Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up.

For those with a big commitment to Cinco de Mayo, the question is this: Do you wait for Sunday, the actual holiday, to start the celebration, or should you begin Saturday, the cuatro de Mayo?

Tough question that you’ll have to answer yourself. What I’ve got are seven places around the country where you can find a phenomenal margarita and plenty of tequila to toast the holiday, whenever you start the party.
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Editor's Note: It's Friday, and it's been a long week - we could all probably use a drink. Here to help us is Greg Best, the mixologist and partner in Restaurant Eugene, Holeman & Finch Public House and H&F Bottle Shop in Atlanta. Visual aids provided by Mark Hill, the Director of Photography for Turner Broadcasting.

This drink was conceived in an effort to be contrarian to the contrarians. It’s no secret that there are many affiliated to bar culture who can’t help but cringe when the word "vodka" is mentioned in their presence. I’ve never understood this, because it’s the first thing most drinking folks ask for. Sure, I understand that it’s not the most expressive or exciting spirit to play with, but let’s face it, it’s not going anywhere.

Enter the Punch Wagon. Delightfully refreshing, bright and snappy, this is a perfect example of what I’d call a "gateway cocktail," or "trust-building drink." Using well-known ingredients in a playful recipe allows for the feel of a user-friendly cocktail experience without some of the more eccentric trappings that we drink geeks are prone to.
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5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

Spring may have sprung (Ok Punxsutawney Phil, whatever you say), and that means outdoor party season is just around the corner.

Refreshing, tiki-inspired cocktails are in order, whether it actually feels like spring or you just want it to. Throw the ultimate tiki party with these tips and easy libations by mixologist Nate Howell of Cusp Dining & Drinks and Hiatus Lounge in La Jolla, California.

How to Throw a Tiki Party: Nate Howell
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More St. Patrick's Day:
How chefs get lucky
On St. Patrick's Day, it's easy drinking green
Why you should be drinking Irish whiskey on St. Patrick’s Day
Irish beers for St. Patrick's Day
Even more Irish Whiskey, per a partly Irish fellow
An Irish chef's picks for St. Paddy's fun

Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor. We trust his every cork pop and decant – and the man can sniff out a bargain to boot. Take it away, Ray.

Consider the Shamrock Shake. It’s green, it’s creamy, you can get it during the month of March, and since McDonald’s introduced the thing in 1970, they’ve sold more than 60 million of them - the equivalent of 39 gallons of Shamrock Shake for every single person currently alive in Ireland. That’s a whole lot of shake goin’ on.

But of course there are other things you can drink for St. Patrick’s Day. Green beer, well, yeah. I think we can safely move on from that addled inspiration. Ditto the giant foam leprechaun hats. So how about a green cocktail, then?
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Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor. We trust his every cork pop and decant – and the man can sniff out a bargain to boot. Take it away, Ray.

Not too long ago, on a dark day for Scotsmen everywhere, workers at the Chivas Brothers distillery in Dumbarton, Scotland, inadvertently flushed about 6,000 gallons of whisky into the plant’s wastewater system. For Scotch lovers with a pessimistic cast of mind, this event immediately brings to mind the possibility of a worldwide whisky shortage, with riots in the streets, hoodlums setting fire to trash cans and feeble cries of “Please, help me, just a wee dram…” from one-time high-living single malt fanatics now reduced to drinking Natty Light from cans.

For less apocalyptically minded folks, the loss of several thousand gallons of high-end whisky is merely a fine excuse for pouring oneself a drop of the good stuff. Raise a glass in honor of their loss, and whatnot. Conveniently, several good whiskies of various sorts have recently hit the market; here are a few highlights.
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In a 113-year-old brick building in the industrial Brooklyn Navy Yard, five small metal stills are churning to make an urban version of America’s Native Spirit: bourbon made in Brooklyn.

King’s County Distillery is New York City’s first operating whiskey distillery since the end of Prohibition, the 13 years during which it was illegal to make or sell alcohol in the United States. Even though federal prohibition was repealed in 1933, many state laws remained on the books until 2002.

“We were the first distillery to take advantage of the new law,” Colin Spoelman, the founder of King’s County Distillery, said. The 33-year-old got his start making illegal moonshine in his apartment but in 2010 Spoelman turned the business to spearhead a wave of small-batch brewing of spirits in the Big Apple.
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Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor. We trust his every cork pop and decant – and the man can sniff out a bargain to boot. Take it away, Ray.

Because there is apparently a fierce battle to the death over who can make the most expensive cocktail in the world, recently a fellow named Joel Heffernan at Club 23 in Melbourne, Australia, created a cocktail called the Winston. The Winston sells for $12,916. Per cocktail.

This was in an effort to blast from its perch the Salvatore’s Legacy, invented by a fellow named Salvatore Calabrese at London’s Playboy Club (of course), and it succeeded, as the Salvatore’s Legacy concoction sells for a mere $8,388 per drink. Of course, this is all tomfoolery for people with way too much cash, but you have to admit it gets you thinking.
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Ask and ye shall receive.

After an outpouring of outrage, Maker's Mark announced Sunday that it won't be watering down its whiskey, after all. The bourbon producer last week said it would have to cut the alcohol volume of its signature red wax-sealed whiskey to 42%, from 45%, in order to meet rising global demand.
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Ah, fermentation. And distilling.

Where would the world be without them? Yes, the Irish might have taken over the world had God not invented whisky, but what about rum, gin, vodka, beer and wine?
We'll likely never know the answer to that question, but we can find out exactly how the drinks that rule the world are made. Whichever flavor you like to toss back, somewhere there's a booze tour with your name on it. From Belgium to Barbados, here are 10 of our favorites.
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