Trying to place to celebrate Repeal Day? You're in luck because there are places all over the country that will be throwing parties like it's 1933. The Sidecars, Old-fashioneds, Ward Eight and countless other timeless tipples will be flowing and here are a couple places to find the Repeal Day party near you.

• Find a Prohibition-era Speakeasy at ProhibitionRepeal.com
• The Liquid Muse has a great listing of events all over the country (and if you haven't seen it yet, Natalie has a new book - Preggatinis - but more about that later).

There are quite a few new additions to the cocktail library available this year and they represent the spectrum of subjects. There are books that dissect just a few of our favorites, those that explore the fresh side of mixology, those with a specific niche, a couple updates for our favorite books and one extreme revitalization of the truly classic bartending guide. It's been an exciting year in the bar literature world and the trend has been to step away from the all-encompassing guide to the refined study from a different perspective.

While all of the books on my Best of 2008 list caught my attention for one reason or another, there are a few that I was really looking forward to. While not an individual book, CocktailKingdom.com is possibly the most exciting of the list because its mission is to revive the old bartending guides of the 1800's and early 1900's - those that have been out of print for years and sorely missed and very hard to find. Dale DeGroff is also back with his newest book, The Essential Cocktail, and Artisanal Cocktails and Market-Fresh Mixology both take a close look at mixing with only the freshest ingredients. Read more...

Every year many of our favorite distilled spirits put together special promotions and gift sets just for the holidays. From engraved limited edition bottlings to a gift sets with all styles of barware. Here are some of my favorites and you'll find more of the gift sets with a quick trip to almost any local liquor store, or you can put together your own spirited gift basket.

Here are some of my favorite holiday promotions for 2008:

• 1800 Tequila Essential Artist Bottles - Not only can you buy a limited edition with contemporary artwork on it, but you can order a bottle filled with tequila that displays the artwork you upload for only $225 - expensive but really one-of-a-kind.
• Reidel Glassware - Reidel makes excellent glassware (there's nothing like sipping out of one of those tequila glasses) and they just launched their online store where you can find the perfect, classic glass for anything you're drinking from grappa to Cognac and their O Martini Glasses are beautiful.
• Engraved Bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue - Get your bottle of one of the great Scotches engraved with a personal message for the person you're giving it to. There are many engraving locations throughout the US during November and December (website has the details) or if you're out of one of those areas, I'm told you can order one by calling 877-JW-BLUE-LABEL for $275.

  Read more...

Saturday's Sipper is to prepare everyone for an annual, relatively unknown celebration: Red Monday. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Bloody Mary and on Monday (December 1) there will be a great celebration throughout New York City. This is a great way to start off the week during which we will also be celebrating the 75th anniversary of Repeal Day (Friday the 5th)One of favorite vodkas for this classic drink is Imperial Exclusive Vodka, as it adds a crisp lightness to the base and is available for a great price for the quality ($30/liter). For that price you can make Bloody Marys for everyone and still have some vodka left over and some cash in your pockets.

Instead of going into the finer workings of the Bloody Mary (did it - Spicing Up Your Cocktails), let's go into the who's, why's and what's of Red Monday. Read more...