David Ngo's Toumei sake carafe has an LED in the base that illuminates the remaining sake. As the carafe is emptied, the light becomes less diffuse.

The Art of Drink investigates the Green Swizzle, a possible precursor to the better-known Corn 'n' Oil.

"If the steak is Christ, the martini is its John the Baptist," says Esquire's David Wondrich, opining on the perfect pre-Porterhouse aperitif.

Merlove -- a documentary celebrating Merlot -- takes on the famous Sideways diss.

Lagunitas Sirius Cream Ale may just be the perfect blend of lager and ale.

Jeff Morgenthaler visits Portland's Great American Distillers Fest and attends Robert Hess's panel, "The History of the Cocktail“.

Helpful tips from The Kitchn on picking a good wine from the big brands. They test 15 under-$15 supermarket Pinot Grigios and pick 6 winners.

Denver-area brewers are capitalizing on the Democratic convention to draw attention to their brands. (And yes, it's working.)

The Natural Harmonic from The Spirit World uses Damrak gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur, and -- in place of bitters -- a syrup made from IPA.

Gin with Muddled Summer Plums. Using fresh fruit makes for a delicious, refreshing seasonal cocktail.

Untouchable Pale Ale from San Francisco's Speakeasy brewery, one of two Beer of the Week entries from Underhill Lounge.

Mr Bali Hai takes us on a three-way recipe comparison of a tiki classic, the Suffering Bastard.

Don the Beachcomber's Caribbean Punch, and 6 other "Tiki Drinks with a Twist"

Viva Campari! Read about the Italian bitter aperitif's storied history and discover two dozen recipes over at A Mountain of Crushed Ice.

Tiare invents a new drink with rum and Aperol (she calls it "Campari's little sister") and christens it Mata'Irea -- in honor of a Tahitian island.

Erwin Bauer has redesigned Zulls graphic profile and some of their wine bottles. Playful design for something stiff and serious as Austrian wine.

Golden Phelps--A celebration of the summer Olympics in a glass, featuring this season's golden plums and purple basil.

Bid a fond farewell to summer with Il Diavolo. This fizzy refresher features chinotto, an Italian soda made with bittersweet citrus.

Lush Life has the deets on the new haunt from bar maven Sasha Petraske (Milk & Honey, et al). White Star Bar serves just two drinks: Absinthe and beer.

Sommelier Emily Wines trusts you. At the aptly named Honor Bar at San Francisco's Fifth Floor, she puts out six wines and a self-service payment box.

The Cocktailians revisit New York's legendary Death&Co and sample a Sentimental Journey: Tanqueray Ten, Chardonnay, cinnamon bark syrup, all served up with a twist.

Imbibe Unfiltered samples a savory cocktail from Bridget Albert's long-awaited book, Market-Fresh Mixology.

Slashfood's "Diary of a Distiller" series gets down to business, making the wild Maine blueberry wine that will become eau de vie and fruit brandy this winter.

Commercial cocktail cherries aren't made from hand-picked fruit marinated in Maraschino liqueur. But yours can be.

The Banana Bliss -- a sweet and strong cocktail invented by E. Angerosa -- is perfect digestive.

The latest in Underhill Lounge's "Stomping Through Savoy" series: The Derby cocktail, a bracing mix of ice-cold gin laced with peach bitters and mint.

SF Chronicle reports some California vintners are reconsidering sulfites, a controversial additive that's also a natural by-product of fermentation.

Even if you can't afford airfare to Bermuda, you can still enjoy the island's official drink: the spicy-cool, oh so refreshing, Dark and Stormy.

Gary Regan's Cocktailian column plucks a pair of peachy, Italian-inspired highballs from San Francisco's prominent restaurants.

Latte art goes high-tech: A repurposed ink-jet printer that uses caramel syrup to etch a graphic on your foam.

Q Tonic is dedicated to making the world’s best tonic water

The easiest and most delicious Margarita recipe!

Ron Matusalem, a super-premium Dominican rum, offers a beautiful amber color with a whiff of sugar cane, vanilla, and "grandmother's attic".

A Tribute to the Games: The Mount Olympus includes Metaxa -- a Greek brandy -- plus Grand Mariner, Lillet blanc, and fresh lime juice.

Mixologist Junior Merino whips up a boozy variation on the licuados of his childhood: avocado, mezcal, Cointreau, agave, honey, lime, and a coca-leaf liqueur called Agwa.

At the Violet Hour, the bartenders refer to the Cobbler as their "roast chicken" -- the drink people order when they're scared of everything else!

The Ginger Grant features Martinique rum, ginger liqueur and a touch of spice for that "weekend in the Caribbean" feel.

Darcy O'Neill's treatise on falernum -- a spicy cocktail syrup -- turns up an undiscovered 1896 reference with a punch-like 4:3:2:1 formula.

The Baltimore Sun raises a glass to small-batch, copper-pot-distilled rums, and finds a winner.

The Sungold Zinger -- a mix of 209 Gin, lemon juice, agave syrup, and baby tomatoes -- has a fan club.

Drip Ruff. just like the cloth from mid-sixteenth century in western europe. Fancy.

Delicious and refreshing Limoncello

Fraises Fizz is my favorite fizz cocktail.

It's an iPhone app showdown on Alcademics!
Which category has better offerings: Beer, wine, or cocktails?

Feed Your Vegetarian serves up Southwestern mojitos, made with prickly-pear cactus syrup.

Brewery Ommegang's Abbey Ale. a wonderful example of the dubbel style, brewed in New York State.