Who says you need a holiday to get in the holiday spirit (pun intended)? Although a winter holiday cocktail competition sponsored by Difford's Guide and Heering cherry liqueur provided the inspiration for my original Cheerful Cherry, this cocktail is one you can drink year round.

2 ounces cognac or brandy
1 ounce cherry Heering
.25 ounces lemon juice
.25 ounces super simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura or aromatic bitters

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake festively (or if you celebrate Festivus, shake as if it is a Feat of Strength), and strain into a chilled glass. Amarena or Luxardo cherry garnish optional.

If pairing cognac and Chartreuse works in a Champs Élysées, I figured why not try pairing cognac with cherry Heering? Here this Danish liqueur is more prominent than it is in other cocktails such as the Royal Blood, the Wildest Redhead, and the Blackjack. Like cocktails with a Danish theme? Try my Danish Road Rage or Scandinavian Suntan. You can have a Cheerful Cherry in any atmosphere, whether you're watching Die Hard (which in my opinion is a Christmas movie) or listening to a song such as "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang.

Now it's time to say cheers with a Cheerful Cherry!

If you took the late comedian and actor Rodney Dangerfield at his word, he never got any respect. No respect I tell ya. When you "throw shade" at someone, you casually, and often hilariously, disrespect and dismiss them (I learned the modern term originated in the drag culture in 1980s New York City). In comparison, the Shade Thrower cocktail is worthy of your respect. Freddy Schwenk in Nashville created the Shade Thrower, and my cocktailian friends David and Kirk introduced me to it.

2 ounces bourbon
.5 ounces Averna
.5 ounces sweet vermouth
.25 ounces Aperol
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with an air of casual disdain, and strain into a chilled glass, preferably rocks. Orange twist garnish optional.

Think of the Shade Thrower as an amaro enhanced Manhattan (sort of like how my Flattening Curve is an amaro enhanced Old Fashioned, or the Dubliner is an orange enhanced Manhattan). If you like the Rhythm & Soul, you'll like the Shade Thrower.

The drink pairs well with movies such as Caddyshack. When you have a Shade Thrower, you can respect the cocktail as you throw shade.

You may get carded at a bar, and you need a card to check things out of a library. Combine an impressive curated spirit collection with knowledgeable people and a library theme, and you get the Brandy Library in New York City. Located in the Tribeca neighborhood down the block from the firehouse featured in Ghostbusters (really), Ms. Cocktail Den and I recently spent some time at the Brandy Library.

Just as a library can open a person's mind to new ideas, books, and authors, the Brandy Library gives you a great opportunity to expand your drinking horizons. Even though its name suggests it exclusively focuses on one spirit, the Brandy Library has an extensive selection of spirits not named brandy. For example, Ms. Cocktail Den tasted some mezcals. If you're into brandy or curious about it, whether it's cognac, armagnac (from the Armagnac region of France), torched Dutch grapes from countries around the world, or another fruit based spirit, odds are good you'll find something you like. As another example, with some friendly guidance from Ethan, I experimented with a tasting flight of calvados, a brandy hailing from the Normandy region of France (as in the Flower of Normandy) made from apples or pears. And don't forget the cocktails. I enjoyed the Musket, a concoction of armagnac, fig, honey, and lemon.

The selection list at the Brandy Library is an easy to read book, and you don't need to know the Dewey Decimal System (yes, I am that old) to understand it. Maybe you'll like something you try, maybe you won't. At least you tried. Experience the Brandy Library, and declare "I ain't afraid of no library!"

I like to say Ms. Cocktail Den has the face of an angel and the mouth of a Teamster. Inspired by the Angel Face cocktail featured in The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock, the Angelic Martini isn't technically a Martini, but like a Martini it is very tasty. My fellow cocktailian Michael Bounds introduced me to the Angelic Martini.

1.5 ounces gin
1 ounce apple brandy
1 ounce apricot liqueur

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with elysian bliss, and strain into a chilled glass, preferably a Nick and Nora. Apple wedge or lemon peel garnish optional.

Fusing gin with apple brandy seems odd, yet the way they blend together gives the Angelic Martini a crisp, sturdy, base. If you use applejack instead of apple brandy, just remember to compare apples to apples. The apricot liqueur might be tough to find, but there's really no substitute. It brings a little sweetness to the Angelic Martini without making it cloying. The end result evokes a liquid paradise. Interested in trying the original Angel Face? Just like other gin based drinks such as the Bijou and the Negroni, use one ounce each of the three ingredients (Craddock specifically called for Calvados as the apple brandy).

Whether your nature is angelic, devilish, or something in between, have an Angelic Martini, and you'll feel like you're in ... you know where.

Starring the late great Robin Williams (and featuring soon to be well known actors such as Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles), Dead Poets Society is one of my favorite movies from the 1980s. Keenan McGregor in Halifax created the Dead Poet, and I learned about it from Tonight's Cocktail on Instagram.

1 ounce blanco tequila
1 ounce dry vermouth
.5 ounces mezcal
.5 ounces Benedictine DOM
Barspoon of yellow Chartreuse
2 dashes orange bitters

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir as if you're trying to suck the marrow out of life (if you don't get it, watch the movie), and strain into a chilled glass, preferably a coupe. Lemon or lime twist garnish optional.

Like agave spirits? Then you'll like the Dead Poet. Truth be told, you'll probably like this well balanced gem even if neither tequila nor mezcal is your go to spirit. The mezcal gives the Dead Poet a hint of smoke, and the Benedictine DOM and yellow Chartreuse (both used in the Monte Cassino) keep it from overwhelming you. Poetry can be powerful. I'm not a fan of written poetry, but I am a fan of musical poetry (after all, what is a song?). The Dead Poet is liquid poetry in motion.

So raise a glass to your favorite poet(s), whether dead or alive, and enjoy a Dead Poet.

Salmon in a cocktail?! Not really. There's no salmon or fish of any kind in the Salmoncito, which roughly translates as "little salmon" in Spanish. A 2013 creation from Khristian de la Torre in Mexico City, the easy to make Salmoncito gets its name from its color. Remember: pink is powerful.

1.5 ounces gin
.33 ounces Campari
.33 ounces grapefruit juice
4-5 ounces tonic water

Combine the first three ingredients in a glass, preferably a highball, with ice then top with the tonic water. Grapefruit wedge and/or peel garnish optional.

The colorful Salmoncito is balanced and a little bittersweet. Cocktails such as the Negroni show pairing gin and Campari is an honorable cocktail tradition. The lack of shaking the Salmoncito violates the Hamlet Cocktail Conundrum, but building it in a glass certainly makes it easier to prepare. Depending on your point of view, the Salmoncito is reminiscent of pink drinks with grapefruit, e.g. my Scandinavian Suntan, pink drinks without grapefruit, e.g. my Venetian Kiss, gin drinks with grapefruit, e.g. the Navigator, or drinks with grapefruit that aren't pink, e.g. the Brown Derby. So does the Salmoncito go well with fish (here I must make a shameless plug for my late grandfather's business, Wulf's Fish)? Yes. Even with fish that isn't pink when cooked.

Want a refreshing drink? Catch a Salmoncito.

Located roughly midway between Rome and Naples, Monte Cassino is the site of the first monastery of the Benedictine Order. Over the centuries the structures on the mountain were destroyed (most recently in World War II) and rebuilt many times. Hailing from New York City instead of Italy, the Monte Cassino is a 2010 creation from Damon Dyer.

.75 ounces rye
.75 ounces Benedictine DOM
.75 ounces yellow Chartreuse
.75 ounces lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake with spiritual emphasis, and strain into a chilled glass. Lemon twist garnish optional.

The Monte Cassino's combination of rye and Benedictine evokes the Monte Carlo, and its equal proportions of four ingredients format evokes the Last Word. Paying homage to the Benedictine Order naturally calls for using Benedictine DOM, a part of drinks such as the Honeymoon. Add the yellow Chartreuse, used in drinks such as the Diamondback, and now you have two liqueurs intimately tied to monastic orders. Instead of mixing beats and drinks and ending up with my Les Bon Temps Roulé, you're mixing with monks and ending up with another tasty cocktail.

So listen to some Thelonious (I know, bad joke, Google if you don't get it) or Gregorian chants, and have a spiritual (pun intended) experience with the Monte Cassino.

Operating from 1937 to 1966, the Hawaiian Room was a popular venue featuring Hawaiian entertainment alongside Hawaiian and Polynesian food. Located in the gorgeous art deco Lexington Hotel in New York City (Ms. Cocktail Den and I have stayed there), the Hawaiian Room was a "see and be seen" kind of place, like the Brown Derby in Hollywood. This was its eponymous cocktail.

1 ounce applejack
1 ounce clear rum
.25 ounces Cointreau
1 ounce pineapple juice
.25 ounces super simple syrup

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with some island rhythm, and strain into a chilled glass, preferably coupe. Orchid garnish optional.

The Hawaiian Room is a cocktail in which I suggest using the exact ingredients specified. Substitutions will throw it off. For example, applejack, a spirit from New Jersey (there's a reason it is the base of drinks such as the Jersey Girl), has a lighter taste and color than apple brandy. The same goes for Cointreau (used in drinks such as my Gintriguing) compared to other triple secs such as Grand Marnier (used in drinks such as the Burnt Fuselage). As with cocktails in the Den that use citrus juice, use fresh pineapple juice if you can.

Put it all together, and the Hawaiian Room evokes the relaxed vibe of Hawaii with an undertone of New York City dynamism. So when are you going to enter this room?

With its yellow and orange hues, amber can be a stunning gemstone. Ms. Cocktail Den and I saw a lot of amber jewelry when we traveled in Scandinavian countries. You know what else there's a lot of in Scandinavia? Aquavit. My original Amber Aquatini pays homage to the spirit and the stone.

2.5 ounces aged aquavit (I used Linie here)
.5 ounces dry vermouth
2 dashes bitters (see below)

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with the cool crispness of a Scandinavian summer breeze, and strain into a glass, preferably martini or coupe. Lemon peel garnish optional.

Think of the Amber Aquatini as an older cousin of my Danish Road Rage, a twist (pun intended) on a Martini. The Danish Road Rage uses clear, young aquavit. For the Amber Aquatini, you really need aged aquavit to give it the right color. The bitters are the real variable. First I used cardamom, then I found orange bitters also work well. Don't have either of those? No problem. Most botanical or citrus flavored bitters should complement the aquavit and vermouth.

It doesn't matter whether or not you're nuts about Norway, fond of Finland, delighted by Denmark, or swooning over Sweden -- the Amber Aquatini will satisfy your eyes and tongue.

New York City is one of the world's great cities, and the Manhattan is one of the world's great cocktails.  The Cassis Manhattan injects creme de cassis, the blackcurrant liqueur commonly associated with France, into this variation of the cocktail icon. I discovered the Cassis Manhattan on the Instagram feed of flos.drinking.spirit.

2 ounces rye
.5 ounces sweet vermouth
.5 ounces crème de cassis
2 dashes molé bitters

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with some New York City energy and French style, and strain into a chilled glass. Orange peel and/or amarena cherry garnish optional.

Rye provides a solid foundation for the Cassis Manhattan. Using a less robust whiskey will make the drink on the sweeter side. Speaking of sweet, the crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) gives the Cassis Manhattan the other part of its name. If you like crème de cassis, try the classic Kir or the less well known Parisian. Flos.drinking.spirit called for Punt e Mes as the vermouth. I suggest using whichever sweet vermouth you prefer. Last but not least are the molé bitters, which you can use in drinks such as the Left Hand, a variation on the Paris born Boulevardier. They bring a subtle chocolate undertone into the mix.

Put it all together and what do you get? The Cassis Manhattan -- transatlantic and tasty.