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Whiskey floats will have to wait [Gothamist] Time UK really fills us in [Times UK] Exotic locales to usher in 2009 [CNN] More...

During these chilly winter months, its better to stay indoors whenever possible. But an uneexpected crowd at your favorite watering hole could force you to deal with the elements instead of enjoying your favorite cocktail with friends indoors. Rather than standing outside in the cold, hoping to gain access to your favorite bar or lounge, it's always better to find a warmer alternative. We bring you exhibit A. For those wanting to gain access to Southside, the Martignetti brothers revamped Nolita lounge, you could show up early and wait for the crowd to pick up. Or you could take this secret, underground entrance and join the party at your leisure. Irwin M. Fletcher you choose. More...

While we love free booze (we are still accepting offers!), we hate worthless shill requests. Take this one we received over the weekend. My Name is Justin, I have been reading your blog for a few months now, I love it!. I am always looking for new fashion and grooming advice. I came across a new shaving shop in Soho on XXXX called the XXXXXX. I was greeted as soon as I walked in the door in a very friendly way. I felt like I was stepping back in time as music from the turn of the century plays all day. They make really nice shaving brushes, razors and carry natural products too. I was offered a drink from espresso to whiskey and opted for the ladder. I got the Ultimate Shave and it was a thrilling experience. It was the best shave of my life! Where to begin. Who is always looking for new grooming advice? Does turn of the century music reference the 19th century or the 20th? Is the ladder a type of beverage? Did someone really get paid for this? No wonder the economy is in this state. More...

Franklin Park, Anatoly Dubinsky and Matthew Roff's new bar in Crown Heights, has given the neighborhood's gentrifiers a cocktail lounge of their own. Huzzah! But after reading the lovely write up of the bar, courtyard, annex and game room in this weekend's BoÎte column, we took pause and chuckled at the suggested Dress Code: Facial hair, cabby hats, zippered sweaters and jeans for men. Oversize cardigans, leggings or skinny jeans, long scarves and flat boots for women. From what we have seen on the streets (and Kanye), the ladies style is what many Brooklyn fellas have been wearing for some time. And for men who aren't rocking a "cabby hat", prepare to feel out of place. We guess. [NYT] More...

Even This Guy. More...

In New York, some people are still trying to meet each other the old-fashioned way: drunk at a bar. More...

Cooper Sq Hotel is easy [Curbed] Some much needed clarification : Elsa v Ella [BoozyNYC] Home overrun with FIT students and coke [Gothamist] New Zealand: the next destination for midwestern girls? [Radar] More...

One way to guarantee some DBTH love is to send us booze. Especially high quality booze. We are shameless and always thirsty, so getting bottles of liquor by messenger service is guaranteed to put a smile on our faces. Today's winner is Maestro Tequila, "the world’s first-ever, clear-aged diamond tequila" and will be available in New York beginning in March, 2009. Yay for us and yay for you. Yay yay yay. The production is limited, and each bottle is numbered and dated. We got #1096. Sounds lucky. Althought we are drinking it neat, the Maestro folks were gracious enough to provide you with some delicious recipes. To see them, just click through. If you want some DBTH love for some booze, let us know. More...

For anyone trying to plan a special holiday party, a Little Birdy passed along the details of their own special gathering at La Esquina. At first it seems like standard fare, until our eyes caught notice of the 3rd course - Chico - the whole pig. Being lovers of the whole hog ourselves, we are thoroughly impressed. More...

As a sign of the times, restaurant and bar owners have begun to reduce or flatten drink prices. Jean George's Perry Street has cut the price of wine that accompanies the prix fixe lunch, and Sasha Petraske's upcoming Dutch Kills tavern in Long Island City will sell cocktails for a reasonable $8.50. There may be a slight discount for location tied to the latter, but the decline of the overpriced drink seems to have arrived. More booze for your buck buck, it will be a merry new year. More...

New Years Eve in New York City brings out a special kind of party goer. You pay a few hundo for a ticket, put on your best clothes, make sure your breath is fresh, and then get as many drinks from the open "premium" bar as possible. If all goes well, you grab someone around 2 and make a break for home base, otherwise you are stuck in the same club until 4 AM picking over the singles scrap heap and then praying you can find a cab to go home by yourself. It's the best night of the year! Especially for club owners, who rake in mucho buckos selling those tickets and tables to eager out of towners who are desperate to get inside the City's hottest parties. And to sell those tickets, club owners go deep inside their limited grammar bases to entice you to buy. Here are our favorites Greenhouse - Mother Earth's Most Upscale New Club. Come Party and Save the Environment! Marquee - Hosted by Mario Lopez! Rated New Year's Eve 2009's Hottest Party in the Universe! Cirpriani 23rd Street - Rated NYC's #1 Most Glamorous Event for New Year's Eve 2009 Cipriani 42nd Street - Voted #1 NYE 2009 Event in the Country! Home/Guest House - Rated #1 Sizzling Hot NYE 2009 Nightclub - 2 Parties=2 Times The Hotness! STK - Meatpacking District's Sexiest, Vamped-Up NYE Fete of the Year! More...

Tear. Scores East, the pioneering strip club that brought class to the masses paying to see asses (heh) will close before the end of the year. The club, which opened in 1990, drew numerous bold faced names during its hey day, and helped prove that strip clubs could become legitimate nightlife destinations in New York. Scores bid to open a national chain seemed to mark the beginning of the end, and by the end of the year, the company will cease to exist. According to reports, a new strip club with a new name and new owners will open at the 333 E. 60th St location. While fans of Scores will be pouring one out in its memory, we know Lonnie Hanover is smiling. [Daily News] More...

Have a stress-free holiday dinner at these spots. More...

Company shindig canceled? These group-friendly bars are great for celebrating the holidays with co-workers. More...

Doom and gloom for hospitality too [Gothamist] We're missing the point here...[Radar] If you must go to midtown, stay in style [HC] Fashion and booze, a winning combination [ACL] More...

There it is - just as we descibed. NYE will be the official send-off for Upstairs, a self described Nightlife Institution. We aren't so sure about that, but we do love that formal attire is required. Tickets start at just $120 for the Silver GA tickets, and Platinum Silver Ultra Stage Table seats will run you $500. What a country! Tickets are available here, or you can buy them these asshats. Your choice. More...

DBTH favorite Monocle Magazine has come out with its annual Travel Top 50 list. Always an arbiter of international style, we agree with Monocle on the naming of the Lobby Bar at the Fasano Hotel in Sao Paulo Brazil as the world's sexiest bar. Owner Rogerio Fasano has been described as a cross between Ian Schrager and Giuseppe Cipriani. Interesting. Another lobby shot after the jump. More...

There have been innumerable gimmicks to be unleased on the citizens of New York City. Ninja. LEED nightclubs. Make Your Own Wine. You get the point. But La Cave des Fondus, which is poised to open tomorrow in Nolita has trumped them all. The restaurant, an homage to Montmartre restaurant Le Refuge des Fondu, will be offering its wine and beer to customers in baby bottles. We will say it again. Baby bottles. Owner Jacques Ouari tells the Times: “I wanted to set up my place exactly like the one in Paris. It’s such a fun place. Everybody loves drinking beer and wine from baby bottles - even my father thought it was fun - and I think New Yorkers will like it too. I checked with the health department and as long as we put the bottles in the dishwasher they have no problem with it.” This is what you could look like. Is that what you want for yourself? Sadly, we predict that the scenetards will get a big, idiot kick out of this. But don't be fooled. You are adults. You drink out of glasses, bottles or sometimes right out of the mofo box. But not baby bottles. We repeat, not baby bottles. [Diner's Journal] More...

Last week, DBTH stopped by the International Culinary Center to attend a Seasonal Mixology course, taught by DBTH favorite Michael Cecconi of Savoy and the Back Forty. The course was a two hour run trhough the mixology basics, giving the home mixer basic concepts, lessons on thinking outside the cocktail box, and most important, cocktail and spirit tasting. Michael implored his students to buy local whenever it was possible, and always use fresh, seasonal ingredients. Other key take-aways from the expert: On hangovers: "The only reason people get hangovers is they drink too much" On buying vodka: "Buy local. No plastic bottles. No Trump." By the end of the class, we had tasted 4 types of spirits and 4 cocktails, including a now in season Meyer Lemon Mojito and a Concord Grape Sazerac. We walked out of there a little buzzed, a lot more knowledgeable about mixology, and wistful that our own education wasn't similar to the event. More...

Photo courtesy of Sophie Ellis/Page Six Magazine In perhaps our favorite story of the year, comedic genius and DBTH fave Bill Murray has been spotted numerous times partying in New York City, including a Halloween loft party in East Williamsburg. Midlife crisis or not, the scene is much better for Mr. Murray's presence, and we can only hope we have one of these experiences. [Page Six Magazine] More...

In the aftermath of the Plaxico Burress Latin Quarter incident, many of our gun carrying readers have busied themselves by making sure their concealed weapon permits are up to date. For those of you looking for additional info on how to carry a concealed weapon, we suggest you watch this handy video that Plaxico filmed over the weekend. More...

Feeling blue that you never got to really say goodbye to Upstairs? Lucky for you (and our Aussie friends) that the good folks from the Bloc Group are giving you one more chance to give it a proper send-off on New Year's Eve. Matthew Isaacs tells us "We are putting on a big New Year's party," but as for the future plans, he says "it is unclear at this point whether there will be any more parties at Upstairs in 2009." More details are sure to follow. More...

1. Nick Jones has transformed himself from a failed restauranteur to the biggest name in the world of oh so exclusive and private clubs. Just months after selling an 80% stake in his empire to Richard Caring, Jones is busy at work managing the opening of Soho House West Hollywood and Cecconi’s. Jones also shrugs Wall Street's impact on his business, saying "We’re not immune to recession, but we’re lucky that a lot of our customers are not directly affected." Good for you. [Times Online] 2. The Latin Quarter is more than a place for NFL players to shoot themselves in the leg. It's also known for it's live music and according to school teacher Sylvia Roman, “It’s a great place to dance and have fun, and we don’t come to shoot anybody." That's our kind of nightlife. [NY Times] 3. If you are sick of the work week already, feel free to look forward to tonight's festivities. A LB writes, "Just wanted to let you guys know that Johnny Utah's will be celebrating their 1 year anniversary of the Monday Night Bull Riding Challenge this Monday, Dec 8th. 10pm - 2am. It's been a tremendous success and would love to see everyone come celebrate with us." Huzzah! [DBTH Birdy Wire] More...

Laid off bankers can afford the Gans again, briefly [HC] Call us nostalgic, but we're feeling booozy [Gothamist] Recession and grumpy community boards fail to faze Tepperberg [NYM] Warehouse sales and caviar in Miami [Cityfile] More...

Secret groups and underground parties have a way of luring us in. It's not the exclusivity as much as the effort (or lack thereof) that the organizers go to create something that strives to be exclusive. Get it? So when we received an email from The Society, inviting DBTH to their Town and Country winter party, we figured it was our duty to check it out. If not DBTH then who? Members are informed of the location the night before, and in this case it was the penthouse of the Gild Hall hotel. We elevatored our way to the 18th floor and followed the music, stepping into a chic 2 bedroom suite, decked out with a full spread provided by the Libertine, open bar featuring Hot Toddies and a boatload of plaid. Besides the overwhelming number of Canadians (the Society was founded in Toronto), it was mostly just a normal party. But a fun party at that. Speaking to founding members Amanda, Ashleigh and Annie, the group sees itself as an alternative to the celeb fueled Cinema Society, organizing events for interesting people in interesting places. Interesting. It may be just what these young kids need to make it through these troubling times. We saw it as an oppotunity to make new friends and drink bourbon. In the end, we were all happy, and that's what it's all about. More pics after the jump More...