As usual,it is the time of year where I like to reflect back on the last twelve months and list some of the highlights and lowlights for the Art of Drink. Overall it was a great year with the idea of a good cocktail having broken through in a significant way. There is still a long way to go before cocktails replace beer and wine, but 2007 was a very progressive year. It was also a good year for the Art of Drink. Currently this is the 315th article published, and the site has 1766 comments. This year the site had 484,761 unique visitors with 2,106,623 pages delivered. Not bad for something that started off as a way to collect my thoughts on all things bar related. Testing123

Just wanted to say happy holidays to everyone. Thanks for reading and participating, it has been another great year. In the next few days I'll do the usual formulaic year in review, plus a look forward to 2008. Merry Christmas and a belated Eid Mubarak and Happy Hanukkah.

There are some classic cocktails that use bitters as a key ingredient, the Negroni being a primary example. The problem is with the modern North American palate and its fixation on sugar laden drinks. Sweet, salt and sour seem to be fine but most North Americans shun bitter flavours. There is a small, but growing, minority that does enjoy bitter flavours, and I’m a card carrying member. But, it took me some time to get to the “enjoyment” point. Because of my experience I often go easy on people and try to find cocktails that ease people into bitter flavours. The Red Moon is a perfect example and uses Becherovka, a bitter from the Czech Republic.

Occasionally, I get offers from companies offering something, usually free products, in exchange for an advertorial. I usually direct them to the advertising opportunities on this site, and never hear from them again. But this time it benefits you, so I’m posting this voluntarily. My Wines Direct is giving readers of the Art of Drink $10 Off any order placed on their website. They offer a wide selection of wines in the $10 to $30 range and you can pick and choose any combination of six bottles you’d like to try. There are no shipping charges on wine orders (US only) and only a small five dollar charge on gift baskets. Check them out and if you decide to order some wine, as a gift to yourself, or friends and family, simply enter the code “drink10” when checking out to get your $10 discount. Just make sure you order before December 17th to ensure holiday delivery.

With the holiday season underway, traditional beverages are sure to cross your path. One traditional drink is mulled wine, or glogg in Sweden, vin chaud in France, Quentão in Brazil, Glühwein in Germany, etc., etc. It is a favorite in wine growing regions and is traditionally served warm in the winter months. Mulled wine consists of red or white wine, with a variety of spices such as cinnamon, cloves oranges and sugar / honey. It is similar to Wassail, but not quite the same. This drink is definitely something to be enjoyed with friends and family, since it is similar to a punch and you really can’t make a singe serving of this stuff. But, if you’ve had good mulled wine then you’ll probably want more than one glass.

Even though Amaro may sound like a new, unified, North American currency, it actually means bitter in Italian. It's also a class of liqueurs referred to as stomach bitters, and not surprisingly they are used to aid digestion or to settle an upset stomach, unlike aromatic bitters which add flavour and aroma to drinks. These types of medicinal spirits have been popular in Europe for a long time. Italy seems to be fond of amaro's and has a significant number of brands. In North America, you generally won't find a lot of amaro's behind the bar, but you may find Jagermiester on tap, but that’s more of a school boy manhood test. Getting people to enjoy bitters is a bit difficult, but once you've got the hang-of-it, you can sit back, relax and enjoy.

As I stare out the window at the blizzard like conditions I’m realizing, as a Canadian, that Repeal Day has a different meaning for me. In the United States of America it is a celebration of freedom and the removal of political babysitters that dictate what a person can and can’t do, based on a minority belief. I do agree that the consumption of alcohol needs to be moderated, since overconsumption was such a huge issue in the 18th and 19th centuries. But the idea of prohibition was just a bad idea. So Repeal Day is something that needs to be remembered, and thanks to Jeffrey Morgenthalers dedication to the topic, I doubt it will soon be forgotten.