Gin is the spirit of the moment with a rising popularity in jazz nights happening at venues around the city and the huge success of Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby in theaters now. What better time than when gin-based cocktails are making a comeback in a huge way than to introduce Geranium London Dry Gin? Gin is hugely popular across the pond but many drinkers here in the states tend to gravitate toward vodka and rums. Henrik Hammer, a Danish gin expert and founder of Geranium Gin is hoping to change that with his craft spirit.

Wine lovers from around the world flooded into the Hudson Hotel last night to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the wino bible, Wine Enthusiast Magazine. The bi-level celebration’s was a belle époque meets carnival themed event, designed by Adam Aleksander, with a fitting red and white color scheme that was simply breathtaking. No detail of Wine Enthusiast’s Red and White Bash was overlooked from the activities for guests to experience to the live entertainment enjoyed by all. While tasting over ninety varieties of the world’s best wines, guests snacked on a charcuterie plate and anti-pasti salad offerings all of which were paired perfectly to the large wine selection.

Coming off the heels of Cinco de Mayo, many might be thinking twice about inviting tequila to the party. If your head hurts, your mouth is dry, and your liver is crying: you probably overdid it. Next time, celebrate in style with a luxury sipping tequila like Casa Dragones, your body will thank you.

Whiskey and scotch have some stiff competition these days. Luxury brands are crafting sipping spirits from rum to tequila that will easily compete with their caramel-colored counterparts. One of our favorites to hit the market is the high-end sipping tequila Casa Dragones.

The best part of living in a major metropolis is take out delivery service from essentially any restaurant especially now that sites like Seamless and GrubHub are so popular. Even if you don’t live in a major city there’s hardly a need to go outside anymore. Need toothpaste and shampoo? Drugstore.com’s got you covered. Need groceries but don’t feel like going aisle by aisle picking up what you need? There’s Fresh Direct and other similar services. So what if you’re throwing together a last minute Cinco de Mayo party? Thanks to BoozeCarriage.com, an online New York City alcohol delivery service, servicing Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn and Queens, you won’t have to run to the grocery store, liquor store, and party store for your spontaneous fiesta.

For Cinco de Mayo don’t rely on the tired cocktails and beers designated for the holiday. There's so much more than icy lime margaritas, Corona bottles, and shots of Jose. Expand your cocktail repertoire! Tequila is a versatile spirit and can make an array of drinks using herbs, fruit, flowers, and more. Mezcal, tequila’s smoky cousin can be used in traditional-style margaritas or used to create a unique smoky punch. Don’t think that Corona and Dos Equis are your only options if you’re more of a beer drinker. The Mexican brand, Bohemia, is a delicious Pilsner-style beer that can be kicked up a notch with a simple rim of chipotle. For fans of the traditional chilled rice drink, Horchata, you’ll love it even more when it’s spiked with rum! Below you’ll find cocktails that everyone at your fiesta will love. Cheers!

Cocktail mecca, The Dead Rabbit, is inaugurating its public event series with a program of two nights exploring the life and liquor of author Ernest Hemingway. Each evening will incorporate a 90-minute discussion led by Philip Greene, author of To Have and Have Another, a cocktail lover's guide to life and works of Hemingway through the beverages he enjoyed along the way. Four cocktails found in the works of Hemingway will be served, prepared by King Cocktail, Dale DeGroff.

With a little over two weeks until Cinco de Mayo, Chef Antelmo Ambrosio from bustling Battery Park staple SouthWest NY shares three cocktails inspired by his hometown of Oaxaca, Mexico, to get you in the celebratory spirit!

All three hand-crafted concoctions will be served at the restaurant on the actual day of Cinco de Mayo along with a ‘Buffet del Mercado’ boozy feast featuring mojito-marinated skirt steak, margarita chicken breast, Guajillo-garlic shrimp, and much more for $22 per person.

Le Cercle Rive Droite, an organization dedicated to bringing together the most prestigious chateaux from The Right Bank of the Gironde Estuary in the Bordeaux region, is hosting a one night only event this week in New York City. On Thursday, April 18th, Le Cercle Rive Droite will be hosting an exclusive wine event at Millesime inside the Carlton Hotel (92 Madison Avenue) where they will be introducing their 2010 Bordeaux vintages and the 2012 en primeur wines. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with the producers, association president Dr. Alain Raynaud, and try the best offerings of 32 chateaux from the region. Tickets for the consumer portion of the event are on sale for $150 with 10% if ticket sales going to Citymeals-on-Wheels (can be purchased here). Additionally, there will be a silent auction during the event where guests can bid on their favorite Right Bank bottles and magnums, with 100% of the proceeds going toward Citymeals-on-Wheels.

You can check out all of the participating wineries here.

Not terribly recently, meaning quite a few years ago, it was already starting to become known among native Miamians that locals don’t really go to South Beach anymore. Sobe had started to become a big, bland, overly commercialized tourist trap, and it was starting to attract the type of tourists who like that. Of course, over the past few years we’ve seen businesses stop the downwards spiral dead in its tracks with sophisticated hotels, restaurants, and bars that seem to cater to savvy tourists and locals, alike. It can now be said that while South Beach still has a lot of style, it no longer seems to tower over substance as it seemed to have done in the past. The best part is that a lot of venues have finally come to terms with the economic situation we’re in and now seem to cater to a wider range of patrons, which means more places are more accessible to more of us, and yet they still maintain that glamour for which we continue to go to South Beach. If there is one place in South Beach that can be held as an example of this refreshingly accessible SoBe, it’s WD 555, an expansive wine bar and shop that is worlds away from the stereotypes of the beach and affordable enough to make it a weekly habit.

Basil Hayden's Mad-Hattan
(Created by Damian Windsor)

2 parts Basil Hayden's Bourbon
3/4 parts Dolin Blanc Vermouth de Chambery
1 bar spoon Luxardo Maraschino Cherries
1 dash Orange Bitters

1 1/2 parts Basil Hayden’s Bourbon
1/2 part Sweet Vermouth
1/2 part Dry Vermouth
1/2 part Maple Syrup
2 dashes of Bitters