Do you have a thing for smoky drinks? Have you sipped a trendy smoky cocktail lately, one that goes way beyond the smoke of Scotch and into new territory? Smoky cocktails are a lot of fun to make at home, I discovered recently, and yes, they involve real smoke, and yes, they're just about the best party trick ever. Here's what it looks like to make a smoked cocktail...

Have you ever wondered what drove acclaimed writers, philosophers and musicians like Ernest Hemingway, Jean-Paul Sartre and Glenn Gould? After reading Slate's excellent series on the daily rituals of great artists, I suspect it might be coffee — although a comprehensive list would also need to include alcohol, amphetamines and very little food. 

Punch is a fun-to-serve, often less expensive way to offer an adult beverage to your guests. And have you noticed? In the last few years, the cocktail bowl has made a comeback in bars, a festive way to share a drink with a table of friends. At the very least, punch will make your party memorable, even more so if you make a complementary ice ring. My favorite punch recipe has a secret ingredient, a really cheap one, that no one suspects.

Sparkling wine is already a festive pour for a party, but here's an idea for making it a little more special: serve homemade fruit liqueur lollipops for guests to stir into their bubbly. It's an elegant, surprising take on the usual champagne cocktail.

Well, not really. But even if that wasn't the original design intention, it pretty much does just that. Have you ever seen a home bar that was quite so cool? It's a bar! No, it's a sculpture! No, it's a work of art! Gah. It's awesome. We rest our case.

All week long we've been helping ourselves to the liquor cabinet. It's Cocktail Week, after all, and we'd be remiss if we didn't try out some of these 3-ingredient cocktails or one of these party-friendly pitcher drinks. (All in a day's work, friends! Thank goodness we have a hangover cure.) But now we're taking a step back to revisit the basics. Tell us: if you were building a home bar from scratch, which bottles would you choose?

With their bright colors and futuristic appeal, Dippin' Dots are a kid favorite at carnivals and beyond, but we're much more interested in this adult-friendly update: alcoholic Dippin' Dots! Gizmodo has the full step-by-step instructions for making your own version at home.

Are you a fan of Game of Thrones? Were you thrilled when the new season kicked off on March 31? If you're enjoying your fresh helpings of sword 'n' sorcery fantasy goodness as much as we are (yes we are fantasy geeks around here!) then you have to see this lavish lineup of cocktails designed to be sipped with Game of Thrones. From Tyrion to Ygritte, there's a cocktail here for your favorite character. 

In our house we keep the liquor in a tall wood cabinet I found for a song at a thrift store in Manhattan. It stands against the wall near our dining table, which is between the kitchen and the living room. (I like the proximity to both places.) It works for us now, but we're moving soon, so I'm curious to see how other people store their spirits. Do they keep them out in the open on a bar cart? Grouped together on the countertop? Set up side by side on a shelf? Here are 10 examples culled from our Kitchen Tours for a little inspiration.