Jagermeister in the snow. Photo: janeyesee, Flickr

Our counterparts over at AOL U.K. recently ran an article entitled "Comedy Booze" lamenting the unfortunate habit some guests have of using parties to re-gift hard alcohol they found unfit to stomach back when they received it. From Greek ouzo to French pastis, it's a multi-culti takedown.

Of course, sometimes that famous Brit wit doesn't cross the pond. We know some folks who adore pastis, and others for whom a bottle of Jagermeister might be considered quite a smashing (or quite funny) addition to a party.

That said, we can certainly sympathize with the sentiment. After the jump, three things we think you should never bring to a party. Tell us what we missed!

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Special thanks to my friend Brandon A. for the tip.

Ah, the celebration that comes with a national election. The debate/return parties, the shared moments of victory and/or regrouping, the solitary, teeth-gnashing sessions spent on the couch in front of CNN. All go better with a drink, preferably something American-made--no Heineken, no Sapporo, no Hennessy, no Stoli. No, indeed, because it is the time to crack open a bottle of Jim Beam. What could be more patriotic than that? Actually, something can: An Operation Homefront bottle of Jim Beam. Operation Homefront is an organization that aids and supports military personnel and their families stateside. Disagree though people may on other issues, I think this is something we can all get behind. Even without the booze.

Unlike the Absolut New Orleans charity bottle, Operation Homefront Beam has no special flavor or, really, anything to differentiate it from regular Beam beasides the stars n' stripes on the bottle. Also, while the Jim Beam company has made six-digit donations to Operation Homefront, they do not receive a percentage of bottle sales, so one is deprived of the rare opportunity of insisting that you're downing that 12th bourbon sour for our brave men and women in uniform. Still, for their support of this fine charity (and perhaps after that 13th bourbon, you could write a check too), the good folk at Jim Beam deserve a round of applause. Or perhaps just a clink of the glasses.

I don't think of bourbon as a summer drink ingredient. Summer drinks to me are ones that are fruity and light and crisp and maybe have an umbrella in them. I mean, they don't have to have an umbrella in them, but fruity and light are what I think of when I think of summer drinks. Bourbon is a harder potion to me, made for fall and winter nights.

But this recipe over at MarthaStewart.com for Eli's Elixir (created by Allen Katz) sounds promising, because it does have that fruit element in it (apple juice, apples) along with 2 oz of bourbon. You also use a Homemade Ginger Cordial in the recipe too.

There's been a longstanding assumption that journalists and drinking have always gone hand in hand. I'm not sure how rumors like this get started. I'm here to tell you that journalists only drink when they absolutely have to, on days of the week that end in a "y." No more than that.*

This drink is The Journalist, and it's made with gin, two kinds of Vermouth, Triple Sec, lime juice, and bitters. To all the writers out there, make one for yourself tonight and type away!

* Yes, this is an old joke.

There are approximately 77 jokes that can be made about this product, but the headline from this article says it all: Booze Bra Gives Women A Wine Rack.

Yup, someone has invented a jog bra where a women can keep alcohol! I suppose it works with other liquids too. Great for going out for a run, I can imagine, though I wonder if the chest will jiggle a little bit more than usual. It makes breasts look bigger too, which is a bonus.

I don't know if I have a special drink I have around the holidays, though I guess if I had to think of one it would be egg nog. Not that I drink a lot of it around the holidays, it's just that it's the only holiday-related drink that I can think of having. If I'm going to have a drink, I usually stick to what I have other months of the year, even if it is Christmas.

Fandango has a quiz where they'll figure out which drink is best for you during the holidays. They ask you questions such as your favorite color, what type of movies you like, your idea of a fun time, etc. Then they tell you what you should be drinking. It works with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

I don't know how accurate it is since I got "Whiskey," which I can't stomach.

Here on Slashfood we celebrate all things having do with food and drink. However, if on this day in 1933, Utah had chosen not to ratify the 21st Amendment, we'd have far less to write about. That's because the 21st Amendment repealed the Volstead Act (aka the 18th Amendment) which prohibited the manufacture, transportation and sale of alcohol. Ah Prohibition, you were a dark and nasty period of history (well, so I've heard).

Thanks to Utah and the 21st Amendment, for the last 74 years, Americans have had the right to drink a beer with friends, have a glass of wine with dinner or even get rip roaring drunk every Saturday night. If you want to learn more about Prohibition and Repeal Day, check out this website that gives a nice summary of the history. And raise your glass, in appreciation of the fact that you can.

There are a gazillion martini recipes out there, and sometimes it's hard to pick one we either want to drink regularly or experiment with (I like mine with gin, thank you very much).

Here's one from the terrific book The Craft of the Cocktail, by legendary mixologist Dale DeGroff. It's for the Smoky Martini, and it's not only a very simple concoction it also has a very cool, mysterious name. Full recipe (along with variation) after the jump (the pic is from another site, not sure if it's the same as this recipe).

Remember that commercial for Staples, the one where the parents are taking their kids shopping for school supplies and they're smiling and dancing to "The Most Wonderful Time of The Year?"

It's that time of year.

I have a good friend who has a young boy, and she's really happy he's back in school. This has nothing to do with a parent not loving their kids, it's just that when a child (baby, tween, or teen) is home, I'm sure it can just completely rule your life and not give you any breathing room (I'm not a parent, but I can imagine). I picture balloons falling from the ceiling and the liquor cabinet unlocked the moment the kids are on the bus.

So, parents, let's drink and celebrate!

So, you found it hard to get back to work today after the long July 4th holiday (assuming, of course, that you didn't work last Thursday or Friday)? Feeling like you had some sort of work-related jet lag today? Then you need a cocktail!

This is called The Bachelor Bait. Not sure why, unless they think that the mixture of gin, orange bitters, grenadine, and egg whites is enough to "get a man." Maybe this recipe was created in 1959, who knows. Or maybe it's us bachelors who are doing the baiting?

Full recipe after the jump.

OK, OK, this is a little twist to our usual "Happy Hour" feature. It's not a drink but a recipe with the words "Happy Hour" in it. But it is a good appetizer to eat while drinking and it does have wine in it, so I think it fits.

It's Happy Hour Mushrooms, and utilizes monterey jack cheese, garlic, butter, wine, soy sauce, and Ritz Crackers. Full recipe after the jump.

There's an "America's Favorite Neighbor" joke in here somewhere but I can't think of one at the moment.

A 2 year-old was accidentally served a margarita in his drink instead of the apple juice his mother ordered. The kid kept pushing the drink away after taking a sip and his mom didn't understand why. She opened the sippy cup and found the alcohol. She wasn't going to make a fuss, but later at home the child got sick and vomited. The chain says the incident was an isolated mistake. The child is fine now.

The reason this happened? Not only was the apple juice and the Triple sec/tequila mixture kept on the same shelf, they were kept in identical plastic bottles. Yikes.

[via The Obsure Store and Reading Room]

Barbara Holland is one of my favorite writers. She has a way of taking culture and history and creating little book gems such as Wasn't The Grass Greener? and Endangered Pleasures. Her autobiography When All The World Was Young is quite good too. It's always great to see her come out with a new book. This one is called The Joy of Drinking.

Holland has touched on the subject of drinking over the years in a couple of the above books, but this one really gets into the history of drinking, explaining how people came to drink certain types of alcohol, how drinks were invented, even the laws that have governed drinking over the years. It's a rather small book, but she gets a lot of information in the pages: Mark Anthony, Pope Leo, the Prohibition, what our founding fathers drank, right up to today, talking about what our drinking habits are like now.

Yes, there seems to be a whole bunch of drinks based around our favorite Gotham City crimefighter (and his friends and enemies).

The Batman Cocktail sounds like a variation on a Shirley Temple or Buck Rogers, something for the kids, and it includes grenadine and orange juice. The Penguin includes gin, cherry liqueur, and benedictine, while The Alfredo has Campari and gin. There are also drinks based on Robin, The Riddler, the Batcave, even Commissioner Gordon.

What, no drink for Catwoman? That sounds like a natural.