Anyone who knows me knows I have a bit of a bah-humbug streak in me, but this is one Christmas movement I can get behind!
Tim Laird, dubbed America’s Chief Entertaining Officer (CEO) has some tips to make your holiday cocktails as pretty and festive as your freaky-about-Christmas friend’s Christmas decor.
Tim recommends using Tequila and Vodka for your drink bases, because not only do they allow the greatest range of mixability, but they’re generally guaranteed crowd pleasers. You don’t need to stock a ton of mix in order to make a few different drinks which all bring the colors of the …read more

Halloween is now about a week away. I still don’t have a costume, but I know exactly what I’ll be serving to friends on Friday night.  This is the first of the Drinks After Dark Halloween Recipes – there will definitely be more!
Vampire Juice
In a tall glass with ice mix:
2 oz Finlandia Lime Vodka
4 oz tomato juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh horseradish
Splash of steak sauce (any brand)
Splash of hot sauce
Garnish with eye ball radish
To make ice “eyeballs”. Peel radishes, leaving thin streaks of red skin on to represent blood vessels (see image). Using the tip of the vegetable peeler, or a small, …read more

The classic cocktails, you know, the ones from the 50’s and earlier, are making a comeback in today’s lounges and bars, and Dubonnet is one of those classic ingredients.
Dubonnet, like Absinthe, is one of those liquids developed in the mid-1800’s (1846 to be exact) to help make quinine more palatable for the soldiers battling malaria in North Africa (wow, apparently quinine is a horrid-tasting substance!).
Created by Parisian chemist/wine merchant, Joseph Dubonnet, Dubonnet’s mix of fortified wine and proprietary blend of herbs, spices and peels has earned it legendary status in the world of sophisticated drinks. (image source: Heaven-Hill …read more

The summer solstice always reminds me of Finland. I got an opportunity to go above the Arctic Circle and experience a full day when the sun did not set. I watched it hit the horizon and almost … bounce. It visibly rose again. Three am felt like 3 pm. And it stays this way for 73 days.
I learned, on that trip, that the Finns actually empty cities and restaurants close as everyone returns to nature to celebrate with friends and loved ones by the thousands of lakes in the countryside.
I went with Finlandia Vodka and celebrated the midnight sun …read more