Five years ago, absinthe wasn't just scarce—it was verboten. Now, three years after the once-banned spirit became legally available in the U.S., two new books covering absinthe and absinthe cocktails have been released: A Taste for Absinthe, by R. Winston Guthrie and James F. Thompson, and Absinthe Cocktails, by Kate Simon. Here's what you need to know before venturing any further with the green fairy. More

As Derek Brown wrote last week for The Atlantic, "always use fresh fruit" is a maxim of contemporary mixology, but marmalade and other fruit preserves can bring rich complexity to a drink. More

The practice of flavoring liquor (by soaking stuff in it) is almost as old as the art of distilling, but as Frank Bruni noted recently in the New York Times, the current prevalence of infused booze is at an all-time high. Vodka infused with lemon peel or bourbon with vanilla beans, anyone? More

You can always preserve summer's flavors with mixtures of sugar, salt or vinegar, but for another way to enjoy the season's strawberries, cherries, and peaches during the colder months of the year, try that other venerable food preservative and flavor enhancer: liquor. Bachelor's Jam, which involves the use of that powerful preservative and flavor enhancer, liquor. Bachelor's jam is basically a boozy form of preserves, also called "officer's jam," that combines fresh fruit, sugar, and ample measure of strong spirits. More

It may still be early in the week for some, but the cocktail community has been running on a 24-hour schedule since Monday night. This week, the annual Tales of the Cocktail event takes place in New Orleans, and while today is the official opening day, many people (myself included) came to town and got started early. More

After months of preparation, Maker's Mark introduced its new bourbon, Maker's '46', starting last week. Innovation is hard to come by in the bourbon world, and it often comes at a steep price. With its emphasis on wide distribution and a wallet-friendly price, Maker's '46' aims to change that situation—but is the whiskey worth seeking out? We tried it. More

Until recently, the only choices for an American-whiskey drinker were bourbon, rye or Tennessee whiskey. With the growth of a craft-distilling movement, new styles of whiskey are beginning to emerge, and the profile of American whiskey is starting to look somewhat different from before. More

Big, bold flavors are becoming popular throughout the food world. This move away from the blandness that has defined the American palate for decades is similarly true in the world of drinks, where bartenders are using the robust flavors of spirits such as whiskey, mescal and Italian amari to a remarkable degree. More

Pitcher drinks have a lot of appeal during the warmer months, but many recipes suffer from an excess of ingredients, or grow watery and insipid quickly. In today's Washington Post, Jason Wilson touches on a couple of points that can ensure pitcher-drink success. For example, the smaller the ice pieces, the more rapidly they'll dilute the drink generally speaking. Some dilution is desired, of course, but it's a fine line between "just right" and "too much." More

Until recently, discussions of whisk(e)y largely centered on the spirits from two places: Scotland and Kentucky. Now, with Japanese whiskies expanding their U.S. distribution, and with a whisky from India now on the market, the whisky landscape is changing. More