Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things, most recently the owner of LeNell's liquor store. She's owned her own whiskey label called Red Hook Rye and been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.

You survived the Derby Day parties, and your annual mint julep tickled everyone's fancies quite nicely. Now you are wondering what to do with that leftover bottle of bourbon.

How dare you have a leftover bottle of bourbon, first of all! But if you do, here's an easy way to get rid of it.

Justin Timberlake has a new tequila and since Cinco de Mayo is upon us, we thought we'd share the odd reason why this triple-distilled 100 percent agave is named "901."

Apart from it being the area code of Timberlake's hometown, Memphis, it is also, according to a press release, "the moment when evening ends and your night begins."

That is all. Discuss.

"It's the most exciting two minutes in sports!"

We're laying 2:1 odds that some pal of yours has been champing at the bit to trot out that chestnut ever since Big Brown galloped toward destiny last Derby Day. And sure, you hooted, hollered, maybe even donned a big, fancy hat and welled up a little but honestly, did you watch even one other horse race in '08? Chances are, you were there for the mint juleps.

If you are there -- as in Churchill Downs -- for the juleps, you'll be in the hands of of the track's Executive Chef Joseph "Jo-Jo" Doyle, and that ain't a bad place to be at all. The 34-year-old chef isn't a Kentuckian by birth, but tells Slashfood that the cuisine of his Mobile, AL and New Orleans upbringing prepped him for making traditional Bluegrass fare.

Hear more from Chef Doyle and get traditional Kentucky Benedictine and Bourbon Slush recipes after the jump.

With Derby Day racing round the bend and summer hot on its tail, it's mint julep time. Considering the current rage for infusing one's booze, it's only natural to combine bourbon with mint before the two even hit a glass.

Some folks just toss the two together, steeping a few handfuls of leaves in a glass jar. Here's a slightly more precise recipe: Combine about 2 cups loosely packed mint leaves with 3 cups of bourbon, cap tightly and let sit for 4 to 5 days. If short on time, steep overnight (though another cupful of leaves will be necessary -- perhaps more if a very minty taste is desired). Once the liquor is infused, it's a quick jump to mint julep time: Just mix with simple syrup and pour over crushed ice, no messy muddling required. Some prefer to combine liquor, mint and sugar for an all-in-one infusion, but this mint-only rendition allows more flexibility for various levels of sweet tooths. The concoction also makes for a fine Jack n' Ginger (be wary of bourbon purists!), or an excellent Manhattan.

OK, OK, so we're a little obsessed with bourbon right now. But Derby Day is just around the corner, the sun is starting to make a cameo and, well, bourbon is absurdly delicious.

While at a whiskey-and-barbecue eatery the other night, the bartender stopped short when he heard me order Woodford Reserve, mistaking me for some high-rolling aficionado (I'm new to the cult and have never even tried Pappy Van Winkle). "You like bourbon?" he asked, smiling. With a flourish, he produced this bottle of Vintage 17-year-old bourbon. I laughed when I saw it. Look at that photo! It was like someone saying, "You know what's a high-quality nail polish?" and dramatically presenting you with an old bottle of cherry-red Wet & Wild with its insanely '80s script. How could this be tasty stuff?

One sip shut me straight up. My companion crowed, "It's incredible! It coats the palate with caramel!" All I could muster after a long day writing about food was a sober, "Yeah," and a deep sigh -- the sigh of a woman who had just acquired a very expensive new habit.

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.

Do not come between a Southern gent and his bourbon.

We learned this lesson at a recent NYC party when we observed a Mississippi native seize a bottle of Knob Creek, shake its last drops angrily into a cup and grab a bottle of pricey, small-batch Woodford Reserve only to be outraged to find this also nearly gone. "I knew I should have hidden the good stuff from these people!" he shouted, shaking his fist at the guests he'd invited to his home.

The cause of this maniacal outburst from a mild-mannered gent? Bourbon, and the thought of mixing it with store-bought gingerale. A wide-eyed belle from Jersey had ordered up a whiskey-and-ginger. Since only his finest was left, he delivered the bourbon abomination with a sigh, grumbling about "corn syrup on beautiful whiskey" in a thick accent en route.

Making a whiskey-n-ginger with the best bourbon in the house is where we -- who have certainly enjoyed a Jameson 'n ginger or (hic!) three -- would draw the line. But what does Chris Morris, master distiller at Woodford Reserve (the official whiskey of Derby Day) think?

Slashfood: "A party guest wants to combine supermarket gingerale with your excellent bourbon. Do you flip out?

Morris: "To be quite honest, I think whisky and gingerale is a great drink. Woodford Reserve has hints of ginger and a nice little citrus note and goes well with gingerale, a classic highball. Our response to anybody who thinks it's an insult is the question, 'Well, do you enjoy it?' If the answer is 'yes,' it's perfectly all right. We want make a great first impression, so if that person is a gingerale highball drinker, what better way than with Woodford Reserve in place of your regular bourbon?"

Hmm. Very interesting. What do y'all think:

In the world of brown spirits, age is becoming.

Later this month, Mount Gay Rum plans to get into the ultra-premium liquor market with Mount Gay Rum 1703 Old Cask Selection, a blend of rums aged 10 to 30 years.

There's been a lot of talk on Slashfood as of late about what aging can do to rums like Ron Zapaca (aged 23 years) and Old New Orleans (10 year using a special Hurricane Katrina weathering process). Recently Slashfood got to sit down with Chesterfield Browne, the mixologist for Mount Gay, to sip their oldest offering.

Mount Gay is best known for its bottle, which used to carry a detailed map of Barbados used -- legend says -- by sailors to navigate the island. The rum has been made there since 1703.

"We're the rum that invented rum," Browne said over a small glass of the 1703. Thirty years in an old white-oak bourbon barrel on the island of Barbados turns a harsh spirit made from molasses into some seriously smooth liquor. It's still rum, yes, but as smooth as any well-aged Scotch.

"It's About Time" used to be Mount Gay's catch phrase and Browne thinks its apt for 1703 -- the third offering from the company that also produces Mount Gay Eclipse, a rum aged 8 years, and Mount Gay Extra Old, aged 12 to 17 years and colloquially known on Barbados as "Mount Gay Black."

1703 is liable to be known as "Mount Gay Gold" for its label and its $99-a-bottle price tag.

To read more about the other aged rums Slashfood has covered, check out these posts on Ron Zapaca and Old New Orleans.

New Orleans has always been a cocktail town, but did you know it also makes spirits too?

Since 1995, Celebration Distillation has been crafting Old New Orleans Rum from Louisiana molasses in a facility off Elysian Fields.

On a recent visit, Slashfood met one of the company's distillers, Julie Perschall, who walked us through the warehouse operation, which flooded with 8 feet of water when Hurricane Katrina rolled through in 2005.

Using old equipment from the Abita Brewery, chief distiller Chris Sule and crew distill 1,900 gallons of molasses, yeast and water each week into about 200 gallons of white dog (184 proof booze to you), which they age on the distillery's second floor in old bourbon barrels made of white oak. Moving the barrels to higher ground proved to be a wise move, as it spared the distillery's stock during Katrina.

Visitors can taste the results -- a special edition 10-year rum distilled in 1997 which weathered the nation's costliest natural disaster to become as smooth as any ancient whiskey.

More rum after the jump.

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.

When it comes to naming drinks after people -- whether they be real or fictional -- what comes first? Do you decide to honor a personage and then make the appropriate cocktail, or do you mix it up and then go, "Hmmm... who does this remind me of?"

For the Suzanne Sugarbaker, it was definitely the latter. A cocktail made with sweet tea vodka and rose petal nectar seemed rather Southern belle-like and, given that there is already a Scarlett O'Hara, this seemed the way to go.

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

The whole subject of mixed drinks and alcohol has made me pretty tense lately -- a feeling that was further compounded by the excellent post by Paul Clarke on Serious Eats about the start of the absinthe backlash. Backlash... about a drink. This isn't a certain style of jeans, it's a drink. If you like it, you like it. While trends might influence our eating, do any of you say: "Gee, chocolate chip cookies aren't in right now. I'm going to stop eating them"? No. We keep eating them because they're darned tasty. So why do we succumb to the pressures of alcoholic trends?

The years go by and certain mixtures become passe, while others thrive because of something prevalent in media. (Like the inundation of Cosmopolitans from Sex and the City.) When they bite the dust, the old drinks get this "yuck" stigma, as if their lack of popularity is due to their flavor, and not the mindless following of trends. Old drinks become weird and foreign, even if they might be tastier, simpler, and infinitely more rewarding. New generations hit the bars, and they order what they know, and no one ever seems to tell them otherwise.

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

It's a predicament almost as old as alcohol itself. In fact, in Macbeth, Shakespeare wrote of partaking in alcoholic beverages: "It provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance." Well, maybe if Shakespeare had spent more time drinking in moderation...

NewScientist reports that a recent Australian study found that moderate drinking can actually reduce the chances of developing erectile dysfunction by 25% - 30% compared to people who don't drink at all, even after accounting for additional risk factors such as age, smoking and heart disease.

Sounds counterintuitive compared to the old adage, right? But it seems more and more, scientists are identifying the health benefits of drinking in moderation. (Plus drinking in moderation can provide you the benefits of not looking like an idiot at family gatherings!) To your health!

[via Hop Talk via Boing Boing]