Esquire has a great list of the 75 skills that every man should master. And among those 75 things are several food and drink-related skills. Here's how I made out.

#7 on the list is "Cook meat somewhere other than the grill." This is the easiest one for me because I haven't cooked anything on a grill since I worked in restaurants years ago (and I don't bbq). #17 is "Make one drink, in large batches, very well." Does iced tea count? If it's booze, I'll have to work on this one. #32 is something I've never had a problem with, "Describe a glass of wine in one sentence without using the words nutty, fruity, oakey, finish, or kick." I usually just say something like "this Cabernet is really, really good!"

How did you do?

We conclude this particular numbered cocktails theme week with the One-Armed Bandit.

I'm more of a red wine guy than a white wine guy (much more, actually), but this drink has so many other ingredients in it that I love that I'm going to try it tonight. It's white wine with Cointreau, grenadine, oranges, lemon, and lime. Cocktail.com doesn't say who created the drink, but does say that it was "discovered in Vegas." That's good enough for me.

Continuing with the theme week of numbered cocktails comes the 20th Century, from the book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. Wikipedia says it was created in the late 30s to help promote the introduction of the Hudson Dreyfus Engine, which powered the 20th Century Limited Train.

I like the color.

Continuing with the "numbered cocktail" theme, I think this is the first drink of the Happy Hour series I've posted that's served in a shot glass.

This is the 747. Not sure why it's named after an airplane, but some cocktails have mysterious origins. This is made with Kahlua, Bailey's Irish Cream, and Frangelico. From those ingredients I'm sure you can tell immediately what it might taste like and if you'd like it or not.

I think I inadvertently started a cocktail "theme" week here yesterday: cocktails with numbers. Yesterday I had the Shane 75, and today is the recipe for Esplanade 1925. This one is also from Imbibe.

It's a drink that was inspired by the Regent Hotel Esplanade in Zagreb. Esplanade 1925 also happens to be the named of the lounge/bar there.

Saw this recipe in the latest issue of Imbibe. It's named after the son of Highland Kitchen owners Marci Joy and Marc Romano. You have to be a fan of blackberries to enjoy it, since it's not only made with blackberry brandy but also has a fresh blackberry floating in it.

Did you know that there's an official Kentucky Derby recipe for the Mint Julep? This is the drink that you down as you watch the horsies fly by. It also helps if you wear a big hat.

It's called The Early Times Mint Julep, because it uses Early Times Kentucky Whiskey. You probably don't have Silver Julep cups at home, so I'd use something else.

Also after the jump is a video on how to make an alternate version of the Mint Julep.

I almost didn't post this, because the sound on the video is so terrible (really, why would anyone film a drink recipe video at a bar that's not only open but one where there's loud music in the background?), but decided to post it anyway since some sharp readers might be able to figure out the ingredients. There's also a Facebook group for the Wet Wednesday, so if you're a member check that out.

My fashion-forward roommate reads Nylon Magazine, and I was flipping through it the other day when I came across the drink of the month: the Grapes of Wrath martini. The Grapes of Wrath is one of my favorite novels, but to see it as a martini? I'm not so sure how I feel.

It would be one thing if the magazine had designed a martini around a book like The Great Gatsby (I'd actually bet there are many), but The Grapes of Wrath? I mean, it takes place during the Great Depression -- none of the characters go near anything like a martini, especially not one featuring Belvedere Vokda, grapes, apple juice, elderflower cordial, and a dashes of lemon juice and sauvignon blanc. Is it blasphemous, or am I reading too far into a name?

But the whole thing got me wondering about other novels, and whether they have drinks named after them. I found a Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind (another personal favorite), which consists of peach liqueur, cranberry juice and a lime wedge. That's appropriate enough -- though I'd have loved to see something perhaps with a touch of sour mix! I found a Monte Cristo with coffee and orange liqueurs, hot coffee and whipped cream, though the drink could be named after one of the various cities by that name and not the book The Count of Monte Cristo. Anyone know of any others? Extra points for books you read in high school English and for drinks that are wildly inappropriate for their respective novels.

Tomorrow is the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner, and Reuters has come up with a bunch of cocktails inspired by some current Presidential candidates and other political people.

The Barack O'Bomber mixes vodka, Jagermeister, Red Bull, and a lime wedge. The Senior Moment (I'll go out on a limb and assume they're referring to McCain here) is a simple scotch on the rocks. And the McGreevey-Tini, which is a dirty martini that, of course, comes in three parts.

After the jump, the recipe for the Love Potion No. 9, inspired by a certain ex-Governor.

Despite evidence to the contrary, Cinco de Mayo is not Spanish for 'another excuse to get totally faced.' What Cinco de Mayo has come to signify in this country, however, is exactly that. Just like we knock back Guinness on St. Patrick's Day and gorge ourselves on beer and brats during Oktoberfest, Cinco de Mayo has become our way of showing appreciation for our Mexican neighbors in the best way we know how; by getting slobber-faced.

This upcoming May 5, we'll be raising glasses of tequila. So let's take a minute and find out exactly what is in that glass and clear up some misconceptions.

I was never a fan of the TV show Sex and the City. I know I'm not the demographic anyway, but I thought I'd at least like the show because it had attractive women and it was set in NYC and it was somewhat about writing. But I watched a couple of episodes and just couldn't get into it. Which means I won't be seeing the big screen movie when it opens on May 30.

But that doesn't mean I can't drink the cocktails inspired by the movie. After the jump are recipes for five drinks, all named after characters on the show/in the movie.

Who doesn't like cocktails? I know there are probably some people out there who don't, but the mixed drinks are pretty popular. But have you ever wondered which ones were the most manly?

Admittedly, the thought has never crossed my mind, but I'm glad someone else has thought of it. Over at Holy Taco, they've put together a list of the top 11 manliest cocktails in the world. Why 11? I'm not sure, but the more the merrier I guess.

Some of the drinks that made the list are the snake bite and the rusty nail. I'll let you check it out for yourself to see cocktail came out on top. Oh, and if you're really interested in the drinks on the list, Holy Taco also provided the recipes.

Do you find yourself so busy and stressed that you can't take the 3 minutes it usually takes to mix a cocktail and you want to find a way to knock that time down to one minute? Yeah, me either, but this could still be fun.

It's the One Minute Mojito from FineLiving.com. Seems to me the muddling would push things over that one minute mark, but maybe not. The recipe is after the jump, but you can also watch this video that shows you how to make it.

That's right, Monday Happy Hour. Who says that Happy Hours have to be reserved for the end of the work week?

This is another recipe from the great retro cocktail book Atomic Cocktails. Last week I gave you the recipe for Webster's F-Street Layway Plan, and this week it's the Urban Bourbon. Yes, it does indeed include bourbon, and also something called Tuaca, which I must admit I've never had before (that I know of, anyway). The book describes it as an Italian liqueur that "spins the mystery of vanilla, orange, and almond." Sounds good to me.