Hi! My name is Kathy Hamlin and I have been interested in mixology most of my life. Without divulging my age, I can tell you I've been a bartender for many years. I've been the Cocktails Guide at About.com since December of '97 and have researched many topics on bartending and cocktails in general.

Did you know that...

• The Boston Tea Party was more about taxation of rum, than about tea?
• George Washington was one of the noted rye whiskey producers of colonial time.
• According to a 1936 NY Supreme Court law, a Bacardi Cocktail has to be made with Bacardi rum?
• The Harvey Wallbanger is named for a California surfer who walked into walls after drinking too many of these!
• Vodka came to America when Vladimir Smirnoff sold the American rights to his family's formula in the 1930's.
• A bartender at The Manhattan Club in 1874 invented the Manhattan at the request of Winston Churchill's mother, Lady Randolph.
• Absinthe was one of the few socially acceptable drinks a woman could partake of at the turn of the century.

Please feel free to visit my Cocktails site at About. You just may find more than the answer you are looking for!

• Cocktail Recipes
• Calorie Information
• Terminology
• How to make Home Made Liqueurs
• Bar Tricks
• Toasts
• How to Host a Cocktail Party
• Cocktail Origins
• Free Cocktail E-Cards
• Your Cocktail Horoscope
• Hangovers
• Cocktail Memorabilia
• Bartending Schools
• And much more...

I can answer questions about setting up a home bar, stocking it, recipes, proper glassware, setting up a party, helping a hangover, and have even been known to settle bets! I'd love to talk to you.