No, I’m not dead. Just lazy. But rest assured, I've been doing research on the grand and glorious world of beer. Turns out that the Old Fashioned is a pretty dandy place to engage in these alcohol-soaked studies, given their delightful selection of Wisconsin ales and lagers.

More on that later. Anyhoo, just in time for the holidays (whichever damn one you please; enough bitching about the secular hellbound, O’Reilly), the Old Fashioned presents THE ULTIMATE OLD FASHIONED IN A BOX. Well, maybe they’re not calling it that, exactly, but that’s what it is. Said box contains: One bottle o' brandy (Korbel, of course), bitters, cherries, sugar cubes (the fancy kind), and, best of all, a hand carved muddler made of the finest sugar maple – Wisconsin’s official state tree. Oh, and detailed instructions for making the same delightful beverage that makes the Old Fashioned what it is. Mercy, it’s almost too much Wisconsin for me to handle. And good lord... it's available for the low, low price of $49.95! Supplies are limited, so get your grubby little paws on one post haste.

Also at the Old Fashioned, I highly recommend the recently released cherry bounce. Cherry bounce, for the uninitiated, is a traditional Wisconsin beverage consisting of little more than cherries and booze, aged over many months. Both brandy and vodka varieties are available. My personal favorite is the brandy version, neat.

Remember -- the holidays are made for drinking. How else can one handle the onslaught of family with good cheer?