Jeffrey Morgenthaler visits Berlin's Lebensstern to watch Thomas Pflanz in action, then explains the meaning of the Irish Goodbye.

Another Drink of Cinq, this one created by Portland's Lance Mayhew. Part 2 in the series leading up to Le Mixeur Cinq, October 4.

Ursula, a wine-bottle carrier made of leather [Editor's note ~ it collapses into a flat ring for storage]

Prickly pear cactus fruit made into a light, refreshing, and gorgeous drink.

Montage by designers Julien De Repentigny and Gabriel Lefebvre

Asahi introduces Ginger Draft, sort of a premixed shandy targeted at younger drinkers, complete with a J-Pop theme song by Anna Tsuchiya.

Now this is old school! the Bijou Cocktail, originally mixed in 1882!!

A modern version of the venerable Claret Cup

Scomorokh celebrates the rebirth of his blog with two of his favorite shooters, the Electric Banana and the Brave Bull.

Guinness and Neiman Marcus will build you an authentic Irish pub for a cool $250k!

Vessel 75, a journey into molecular mixology. And it's Marcia's first Drink of the Week! [Editor's Note ~ boudreau's recipe originally linked in #684]

Yo, check these limited edition Hennessy kicks by Jhung Yuro. Each $300 pair comes in a lizard-skin shoebox with a braided rope handle. (Cognac, alas, not included.)

Jeff Morgenthaler and Jay Hepburn (pictured) explore the liquor closet at Mixology magazine, where they discover 2,000 of their closest friends.

Cocktail Slut throws a punchbowl party -- an idea we're totally stealing for our next shindig -- letting guests pour their own Philadelphia Fish House Punch.

Brooklyn's Six Point Craft Ales' Hop Obama,
"an entirely unique ale that doesn't conform to traditional style guidelines."

"Dandelion Wine".... one of the most beautiful wine labels I've ever seen

"Gimme a Light!" Popular Science shows you how to turn your empties into something useful: solar-powered garden lanterns.

Plup, a new bottled water from Finland that's wearable, stackable, and -- best yet -- refillable!

Jamie Boudreau gives us the lowdown on Fee's new cherry bitters: "a strong, fruity flavor of the cherry and the cherry pit"

Le Mixeur presents Liberty Bar's Andrew Friedman, and his cocktail contribution to Le Mixeur Cinq, "The Unnamed Orange Bomb."

...and Rookie Libations takes a cue from Dr. Funk to create the Only Funkin': two kinds of rum, lemon, hibiscus grenadine, lemon, violet tea syrup, and pastis de violette.

A Mountain of Crushed Ice serves up a tiki classic called Dr. Funk, a potent mix of rum, lime, lemon, soda, and absinthe.

"Pardon Messieurs, but champagne was a BRITISH invention, claims new research" ~ New claims suggest Christopher Merrett invented the process - and the bottle - for making champagne

Russian Standard have launched a new vodka with the added ingredient Ginseng. Russian Standard Gold has just gone on sale in Russia and will likely hit Western markets next year sometime.

Ayyyy! asks you to raise your glasses to the hard drinking women of TV. Can you name them all?

Peruvian drink staples - the golden-hued Inca Kola and chicha morada (purple corn drink).

Trockenbeerenauslese? (Ja!) The Kitchn deciphers German wine labels.

The Kitchn shines a spotlight on gin, with capsule reviews of DH Krahn, Hendrick's, G'Vine, Bulldog, and Plymouth.

Storm Cloud Rising, a Dark 'n Stormy float with Domaine de Canton Ice Cream, from TraderTiki

Kaiser Penguin shows how the best drinks are sometimes the simplest with TDN winner the Black River Sidecar, complete with fancy garnish!

I'm loving the imperfect form of the PURUS vodka bottle, designed by white_space.

Remember the Sungold Zinger? This savory-tart tomato cocktail is making its way around the blogosphere, this time at Felicia's Speakeasy.

wine + mystery + japanese OTTness = the best manga i've ever read

Slashfood chalks up a brilliant product to make wine charms obsolete.

La Clandestine, a white Swiss absinthe, now available stateside with an $85 pricetag.

Dr. Bamboo obsessively documents the minute differences between tiki drink ice-cone shapes. He rewards fellow geeks with a recipe for Luau Grog.

Stephen Beaumont reminds us that "a drop of bitters adds a big dose of character" to drinks like the Manhattan.

Northern California vintners take on what John Bonné calls "the persistent mediocrity of most Chardonnays" to make the white grape sing again.

Would you pay $14 for a cocktail called The Trust Fund? It's Plymouth gin, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, Champagne, orange marmalade, mint, and cantaloupe 'caviar'.

SFGate takes a trip to Nectar, a wine bar where the Bubbles Flight offers a taste of three different sparkling wines.

Camper English checks out San Francisco's new La Mar Cebicheria and finds a pisco-centric bar menu with flashes of passion fruit and chicha morada (a purple corn juice).

Two new seasonal liqueurs -- Pumpkin Spice and Gingerbread -- make their US debut.

Customize your own coasters with the ingenious Pixel Pack.

Pincer vodka includes extracts of wild elderflower and milk thistle, herbs thought to protect your system from the ill effects of overindulgence.

Gumbo Pages samples a Jasper's Jamaican Cocktail served by Jeanne Vidrine, Tiki Queen of New Orleans, during Tales of the Cocktail.

Can't tell a lambic from a lager? The Beer Wheel tells you what's what, listing everything from brewers and brands to flavors and fermentation.