But it’s February, and most of our past participants live in places where this can be a gruesome month full of rain and snow and other wintry nastiness. One such regular participant is Doug Winship at Pegu Blog, and this month, Doug’s doing his best to beat back winter by designating Tiki as this month’s theme.

February’s event takes place Monday, February 20 — details from Doug’s preview post (which you should click over to so all the first-person stuff in his post makes sense):

Since Tiki is more than just the drinks, feel free to post on whatever Tiki subject floats your outrigger canoe. I suspect most of you will want to offer up delectable drinks, but feel free to wax eloquent on aloha shirts, exotica music, decor, garnishes, food or whatever else moves you to enter the Tiki spirit!

As with most Mixology Mondays, the procedure is easy:

• Write up your exotic journey and post it to your blog or on eGullet, etc., on or before February 20th, 2012.
• If you are currently blogless, drop me a line, and I’ll set you up an author account and you can post your offering to the gods right here. If you don’t want to figure out how, you can even email me the text and pictures, if any, and I’ll post it. But please do it early!
• Be sure to include a link back to this post, and to the Mixology Monday site. Also include the regular MxMo logo, or you can use this thumbnail-sized version of the MxMo: Tiki logo at the top of this post. (You can steal the full-sized pic above if you like, too)
• When your post is done, add a comment to this post and/or email me the link at D o u g (at) C o c k t a i l c a p e r s . c o m.
• Check back to the home page here after a day or so to see all the glorious results.

Easy, eh? Just as it should be. So get shaking, and we’ll see what everyone’s up to on February 20.

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Here’s Jacob’s details:

Contemporary cocktail enthusiasts take pride in resurrecting forgotten cocktails of the past — unless “the past” refers to the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, or 90s. We sometimes refer to these decades as the Dark Ages of Mixology, eras not yet recovered from the violence Prohibition and a World War inflicted on American cocktail culture. The classic Martini, a flavorful blend of gin and vermouth, had morphed into a glass of cold, diluted vodka. Other drinks were just too sweet, too fruity, too big, too silly.

But still, it wasn’t all bad. People ordered these drinks for a reason. Despite the now annual “burial” of a disfavored drink at Tales of the Cocktail, not all of them deserve to die. Perhaps, as they said of the Six Million Dollar Man, we can rebuild them. We have the technology. So the theme of this month’s Mixology Monday is Retro Redemption! Your task is to revive a drink from mixology’s lost decades. Perhaps you feel one of these drinks has a bad rap; tell us why it deserves another shot. Or maybe the original concoction just needs a little help from contemporary ingredients and techniques to make it in the big leagues. If so, tell us how to update it.

Got it? Okay, here’s how to play:

1. Blog about your drink (don’t forget the photo!) by midnight-ish on Monday, November 21.
2. In your post, include the MxMo logo, a link to Jacob’s site, and a link to the MxMo blog, so your readers will have some clue what you’re up to.
3. Be sure to notify Jacob of your participation — either paste a link in the comments section of Jacob’s announcement post, or email him at feedback [at] jacobgrier.com.
4. No blog? No problem–send Jacob your recipe and photo and he’ll take care of the rest.

So dig out the scariest big-hair drink from your shameful drinking past, and give it a makeover for Mixology Monday.

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Sponsoring the October MxMo is our good friend Kevin at Cocktail Enthusiast, and Kevin has chosen Morning Drinks for the topic. This month’s event takes place October 24; here are Kevin’s instructions:

1. Find or create a cocktail for morning consumption. Be as creative as you want, utilizing common breakfast ingredients like orange juice and coffee, or branching out with bacon-infused spirits, eggs or stomach-settling bitters. The drink doesn’t have to be your original creation, but if you borrow, please credit your source.

2. Post your cocktail recipe and a photo on your blog, including some details on the drink. In your post, include the MxMo logo and a link back to Cocktail Enthusiast and Mixology Monday.

3. Post a link to your submission in the comments section of [the announcement] post or send it to me via email. And if you don’t have a blog, no worries. Just email me your recipe and photo following the above guidelines.

Deadline is midnight-ish on Monday, October 24 — so get mixing! Looking forward to the morning tipples y’all come up with this month.

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Things change — now, the U.S. is fully engaged in a craft-distilling revolution, and small-scale distillers are popping up in many other places around the world. As drink bloggers, we’ve all likely found a nearby brand or two to our liking; here’s your chance to share a little local love.

September’s round of Mixology Monday takes place Monday, September 26, and is hosted by Lindsay at Alcohol Alchemy; for this month’s theme, Lindsay has picked Local Color — here’s how she puts it:

Pull out your favorite “local” craft spirit (for those of you not in the US, what hidden gem from your neck of the woods do you want to give some cocktail press?), tell us a little bit about it and why you love it, and let it shine in whichever way (or ways!) you see fit!

Here’s how to participate:

• Have your locally inspired drink posted on your blog by midnight on Sunday, September 25 (note the earlier deadline, to help Lindsay have a roundup by Monday) — in addition to the recipe and writeup, don’t forget the photo.
• In your post, please include a link to the host blog, Alcohol Alchemy, along with this Mixology Monday blog
• Remember to include the MxMo logo in your post, so your readers will have a better idea of what’s going on.
• Notify Lindsay that you participated by leaving a comment to her announcement post, or by emailing Lindsay at alcoholalchemy dot com.

Then, tune in after the event to see what everbody else has come up with (and if you get a chance to post a link to her roundup post, you’ll accrue an extra set of brownie points).

So stock your liquor cabinet with something local and get mixing — I’m looking forward to trying some of the drinks that come out of this round.

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August’s MxMo is right around the corner, with the big event taking place Monday, August 15. Hosting the event this month is 12 Bottle Bar, with the theme, “Come to Your Senses” — here’s the concept:

We all know that cocktails are supposed to taste good, and for this event, we’re going to take that as a given.  What we’re looking for, instead, are drinks that truly excite one or more of the other senses: touch, smell, sight, or even hearing.[...] For inspiration, we suggest the grand garnishes of Kaiser Penguin, the flaming fantasia of the Pegu Blog’s Halikai Hot Tub, the sonic symphony of Aviary’s Old Fashioned in the Rocks, the vivacious visuals of Scott Beattie, ingenious ice, semi-solid shots, jigglingjellies, or even – if you’re willing to go there – Pop Rock rims.  The goal, we hope, is for everyone to embrace the fun, the challenge, and the potential absurdity of the event.  It’s time to think outside the glass.

Participating is simple: just have your participating post up on your blog before Monday, August 15, and notify the host by placing a link to your post in the comments section of the announcement post. Be sure to include a photo and recipe in your post, along with a link to the host blog and to Mixology Monday, and the MxMo logo, too. Then, check in later in the week to see all the drinks that pushed the sensory experience — this should be a good one.

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But sometimes, you can have both.

For July’s Mixology Monday — which takes place Monday, July 11, and is hosted by Fred at Cocktail Virgin Slut — the theme is Beer Cocktails, which is, really, just beautiful. Here’s Fred’s idea:

Beer has played a historical role in mixed drinks for centuries.  [...] Bartenders are drawn to beer for a variety of reasons including the glorious malt and roast notes from the grain, the bitter and sometimes floral elements from the hops, the interesting sour or fruity notes from the yeast, and the crispness and bubbles from the carbonation. Beer is not just for pint glasses, so let us honor beer of all styles as a drink ingredient.

The instructions are simple: make a drink that includes beer as an ingredient (on its own, or manipulated as you see fit — Fred’s got the details in his announcement post). Post the recipe, details about it along with a photo on your blog by July 11. Be sure to include a link to Cocktail Virgin Slut, a link to the Mixology Monday site and the MxMo logo in your post, and notify Fred of your post’s URL in the comments section to the announcement post.

Then, sit back with your beer/booze hybrid, and read the results as they come in. Couldn’t be simpler. Well, actually I guess it could, but hey, it’s all in fun.

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So, what’s left? Why, everything else.

The next Mixology Monday is scheduled for Monday, June 20. This round is hosted by Filip at Adventures in Cocktails, and for his theme, Filip has chosen Niche Spirits. Participating in this one will be a piece of cake; here’s Filip’s pitch:

…Any cocktail where the base ingredient is not bourbon, gin, rum, rye, tequila, vodka etc would qualify.  So whether you choose Mezcal or Armagnac get creative and showcase your favorite niche spirit.

Pisco? Check! Armagnac? Armagn-yes! Corn whiskey? Absolutely! Slivovitz? Oh, why not! Shaojiu? As long as you’re drinking it and not me, go for it! The black stuff in that weird bottle you brought home from Uzbekistan, that intrigues your neighbors and frightens the livestock, or vice versa? Hell yes! (Just please make sure your tetanus shots are up to date first…)

Here’s how to participate (need more details? Clickety here)

• Have your post up on your blog by midnight (wherever you are) on June 20
• Include in your post: a link to this month’s host; a link to the MxMo blog, so your readers know what the hell you’re talking about; and the MxMo logo, to show you’re a team player
• Notify Filip of your post so you’ll be included in the roundup; simply stick the URL of your entry in the comments section of his announcement post
• No blog? No problem! Just email your entry to Filip by Saturday, June 18, and he’ll kindly work it into the roundup: filip /at/ adventuresincocktails /dot/ com.

Got it? Great. See you on June 20–

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May’s MxMo was themed Flores de Mayo: Floral Cocktails, and was hosted by Dave at The Barman Cometh. Many thanks to Dave for hosting; now head on over to his MxMo roundup to see all the great drinks that were posted this round.

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From Dave’s announcement post:

The challenge is to feature a cocktail that highlights a floral flavor profile or includes a floral derived ingredient, whether home-made or off the shelf.  With the ever expanding catalogue of spirits (and the kitchen labs of home enthusiasts), there’s a whole host of directions for you to choose from – elderflower liqueur, creme de violette, chamomile infused gin, hibiscus grenadine, rosewater, lavender syrup – or to create.

This round of MxMo takes place Monday, May 16, and participating is easy:

• Have your post up on your blog by midnight (where you are), May 16. Be sure to include a link to Dave’s blog (the perks of hosting), a link to the Mixology Monday site (so your readers will know what the hell you’re talking about) and the MxMo logo (because it’s pretty).
• Notify Dave of your post so he can include a link to it in his roundup — just shoot an email to barmancometh /at/ hotmail /dot/ com, or stick the URL in a comment to Dave’s announcement post.
• No blog? No problem — Dave will post your drink on his blog, but make sure he has it by May 14 so he can take care of everything.

And that’s it — get to mixing, and we’ll see what everyone’s come up with on May 16.

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This round of MxMo takes place Monday, April 11, and is hosted by Chris at Spirited Remix. As Chris says in his announcement post,

Give me the best drink recipe you’ve ever created. No, I’m not really talking about that awesome drink that you made under pressure and on the fly for your friends one evening. I’m not talking about that kickass nightcap that you whipped up using the last bits from those few bottles that you needed to throw away. I’m talking about that one drink that you’ve worked on for quite a while. The one that you’ve carefully tweaked over time until you found that perfect recipe. The one you’ve made tons of times: sometimes alone in contemplation, sometimes for a guest so that you could get their opinion. If you don’t have a drink that fits the above mold, then perhaps this is your excuse to revisit your old “original remixes”, as I call them, and decide or even tweak one to be your best. If you’ve never made such a drink before, then begin experimenting right now! I want to see what makes your taste buds tick. Use your favorite spirits or flavors. Show me what your “drink of the house” would be.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve already blogged about the drink or not, or if it’s been added to the menu of bars or if it’s something that only you so far have tasted. This is an invitation to bring your best game and to share it with the other online drunks creative cocktailians, so we can all get a better idea of how each other drinks (as well as pick up some handy new drink ideas along the way).

Here’s how it works: have your drink ready by Monday April 11, and put the recipe and the drink’s story on your blog. (Be sure to include the MxMo logo and a link back to the Mixology Monday site and to the host’s site in your post.) As Chris notes, being on the early side helps, because he’s gonna take a crack at trying as many of the drinks as possible , so give the man some time to get everything together, and have some mercy on his liver for the pounding it’ll likely take on Monday.

Once your post is up, let Chris know by putting its URL in the comments of Chris’ announcement post, or by emailing him at dj.hawaiianshirt at gmail dot com. Then, on April 12, sit back and wait until Chris’ hangover subsides enough for him to finish the roundup post, then tune in and see what everybody else dug into for this round of Mixology Monday.

See you next week–

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