As you know, I LOVE daiquiris and so when the folks at Cruzan sent over a recipe and some rum I just had to try it out I just had to give it a whirl!

If you are old enough to legally enjoy Jägermeister then you probably are already familiar with the most common way to enjoy the spirit - as an ice cold shot. I thought it was time to explore some other great drink recipes to celebrate the herbal liqueur, so the folks at Jägermeister helped me put together this list of Jägermeister cocktail recipes.  However, I decided that it was time to take things into my own hands and add some other Jager cocktails to our list as well!

I love to drink bourbon, the sweet brown spirit that tastes so good in a rocks glass or mixed together with other ingredients to form a delicious old fashioned, a whiskey sour, or a mint julep. But bourbon also works great with cooking and baking too and luckily I am not alone in my love for exploring the application of bourbon with preparing food, so I did a quick roundup of some of my favorite recipes that include bourbon in them!

The first is my all time favorite recipe featuring bourbon! It is a recipe forWhiskey, Caramel, Marshmallow, and Bacon Bark from Endless Simmer.

I actually discovered this on Pinterest and have made it several times since then. Unfortunately I am not as clever of a cook as they are but the nice thing about this recipe is that even if you have some extra crystals in the caramel or you make the chocolate too thick or the bourbon infused marshmallows are too runny... don't worry! It always tastes great! 

While deserts are great, Bourbon is a fantastic ingredient to use when creating the ultimate glaze for pretty much any protein you can imagine. In this case, we LOVE this recipe for Maple-bourbon Glazed Chicken Wings from Yummly.

As we continue our tour of mixing bourbon and proteins you can't miss the iconicBourbon Chicken with this recipe I found on Yummly.  

This recipe for Bourbon Glazed Salmon that I found on Yummly and hammers home the point that bourbon makes a remarkably find ingredient to put on just about any kind of grilled protein! 

Let's end this roundup with some delicious Bourbon Banana Bread from Smitten Kitchen.

 NOTE: image credits are from the linked-to website below the image. If you are the owner and would like me to remove the image and link, please let me know and we will remove it immediately.

Norwegian Cruise Line has been giving Carnival a run for its money recently with two great new ships and now a series of drinks based on their favorite destinations around the world. Created by Gabriel Orta of the Miami-based Bar Lab Cocktails this new series features unique drinks on different ships and highlights fresh local ingredients.

Spring is here and that means it's time to get your drink on. Our friends over at 2 Gingers, Knob Creek, and Basil Hayden sent over their picks for some great spring cocktail recipes.

SKINNY GINGER

2 parts 2 GINGERS® Irish Whiskey Diet Ginger Ale Lemon Wedge Lime Wedge

METHOD: Pour the 2 GINGERS® Irish Whiskey into a pint glass with ice. Top with diet ginger ale, followed by a wedge of a lemon and lime.

KNOB CREEK® SWEET & SPICY TEA

by Zac Matthews, Mixologist

INGREDIENTS: - 2 parts Knob Creek® Rye - 2 parts Southern Style “Sweet Tea” (*recipe below) - ¼ part Fresh Lemon Juice - 1 part Prosecco

METHOD: 1. Combine Knob Creek® Rye, sweet tea and lemon juice into a shaker with ice. 2. Strain into a rocks glass over ice. 3. Float Prosecco on top to finish. 4. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

*Southern Style "Sweet Tea"

INGREDIENTS: - Black Tea - Simple Syrup

METHOD: 1. Prepare a fresh pot of black tea per instructions. 2. Combine freshly brewed black tea with an ample amount of simple syrup (to taste).

Basil Hayden’s Bluegrass Punch

INGREDIENTS:

4 parts Basil Hayden's ® Bourbon

8 parts Blueberry Juice

8 parts Passion Fruit Juice Sparkling Wine or Club Soda

Fresh Mint Leaves

METHOD: 1. Add Basil Hayden's, blueberry juice, passion fruit juice and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake. 2. Top with club soda or sparkling wine Blueberry Ice Ring Freeze one bag of frozen blueberries with water in a bunt cake pan. Dip frozen ring into hot water for a few seconds to unmold. Place in punch bowl with blueberry side up.

Just in case you needed another excuse to play in the sun down in Puerto Vallarta, the CasaMagna Marriott sends word that they have launched a new tequila appreciation program titled Secretos de la Familia and they are one of the few resorts in the world where agave azul is actually grown on the grounds and used for making their very own tequila.

According to the General Manager, the resort boasts an enormous library of this spirit including 114 tequilas regularly available by the glass and a Tequila Sommelier who hosts regular tasting classes for the guests.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Sure you can grab some green beer and corned beef but let's celebrate differently this year with some Irish whiskey and drinks inspired by our friends from the Emerald Isle!

It really doesn't matter if your beverage of choice includes Guinness, Irish Whiskey, or even Vodka, the following are a few unique Irish cocktail recipes to help you enjoy St. Patrick's Day in style.

Is the fall chill catching up with you? Why not try this recipe that Laphroaig sent us for a Scot’s Cider.

Ingredients:

1. 1 part Laphroaig® 10-Year-Old Scotch Whisky
2. ½ part DeKuyper® Mixologist Series Ginger Liqueur
3. 3 parts Hot Apple Cider

Method:

Build in a pre-heated coffee mug.

Garnish with a lemon wedge studded with cloves and a dash of fresh ground cinnamon

Are you ready to celebrate National Whiskey Sour Day on Aug. 25?

Our goal is to help you be as prepared as possible, so here is a recipe from Kilbeggan, created by Joaquin Simo, Head Mixologist at Pouring Ribbons of NYC.

Ready to start celebrating?

The following are some of my favorite tequila bottles and tequila brands.

If you think that Tequila, Rum, and Cacasa are the only spirits from South America then you need to bring a chair up to the bar and try some Pisco. This is a colorless to amber spirit made from grapes and can be compared to a grape brandy. 

This spirit has been distilled in the winemaknig regions of Peru for hundreds of years and is now making its way to the United States!

Tequila tends to be a summer drink in the United States - it is synonymous with margaritas and doing shots on the beach or around a campfire. However, there is more to the spirit than just that. To help convince us, Tequila Avion sent us some great recipe ideas that will go well with your Thanksgiving celebrations this year.

Margaritas come in all shapes, sizes, and in a variety of ways –from mango to strawberry, to frozen or straight up. With all of these types of margaritas available, deciding which to drink on Cinco de Mayo can be tricky.

So why not save yourself the trouble and go with the best? Man Tripping had a chance to try Tequila Avion reposado recently and we love the flavor!

Just a couple hours east of Chicago and almost the same distance from Detroit lies a wonder area just waiting for couples planning a romantic weekend. South West Michigan is a destination that continues to impress both Heather and I. Initially, it was the wine trail and the beach that drew us, but now we have grown to love exploring the little coastal towns like Saugatuck, Douglas, and St. Joseph.

We've looked at rums, whiskies, and even vodka over the past few months, but one fantastic spirit has escaped us. That of course, is tequila. Part of my reluctance to embrace tequila was that my familiarity with it was shaped primarily by experiences during college and spring break type situations where tequila was cheap, plentiful and tasted like shit.

Looking for a great excuse to visit Central Kentucky? Love to drink Bourbon? Maybe you should check out the Maker's Mark distillery, located in Loretto, KY!

Even if you aren't a bourbon or even a whiskey fan, visiting Maker's Mark is a great historical tour back in time to experience how bourbon was made back in the good ol' days. This is because in addition to distilling some of the greatest bourbon in the world, the Samuels family has made a point to also focus on historical preservation to avoid turning the brand into an industrialized product.