecar Fizz - how to make fizz cocktails

Happy New Year with a fantastic Arctic Cosmo Martini!!!

Frozen mudslides - the not to be missed adult milkshake

This bottle opener is a class above the rest! The 'castle key' offers an elegant solution to the less-than-elegant task of opening a bottle.

Using fresh sugarcane juice in cocktails comes with difficulties- extracting the juice from sugarcane.

Punches for New Year's Eve, plus a look back at the year in spirits & cocktails (as well as a look ahead) at the Washington Post.