Found: Bistro La Bon (1322 Central Ave.)
Ingredients: Tito's vodka, Lillet Rouge, lavender simple syrup, muddled strawberry

• Justin Driscoll

Keeping it seasonal is the general ideology behind the craftsmanship of cuisine and cocktails at Bistro La Bon. If a particular fruit isn't available at the farmers market, the bar will whip up a cocktail with what ingredients are available. "If you can't find good strawberries, then you can't have a good strawberry drink," Chef Majid Amoorpour says. Luckily for us, markets are overflowing with berries come the warmer months, and Bistro is seeking them out for its most current featured drink, the Austin Strawberry.
"We definitely wanted to do something that was very much spring, to remind people to come out and enjoy the different side of cocktails again. Fresh fruits and flowers and all that. We've incorporated both into this drink with the fresh strawberries and the lavender," Amoorpour says. Like the cocktail list, the dishes at Bistro La Bon are also ever-evolving, relying on the goods of the season. Amoorpour recommends pairing the Austin Strawberry with the crispy avocado and asparagus appetizer. "The sweet and the spicy play off of each other really well."

Found: Barreled at the Lift (1600 E. Woodlawn Road, Suite #130)
Ingredients: Strawberry vodka, fresh muddled cucumber, topped with champagne and club soda.

• Justin Driscoll

What better libation inspiration than a Prohibition-era speakeasy? Amidst a particularly unassuming location, Barreled at the Lift is a sly addition to the Charlotte craft cocktail scene. The name, partly inspired by its central proximity to an elevator, pays homage to the secret barrels that stored liquor in the 1920s and early '30s. Though you'll have to look closely to find this joint, tucked in a shopping center off Woodlawn, it's worth the gamble. The interior is oozing with character via its damask wallpaper, dim lighting illuminated by gas lanterns and barrel accent tables. The smoky atmosphere, induced by a plethora of hookah flavors, is wonderfully fitting. Barkeep Neal Cauble recommends the Boardwalk, served in a mason jar with strawberry garnish.

Co-owner Terri West, however, suggests the cocktail with the quirky name. "The typical martini has gone to the wayside," she says. To bring a variation of it back, try the Giggle Water, a gin drink served on the rocks. Historically inspired, Giggle Water was slang in the 1920s for "intoxicating beverage."

With any new skill, you reach a point where you have to figure out what comes next. You can see where you'd eventually like to end up, but the intervening steps are a bit of a mystery. How many guitarists finally nail "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and start thinking about learning "Master of Puppets" next? Maybe your friends compliment your Easy Mac preparation for being the best on your dorm floor and you start thinking that the Bœuf Bourguignon recipe is looking tempting.

I've reached that point with home brewing.

I can see being a Brewmaster as a goal, and I have no idea how to get there without flying to Germany (the one in Europe) and asking everyone "Wo sind all die Braumeister bei? Meine hose machen glücklich" until someone will help me.

I've done a few of the low-hanging fruits of homebrewing; for instance: Lagering (a type of beer brewed at colder, more stabilized conditions with a different kind of yeast). Think Beck's or Budweiser, but with more flavor. Actually, don't think about Budweiser. Put it out of your mind. Whatever you do, do not say Budweiser three times while looking into a mirror.

Also, I've been kegging, and it's fantastic. If you homebrew, you entertain people and you have the means to get a keg system, DO IT. It's much nicer to just tell people to serve themselves and not have to worry about all the empty bottles or fridge space. Things with taps just make life easier. If I could rationalize it, I would also install a nacho cheese tap, a ranch tap and a tap-to-be-named-later.

• Graham Odom

Found: Dolce Vita (3205 N. Davidson St. 704-334-1052)
Ingredients: Cardinal Gin (hailing from Kings Mountain), St. Germain, lemon juice (freshly squeezed to order) and house-made roasted beet syrup, shaken and poured over ice and topped with ginger beer and a local candy cane beet and lemon peel garnish.

• Justin Driscoll

Among the strand of dimly lit bars in NoDa is an unexpected gem welcoming cocktail connoisseurs, winos and beer lovers alike. Dolce Vita Wine Bar may still look and sound like the same old cozy nook it once was, but a little tweak to the menu has brought a whole new concept through its spirit-serving doors. The eclectic space still boasts a wall of gleaming pinots, chardonnays, ports and other wine varieties, alongside funky artwork and bicycles strung from the ceilings. Yet, now the sound of a cobbler shaker fills the air over chatter from patrons seated at the bar or one of the candle-lit tables or couches. As of January, Dolce Vita has added liquor to the menu - and not just your average beverages, but a tasteful array of concoctions. Many of the cocktails depend on farm-fresh produce and contain unlikely ingredients like greek yogurt, used in the suitably named "Regulator," or red chili flakes, found in the whiskey-based "Celtic Summer." Bartender Evan Christy says the goal is to serve good cocktails without the pretension. "When I was in New York, I kept hearing titles like 'Executive Bar Chef.' That's just silly. People tend to get such big heads ... You're not saving the world, it's just drinks. It's not that serious. I'm passionate about my job, and of course I have pride in what I do and I want what I make to be really good, but at the end of the day, it's a cocktail."

I've been home-brewing for three years. It's a pretty great hobby. Unfortunately, like every good hobby, brewing has one annoying part. Wood-working has splinters, scale-model trains has being a virgin and being a Panthers fan has watching the Panthers inevitably implode. For brewing, it's cleaning.

Everything has to be clean. In housekeeping terms, that's not just "I have company coming over so I have to sweep up" sort of clean. No, it has to be "About to have your parents over so you can ask them to take out a loan to get you startup money for a business" kind of clean.

Cleaning is not what I had in mind when I signed up for brewing. I had an image of the brewers from the Sam Adams commercials: Growing a beard, wearing coveralls that showed off my beard, and cooking and sampling beers that tell others how much I love my bearded lifestyle. Finding out about the cleaning bit was like the moment when most people find out that being an astronaut involves tons of math and being a fireman involves doing ab crunches all the time so you can pose for calendars.

• Graham Odom

I am dangerous. I am that most lethal of men. I am an Irishman who learned to make his own alcohol.

OK, so two quick things: One, that's not really as "dangerous" as it is "self-destructive." Also, I may not be so much "Irish" as I'm just a ginger, and like all gingers, I have a self-declared spiritual connection to Ireland that allows me to excuse a love for potatoes, shade, Celtic punk music and hating people who wear green on St. Patrick's Day.

I've taken up brewing as a hobby; it compliments my love of cooking and my love of drinking beer. Also, I have vague suspicions that my fiancé did it to get me out of her hair. I received my homebrew kit a few years ago for Christmas after I showed her I possessed three basic skills: enough cooking skill to be able to not burn down the house when left unsupervised by a grownup; a passable ability to follow directions without Ikea-like androgynous figures to guide me through the process; and too much time on my hands.

A day dedicated to this tequila-based cocktail? We can get behind that.

Feb. 22 is National Margarita Day. How are you celebrating this very important holiday?

• Courtesy BLT Steak/Green Olive Media
• Rosemary Margarita available at the bar at BLT Steak

Found: Heist Brewery (2909 N Davidson St. #200; 704-375-8260; www.heistbrewery.com)
Ingredients: Bulleit Bourbon, Angostura bitters, orange, house-brandied cherries and simple syrup muddled together and served over ice.

• Justin Driscoll

Most breweries focus on one thing, and they do that well. But in addition to its obvious craft beer selection, Heist is a hidden gem for handcrafted cocktails. Everything from Bloody Mary mix to sour mix and fresh lime juice is made from scratch. One of its specialties is the Heist old fashioned, a twist on the traditional whiskey classic. Whiskey is the not-so-secret ingredient in much of the drink menu at Heist, which has more than 40 different variations. "We're a pretty whiskey-driven joint," says cocktail sensei Stefan Huebner. "Whiskey is an American spirit. Just about everything else comes from somewhere else, but whiskey is American. All those guys on that shelf up there, that's American money. In a bad economy, you want to keep the money here, right?"

Heist is the official location for the Yelp Drinks 2013 kick-off party, a week-long happy hour held across metro-wide locations. From Feb. 18 to the 24, patrons will enjoy up to 50 percent off beers, wines and cocktails. Yelp Charlotte community manager Benjamin Getz says the goal is to highlight the different drink menus of bars and restaurants across town. "A lot of people might not know what a good old fashioned is, or that they can get a really great craft cocktail at Heist, for example. And you know that's what Yelp is all about: connecting people with great local businesses."

For a list of the 16 participating locations in Charlotte, visit bit.ly/YelpDrinksCLT.

Found: 'Stache House Bar & Lounge (1520 South Blvd.; 704-335-0530; www.StacheHouseCLT.com)
Ingredients: Hendrick's gin, freshly squeezed lime juice, agave nectar, muddled basil, topped with club soda

• Meredith Jones
• Ben Clousher, holding a Charlie Chaplin

Whether you prefer the refinement of Hendrick's gin (such as that found in the Charlie Chaplin), or a sip that has more of a bite like Bulleit rye whiskey (try the Tom Selleck), true craft cocktails await you at South End's newest watering hole. Here you'll find hand press juicers churning out the freshest ingredients right before your eyes. 'Stache mixologist Ben Clousher, who has been tending bar for 13 years in and around Charlotte, is passionate about the craft that goes into the art of a manicured drink. In response to the imagination behind each handcrafted cocktail, he admits, "It's going to take a bit longer than your normal turnaround time, but just the same as you wouldn't want a 50-dollar steak at Del Frisco's to hit your table 10 seconds after you ordered it, you have to appreciate the kind of craftsmanship that is going on behind these drinks."