Alex Leo is director of news product at Reuters Digital. This is her take on four places she likes, and one place she doesn't.

You want me to drink Remy Martin 1738 cognac? Sure, just let me grab my monocle, slip on my smoking jacket, and withdraw to a leather chair next to an oil painting of a fox hunt. What's that you say? These affectations are unnecessary, as cognac is now being used by cutting-edge mixologists like Jim Meehan of New York's PDT to create cocktails that are as innovative as they are delicious? Well now you're speaking my language. I'll be right over.

Chances are you've been seeing a lot of Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum around town lately: it was the heavy pour at the AllSaints pop-up pub during the Jelly Pool Parties over the summer; it reunited the Greenhornes for a show back in September; its iconic logo was celebrated with the launch of a Sailor Jerry Pin-Up Calendar with Inked magazine just a few weeks ago; and you've probably had it in one of your custom cocktails at mixology bars like PDT or The Andaz -- the Cellar Door cocktail is one to try. Well, it just so happens that Sailor Jerry is celebrating the 100th birthday of their founding father, legendary tattoo artist and "Class-A Pirate" Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins. It also happens that the celebration and historical dedication will take place in his hometown, which, lucky for me, is Honolulu, Hawaii.

The holiday season means higher-than-usual tourist density in New York City, and naturally, that spike in traffic is due in no small part to your own eager friends and family, who descend on the city for an authentic, fairy-lighted experience of the Big Apple in winter. But after a day at Macy's, an evening at Rockefeller Center, and a dinner somewhere "New York-y," as per their request, where do you, their trusty tour guide by default, take them for a night on the town? Here are a few crowd-pleasers that will still earn you some street cred, whether that crowd involves your boyfriend's distant Uncle Larry, Mom and Dad, long-lost friends who've emerged from the woodwork, hard-to-impress rubberneckers, or your old high school mates. A comprehensive list of the best yuletide boîtes to celebrate the new year - and the best of NYC.

Alphabet City cocktail joint Elsa was a pleasant surprise this past Saturday night, the usual bullshit kept to a minimum while still putting on a bit of a show. People can’t call a place “theirs” unless it has some kind of buzz attached, and I’ll be the first to admit that it’s nice to write home to mom about sitting next to Leonardo Dicaprio from time to time. But isn’t it lovely to alleviate that crick in your neck from all the rubbernecking, pop into a place that doesn’t require lists or ropes, and still feel rather discerning about where you’ve chosen to spend your Saturday night? Elsa wasn't a waste of time or an outfit.

● Stanley Tucci at The Luxury Collection Destination Guide Launch with Assouline: I like to go to a lot of different places, but certainly Mario Batali's restaurants. The beef cheek ravioli at Babbo is so delicious and so incredible. Just about anything he cooks is okay with me. I always stay at the St. Regis, here in New York. ● Rosie Perez: I love Gino's in Bay Ridge. The arroz con gandule at Luz in Brooklyn is a favorite, and the roasted chicken is the best deal in town. Here in the city, Dok Suni's for Korean barbeque, at First Avenue and 7th Street.

1. Matt Damon, after Green Zone press day: Oh, boy! There are so many great restaurants here. I like Bob De Niro's place, Nobu. That's a good one. 2. Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi @ "Masks and Mayhem" Purim party @ Solo restaurant: Definitely, L.A., Voyeur, that club, I like it. 'Cause I just like low-key stuff because, since I've been in the limelight, when I go to clubs, it's just crazy. It's hard to, actually, party and have a good time, because I usually go out with Pauly and Mike in L.A., and it's just hard to party because everyone's, like, 'Oh!' They go crazy. And we love that, but, yet again, we like to have our low times. So, Voyeur, definitely, a good place to go because there's a lot of celebrities there, so we can actually relate with people.

Here at BlackBook, we pay a lot of attention to where cool customers go out -- bars, clubs, restaurants, shops, hotels, you name it. So why not flip the frame and let you see where we go out? Here's a periodically updated, exhaustive list of hotspots currently favored by everyone at BlackBook, from the mighty bosses down to the humble interns, from the charming local lounges around the corner to the jet-setting temples of luxe living. ● Creative Director - Jason Daniels, The Odeon (NYC) -American Psychos down salmon and steak frites, but the real scene's on the sidewalk. ● Vice President, Content - Chris Mohney, Agua Dulce (NYC) - Festive outpost feels like Miami, F-L-A.

As 2009 draws to a close, the elaborate cocktail craze is still going strong. Recent additions like Raines Law Room, Rye House, and Mayahuel show that New Yorkers remain plenty into expanding their alcohol horizons. Working up an involved cocktail for home entertaining is a good way to expose your guests to something they might not otherwise know exists. Jim Meehan of PDT sends along a recipe that makes use of some intriguing obscurities.

The first unsettling realization, back when I made my initial stab at DIY bitters, was that I didn’t have the mixology skills to do my tinctures justice. The second was my total cluelessness as to whether they were even worth a damn. So I took matters to the top and sought out PDT’s Jim Meehan, a man who I’ve got a sneaking suspicion was the inspiration for the phrase “a gentleman and a scholar.” He graciously agreed to check them out, and after a month of daily shaking, smoking, and praying, my precious babies were strained, bottled, and shipped off to St. Marks. They also went with a hopeful request: if any of them were deemed decent enough, would Meehan or his staff be willing to create a drink based around my bitters? Why yes, they would. What followed was a three-month-long game of cat and mouse, as Mr. Meehan traveled the globe on business, doing what he is wont to do (blow minds), while I corresponded with him from the confines of my light-starved studio apartment.