Forgive me dear readers for prefacing this posting with a bit of commentary:  As a Texas girl, I am all too familiar with the insnane notion of “slamming” tequila.  Regardless of the brand, some poor souls feel the only way to ingest tequila is by throwing their head back and downing a “shot” in one very fast take.  If you are sampling a tequila like Patron or this Jose Cuervo limited edition and slam them, then you deserve to be thrown in a tub of drunken worms.

Jose Cuervo limited edition tequila.

Tequila should be chilled — this does not mean that you allow the bartender to slam it mercilessly in a shaker with ice cubes because all that will do is give you crystal shards of ice when you are trying to sip your tequila.   The tequila should be gently swirled amongst some cubes and then sipped at a moderate pace.

Practice your sipping skills because this autumn, Jose Cuervo is releasing a limited edition 250 Aniversario Tequila.  In anticipation of this milestone, experts at Jose Cuervo planted blue agave on the same land that was part of the original charter issued by King Carlos of Spain in 1758.

Jose Cuervo 250 Aniversario is a 100 percent blue agave Extra Añejo Tequila blended from the most select tequilas in the family’s reserve and aged in a unique double-cask method. The best of these Extra Añejos, aged in toasted new American Oak barrels for a minimum of three years, were selected by the master distiller and blended together to achieve a superior tequila. The distinctive blend was then finished for 10 months in Sherry casks originating from Spain. The decanter was inspired by the original glass bottle first used by Jose Cuervo to ship Tequila to towns throughout Mexico. Each comes packaged in elegant oak gift box and will have its sequential number etched into the glass, certifying the product’s rarity and authenticity.

Priced at $2,250.

~ Raine Devries

Port of Barcelona gin.

The founder of the Esmeralda Distillery, Bryan Davis, has already launched a highly acclaimed obsello absinthe and now he is looking towards further liquid horizons with gin.

Titled with the mystiqal name of Port of Barcelona, the spirit offers a spirited change from the traditional Beefeater or Bombay Sapphire brands found in every bar with a more complex blend of citrus, pepper, juniper, floral iris and vanilla hints, making Port of Barcelona Gin a tantalizing base for the classic martini or gin & tonic.

At an affordable $90 per bottle, it will impress your guests and not break your bank.

Five-times distilled Swedish import Svedka vodka has come out with a distinctive new look and some great new all natural flavors in time for warm weather cocktails – increasingly on our mind as the weather finally improves.

The clean, modern graphics are a breath of aesthetic fresh air as some storied brands try to appeal to a wider range of customers with over-designed bottles or supposedly upscale flourishes that actually erode their brand identity in our opinion.

The two new flavors we’re looking forward to quaffing are Svedka Citron, infused with the juices of fresh California lemons and Mexican limes; and Svedka Clementine, featuring the essence of Italian tangerines from Sicily and Calabria.

Svedka is created by combining a centuries-old Swedish vodka recipe with state-of-the-art distillation technology. Over three pounds of high-quality Swedish wheat is distilled for over 40 hours in an innovative five-column process and then blended with natural spring water for a smooth, clean taste.

Rum is one of those afterthought liquors that you picture mixed with fruit juices and a festive paper umbrella.  However, with summer quickly approaching, a new rum is rolling out that is sure to set the bar quite high:  Mount Gay 1703 Rum.

The 1703 Old Cask Selection arrives in an elegant oval bottle and is made of golden sugar cane and the clean water of Barbados, is aged in former bourbon casks.   Allen Smith, Master blender, has used rums aged for 10 to 30 years and his own experience of nearly 20 years to create a rum that has a cognac-like appeal.   The 1703 will be rolled out next month for around $100 in major markets so plug this into your PDA as a “must-buy” for the month of May.