Lest night owls have all the fun, this Daylight Savings weekend enjoy a well-deserved tipple on Sunday morning. The loss of an hour’s sleep may make it harder to be chipper at brunch, but a vivacious cocktail will help you stretch your mind beyond the confines of a 23-hour day.

Once upon a time it was not unheard of to have a morning cocktail—a so-called “eye opener” or “picker-upper.” While providing some essential vitamins and energy, a pre-noon drink can also provide gentle relief from the lingering effects of the previous evening’s folly. The Bloody Mary is perhaps the most famous eye-opener, but nothing beats a Fizz to help clear away the morning fog. The drink combines the zing and vigor of bubbly water with the flavor of robust spirits.

Here are two of my favorite recipes, which are so good you could make a whole weekend out of them. Start Sunday by shaking up a bracing Morning Glory Fizz or a luscious Ramos Gin Fizz, and you’ll forget about that hour you lost.

Ramos Gin Fizz/New Orleans Fizz

Contributed by: Allen Katz

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 oz Gin
• 1 oz Fresh lemon juice
• .5 oz Fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 3 Dashes orange flower water
• .5 oz Heavy cream
• 1 Fresh egg white
• Seltzer
• Glass: Collins

PREPARATION:

The secret to this drink is to shake, shake and shake some more. Shake all the ingredients, except seltzer, vigorously with ice until the drink is as white as fresh snow and as smooth as a cold glass of milk. Strain into a Collins glass and top with cold seltzer. Stir before serving.

Morning Glory Fizz

Contributed by: Allen Katz

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 oz Blended Scotch whisky
• .75 oz Fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz Simple syrup (one part water, one part sugar)
• .25 oz Absinthe or Pastis
• 1 Fresh egg white
• 1.5 to 2 oz Seltzer
• Glass: Highball

PREPARATION:

Shake all the ingredients, except seltzer, vigorously with ice and strain into a highball glass. Top with 1.5 to 2 ounces of cold seltzer.

Allen Katz is the Director of Mixology & Spirits Education for Southern Wine & Spirits of New York and one of Liquor.com’s advisors.

TYPES OF CAOL ILA AVAILABLE:

Caol Ila 10-Year-Old
Caol Ila 12-Year-Old
Caol Ila 18-Year-Old

HOW YOU SHOULD DRINK IT:

• Straight
• On the rocks
• With a bit of water
• With club soda

FAST FACTS:

• Caol Ila’s Distillery Manager Billy Stitchell is the fourth generation of his family to make the peaty whisky.
• Caol Ila is an essential part of the Johnnie Walker Black blend.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 oz Antiguo Blanco Tequila
• 1 oz Agave nectar
• 1 oz Water
• 3 Slices peeled cucumber
• 2 Lime wedges

Garnish: Cucumber slice and lime wedge

Glass: Rocks

PREPARATION:

Muddle the cucumber and lime wedges in a shaker. Add ice, agave nectar, water and Antiguo Tequila. Shake well and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with a cucumber slice and lime wedge.

Watching a good bartender make drinks can look like a magic show. In rapid succession, several different (and seemingly incompatible) ingredients come together—and with a couple of flicks of the wrists, they’re transformed into a complex cocktail. While a magician never reveals the tricks of the trade, there are no secrets when it comes to mixology. So much so, that across the country some of the best bartenders are now offering lessons to the public on both cocktails and spirits. These tutorials let you polish your skills under the careful eye of a pro with no smoke or mirrors.

Employees Only, 510 Hudson Street, New York, 212 242 3021:

If you’re looking for a master class, sign up for a private session with mixologists Dushan Zaric (a Liquor.com advisor) or Jason Kosmas, owners of New York City hotspots Employees Only and Macao Trading Co. The tutorials, which cost $500 per hour with a two-hour minimum, can take place at either bar or at your home.

Beverage Academy, Bourbon & Branch, 561 Geary Street, San Francisco, 415 931 7292:

At Bourbon & Branch’s Beverage Academy (pictured above), you can learn from some of San Francisco’s top bartenders, including the bar’s own Joel Baker and Erick Castro of Rickhouse. From Cocktails 101 to pairing whiskey with cheese, there’s a large variety of classes to choose from. The classes cost $100 for two hours and have a cap of 16 people.

Punk’s Backyard Grill, 2188 Annapolis Mall, Annapolis, 410 571 7744:

Get ready for spring at Punk’s Backyard Grill. The bar’s latest mixology tutorial on March 21 is all about creating warm-weather drinks. The classes are generally capped to about a dozen students and cost $15, which includes an appetizer and a couple of drinks.

Spirit School, Brandy Library, 25 N. Moore Street, New York, 212 226 5545:

With floor-to-ceiling shelves holding hundreds of bottles, there couldn’t be a better place to learn about spirits than New York City’s swanky Brandy Library. The bar offers a range of two-hour seminars (from $80 to $120) for both the novice and the expert drinker. The new semester starts in May.

Tini Bigs, 100 Denny Way, Seattle, 206 284 0931:

Every month the bartenders at Seattle institution Tini Bigs teach an hour-long cocktail class focusing on a particular spirit or style of mixology. The sessions, which start at $25, take place at the bar and are capped to just a dozen students.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 oz 10 Cane Rum
• .75 oz Luxardo Maraschino Cherry Liqueur
• .75 oz Berentzen Apple Liqueur
• .5 oz Fresh lime juice
• 2 Matchbox sized pieces of fresh pineapple
• 2 Long, thin slices of fresh ginger root
• 1 Teaspoon sugar

Garnish: Pineapple leaf

Glass: Rocks or old-fashioned

PREPARATION:

Muddle pineapple, ginger and sugar in the bottom of a shaker until they turn into a paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and fill the shaker half way with ice. Shake briefly and pour unstrained into a rocks or old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a pineapple leaf.

TYPES OF ABSOLUT AVAILABLE:

Elijah Craig 12-Year-Old
Elijah Craig 18-Year-Old Single Barrel

HOW YOU SHOULD DRINK IT:

• Straight
• On the rocks
• With a bit of water
• With club soda
• With ginger ale
• In cocktails (Mint Julep, Old Fashioned, Presbyterian, Horse’s Neck, Ward Eight, Brown Derby)

FAST FACTS:

• Heaven Hill claims that Elijah Craig was the first small batch bourbon ever created.
• The brand is named for Reverend Elijah Craig who is said to have stumbled upon the idea of aging bourbon in charred oak when he stored his alcohol in fire damaged barrels.

After six seasons of judging reality show Top Chef, we all know what celebrity chef Tom Colicchio likes to eat and what he certainly doesn’t like to eat. But when he’s not on TV or behind the stove at one of his many Craft restaurants, what does he like to drink? Bourbon. “Current favorite is Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old,” he says. When we recently spoke to him, the liquor cabinet in his New York City home was full of Kentucky’s finest, including bottles of Black Maple Hill, Buffalo Trace and George T. Stagg. “There’s always Maker’s Mark in here, that’s what I prefer to mix with,” he says. Usually he drinks bourbon with one giant ice cube or in a Manhattan on the rocks. “I don’t like it up,” he says.

He also doesn’t care for vodka. “I don’t drink it at all,” he says. “I never liked it.” (Note to all future competitors: under no circumstances should you ever serve the judges a vodka cocktail.) Up until recently, Colicchio didn’t even drink gin and was reintroduced to it on the first day of the first season of Top Chef. He was understandably a little nervous. “I just figured a little drink to take the edge off might be helpful,” he remembers. The bartender at the restaurant where they were shooting made him a Hendrick’s Gin and tonic. The Scottish spirit has now become his favorite gin. (But for the record, the judges “don’t get drunk” on the set.)

With eight restaurants, 14 ‘Wichcraft sandwich shops and a young family he doesn’t go out often. “When I’m working, usually after I’m done with a shift, I’ll grab a cocktail,” he says. But he’s careful not to overindulge. “The problem with cocktails is the next day,” he says. “I’m 47 now, so I don’t bounce back like I used to.”

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 oz VS or VSOP Cognac
• .75 oz Cointreau
• .75 oz Fresh lemon juice

Garnish: Orange peel

Glass: Cocktail

PREPARATION:

Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass with a sugared rim. Garnish the drink with an orange peel. The sugar rim needs to be done ahead of time so that the sugar can dry. If it’s still wet the sugar will begin migrating down the stem as the glass sweats.

TYPES OF DEL MAGUEY AVAILABLE:

Chichicapa
San Luis del Rio
Santo Domingo Albarradas
Minero
Tobala
Pechuga
Crema de Mezcal

HOW YOU SHOULD DRINK IT:

• Neat
• With coffee
• In cocktails (Margarita)

FAST FACTS:

• You can thank Ron Cooper for the surge in popularity of mezcal. Since 1995, he’s been finding traditional single village spirits and now imports seven stunning mezcals.
• Cooper, a professional artist, originally developed a passion for the agave-based spirit while he was in Mexico working on an art project.

We officially declare this the start of the spirited travel season. From New York City and Chicago to New Orleans, fun festivals and interesting conventions combine two of our favorite things: traveling and liquor. But these events aren’t just booze fests. They offer unforgettable experiences, including tastings with distillers, workshops with master mixologists, historic pub crawls and talks given by top experts and authors. And, of course, there are plenty of tasty libations and often gourmet food. Book now: Many of these events sell out very quickly. Safe travels.

WhiskyFest, April 23, Chicago:

There are tastings and then there’s WhiskyFest. Attendees get to try more than 200 whiskies from around the world. There are also seminars and talks featuring master distillers and blenders. Tickets are $110 and sell out fast. If you can’t make it to Chicago, attend WhiskyFest in San Francisco in October or in New York City in November.

Manhattan Cocktail Classic, May 14-18, New York City:

New York City is one of the best places to drink in the world, and this May’s five-day Manhattan Cocktail Classic proves it. Look for dozens of events around the city, featuring a number of Liquor.com advisors. The highlight of the Classic is the gala party at the iconic New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue. Tickets go on sale April 1.

Tales of the Cocktail, July 21-25, New Orleans:

Many of the world’s best bartenders and drink experts will be down in New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail. There are seminars on just about every aspect of mixology, including a series of “Spirited Dinners” at some of the city’s finest restaurants. Ticket packages are on sale now.

Kentucky Bourbon Festival, September 14-19, Bardstown:

Every September tens of thousands of bourbon drinkers make a pilgrimage to Bardstown, Kentucky. The 19th annual Bourbon Festival is made up of 35 events, including cooking classes, a tasting, a motorcycle ride and an auction. Tickets are on sale now.