Cocktail

If the Black Eyed Susan were a race horse, it would be a sprinter. It makes one strong move, then fades quickly. The strong move occurs this weekend when the cocktail will be in demand at Pamlico Race Track, during both the running of the Black Eyed Susan Stakes on Friday and the Preakness Stakes on Saturday. Over these two days, about 25,000 servings of the libation, poured into commemorative glasses, will be sold at $8 apiece, track officials say. But as soon as Preakness weekend ends, so does the does the local thirst for the Susan.

One of the most appealing things about liquor is its ability to absorb flavors. Whether bacon, fruit or oak, the process of infusion can make any run-of-the-mill vodka a taste sensation, given the right proportions and enough time. While leather-infused bourbon may seem like an unapproachable or acquired taste (it does exist, for the record), you can never go wrong with a good old fashioned fruit infusion. Many drinkeries around the Baltimore area have their own varieties. In Federal Hill, Mother's Grille has the Summertime Infusion.

A shot of vodka, a shot of whiskey, sweet-and-sour mix, a couple of ounces of orange juice, and a cherry and an orange slice to top it off. You must recognize it. The Black-eyed Susan has been the Preakness Stakes' official cocktail since time immemorial; at least since the '50s, estimates Pimlico historian Joe Kelly. The drink has not stayed stale. Its creators have reinvented it several over the years. The recipe above is the current mix: 3/4 oz. 42 Below Vodka, 11/4 -ounce Early Times Kentucky Whiskey, 3-oz.

For someone in their 20s, retirement is something their parents are talking about. It is almost impossible for them to imagine their own lives 50 years out. Telling kids to save for that day - when student loans and car payments and fixed expenses are eating up their paychecks - does seem laughable. When she talks to young people about planning for retirement, Gail MarksJarvis , who writes about personal finance for the Chicago Tribune, likes to use the $20 lesson. "If you ask them if they can save $20 a week, they say, sure.

C Q: I really enjoy rooms that look different. I mean rooms that don't have the usual kinds of furniture used in the same old ways.For instance, my living room "sofa" is actually an old iron daybed with cushions on three sides, and my bed head once was a Gothic church pew I had cut to fit the mattress. Of course, I've had everything from a wicker Victorian wagon to tree stumps under glass for a cocktail table. Now I'm about out of ideas. Got any to spare?A: A bunch, from the sophisticated to the surprising.

LONG AGO, I learned you can't fight tradition. Even though the Black-Eyed Susan is a cocktail that should be tossed down the drain, not down your gullet, some people will still want to drink it during Preakness Week. Or they think they will.They will try one Black-Eyed Susan out of some sense of regional pride. The Kentucky Derby has the mint julep as its official concoction. The Preakness, run this Saturday at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course, has the Black-Eyed Susan. New York's Belmont run next month has the White Carnation.

The Four Seasons invited me to a "virtual cocktail class" a little while back. It was fun. We were supposed to make the drinks at our desk, but I just pretended to. The presenters were Duane Sylvestre of the Four Seasons DC, Cory Cuff of the Four Seasons St. Louis and Adrian Ross-Boon. lead bartender at Wit & Wisdom in the Four Seasons Baltimore. Ross-Boon demonstrated how to make a Mad-Hatten, his twist on the classic, a combination of the Manhattan and the Rob Roy. He had an interesting answer when asked if the cocktail had a Baltimore "twist," he said he made it sweeter than he otherwise would have.

For the home bartender, part of the fun is the experimentation. It can be joyous, disappointing, expensive — or all three. But Trent O'Connor and Brendan Dorr, two local bartenders, have some suggestions for a winning formula. Dorr, the bartender at B&O American Brasserie has won many awards for his recipes, most recently for a Barenjager Honey Liqueur he ominously called "El Oso" (The Bear). The cocktail, which is made out of Barenjager, tequila, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur and Jerry Thomas' Decanter Bitters, earned him $1,000 in September and a trip to Oktoberfest in Munich.

The Wine Market is hosting a cocktail tasting featuring Hum Botanical Spirit on Thursday night from 5 to 7 p.m. On hand will be Adam Seger, the Chicago-based mixologoist who concocted Hum, a very pretty, very, very red 70-proof liqueur infused with botanicals. Andrew Wienzirl, the Wine Market's executive chef is preparing light appetizers such as lobster with saffron coulis and Israeli couscous. The event's cost is $25. Call the Wine Market at 410-244-6166 for more information and tickets.

While the craft cocktail may be the mainstay for a quiet firelit evening at a jazz club, there comes a time in every establishment's life when patron volumes and desires trump the ability to slowly put together housemade infusions, bitters and tinctures in favor of something that can be put together quickly, efficiently, and above all else, uh, tastily. Enter the theme cocktail list. Whether at a fast paced rock 'n' roll sushi restaurant or, like Cowboys and Rednecks ("C&R Pub"), a country western joint, theme cocktails give catchy names and descriptions to cocktails that are easy to assemble for the inundated bartenders while keeping patrons' mouths happy.

There are those times in life in which a name doesn't necessarily meet reality, when a book defies its cover, if you will. And in the world of cocktails, this is no exception. A Boxcar tastes nothing like an actual boxcar. A Cape Cod? Tastes nothing like a beach. And in our case, the Inner Harbor's Sullivan's Steakhouse has a cocktail whose name and ingredients might throw you for a loop: the Thai Basil Fizz. The Thai Basil Fizz, though it sounds rather robust from its ingredients list including black pepper, Thai basil and prosecco, is almost like a fizzy whiskey sour - sans whiskey of course, with Tito's Vodka in its place.

I have spring fever. It's mid April, the weather is beautiful, and I have zero vacation time until July. Productivity at work is at an all-time low as I stare out the window and daydream about tanning in exotic lands, sampling exotic cuisine and fully immersing myself in another culture (read: escaping from this one). Without a real cure, I've been in search of "daycation" cocktail destinations that set the mood, making me feel as though I've been transported. Of course, the alcohol helps stimulate my motivation.

It's not quite warm outside but with the return of spring and summer offerings to our favorite local bar menus, you can certainly try to will (or numb) your body into feeling like it is. So it snowed last week? Inside, I was sipping on a daiquiri, visions of palm trees dancing in the wind, crystal blue waters kissing my feet and … wait, yep, I said a daiquiri. A REAL Daiquiri, in fact (that's the official name for the cocktail, anyway). And it's makers over at Clementine want you to know that it's the right way to drink a daiquiri.

Towson is more than a college town. Towson Tavern gets that. The restaurant opened on New Year's Eve 2011 on York Road, near the Towson Circle. The area is well-known for bars and pubs, but Towson Tavern stands out from the pack: Instead of catering to college students, it's geared toward adults. At Towson Tavern, that maturity manifests in an interesting selection of cocktails, a sophisticated menu and sharp service. Executive Chef Tyson Spangler was at The Capital Grille prior to running the kitchen at Towson Tavern; General Manager Michael Velleggia was part of the Capital Grille team, as well.

Well folks, spring is officially upon us and it's time to start wetting our whistles with some light, fun, refreshing drinks that are more conducive to outdoor frolicking than hermiting next to an open hearth or space heater. And what better liquor to inspire such a creation than sweet, beloved rum, everybody's favorite molasses-based distilled booze, which Station North's (and Power Plant Live's) Joe Squared happens to have an enormous selection of. Joe Squared has a number of classic rum cocktails on its list, a few innovations to boot, and one particular take on Brazil's national cocktail - the Caipriña (or Caipirinha, if you prefer)

The Black-Eyed Susan has been the official cocktail of the Preakness Stakes since time immemorial. At least since the 1950s, estimates Pimlico Race Track historian Joe Kelly. The cocktail has been re-invented over the years, but not enough to satisfy people's complaints. Back in 1985, reporter Rob Kasper ran a contest to replace it with a new cocktail. It's time to give a coup another try. It's not like there isn't precedent. The White Carnation had been the official cocktail of the Belmont Stakes for years, until master mixologist Dale DeGroff suggested a change to his version of whiskey punch, which he called the Belmont Breeze.