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If you have a column on your grocery list for beverages, here are three new ones you might want to check out:

Trinchero Family Estates is rolling out a new luxury wine brand, Shatter, in collaboration with winemakers Joel Gott (of Joel Gott Wines) and Dave Phinney (of Orin Swift Wines). Sourced from Roussillon, France’s Maury region, the Shatter name refers to the “extreme viticultural conditions” in Maury, which is known for producing sweet wines in a terroir frequently ravaged by high winds. The first Shatter wine is a 2010 Grenache.

Also new to major U.S. markets this spring is Mickey Finn Irish Apple Flavored Whiskey. A blend of Irish and American whiskies infused with natural apple flavors, Mickey Finn Irish Apple is priced at $24.99 a 750-ml. The 70-proof rides the flavored whiskies wave, which rose 154.8% the first quarter of this year. An unflavored Mickey Finn Irish whiskey will follow, the company tells Shanken News Daily.

Famed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and his brother, Alberto, have launched two new labels: Bocelli Prosecco and Bocelli Sangiovese (both $19.99). They’re now available in New York, Texas, Illinois, Washington and Oregon and will go national by September. The duo join Bocelli In Canto (Cabernet Sauvignon), Alcide (Cabernet and Sangiovese blend) and Terre di Sando (Sangiovese).

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There was a bottle of wine that our significant other had “dibs” on. It was given to us by a friend who has a wine cellar — so it must be good? We had no clue about the vineyard it came from — California somewhere. It came in a foil bag with a card and, if memory serves me, a ribbon.

It had been in the pigeon hole for over a year.

When our thirst got the best of us a few weeks ago, we had no other choice then to open said “special wine.”

It was special, indeed. Very (very) good.

Also special was our S.O.’s reaction to the empty bottle.

“What were you saving it for?” was our defense. To date, we have not received a satisfactory response.

Today, we ask you. What are YOU saving that special bottle for? Do you have more than one? How long will you wait? And how mad will you be if someone other than you opens it?

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Listen up ladies, last week Women’s Health published some news worthy of rooftop yelling: “The Archives of Internal Medicine published that women who had one or two alcoholic drinks a day were actually less likely to gain weight than those who shunned the sauce. And they did it while consuming more calories overall (from food and drink) than both heavy drinkers and teetotalers.”

Seriously. Researchers believe that the bodies of long-term moderate drinkers somehow adapt to metabolize alcohol differently than heavy or occasional drinkers. They use more energy, burning the calories in the drink—or even more than that—while digesting it, says Lu Wang, M.D., Ph.D., the lead researcher of the study and an instructor in medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

“Researchers are still working out the specifics of how and why this happens, but they’ve figured out that for women who drink up to eight ounces of an alcoholic beverage a day, those calories simply don’t end up as extra fat.”

Note: This gift from on high does not apply to those who bank their daily drinks for weekends or girls’ nights. “Your body adjusts metabolically to the amount you drink, and when you don’t drink regularly, your body can’t adjust,” says Wang.

Of course moderate drinkers tend to practice healthier habits in general than teetotalers. If you’re used to having three or four drinks every week as part of your diet, you’re probably compensating for them with fewer calories elsewhere. “These women know how to moderate how much they drink, so it makes sense that they’d moderate what they eat as well,” says Robert Klesges, Ph.D., a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. The Archives study found that these women also exercise more, which knocks off additional calories.

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Jersey Shore’s reality star DJ Pauly D announced the June release of his ready-to-drink cocktail line, appropriately named REMIX. Thecocktails were made for partiers looking to get their ‘pre-game’ on. And if you’re not familiar with the term, then don’t worry you won’t like these anyway.

The line includes 4 flavors: Oye Mojito, Yeah Yumberry, Strawberry Holla-peno and Starfruit. All are vodka based and named after Pauly D catch phrases and sayings.

Recommended over ice by the DJ himself and priced at $14.99 a bottle, the REMIX brand hopes to be available nationwide this summer.

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Bacardi has launched its long-awaited foray into the US Cognac market with the unveiling of D’Ussé, which goes on sale in June.

D’Ussé – pronounced [dew-say], the company told The Spirits Business – is sourced from Château de Cognac, also the home of Bacardi’s Baron Otard brand, which is not currently sold in the US.

Details were unveiled at a private tasting for a handful of journalists in New York, where Bacardi USA CEO Robert Furniss-Roe said the aim was to shake up a sector that had become “a bit dusty” under the domination of Hennessy, Rémy Martin, Martell and Courvoisier and target a younger demographic.

Rapper-mogul, Jay-Z has jumped on board to endorse the brand and assist with marketing efforts to target a fresher audience.

Priced at $44.99 – roughly on a par with Hennessy VSOP – Bacardi’s new brand will be available in New York in June and nationally in September 2012.

D’Ussé’s eye-catching packaging, a far cry from the traditional look employed by clear market leaders Hennessy and Rémy, is likely to feature strongly in the brand’s marketing, along with the “unique dry and humid cellars” used for maturing its eaux-de-vie.

“The result is a uniquely powerful, authentic Cognac that starts off with distinguished intensity, which gives way to a pleasantly smooth, balanced finish,” Bacardi said.

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Samuel Adams has launched its Barrel Room Collection, a new range of barrel-aged brews inspired by the Belgian practice of blending, aging and conditioning beers.

The collection currently includes Samuel Adams New World (10%-abv), Samuel Adams Thirteenth Hour (9%-abv), Samuel Adams Stony Brook Red (9%-abv) and Samuel Adams American Kriek (7%-abv).

The secret ingredient in each is Kosmic Mother Funk (or KMF), which Sam’s website defines as, “Our special beer aged in wooden vessels for over 6 months. This beer is very fruity and sour due to a secondary fermentation with brettanomyces yeast. It is used to add flavor and complexity to each of our Barrel Room Collection beers.”

The Barrel Room Collection is available nationwide, with the exception of American Kriek, which will only be offered in the New England, Denver and New York

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The Mother of all Beer Weeks starts today. From May 14-20, American Craft Beer Week (ACBW) invites breweries, beer wholesalers, retailers, media and craft beer fans to join in the country’s craft beer revolution by celebrating with events featured on Craftbeer.com

“Last year, all fifty states held official celebrations to hoist a glass to America’s small and independent craft brewers,” said Julia Herz of CraftBeer.com, producers of ACBW. “As the excitement for craft-brewed beer continues to grow, our goal is to list even more events in each state in 2012.”

Started in 2006 and recognized by congress twice in its history, ACBW is the national celebration of America’s small and independent craft brewers, their impact on American culture, and the love affair that craft beer enthusiast have for their favorite American made craft beers.

Look for planned events on the ACBW Events page as breweries, wholesalers and retailers add them to the calendar.

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1. Mother’s Day- We’re hoping you already know Sunday is Mother’s Day, but if not, you’re welcome. Hopefully you can remember the card and wine on your own.

2. American Craft Beer Week- May 14th is the first day of American Craft Beer Week. Since you’re all spending Sunday with your mothers we expect to see your game faces on Monday.

3. 2012 Olympic Flame- The torch for the 2012 Olympics has been lit and it’s on the move. It starts in Greece and ends in London for the July 27th opening ceremony. Cheers to 2,700 years of tradition.

4. Graduation- We’re raising a glass to all the college grads that are officially on summer vacation. Enjoy it as long as you can kids.

5. Silishot- The first indestructible silicone shot glass has arrived. Among its many uses, golf tee is our favorite. With the warm weekend ahead, you can see where this is headed. Cheers to an interesting walk back to the clubhouse.

Why would we post about an event six months away? Because we don’t want you to miss out, that’s why. Especially when 250 of the world’s finest whiskies are at stake.

Whisky Fests are notorious for selling out early. And the New York show on October 26^th and 27^th is no exception: Friday’s VIP Grand Tasting tickets are already gone. And by “gone,” we mean “forever” (the organizers go out of their way to say that there really, really aren’t anymore secret tickets after the ones on the website are sold out).

Earlier in the month (October 5^th), Whisky Fest San Francisco is offering Early Bird pricing, which can save you twenty bucks a ticket. But you have to buy by June 30^th. Click here to set yourself up.

Tequilla Avion’s first-ever tv spot can be summed up by the second-to-last line in the script: “That’s it?”

We watched it in mixed company and while it got a rise out of the gentlemen in the room for the “hot chick,” it left us all feeling underwhelmed and unsure as to what this product has that others don’t.

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Jägermeister’s new campaign is more memorable to us, but not necessarily in a way that would make us run out and buy the stuff. Running under the tagline “Stronger Bond,” the ad campaign is aimed at males between the ages of 21-29.

Our pet name for the campaign is “Egomeister,” as filmmaker Albert Hughes and director Alastair McKevitt, profile seven seemingly self-involved men “whose success relies on their strong bonds with others,” says the press release. Boy, do these guys like themselves. Not enough was left on the edit room floor, if you ask us. See for yourself.

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Our new (not-so-new) thing is orange wine. Orange wines “are white wines that are made like reds: The juice stands on the skins, seeds and stems for weeks, or even months, so the wine picks up a golden or orangey-pink hue and some serious tannins,” sums up the expert palates at Food & Wine.

The New York Times adds that while “producers like Cornelissen, Radikon, Vodopivec and quite a few others…may share a particular production technique, that is all they share. They are made from many different grapes, and while the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeastern Italy may be the center of production, they also come from other parts of Italy and Sicily, from Slovenia and Croatia, from France, and from California.”

Because of orange wines’ diversity, they are hard to characterize. They are complex. So food pairings should remain simple.

“Orange wines fill in the gaps when pairing, because you get the acidity of a white and the tannins of a red,” says Jared Brandt of Donkey & Goat winery in Berkeley, California in the aforementioned Food & Wine piece.

“Last fall, he and his wife, Tracey, released a cloudy orange wine: a floral, spicy Roussanne. ‘We recently had a tofu dish that a red wine would have obliterated, and a rich lamb dish that would have overwhelmed a white,’ Brandt says. He opted to pair both with an orange wine from Friuli’s Stanko Radikon, one of Gravner’s acolytes, and it worked brilliantly.”

Orange wine is just our speed. Works as well with grilled cheese as it does with seared tuna.

Our latest ‘Hey Bartender’ interview features Jeremy Lake from L.A.’s Playa. Read the full interview here.

When people think of Playa, what drink immediately comes to mind?

I don’t know that the majority of our guests associate one cocktail with Playa.  I think we’re best known and appreciated for what we call our “Bespoke” cocktail.  That being a suit tailor’s term meaning “custom-made”.  Our menu can feel esoteric and “out there” for some people so, we give them the opportunity to tell us what kind of drink they’re in the mood for (i.e. bubbly, sour, aromatic, fruity, etc.) and we’ll customize something for their taste.

If I had to pick one cocktail though… We had a mescal cocktail on our list called A Oaxacan in the Clouds.  It’s made with seared cherry tomatoes, sage, agave, citrus, and mescal.  Then we garnished it with a cherry tomato skewer, crispy sage, and a ground pepper called Piment d’Espelette.  People really dug that.

As the season changes, what ingredients are you excited to start using?

I love utilizing fresh berries and citrus.  Pineapple is a classic citrus ingredient that makes for great summer cocktails.  We’ve also infused a nice reposado tequila with strawberries and a gin with raspberries on this menu.  Doing that adds another element of natural flavor and welcoming color combinations.

Name the most recent drinking trend that’s caught your eye…

I recently went to a bar that had a section on their cocktail menu called “Spirituals”.  It was an entire section of drinks that only combined 2 or 3 high-end spirits with one another served neat, lightly chilled, a splash of water, whatever.   For instance, you could order something like a napoleon Armagnac combined with pear eau de vie.  I thought that was a fantastic idea for those drinkers that appreciate fine spirits and delicately nuanced pairings.  So, I plan on adopting that idea for Playa in the near future.

Since we are a Latin restaurant and have an extensive tequila selection, it would be fun pairing various tequila expressions with one another or with other spirits – a big smoky/earthy mescal that mellows on your palette with a well-aged cognac.  I think that sounds pretty spiritual … unless, you don’t believe high-end spirits should be mixed – then, I guess that section of the menu would be called “Sacrilege”.

What’s your biggest pet peeve when it comes to drink orders?

Patrons are getting better, that is, they’re beginning to let their guard down when it comes to trusting my bar staff’s ability to make a good drink.  But, it is frustrating when someone looks me in the eye and says, “I hear you guys know what you’re doing and make great drinks.”  And then they proceed to give a step-by-step recipe for a martini with cat food in it or whatever.  It’d be like if I walked onto a film set and said to an actor, “Hey, I know you’re a great actor, but I’ve seen a lot of movies in my day, so here’s how I want you to do this scene”

But, I know they don’t mean any harm.  Until a few years ago I didn’t know any bartenders I could trust either.  That’s part of the fun of my job – customizing a cocktail for a guest who has never enjoyed anything but a vodka tonic, and then seeing their eyes light up.

What draws you to a particular drink and why? Name, spirit, your mood, alcohol content, garnish?

I’m usually drawn to a particular drink by the ingredients and presentation.  When I’m at a new bar and looking over the list, I’ll usually pick something out that sounds approachable, but has a unique twist that peaks my curiosity.  Also, with presentation – man, I get on my bartenders really fast if they get weeded and attempt to cut corners with technique or inadvertently try to send something out that doesn’t look beautiful and enticing.  We eat and drink with our eyes too.  That cocktail is a moving billboard as it passes through the dining room.  If it looks great, we’ll see it and want it.

Any predictions for what’s to come in 2012?

My bet is, at least in Los Angeles, that the initial novelty of seeking out non-traditional flavor pairings and big molecular gastronomy stunts will begin to wane for guests.  The mixology theme will become very familiar.  At that point, the bar staff will have nothing to hide behind.  If you don’t consistently make excellent cocktails and you can’t be hospitable, then people won’t come to your bar.  We’re finally entering a chapter where the “mixologist” doesn’t need to exist.  That friendly guy or gal who makes your drinks using fresh juice and exact recipes will just be known as they should – the bartender.

After a night behind the bar, what’s your drink of choice?

My go-to is the daiquiri – lime, sugar, water, and a nice rum.   I’m hard pressed to envision a more perfect cocktail.  Use a good rhum agricole or Jamaican rum and I’m a very happy man.

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“For the Love of Whiskey” contest has sadly come to an end, but we’re excited to know there are other whiskey fanatics among us. Every story was heartfelt, relatable and had us reaching for the bar napkins. In the end though, there was only one that had us questioning our own love story.

Congrats to Sarah Kilpatrick and her passion for Maker’s Mark. Bringing us through her past, present, and future love of the brand has us looking at that bright waxy seal in a whole new way.

We’re raising a glass to all who participated and hope you’ll come back for more. Keep an eye out for more DIA challenges to come.

Cheers.

Drinkers in the know are the ones with big bottles of pre-made cocktails on his or her table — hopefully, surrounded by friends.

This new trend, simply called “Bottling,” is popping up everywhere.

“The bottled cocktail,” Nightclub.com tells us, “is the latest (and frankly better) version of barrel aging that also accommodates the shared service idea. Interurban in Portland has two rotating cocktails on the menu that come by the large-format bottle. In San Francisco, Jasper’s spring cocktail program includes not only a second cocktail served from a draft system (the Hanky Panky, made with gin, Fernet and sweet vermouth), but also house-bottled, carbonated Pimm’s Cups. At New York City’s recently opened The Daily, a recent bottle offering was a Vesper Martini (gin, vodka and Lillet Blanc) for two.”

At New York City’s NoMad, you can even make your own from a well-stocked cocktail cart — appealing for do-it-yourselfers, but not for others.

How do you feel about the pre-made cocktail? We especially want to hear from those behind the bar.

It’s time for another “we give up and don’t want to pay a marketing team to come up with a new name” contest. This one from Morrison Bowmore, who has begun an online campaign asking fans to help choose a new moniker for globally-launched Bowmore Tempest, which must be renamed stateside due to trademark infringement laws.

Through May 18, fans can choose between one of two name options — Dorus Mor or Whirlpool — via Facebook, and will subsequently be entered to win a tailored Bowmore tweed jacket, which are traditionally reserved for Bowmore ambassadors.

We know that naming a product can make or break it, but whatever happened to just asking around? (“Whirlpool” reminds us of “cesspool” — just sayin’)

Between lawyers and friends and family, you’d think bottlers could figure it out without giving away tweed jackets. But then, it’s a way to intimitize (yes, made up word) the process; to invite consumers behind-the-scenes to make them feel a part of something. In other words, you name it, you buy it.

Who are we to say? It just might work.

We’re not the type of people who need a reason to drink. If we’re breathing, that’s reason enough. But for those who need more, here you go:

1. Cinco de Mayo- Break out the tequila and sombreros, it’s time to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with these tasty cocktails.

2. Kentucky Derby- If Cinco de Mayo isn’t your holiday (which we can’t imagine why not) then make sure you’ve at least got a whiskey julep in hand. Cheers to finding room for all May 5th festivities.

3. Virgin Atlantic- The airline is now chilling its drinks with cubes shaped like owner, Richard Branson’s head. If you’re flying this weekend we suggest you ask for a double, they’ll melt faster.

4. Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch- In honor of the Beastie Boy’s passing, join us as we raise a glass and fight for the right to party.

5. Jessica Simpson- The yearlong pregnancy has finally come to an end. Cheers to the new mom, she needs it more than we do.

If these words speak to you, look for the Dos Equis-branded food trucks in six cities across the U.S this weekend.

This event celebrates the 150th anniversary of Cinco de Mayo, and is known as “Feast of the Brave.” One look at the menus, and you’ll see why. Frog legs. Hog stomach. And other gross taco toppings — for which you’ll earn bravery points.

In Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami, local chefs have created these taco recipes and you can taste them for free. A map of each food truck’s route is available on Dos Equis’ Facebook page, and fans can also follow the promotion’s Twitter feed @StayThirsty.

For those who prefer the more traditional tastes of Cinco de Mayo, try these:

Watermelon Margarita

Ingredients:

• 1/2 oz. Don Julio Blanco Tequila
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/4 oz. agave syrup
• 1 slice watermelon

Directions:

Muddle watermelon and agave syrup, add rest of ingredients, shake well. Double strain into a frozen martini glass. Garnish with a watermelon slice.

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Partida Paloma

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Partida Blanco Tequila
• 1 pinch Salt
• Half a lime
• Grapefruit Soda, such as Jarritos or Squirt

Directions:

Fill a highball glass with ice and add the tequila and salt. Squeeze the lime half into the glass and drop into the drink. Fill with grapefruit soda.

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Anejo Smash

Ingredients:

• 1½ oz. añejo tequila
• ½ oz. Grand Marnier
• ¾ oz. agave syrup
• 6-8 fresh mint leaves
• 4 lemon wedges
• Ice cubes
• Crushed ice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake, strain into a rocks glass packed with crushed ice and garnish.

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As we read about yet two more new vodka flavors, Sazerac’s Wave Lemon Lime and Wave Baja (the newest in a line-up that includes Whipped Cream, Pink Lemonade, Cherry, Blue Raspberry and Grape), a vision appears in front of our blog-weary eyes: it’s infamous advertising veteran Joe Camel.

Joe was decommissioned on July 12, 1997 after several studies revealed that by age six nearly as many children could correctly respond that Joe Camel was associated with cigarettes as could respond that the Disney Channel logo was associated with Mickey Mouse.

In short, Joe Camel’s puppeteer, R.J. Reynolds, was preying (okay, maybe too strong a word) on kids.

We are not suggesting anything here. Just pondering out loud.

Do you think fruit-, cotton candy-, lollipop-flavored alcoholic beverages will go the way of Joe?

And if they did, would you miss them?

One piece of evidence suggests they are here to stay:

Shaken News Daily just released that, “Flavored whiskies were the fastest-growing spirits type in the U.S. market in the first quarter of 2012—rising 154.8%.” (No typo with the decimal point, in case you were thinking the same thing.)

Granted, these flavors skew more “grown-up:” Honey, Cherry and Fiery Pepper.

But still, we wonder. Care to wonder with us? Add a comment below