Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I agree with the first 3, from my experience gin is back all the way.

If your crowd is predominantly late 20's to early 40's you might try Bulldog gin -- it's a decent mixer, pretty popular, and not something that will necessarily be available all over Long Island, so if you're looking for a "life of the party" bottle that might be your best bet.

Try Beekman Liquors, if you're nearby, when I lived in the city 5 years ago that was my go-to, mainly because they ship without a hassle. Oh, and enjoy that LIE traffic :)

Someone above asked me about the fertile eggs. Actually all the research I have done does not suggest a significant difference in fertile vs. non-fertile eggs (although fertile eggs come from, most likely, cage-free chickens and have a bit of male hormone in them). A lot more depends on what you feed the chickens (in some parts of Latin America the chicken tastes like fish because their feed consists almost entirely of seafood). But the fertile DOES taste different, at least to me and my wife. A bit heartier. Difficult to describe.

HD light ice creams are freaking to do for. How they make vanilla that rich with only 7 grams of fat per serving is beyond me, but power to them.

I was disappointed by the shrek m&ms so I will probably sit this one out. Still, I like the hieroglyphs

Fab Fairbanks here! I cannot wait to try the parboiled or pressure cooked fried gizzards. One way to tenderize the tasty lil giblets is to wash and cover with tenderizer...then freeze for a few days or a week , to give the tenderizer time to work. I then thaw and fry them in a coating of flour, garlic, and, curry powder. Our sauces include Red Hot , homemade honey mustard, Blue Cheese, and Barbeque,

It really depends on the crowd.

Old school drinkers have their "usual" drink.

Newbies tend to be all over the place...and don't really care as long as it tastes good to them and gets the job done.

czken has a good suggestion with the pimm's cup, classic yet not common, spicy and sweet, but still refreshing...definitely do the cucumber garnish.

Old school martini drinkers may appreciate a twist on the classic gin martini with the cucumber martini made with Hendrick's gin, recipe is on the card attached to the bottle, and it too is very refreshing without the typical juniper punch to the nose that most non-gin-drinkers can't tolerate.

Of course if I have totally read your crowd wrong and what you really need are a bunch of kick ass shooters posing as martinis then...uh, let me know, bc the list is long my friend.

If I had to pick between the two, I'd say beer. But really, I just prefer water. Coke makes me feel full of carbonation (and so does beer but at least I feel like its serving some other purpose).

Hillary
Chew on That

If you're looking for atmosphere while you eat your fried clams, nothing beats getting a little paper dish of hot breaded clams and eating it on the Coney Island boardwalk.

I split the lobes horizontally and clean them well. I've been known to use a mallet on them to tenderize or soak them in milk/buttermilk. I've also gone the parboil route but found that you lose much of their valuable flavor. I have returned to a soaking in buttermilk and a double dipping in seasoned flour before cooking like normal fried chicken; albeit a bit slower and longer. Braver souls fry them in a pressure cooker.
I don't pretend to transform them to regular fried chicken status or something they aren't. Gizzards are gizzards. I love 'um for what they are and could eat my considerable weight in them. My secret sin is serving them with a side of tartar sauce. All of this is done when I'm left at home alone for the weekend ;~)
Yes they make exceedingly great broth and I try to keep a supply of the broth in the freezer. They are an absolute must in Thanksgiving giblet gravies too.