There aren’t really any specific limitations on this month’s subject. I emailed David Wondrich to ask if he had any pearls of wisdom for us as we take on the punch challenge. This was his response: “The thing I like to keep in mind while making Punch is that it is, as the London Physician Nicholas Falck defined it in 1779, ‘an extemporary kind of wine.’ It is not, in other words, simply a large cocktail. Like wine, it should be balanced, not too pungent, not too strong, and preferably not decked out in all sorts of gaudy frippery like something participating in the retail sex trade.”

Keep in mind that we are at that time of year when there are some wonderful citrus varieties available at the market. And in the warmer climates, we are already seeing the first of the Spring berries.

Those of you who are friendly with the bartender at your favorite punch-serving watering hole, it would be great if you could get him or her to share the house recipe. If there is something your family has been serving at parties for generations, go with that. Let’s have some fun with this and see how many different recipes we can find.

Once you have settled on a recipe, make the punch and then post the recipe, a photo, and your thoughts about the punch on your blog or on the eGullet Spirits and Cocktails forum.

Include in your post the MxMo logo and a link back to Mixology Monday and this [original announcement] post. (And once the round-up is published, it would be great if you could update your post with a link to that summary post.)

Good lord — “punch” as the theme. With all the ways this can be approached, and with all the crazy delicious fun that can be had with punch, this month’s MxMo could be one for the ages.

To participate, simply have your recipe (and photos, hopefully) posted on your blog or at eGullet by the close of March 22, as described by Mike, above. Be sure to let him know that you’re participating by dropping a note and link in the comment section to the announcement post, or by e-mailing Mike at hobsonschoiceinfo at gmail dot com.

* MxMo XLVI takes place Monday, February 22. Hosting this round is Sonja at Thinking of Drinking, and Sonja has chosen Absinthe as the theme. Here’s her announcement post, and to recap the details:

The topic for February is Absinthe. That much maligned, misunderstood, mistreated spirit, suddenly plentiful again in the US and other parts of the world. Absinthe played a role, whether large or small, in a variety of great cocktails from the 1800’s and early 1900’s – the Sazerac, Absinthe Suissesse, Corpse Reviver No. 2… I’m getting thirsty. So let’s celebrate absinthe’s history, and it’s future, with all manner of cocktails using absinthe.

You know the drill — have your absinthe-related drink posted on or before February 22. Be sure to include the MxMo logo and link to the Mixology Monday site as well as a link to the host’s blog, Thinking of Drinking (and if you can link to the roundup post once Sonja’s finished it, that’s mucho appreciated as well).  And to be sure that your drink is included in the roundup, notify Sonja of your post by placing a link in the comments of her announcement post, or e-mail the URL to her at sonjakassebaum {at} gmail {dot} com.

And if you’re the forgetful type, I usually post a reminder a few days prior to the event on Twitter; you can follow me at @cocktailchron.

* And yes, we have the March Mixology Monday already scheduled. MxMo XLVII takes place March 22, and will be hosted by Hobson’s Choice. The theme for this round: Punch. Stay tuned for an announcement post and more details sometime after the February event.

This round of MxMo — the 45th, if you’re keeping count — takes place Monday, January 25, and is hosted by Frederic & company at Cocktail Virgin Slut. For this round, Fred has chosen Tea as the theme; here’s what he has in mind:

Tea has played a historical role in cocktails for centuries. Perhaps the best documented early example was its inclusion in punches as part of the spice role to round out the spirit, sugar, water, and citrus line up. Later, teas appear in many recipes such as Boston Grog, English Cobbler, and a variety of Hot Toddies. And present day mixologists are utilizing tea flavors with great success including Audrey Saunder’s Earl Grey MarTEAni and LUPEC Boston’s Flapper Jane. Now it’s our turn to honor this glorious cocktail ingredient!

Here’s how to play:

• Find or concoct a drink recipe that uses tea or tisane (a herbal “tea” which lacks tea leaves) as an ingredient. This can be hot tea, cold tea, tea syrups, or infusions and use it in a cocktail, punch, or other drink type. Be careful how long you infuse them (after 2 hours, things get really bitter!) if you go that route, and feel free to take a shortcut and use Beefeater 24 which has tea already in the botanical mix.
• Make the drink and then post the recipe, a photo, and your thoughts about the drink on your blog or on the eGullet Spirits and Cocktails forum.
• Include in your post the MxMo logo and a link back to both the Mixology Monday and CocktailVirgin sites. And once the round-up is posted, a link to that summary post would be appreciated.
• Post a link to your submission in the comment section here, or send an email to yarm-at-verizon.net

The due date is Monday, January 25th which I will interpret as whatever gets posted before I awake on Tuesday the 26th.

And that pretty much sums it up. So unlock the liquor cabinet and break out the stash of oolong — this round sounds like it’ll be especially fun. See you on January 25!

But first — this round of Mixology Monday is hosted by Kevin Langmack at Beers in the Shower. Due to some tragic technical problems — namely, Kevin’s dead computer — we had to postpone the November MxMo until December 14. But with a theme like Money Drinks, this round seems somewhat appropriate for the holidays.

So, Money Drinks? Here’s an explanation — two of them, as a matter of fact, the first from Kevin, a Seattle bartender who works at the craft-booze establishments Tavern Law, Spur and Sun Liquor:

A “Money” drink is something you can put in front of anyone, regardless of tastes or distastes about the spirits involved. Come up with a drink or a list based on spirits about drinks that would appeal to anyone. example: turning someone onto a Corpse Reviver #2 when they like lemon drops.

So, get it? “Money”, as in, “we’re in the” when you (as a bartender) turn a customer on to one of these drinks, getting them interested in good cocktails in the process.

After wrangling with the idea of “Money Drinks”, there came an alternate / related description, which is also valid for this round of MxMo:

Drinks that you upgrade to the ne plus ultra: cocktails that for whatever reason (holiday, birthday, old friends come to visit, or just because you feel like it) you upgrade to superior; for example, taking your normal Sazerac with Rittenhouse and Herbsaint and, for a special occasion, turning it into a supreme-o Sazerac by breaking out the Thomas Handy Rye and the Jade Edouard absinthe. Due to the higher cost involved, and the spectacular results that should (hopefully) be found in the glass, this could also qualify as a “Money Drink”.

Okay? Did this get too complicated? If so, it’s my fault, but hey — it’s all in good fun, and during the holiday entertaining season you should be coming across several drinks that fit either of the descriptions above, whether it’s because you’re mixing drinks for friends & family and you’re trying to get your sister-in-law to step up from her plain old vodka martini, or if you’re celebrating the season in style by breaking out the good stuff for a memorably indulgent cocktail.

Anyway, that’s it — so, to participate, have your post up by the close of Monday, December 14, and let host Kevin know by e-mailing him at kevin [dot] langmack [at] gmail [dot] com. See you then!

The details: This month’s MxMo is hosted by Vidiot at Cocktailians, and for the theme Vidiot has chosen a subtance that’s absolutely essential to any home or professional bar: Vermouth.

As Vidiot notes in his announcement post (which you should click through and read in its entirety):

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to present a delectable vermouth cocktail for us all to drool over. Sweet/Italian or dry/French vermouth are fair game of course, as are quinquina, aperitif wines like Pineau des Charentes, or for that matter any fortified, aromatized wine such as Lillet (red or white), or Dubonnet (ditto.) Have fun, and leave the link in the comments to [the announcement post] by midnight PDT (no, not this PDT) (3am EDT) Tuesday, October 27th.

Got it? Great! So dig out your Carpano Antica or your Noilly Prat, or that last bit of Dolin blanc you’ve been saving for a special drink, and get to mixing. Put your drink up on Monday, October 26, and then check back later to see what everyone came up with. Cheers!

No, just running behind on getting the details together — but never fear, there is a September Mixology Monday coming along soon — September 28, to be precise. The hosts for this round of MxMo are the good folks over at eGullet (led by group manager Chris Amirault), and the topic Chris has chosen is Dizzy Dairy. In his words:

Any drink using a dairy product is fair game: milk, cream, eggs, butter, cheese, yogurt, curds, you name it. Given the importance of dairy products in drinks dating back centuries, there are lots of opportunities for digging through vintage receipts for a taste of the past, and as always innovation is highly encouraged.

We hope that you’ll measure out your portions as best you’re able: better to indicate a tablespoon or ounce of egg white, for example, than to say “egg white.” In addition, be sure to share any tips and techniques that benefit your booze — “dry” shaking without ice for a good meringue, say, or stealing Society member Dale DeGroff’s whipped cream trick for Irish Coffee. Disasters as well as successes are heartily encouraged. Finally, prepare to respond to the anti-dairy lobby by giving us reasons why your libation is just this side of mother’s milk.

To participate, have your entry posted on your blog (or, appropriately enough for those non-bloggers among us, on the eGullet thread for this MxMo) by midnight on Monday, September 28. Notify Chris by posting a link to your entry in the eGullet MxMo thread, and photos are strongly encouraged.

What’s that? You’re not a member of eGullet? No problem — you can join up right here. Or, if you’re really not a joiner but want to play along with MxMo anyway, you can simply e-mail your info and a link to your post to Chris at camirault [at] egstaff [dot] org.

I’m kinda curious to see if anyone attempts a quark cocktail or a drink made with a rich Stilton (as for my drink, I think “Fernet Eggnog” has a ring to it). Even if those don’t come to pass, be sure to raid the dairy section at your local grocery store (vegans: if you’ve got a compelling drink with rice milk or the like, then go for it), and have your drink ready by September 28.

And that pretty much sums it up….now, onward into the fall–

Every July for the past three years, I’ve volunteered to host Mixology Monday, which has usually occurred just before or immediately following Tales of the Cocktail. And every year, once the bustle and liquored-up frenzy of Tales rolls around, I ask myself, “What the hell was I thinking?”

The same goes for 2009. Too busy preparing for Tales to adequately promote it, Mixology Monday caught up with me while I was still trying to recover and get caught up from the event. And so it rolled on by….

Anyway, apologies to all for the MxMo-free July, but I’m thinking it might not be such a bad idea to take July off in the years to come.

And so, moving into August — here comes MxMo XLI. Our kind host for the August 10 edition is Amelia at Felicia’s Speakeasy, and for this round the topic is — ready for it? — VODKA IS YOUR FRIEND. Yes! We’ve dismissed it, we’ve disdained it, we’ve smeared its name across the Internet; now it’s time to take a step back and see what we can do. As our host explains:

The theme of August 10th’s Mixology Monday is “Vodka is Your Friend.” The recent high profile bashings of vodka interspersed with a few weak “yeah, buts…” left me wondering, is vodka the axis of evil, our most dangerous enemy? While it may not be the life of the party, experts agree: Vodka’s obituary does not have to be written just yet.

So suck it up, people, and let’s see if we can make something respectable out of the best-selling spirit in the U.S. (and, I dunno, probably lots of other places as well). Here’s how to participate:

Find or create a cocktail that contains vodka as one of its ingredients.

Email the host a link to your post before midnight on Monday, August 10 (amelia AT atomicloungeithaca DOT com) –or- post a link to your blog as a comment on the host’s announcement post.

Post your recipe and reasonings on your blog along with a drink photo. Make sure to include a link to Felicia’s Speakeasy (our host) and Mixology Monday, as well as the MxMo logo.

See you there–