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.

"Don't mess with a good thing."

"There's no need to reinvent the wheel."

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

However many adages there are that extol the virtues of the classics, there is always room for minor tweaking - especially when it comes to matters of taste, like cocktails.

According to Adam Bernbach, the bar manager of Proof and Estadio restaurants in Washington, D.C., there are a couple of things experimental imbibers should pay attention to when riffing on the classics.

Five Tips on Getting Creative with Classic Cocktails: Adam Bernbach
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You can't take it with you, so you might as well drink it down by the dram. Lyle Shellenberg made a special trip to Hillsdale Liquor in Portland, Oregon to make one extravagant purchase.

KPTV reports that Shellenberg purchased a 50-year-old bottle of Glenfiddich Scotch whisky at a price of $27,000, making him one of only 50 people in the world - and six in the United States - to own this special release.
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While you were scribbling down your 2013 resolutions, is there any chance you thought to include "Get really good at making cocktails"? Nope?

Well, the year is young and we're here to help: "we" being Turner's photography director Mark Hill and Greg Best, mixologist and partner in Restaurant Eugene, Holeman & Finch Public House and H&F Bottle Shop in Atlanta.

In a 62-33 vote, Louisiana House of Representatives declared the Sazerac to be New Orleans' official cocktail. It's a potent blend of rye whiskey, sugar, two kinds of bitters (including the city's native Peychaud's), lemon peel and a little hint of absinthe. For many years, that last one got in the way because it was banned in the United States. New Orleanians made do with Herbsaint - a kindred licorice-tasting pastis - until absinthe's legality was reinstated in 2007.
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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.

It’s the big question: What foods are going to top the 2013 hit list?

Earlier I had some ideas - namely rabbit, tricked-out tacos and reinvented spring break cocktails. But not everyone sees the future in Sex on the Beach shots.

I turned to my favorite superhero, chef Mario Batali, who had genius thoughts on the food and wine you should go for in 2013. Super veggies, he says! Lesser known wine varietals!

Here’s what Mario Batali says people will be eating.
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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.

What do you want to be eating more of in 2013? Right now, in the midst of my post-holiday food hangover, my answer is “nothing.” My follow-up answer is “anything that’s associated with the word cleanse.” But I’ll get over that.

So I looked in the crystal ball we have lying around at Food & Wine in anticipation of moments like this, and I discovered five foods and one kind of drink that will be on fire in 2013. So get out your soup spoons and Sex on the Beach glasses.

Happy New Year everyone!
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At 5:31 p.m. Eastern, exactly 79 years will have elapsed since the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, officially ending 13 years of Prohibition and re-legalizing the production, purchase and consumption of alcohol in the United States.

“What America needs now is a drink,” quipped President Franklin D. Roosevelt when Ohio, Pennsylvania and Utah ratified the 21st Amendment on December 5, 1933.

Of course, numerous “speakeasies” - named because patrons often had to whisper a password through a locked door to gain admittance - sprung up in Prohibition’s wake. Police Commissioner Grover Whalen estimated that New York alone had over 32,000 speakeasies, and the neo-speakeasy fad persists in cocktail bars. (You can also drink in bars that were speakeasies in the ‘20s and ‘30s and that are still serving today.)

Other things arose out of Prohibition, including the real creativity with which determined drinkers evaded the law. Popular songs of the era just before Prohibition included “What’ll We Do On A Saturday Night (When The Town Goes Dry),” “Everybody Wants A Key To My Cellar” and even Irving Berlin’s “You Cannot Make Your Shimmy Shake On Tea.”
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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.

It's monster mash-planning time, but don't let your to-do list scare you.

Nate Howell, head bartender at Cusp Dining & Drinks and Hiatus Lounge, has all the tricks and treats to raise the spirits of you and your guests this Halloween.

Oh, and did we mention the killer punch recipes?

Five Tricks for Throwing a Halloween Cocktail Party: Nate Howell
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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.

It’s the 23rd of October, which means that once again the birthday of Edison Arantes do Nascimento, much more widely known as Pelé, is here. The man is considered to be the greatest soccer player ever, which, if you ask me, is a fine excuse to celebrate.

Since he’s Brazilian, why not raise a toast to him with a caipirinha? Pelé himself doesn’t drink, but that’s as may be - Caipirinhas, made from muddled limes, sugar and cachaça (the distilled spirit made from sugarcane juice that’s Brazil’s national drink), are refreshing and potent in equal measure. Muito bom!
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Food in the Field gives a sneak peek into what CNN's team is eating, and the food culture they encounter as they travel the globe. Today's contributor, Senior Photojournalist Mark Walz covers the White House.

With the election only weeks away, we all have a choice to make. Some of us already know for whom we'll be pulling the lever, while others may still be on the fence.

Now there's another choice to make. Red State Bourbon or Blue State Bourbon. The first has a elephant on its label, the other, a donkey. Both bottles have the same hand-crafted bourbon whiskey inside, made in Bardstown, Kentucky.
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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.

Autumn, to Jamie MacBain, marks the start of bourbon season. When the head bartender at Bourbon Steak in Washington, D.C. is not drinking the brown spirit neat with a splash of water, here are some of his favorite cool-weather cocktails to fall into.

Five Bourbon Cocktails for Autumn: Jamie MacBain
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