Considering the surprisingly mild winter we’re experiencing, looking ahead to spring seems rather simple.

During the 15-day celebration, we’ll be seeing many dinner and drink specials at our local Asian restaurants. Chain-wise, P.F. Chang’s will be handing out its version of hóng bāo, red envelopes traditionally containing money, but this time containing gift certificates.

Chang’s also is also offering a promotional Dragon Punch cocktail featuring Chinese beer, vodka infused with dragon fruit and sriracha, a Thai hot sauce.

Here are a few more Asian cocktails you can easily whip up to join in the fun.

RED LOTUS
From About.com/cocktails

1½ ounce vodka
1½ ounce Lichido (lychee) liqueur
1 ounce cranberry juice

Pour the vodka, Lichido and cranberry juice into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a chilled old-fashioned glass filled with ice. Garnish with lotus flower or several peeled lychees on a skewer.

BEIJING BELLINI
From China 1 Antique Restaurant & Lounge, NYC

3 parts Champagne or dry Italian prosecco
1 part lychee wine or liquor
1 lychee nut dropped to bottom of glass

Served in a tall champagne flute. You also can blend peeled lychee nuts in their own sweet juice and use with the bubbly.

CHINESE MARY
From Bar None.com

1 ½ vodka
3 ounce sweet-and-sour sauce
Dash of lemon juice
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 drops soy sauce
3 drops Tabasco sauce (optional)
Pineapple (juice or pulp)

Make like a Bloody Mary, improvising with ingredients until you find your preferred taste and texture. It may be helpful to Ken add extra vodka to thin out the sauce. Heated, this mixture also makes a good sauce for various foods.

Check out my New York Drinks Events Calendar, the most comprehensive anywhere.

Here’s how the organizers explain the competition:

“You will taste and learn five different kinds of shochu/awamori and memorize their flavors. Then you will be asked to match 3 brands from memory and accumulate points. The three contestants with the highest points from each restaurant/bar will receive gift certificates of $200, $100 or $50 and be invited to compete in the final event at the Kitano Hotel on Park Avenue on February 15.”

Contest participation fee is $30 per person. That covers two free drinks (including a shochu/awamori cocktail) and edamame. Full participation details are available here.

The venues involved:

Onieals
174 Grand Street

Kibo Japanese Grill
111 East 18th Street at Park Ave South

Uminoie
86 East 3rd Street

Solas
232 East 9th Street

Amber
432 6th Avenue

Bao Noodle
391 2nd Avenue

Moco
516 3rd Avenue

Kitano Hotel
66 Park Avenue

Natsumi
226 West 50th Street

Shimizu Sushi
West 318 West 51st Street @ WJ Hotel

Shochu Bar Hatchan
210 East 44th Street

Yakitori East
210 East 44th Street

Samurai Mama
205 Grand Street, Wiiliamsburg

One or Eight
66 South 2nd Street, Williamsburg

Fushimi
Various locations

Bozu
296 Grand Street, Williamsburg

The shochu and awamori brands:

• Zuisen (awamori)
• Gokuu (barley)
• Satsuma shiranami (potato)
• Shiro (rice)
• Beniotome (sesame)
• Kappa no sasoimizu (potato)
• Ginza no suzume (barley)
• Ginza no suzume kohaku (barley)
• Kaikouzu (potato)
• Ryukyu oukoku (awamori)
• Kannoko (barley)
• Kumesen (awamori)
• Tombo (barley)

Check out my New York Drinks Events Calendar, the most comprehensive anywhere.

On Friday, February 17, the public will be admitted to the Harbor Hotel beginning a 5 p.m. to belly up to a 7,000-pound hunk of ice that will by that time have been meticulously carved into a working bar. Plans are to operate that unique venue through Sunday of that Weekend.

Specialty martinis, wines and local beers will be available, along with light hors d’oeuvres and live music.

Advance ticket sales are $15 each, available online. A portion of the event revenue will be donated to the American Red Cross.

The Harbor Hotel, an AAA Four-Diamond Award hotel,  is located at 16 North Franklin Street in this Finger Lakes city. Phone: (607) 535-6116.

Check out my New York Drinks Events Calendar, the most comprehensive anywhere.

It’s Concannon Irish Whiskey, distilled in Ireland from a barley and corn mash, matured in bourbon barrels for a minimum of four years, then finished for four months in former Concannon Petite Sirah wine barrels, shipped in from California, before blending.

“The United States is presently the largest market for Irish whiskey and growing,” said John Concannon, fourth generation vintner at Concannon. “We’re thrilled to offer a unique take on the category to American consumers with Concannon, a fiercely independent spirit from Ireland’s sole craft distillery that shares the heritage of both cultures as so many Irish-Americans do.”

Concannon Irish Whiskey will sell at a suggested retail price of $24.99 for the 750ml bottle.

Concannon Vineyards began with its first planting in 1883 near Livermore, CA. Cooley Distillery was established in 1987. It also produces Kilbeggan, The Tyrconnell, Connemara and Greenore brands. The company is in the process of being purchased by Beam Brands.

Check out my New York Drinks Events Calendar, the most comprehensive anywhere.

I first reported on the program last summer back when it began as a pilot program in the Buffalo market. (Details here.) Now, it has been expanded to the Albany, Syracuse and Rochester markets.

It offers a rotating selection of up to 12 craft beers available to-go in 64-ounce growlers. Customers also can create their own six-packs from a range of 12-ounce single bottles for $9.99. Selections change seasonally and include beers from such microbreweries as Long Trail, Ithaca, Victory, Flying Bison, Troegs, Red Hook, Smuttynose and Brooklyn.

The Albany area Sunoco stores in the program are located at 62 Exchange Street at Everett Road and 1465 Washington Avenue.

The tap list at the Exchange Street location includes Stone Arrogant Bastard, Bluepoint Blueberry, Magic Hat #9, Samuel Adams Winter Lager, Davidson Brothers Oatmeal Stout and Old Burnside Ten Penny Ale.

The tap list at Washington Avenue includes Kona Longboard Lager, Old Burnside Ten Penny Ale, Brooklyn Monster Barleywine Ale, Widmer O’Ryely IPA, Adirondack Beavertail Brown, Magic Hat #9, Sam Adams Alpine Spring, Bluepoint Blueberry Ale, Ommegang Hennepin, Southern Tier IPA, Stone Arrogant Bastard and Davidson Brothers Oatmeal Stout.

A complete tap list for all the 50 or so locations across the state is available online.

Check out my New York Drinks Events Calendar, the most comprehensive anywhere.

The event, which will be held at 27 wineries located on the west side of Cayuga Lake and east side of Seneca Lake, will feature local wines and foods, with tasting room fees still in effect but samples of anything from stews, soups, dips, and desserts are free with the tastings.

If you need additional information, call (800) 869-9271.

Participating wineries:

• Americana Vineyards
• Atwater Estate Vineyards
• Bellwether Hard Cider
• Buttonwood Grove
• Cayuga Ridge Winery
• Chateau Lafayette Reneau
• Cobblestone Farm Winery & Vineyard
• Damiani Winery
• Goose Watch Winery
• Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards
• Hosmer Vineyards
• Kings Garden Vineyards
• Knapp Winery & Vineyard Restaurant
• Lakeshore Winery
• Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars
• Lucas Vineyards
• Montezuma Winery
• Penguin Bay Winery
• Red Newt Cellars
• Sheldrake Point Vineyards
• Standing Stone Vineyards
• Swedish Hill Winery
• Thirsty Owl Wine Company
• Three Brothers Wineries & Estates
• Ventosa Vineyards
• Wagner Vineyards
• Zugibe Vineyards

Check out my New York Drinks Events Calendar, the most comprehensive anywhere.

A new campaign called “New York Drinks New York” will be held through the first quarter of this year, centered on New York City. The multi-pronged campaign is for wine trade, media, and consumers, intended to set the stage for a long-term effort to raise awareness about the quality of New York wines.

The program of activities will include “cellar visits” by media and trade representatives to the Hudson River Region, the Finger Lakes, and Long Island; a multi-day market visit to New York City by the 38 participating wineries; in-store tastings at city retailers; an advertising campaign; and a dedicated website going live February 1. The Foundation also will introduce a new logo specifically designed for the initiative. The signature event will be a grand tasting at Astor Center in Manhattan on March 12, featuring wines from the 38 participating wineries.

The calendar of activities:

January 22: Cellar visit to Hudson River Region (trade and media)
January 29-31: Cellar visit to the Finger Lakes (trade and media)
February 19-21: Cellar visit to the Finger Lakes (trade and media)
February 26-27: Cellar visit to Long Island (trade and media)
March 8-10: In-store tastings at participating retailers (general public)
March 12: Grand tasting of New York wines at Astor Center (trade, media, and general public)

“We’re not urging New Yorkers to buy New York wines because they’re local, but because they’re high-quality products at reasonable prices” said Jim Trezise, president of the Foundation, “but the added benefit of buying really good, affordable New York wine is that these consumers are also supporting their own state economy.”

All New York wineries were invited to participate. Those that decided to do so, by region:

Finger Lakes – Anthony Road Winery, Atwater Estate Vineyards, Chateau LaFayette Reneau, Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars, Eagle Crest Vineyards, Fox Run Vineyards, Glenora Wine Cellars, Heron Hill Winery, Hosmer Winery, Inspire Moore Winery, King Ferry Winery, Knapp Vineyards & Winery, Lakewood Vineyards, Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars, Pleasant Valley Wine Company/Great Western Winery, Red Newt Cellars, Sheldrake Point Winery, Standing Stone Vineyards, Swedish Hill Winery, Thirsty Owl Wine Company, and Wagner Vineyards.

Long Island – Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard, Bedell Cellars, Channing Daughters, Macari Vineyards, Martha Clara Vineyards, Palmer Vineyards, Paumanok Vineyards, Raphael Vineyard, and Wolffer Estate Vineyard.

Hudson River Region – Benmarl Winery, Brotherhood Winery, Clinton Vineyards, Millbrook Winery, and Stoutridge Vineyard.

Niagara Region — Leonard Oakes Estate Winery and Spring Lake Winery.

Thousand Islands — Thousand Islands Winery.

Check out my New York Drinks Events Calendar, the most comprehensive anywhere.

The latest comes from the fact that, for the first time ever, the influential magazine Wine Enthusiast has coordinated a tasting of some of the Valley’s best wines. The wines scored high on the magazine’s 100-point scale, with 20 of them hitting the 84- to 89-point range consistently across six producers. This is the first major tasting of the region by any major news organization.

The Hudson Valley is one of the oldest producing wine regions in the U.S. and New York is the nation’s third overall producer of wine. In recent years, new wineries, new money and new people have helped raise the overall level to some degree. As I noticed when I judged in the Hudson Valley Wine Competition back in September, some of the highest level Valley wines can hold their own against the more well-known Finger Lakes and North Fork products, and the mid-range quality wines are growing in number.

“We are thrilled with the results,” said Carlo DeVito, president of the 26-winery Hudson Valley Wine Country trade group and co-owner of the Hudson-Chatham Winery in Columbia County.

“The Hudson Valley is a great example of some of the excellent wines New York State produces. Our passion and commitment to making quality wines has been recognized. We think this highlights what we’ve been doing here. The Hudson Valley is making wines that can compete anywhere.”

Here is a rundown of the scoring, by winery:

TOUSEY WINERY

MILLBROOK VINEYARD & WINERY

HUDSON-CHATHAM WINERY

OAK SUMMIT VINEYARD

BROTHERHOOD

WHITECLIFF VINEYARD & WINERY

PALAIA VINEYARDS

Check out my New York Drinks Events Calendar, the most comprehensive anywhere.

Last year’s recipient of the fundraiser was the Domestic Violence Rape Crisis Services of Saratoga County. Funds are to be invested in “bricks and mortar” projects, and this year’s fundraiser will help make the shelter more energy efficient.

This semi-formal event, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. to midnight, will include food, casino gaming and dancing to live music by the Audiostars. Tickets are $50 per person. Dance-side tables are available at $550. For further details and reservations, call Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Services at (518) 583-0280.

The City Center is located at 522 Broadway, downtown.

Check out my New York Drinks Events Calendar, the most comprehensive anywhere.

In fact, customers in all of the Northeast plus some Sunbelt locations will be paying more under the price changes.

The average hike is 1%, so the price of a 12-ounce tall latte will go up by about 10 cents, to about $4.10, a rather ridiculous price to begin with but something coffee addicts willingly shell out. A Starbucks spokesman said prices on about six other beverages also will increase.

This is Starbucks’ first widespread price increase since 2007. However, the chain has been hiking prices here and there for several years.

Shares of Starbucks climbed by 2.2% to $47.04 following the announcement, according to NASDAQ.

Check out my New York Drinks Events Calendar, the most comprehensive anywhere.