First recorded in 1931, Cab Calloway made "Minnie the Moocher" a classic song of the Jazz Age. Almost fifty years later, Calloway introduced the song to a new generation (including me) in the musical comedy film The Blues Brothers. The song includes a legendary call and response of scat singing (look it up) with phrases such as "hidee hidee hi." The Minnie the Moocher cocktail appeared in Charlie Conolly's book The World Famous Cotton Club: 1939 Book of Mixed Drinks, and Difford's Guide introduced me to it.

1 ounce gin
1 ounce dry vermouth
1 ounce Benedictine DOM
2-3 drops absinthe
2-3 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir as if you're the roughest toughest frail with a heart as big as a whale, and strain into a chilled glass, preferably a Nick and Nora.

With its combination of gin, dry vermouth, and Angostura bitters, the Minnie the Moocher starts as a juxtaposition of a Martini and Martinez. Add the Benedictine DOM, part of the Brainstorm, and a tiny amount of absinthe, a component of my When Ernest Met Mary and the Sazerac, and the Minnie the Moocher becomes an intriguing cocktail lady. If it's too sweet for you, follow the lead of Difford's Guide and have slightly more gin and vermouth, or follow my lead and go slightly heavier on the bitters.

So if you want the cocktail version of kicking the gong around, hail Cab's spirit and have a Minnie the Moocher.

Call it a merry go round, call it a carousel, it has delighted kids around the world for years. Adult versions such as the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans have delighted adults (including me and Ms. Cocktail Den) for years. Douglas Miller created the Merry Go Round as an homage to revolving bars, and Artist with a Cocktail on Instagram introduced me to it.

1.5 ounces rye
.75 ounces dry vermouth
.75 ounces yellow Chartreuse
.75 ounces lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake in a circular motion again and again, and strain into a chilled glass. Lemon wheel garnish optional.

Rye provides a sturdy base for the Merry Go Round. As we've seen in drinks such as the Old Pal or Scofflaw, rye pairs well with dry vermouth, and as we've seen with drinks such as the Greenpoint or Diamondback, it also pairs well with yellow Chartreuse. Considering Chartreuse's relative scarcity, I understand if you want to cut back on it, but you may want to add a touch of super simple syrup to keep the Merry Go Round from becoming too spicy or tart. If you want some non-syrupy background music as you savor a Merry Go Round, in no particular order I suggest"Round and Round" by Ratt, "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive, or "Right Round" by Flo Rida (basically the theme song to the first The Hangover movie).

So are you ready to go on this Merry Go Round?

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!"

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.

Think Groucho and comedy, not Karl and communism. Along with his brothers Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo, Groucho Marx starred in the 1932 comedy film "Horse Feathers" (horsefeathers is old American slang, sort of a polite version of the word that rhymes with "wool mitt"), one of their many comedic cinematic ventures. Benny Roff included the Horsefeathers in his book Prohibition Cocktails, and I learned about it from My Dad Made a Cocktail on Instagram.

1 ounce cognac or brandy
1 ounce aged rum
.5 ounces Benedictine DOM
.5 ounces maraschino liqueur

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with some Marx Brothers madcap hilarity, and strain into a chilled glass. Orange peel garnish optional.

The Horsefeathers is sort of sweet, which isn't surprising considering it includes rum (a sugar cane based spirit) and two liqueurs. You see the Benedictine DOM in drinks such as the Monte Carlo, and maraschino liqueur in drinks such as the Last Word, which predates the Marx Brothers movies by more than a decade. The cognac kicks in at just the right moment. Don't let the sweetness of the Horsefeathers fool you, because every spirit in it is strong. If you want a drier Horsefeathers, try adding .5 ounces of cognac and subtracting .5 ounces of rum. Go with aged rum here because it has more liquid gravitas.

The Horsefeathers is a solid and delicious drink. No horsefeathers.

Does the name make you think of Dr. Frankenstein (or if you're a fan of Mel Brooks, "Frankensteen")? Corpse Revivers were a group of cocktails dating back to the late 19th century. Their purpose was to reinvigorate you (revive your corpse) the morning after a night of drinking. In 1930 Harry Craddock included the Corpse Reviver #2 in The Savoy Cocktail Book.

.75 ounces gin
.75 ounces Lillet Blanc
.75 ounces triple sec (I suggest Cointreau)
.75 ounces lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
Absinthe

Coat the inside of a chilled glass with absinthe, combine the other ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake with the jolt of a renewed lease on life, and strain into the chilled glass. Lemon twist garnish optional.

Bearing no resemblance to the Corpse Reviver #1, the Corpse Reviver #2 is the best known survivor of the group. Its four equal parts format makes it like the Last Word, which also includes gin. Just as it does in the Vesper, the Lillet Blanc, a French aperitif wine, melds nicely with the gin. Using a clear triple sec such as Cointreau will give the Corpse Reviver #2 a light, refreshing look to match how it tastes. Some versions of the Corpse Reviver #2 call for putting a small amount of absinthe directly into the cocktail (as you would with an When Ernest Met Mary) instead of using it to rinse the glass (as you would with a Sazerac). Do what you prefer.

As Craddock remarked, "Four of these taken in swift succession will un-revive the corpse again." Now you know about the Corpse Reviver #2's deceptive power, have fun reviving!

When I use the word "loaded" here it's a non-sexual double entendre. Monte Carlo, part of the city-state of Monaco, is loaded in that it has a ridiculous amount of money. The Monte Carlo cocktail is loaded in that it can make you very drunk if you're not careful. Making its grand entrance in 1948 in David Embury's book The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, the Monte Carlo is simple and sophisticated.

2 ounces rye
.5 ounces Benedictine DOM
1-2 dashes aromatic bitters

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir as if you're suave and rich enough to gamble in Monte Carlo's legendary casino (think James Bond in Goldeneye), and strain into a chilled glass, preferably over a large ice cube.

The Benedictine DOM, a rich French herbal liqueur used in drinks such as my Whiskey Queen, is the key ingredient in the Monte Carlo or its variations. Depending on your perspective, the Benedictine substitutes in for the super simple syrup in an Old Fashioned, or the sweet vermouth in a Manhattan. How dry or sweet you prefer the Monte Carlo depends on the ratio between the rye and the Benedictine. Not into rye? Use bourbon (a Kentucky Colonel), reposado or anejo tequila (a Monte Carlos), or some other aged spirit.

Want to gamble like a Millionaire? A Monte Carlo will make you feel loaded.

"The bitch is dead" -- this is what James Bond icily utters when he learns of the death of Vesper Lynd, the woman who broke his heart. In Casino Royale (both the novel and the movie starring Daniel Craig), Bond falls in love with Vesper before he learns she is a double agent. All of this happens after he creates a cocktail in her honor.

3 ounces gin
1 ounce vodka
.5 ounces Lillet Blanc

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake with the fury of Bond exacting vengeance, and strain into a chilled glass. Lemon peel garnish.

Bond’s original creation is not far removed from a Martini, either the original or his version. Bond's Vesper calls for “three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet.” Gordon’s was and is a popular gin. Use whatever gin you prefer or have on hand.  Kina Lillet was a French aperitif wine.  It no longer exists under that name, but with a new formula it’s now known as Lillet Blanc. As you would with vermouth, make sure the Lillet Blanc is fresh and keep it in the fridge. If you can't find Lillet Blanc, dry vermouth is a good substitute. Bond never specifies the vodka brand, which amuses me because in popular culture he forever will be associated with vodka. If you or your guest is not a fan of gin (like I once was), adjust the ratios of gin and vodka.

The Vesper is a big cocktail because it contains four ounces of high proof alcohol.  Go Bond or go home.