As winter yields to spring, farmers' markets teem with bright produce and blooms shed their pollen, allergy sufferers experience the first sneezes of the season. While over-the-counter and prescribed drugs offer some level of comfort, they also come with a hefty price tag and slew of side effects.

Though science is far from conclusive on this front, many homeopaths think there may be another (edible) option. Some allergy battlers have found that an old folk remedy of eating local honey can help reduce the severity of their reactions. The logic goes like this: bees in an area collect nectar from the same plants that cause allergies, and honey produced from that nectar contains microscopic quantities of the allergens. By consuming small amounts of the honey, sufferers may be administering a form of homespun immunotherapy.

Others dispute the effectiveness of this treatment, and even its supporters acknowledge that honey isn't an instant fix. Traditionally, allergy sufferers consume small amounts of it every day for an extended period of time in order to build up resistance to allergens. (Some even warn that local honey can actually set off reactions. Be sure to check with your doctor if you are considering this method of handling allergies.)

This is all a long way of saying that we have a delectable honey liqueur recipe for the allergic and the resistant alike. Krupnikas, a delicious Eastern European liqueur made from spices, honey and grain alcohol, makes an aromatic, golden-hued tipple that can be drunk warm in the fall or on the rocks in the summer. With a spicy flavor and bright glow, it is a great way to celebrate the arrival of (a hopefully sneeze-free) spring.

One of the best things about being an adult is having a liquor cabinet.

Not just a few pints stashed away atop a refrigerator, but a proper piece of furniture -- or at least a designated shelf -- to keep one's array of bottles, glassware, shakers and swizzle sticks. However, many of us shove and stack and forget about that old quart of Kahlua or the sticky shot glasses and ruin the whole effect.

In order to reap the full Nick and Nora je ne sais quoi from your liquor cabinet, you also must do a little maintenance at least every six months.

Slashfood's tips to cleaning up your liquor cabinet after the jump.

The Luxury Institute has released its annual Luxury Brand Status Index (did you know that even luxury brands have their own status index?) for the wine and spirits category. The index is based on surveys of the wealthy, sampling more than 1,200 American consumers with an average weighted income of $342,000 and an average weighted net worth of $2.9 million. Here are the top-rated brands in each category:

Champagne and sparkling wine: Dom Perignon
Cognac: Courvoisier
Gin: Hendricks
Liqueur: Grand Marnier
Rum: 10 Cane
Scotch: Macallan
Table wine: Opus One
Tequila: Patron
Vodka: Grey Goose
Whiskey: Woodford Reserve

I've already expressed my unyielding love for the mint julep here on Slashfood. So I'm happy to announce that this years Tales of the Cocktail competition is based on none other than my beloved julep.

What's in it for you, bartenders? How about cash money and the honor of having your julep selected as the official cocktail of the 2009 Tales Of The Cocktail festival and published in the official recipe book by Mud Puddle books.

According to noted cocktail historian and one of the judges of the this competition, David Wondrich, bartenders should consider these definitions when creating their juleps:

- A Julep can be based on spirits, wine (or fortified wine) or a combination of the two.
- It must be made in a tall (10-14 oz) glass with cracked or shaved ice.
- It may contain citrus or other fruit juice, but only in a proportion not to exceed 1/8 of the total volume of liquid (not including ice).
- It must include fresh mint.
- It must contain sugar or some other sweetener.

For full rules and guidlines plus the entry form, follow this link to Cocktailtimes.com.

Oh, and if you haven't circled your calenders yet, this years Tales Of The Cocktail will be July 8 - 12th

What's that sound? Corks a-popping from shore to shore? No doubt bubbly was the beverage du jour for many folks, but mixologists both pro and amateur took it upon themselves to create signature beverages for the election and inauguration of our 44th President. When tasked with that for a friend's bash, I put some thought into the national origins of each element, so that they might match those of our new Commander-In-Chief. With a bit of tinkering, a new and semi-perfect union was formed -- The Barry O.

The Barry-O

Equal parts cocoa powder and sugar
1 1/2 oz Amarula
1 oz bourbon
1/4 oz Kona coffee liqueur (I like Trader Vic's)

Dampen the edge of a cocktail glass, and roll in a blend of equal parts sugar and cocoa powder.

Shake Amarula, bourbon and coffee liqueur with ice to blend and strain into the prepared glass.

Note: Amarula is an African cream liqueur made from the fruit of the Marula tree. Bourbon is a distinctively American whiskey, named for, and largely produced in Kentucky's Bourbon County. Coffee designated as Kona can only come from the Kona District of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Africa, America & Hawaii - all with a li'l dash of chocolate.


So - whatcha sip to celebrate (or drown your sorrows) this historic night? Share it in the comments.

I think it was sometime in 2008 that I discovered how delicious Pernod was in Italian cooking (which led me to make one heck of a Pernod and fennel-based lasagna in August). But for some silly reason, I never thought of combining the two without noodles and tomato sauce. Duh.

The above picture comes from a delicious side of Fennel Braised in Pernod from The Kitchn (using a recipe from The Greasy Spoon). Slap this on the table with a shot of sambuca and a dessert of Black Jack gum and this food fiend would be a very happy camper. I don't think I'd need a main dish. But maybe pernod-flavored pasta...?

When life hands me lemons, I make freshly-squeezed lemonade. When life hands me a grapefruit, I make a Hemingway Daiquiri. When life hands me a grapefruit, limes, Maraschino liqueur, a couple of bottles of Cuban rum (they were a gift -- I swear!) and a few sugar canes all at the same time -- well, I kinda have to take that as a mixological edict straight from Papa.

Whether or not one's a fan of Ernest Hemingway's barrel-chested prose, it's still entirely possible to appreciate his contributions to the cocktail lexicon. As an ex-pat in Havana, Hemingway spent much of his time bellied up to the El Floridita Bar, reportedly gulping down six of these babies if just out to be social, and a dozen doubles (bump up the rum portion, and you've got yourself a Papa Doble) if drunkenness were the mission's objective.

More, plus two recipes after the jump.

I do most of my cocktail inventing around the holidays. The reason for this is twofold. One, I always visit my parents and they possess a liquor cabinet that shames some bars, not only in actual number of bottles, but also in the array of top-shelf and/or rare liquors. Two, when does one find oneself in need of a drink more than the holidays?

Whether it's the merriment of celebration, the release of stress, or simply the desire to take a breather from all the socializing by indulging in a brief respite behind the bar, December is the time for mixing. And also for giving, so allow me to give you my two newly-invented cocktails for 2008: the Ginger-Pear Cocktail and the Nihilist.

I posted about Shochu recently, and one person commenting noted the difference between Shochu, a Japanese liquor, and Soju, a Korean liquor. (They are similar-tasting, and some Shochu is labelled Soju for marketing purposes.) Not long ago I tried a really interesting citrus liqueur made from Soju called TY KU. TY KU is made from yuzu, an Asian citrus, honeydew melon, ginseng, mangosteen, an Asian superfruit, goji berry, green tea, Soju, and Sake. It's refreshing, with totally exotic flavors that are hard to describe because they're unlike most drinks found in America.

Let's be perfectly frank: the liqueur is quite good. In fact, it's so good that a group of six of us polished the bottle off in one sitting (it's only 20 percent alcohol, so don't schedule an intervention!). But I don't normally write about liqueurs, so in the spirit of honesty, I'll share with you why I'm raving about this bottle.

It has an LED light in the bottom that lights up the liqueur inside, taking me right back to my college days when everyone in the dorm had a lava lamp. The light makes the green liqueur glow irridescent, a perfect conversation piece for a cocktail party (it was for mine!).

Also, apparently TY KU is a celeb favorite. Denzel Washington, Patrick Swayze, Leonardo Dicaprio, Jaime Foxx, and Paris Hilton have all been spotted drinking it.

After the jump, a couple of TK KU recipes (though seriously, it goes down just fine alone).

When I was 23 years old, I inherited my grandparents apartment, contents and all. As they were people who liked to entertain, that inheritance included a full stocked liquor cabinet. I didn't know much about alcohol back in those days, as I had barely imbibed during college and so this was a treasure trove of unknown wealth and knowledge.

Over the years, the contents of that liquor cabinet have morphed and shifted, making room for bottles of vodka (not a spirit my grandparents used much) and saying good bye to the whiskey that friends and family have pilfered. One recent addition that has really been floating my personal cocktail boat of late has been the bottle of Pama that I acquired a few months back.

Pama is a pomegranate flavored liqueur that is tangy, sweet and has a glowing red hue. It's all the pomegranate (plus some) without all the work! I like to make an adult soda with it, mixing a couple of ounces of Pama with plain old soda water, finishing it with a squeeze of lemon. It's similar to when you cut sparkling water with cranberry juice, only with a slightly intoxicating zing. It's also great for deglazing the pan when you're working with sweet and savory flavors (there's a recipe on the Pama website for Oven Roasted Pork Chops with a Shallot and Pama Sauce that sounds absolutely delicious).

If you're looking for something to add a little zip to your special holiday drink, I highly suggest that you consider Pama as your secret ingredient! If you're looking for a little recipe inspiration, there are two options after the jump.

There's a stigma attached to those who extol the virtues of proper glassware. But the fact is -- they're right. The vessel used for your drink will affect not only the liquid that's poured inside, but also the way it hits your tongue, and the flavor your taste buds register.

I used to blow this off as overly fastidious, fancy schmancy posturing. I hated getting pints of beer or glasses of soda because it always tasted flat to me. I preferred that crisp bite out of the bottle -- glass be damned!

But then I experienced the differences for myself. While visiting a winery a number of years ago, my friends and I sat in on a glassware class. A myriad of shapes and sizes were placed in front of us, and we tried white, red, and sparkling wine in the different glasses. Each tasted different as it was moved from the standard white glass, to the wider red, to the narrow flute. We were shocked, and we vowed to always try to have the right glass for the right wine, because what's the point of paying more for a good wine, if you can't experience its full flavor?

But it's not just a matter of wine. Recently, I was making dinner and decided to open a bottle of craft beer that I had loved at my favorite pub a few months prior. I popped off the cap, took a drink, and curled my lip -- it not only tasted nothing like I remembered, but I hated it. I thought back and remembered that I drank the beer at the end of the night. Did I have bad, delusional drunken taste buds? I read the side of the bottle, which suggested a specific stemmed glass. I found something close, poured it in, and it became the beer I remembered -- rich, full, and wonderful. Me, the bottle lover, had found a beverage that tasted much, much better out of the bottle.

Now this doesn't mean that you need to have a specific glass for every different type of beer or booze. Get the right glasses, or something very close, for your favorite beverages, and stick to standards for the rest.

Think about it -- why splurge on a great scotch, wine, beer, or other beverage if you're just going to throw it into any old glass?

Read on to see a rundown of the glasses that make each beverage pop, and consider this not only a great guide for your own collection, but an excellent gift for the liquor, wine, or beer fiend on your gift list.

Shot Glass

These jiggers give what no other glass can – a quick shot of flavor that slides down the throat in one dose. However, before the seventies, shot glasses were mainly used as jiggers to measure other mixed drinks, rather than vessels for the quick burst of booze. Yet another reason I love the seventies.




Martini/Cocktail Glass

The classic martini glass is the most popular go-to vessel for shaken drinks, even if the cocktail in question isn't actually a martini. The size and shape holds no room for ice (bring in the shaker!), and the stem allows the drinker to get through the cocktail without warming the glass and drink with their hands.




Margarita Glass

One of the more unique shapes in the glass world, margarita glasses have a double bowl with an extra-wide upper rim. The narrow base helps amp the color of the drink, while the wide rim allows for salt and other powdered rimmers to be added to the glass.

Brandy Snifter

The brandy snifter works like a wine glass – gobletted top and stemmed bottom. But this version is a larger, more bulbous, and you only pour a small amount into the base. Unlike other stemmed glassware designed to keep a drink cold, the snifter is designed for the drinker to cup the glass, warm it with their hand, and sniff the aromas with the slightly narrowed rim.






Old-Fashioned/Rocks Glass

The shorter version of the highball, this is called a rocks glass because it's often used in drinks served "on the rocks." It's wide, it holds the ice well, and it's the go-to glass for most bar-served mixed drinks. This glass is often used interchangeably with the highball.





Highball Glass

This is the other popular glass of the liquor realm. It's the mainstay for any drink that teams alcohol with a mix – gin and tonics, rum and cokes, you name it -- especially when the mix is in a large quantity. The tall stature allows adequate room for ice, liquor, and mix. The versatility of this glass makes it the vessel any bar should stock.

Hurricane Glass

You won't find a specific function with these glasses, but the shape is popular for large, blended frozen drinks that you can sip with a straw. You've seen them before -- restaurants like the Hard Rock Cafe love to put their brand on them.



Irish Coffee Glass

The Irish Coffee glass is all about looks. It holds warm beverages like any regular mug; however, the glass is clear to showcase the look of a good Irish coffee, Hot Toddy, or other warm, layered beverage that would benefit from seeing the drink from the side as well as the top.



Collins Glass

This tumbler looks much like the highball glass, or a traditional pint glass, but is narrower than both. This shape is mainly for looks, and the history of the Tom Collins drink; therefore, it can be used interchangeably with a highball glass.

Sour Glass

Reminiscent of a curvy champagne flute or wine glass, sour glasses work well with the cold foam of sour drinks. The stem, meanwhile, will help keep the drink cold like other stemmed glassware.





Whisky Glass

The tulip shape of this glass derives from classic Scotch tasting glasses (the look primarily same, but without the slightly wider mouth). Like the wine glasses, this glass tapers towards the top to concentrate aromas for both neat and on-the-rocks servings.




Cordial Glass

The most similar companion to the cordial glass is the shot glass. Unlike other vessels that require a number of ingredients, the cordial glass is made for sipping – particularly small portions of liquor after dinner. With a shot, you down the beverage in one gulp. With the cordial, you make it last, like savoring every bite of a rich dessert.





Absinthe Glass

These glasses, which are never complete without the slotted spoon, have short, thick stems. Also, the embellishments in the glass' body are more than just artistic creation -- they serve as a dose line to signify how much absinthe should be poured in. Glass added thanks to Rainman's reminder!