Happy thoughts for a rainy day: Colleen Mullaney, author of It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere, shares her favorite recipes for Island cocktails (pictured: The Voodoo) with Coastal Living.

My first cosmo made with SNOW ~ and it was snowing on the outdoor furniture made of ice by the fire on the patio... Amazing Absolut party at Sundance for the launch of their Spike Jonze film.

Gus McShane of Copa D’Oro in Santa Monica made two fresh passion fruit cocktails for KCRW's "Good Food."

Instructables and ThinkGeek held a Cocktails vs. Mocktails contest. So fun! Here's the cocktail winner, the Color-Changing Cocktail. It " smokes elegantly, changes from a calm blue to fuschia"

The Palm cocktail by The Hedley Club at the DeAnza Hotel, which made the Mercury News' list of the best hotel bars in the Silicon Valley.

Totally jealous because I didn't make it to the Science of Cocktails event at the Exploratorium to see them playing with liquid nitrogen, among other things. Some good coverage at SF Gate.

Savvy Housekeeping mixes up bourbon, pear syrup, maraschino liqueur and ginger ale for the super-tasty Pearaschino cocktail!

Set of 5 Bar Cards inspired by college roommates drinking Manhattans. In a sea of twentysomethings holding beers, they looked so damn cool. 5 classic recipes: Martini, Manhattan, Tom Collins, Old fashioned, and Gin & Tonic.

Gary Regan in the SF Chronicle on how to be a superstar bartender, including photo-illustrated tips on things like chilling glasses. As you might imagine, commenters have a lot to say about it!

YumSugar mixes up an Isle of Pines cocktail, made with pomegranate. Looks dark and mysterious!

As the Angostura shortage worsens, some survival tips in the Washington Post. For instance: How about switching to Rum Manhattans?

Hershey's hot cocoa eleven ways, but Chambord infused was our favorite. What would be yours?

A strong and sweet Tom and Jerry cocktail to warm us on a chilly winter's night!

Do you collect bar tools?

No lemons for a twist... and no olives around. Avoid a martini crisis with this backup plan. Cornichons.

Ice Balls! Continuing the obsession, here's a look at Muji's Silicon Ice Ball Maker in action.

Matthew Biancaniello from the Roosevelt Hotel is collaborating with Bar Keeper in Silver Lake to turn blue-green emu eggs into cocktail cups! LA Times has great photos along with the story.

Shake winter with a Jack Rose cocktail.

Macallan Flights of the Decades ~ incredible event at Soho House NYC, tasting and twittering our way from New Make Spirit back through 52 year old Macallan.

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.