The folks at Islands Restaurants invited me out for a happy hour last night to watch the Chiefs and Patriots game... no, I wasn't up north... I was in warm sunny San Diego and we do football happy hours different down here.

For those of you outside of Southwest US (California, Nevada, Arizona), Islands is a casual American style restaurant / sports pub similar to Fridays or Applebees but with an awesome Hawaiian theme, great burgers, tiki cocktails, and frankly super gracious staff.

Happy National Rum Day! It seems like there is a "national _____ day" just about every time we turn around, but when it comes to something as delicious as aged rum we really don't mind! The nice folks over at Bacardi sent over a bottle of their new 8 Anos rum to help us celebrate and we hope you can get in the mood too with their recipe for "Old Cuban".

Happy National Tequila Day!

Not sure about your plans, but we're celebrating with some delicious margaritas and tequila cocktail recipes that we've rounded up from around the world. Which is your favorite?

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!

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.

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?

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!

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!