Whether it's happy hour or time for a late-night celebration, rounding some classic mixed drinks for the crew is still one of the best ways to make a toast for the night. Cocktails, martinis and frozen drinks made with traditional ingredients and an exotic twist give you a chance to drink unique beverages and try new flavors from the mixology gurus behind the bar.

From blackberry mojitos to açaí-infused martinis, here are some of the most requested bar drinks at venues across the country:

Cucumber Mint Martinis

Cocktail aficionados are sure to do a double take with this cool and refreshing twist on mixed drinks. The cucumber and mint martini is the perfect match for those hot summer nights mingling on the patio; it's typically made with fresh cucumbers, spearmint leaves and a hint of lime.

Blackberry Mojitos

Nobody really knows where this twist on the classic lime mojito came from, but blackberry adds depth and flavor to the ever-popular summer drink. Mixology experts are taking things up a notch with blackberry-flavored rum, blackberry juice and even dropping fresh blackberries into the bottom of the drink for a dense flavor.

Açaí Berry Martinis

Whether you enjoy your martini straight up or on the rocks, açaí-berry infused drinks are spilling into bars everywhere and spicing things up for the conventional-martini lover. Using VeeV, an açaí-based alcohol, instead of vodka adds a natural hint of sweetness to any beverage, the clean and crisp flavor for a satisfying finish to any classic martini.

Lemon Gimlets

Forgo the classic lime gimlet in favor of the lemon or 'fuzzy' gimlet made with a carbonated lemon-lime beverage, gin, lime and lemon juice and enjoy a taste of summer any time of year. This one can also be made with white tequila for your Mexico-inspired night.

Iced Chocolate Martini

Throw a party for your inner chocoholic with an ice-cold chocolate martini on the rocks. This dessert-like beverage is made with chocolate liqueur, VeeV (instead of vodka) and fresh cream and can be served straight up in a chilled martini glass for a tasty treat.

Written by Sabah Karimi

The Windy City has a new friend in town named VeeV. If you have not yet had the honor to get acquainted with VeeV, you are missing out on one of the hottest bar drinks in the Chicagoland area.

The two founders are native Chicagoans and their açaí spirit has hit a hot spot with consumers. Açaí, a berry exclusively grown in the Amazon rainforest, is filled with antioxidants. It is very healthy, and the eco-friendly supporters love the fact that the VeeV company donates $1 back to the rainforest for every bottle of liquor they sell.

VeeV is found at many of Chicago's local bars, clubs and restaurants. Among the trendy Chicago establishments where VeeV is served:

Whiskey Blue
172 W. Adams St.
(312) 782-4933
www.gerberbars.com

Blackbird
619 W. Randolph St.
(312) 715-0708
www.blackbirdrestaurant.com

Lumen
839 W. Fulton Market
(319) 733-2222
www.lumen-chicago.com

VeeV has also become central to the Chicago local mixology, a prime resource for the talented bartenders using their creativity in their limited free time to devise wonderful new concoctions. Only briefly mention the word "mixology" to a Chicago bartender who is familiar with VeeV, and you will be sure to be treated to some type of VeeV pleasure.

If you have not done so, be sure to introduce yourself to VeeV. The Windy City as well as you will be glad you did!

Written by Michelle M. Guilbeau-Sheppard

You've read about the how bartenders and mixologists are replacing their traditional drinks with VeeV cocktails, but why should you make the transition? After all, many of us are stuck in our ways and comfortable with the familiar.

However, if you aren't willing to try a little variety in your drinking habits, you'll be missing out on some great opportunities, not to mention great taste. VeeV is one of the most popular drinks right now, both as a shooter and as a prime ingredient in favorite cocktails.

First, the hangover potential with VeeV is minimal compared to other liquor choices. When you decide to spend a night throwing back drinks with your friends, you won't have to worry about whether or not you've stocked up on aspirin and orange juice. Furthermore, VeeV is considered a "green" drink, which means that its production is intended to promote environmental causes.

VeeV is made with a particularly interesting fruit, called açaí, which is native to Brazil and chocked full of helpful antioxidants. Rather than letting the negative effects of alcohol build in your system, the açaí fruit helps to sluice those toxins out of your body.

The makers of VeeV have also pledged to donate $1 from the sale of every bottle to the Sustainable Açaí Project, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to farming and preserving the rain forest. This obviously strikes a chord with those who are concerned about the environment and wish to contribute to its preservation.

Unfortunately, it might be difficult to find VeeV in your local bar, as the distribution has thus far been very exclusive. However, if you continue to request it as a replacement for some of the more traditional liquor, you might find a nice surprise in your friendly, neighborhood bar.

This might also be a great time to start experimenting with VeeV recipes. You won't want to be behind the times once VeeV becomes a national, alcoholic-drink staple, and you might as well have fun with it. To learn more about VeeV, visit the official website.

Written by Steve Thompson

Will vodka soon see its last call?

R.I.P. Here lies Vodka, born in a common still in the European vodka belt sometime in the middle ages, died on the rocks in a nondescript cosmopolitan lounge at the start of the 21st century.

The body isn't yet in the grave, but the stone cutter and grave digger are standing by.

It's been a long time since straight vodka (or vodka drunk "neat," as they say in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe) has been considered anything short of yawn-worthy. Determined to postpone its inevitable demise, vodka quietly spirited itself into a variety of trendy liquids in a desperate bid to cast itself as an essential ingredient for the nouveau social drinking experience. In its travels, vodka struggled to identify itself as cosmopolitan, pairing up with ingredients far from its pedestrian Eastern European origins.

But instead of reinvigorating its reputation, vodka became a laughingstock. Vodka's first effort to bolster its flagging reputation saw it latching onto poor Red Bull, the Austrian energy drink. Rejected by Red Bull, which packs a punch by itself and has no need for an albatross like vodka dimming its effects, vodka's desperation took a ludicrous turn. Knowing that it would never again bask in those glory days of vodka shots, vodka tonics and the staple martini, vodka scurried off to Vermont for infusions of (oh, please try to be sensitive and not laugh too hard) - cow's milk and maple syrup. Even vodka could see that the result was lame.

When competitor Brazilian VeeV hit the markets, poor, befuddled vodka simultaneously grasped at faint marriage prospects with South American guarana and Asian ginseng but was soundly rebuffed. VeeV, açaí fruit-derived liquor with acerola cherry and prickly pear accents, not only outdid vodka drinks in the taste and sophistication categories, it lured in remaining vodka loyalists with its eco-friendly aura. With VeeV boasting 57-percent more antioxidants than popular pomegranate and 30-percent more cardiac-protective anthocyanins than red wine, vodka seemed to accept its looming diagnosis and crept away toward oblivion.

VeeV cheerfully filled the glasses once reserved for vodka and innovations sprung forth. From simple pairings with lime and club soda to intertwining with cucumber, basil, mint and tea rose fusion, newcomer VeeV's versatility fed the perception that VeeV is destined to become even more ubiquitous than vodka once was.

And what of those whispered rumors of a last-ditch vodka comeback? No, folks aren't drinking vodka again.

Wine X Magazine reported in its current issue that some young Irish and Brits have resorted to snorting pure vodka through straws. Its VeeV folks are drinking. Vodka is destined to spend its final days in the dank, dark nasal passages of retrograde British Isles bar-goers.

Written by Carol Bengle Gilbert

In New York City, roving reporters for Shecky's New York City Nightlife were given an assignment that any of us would envy. What was the assignment for the Shecky's reporters on this day? "Drinking Our Way Through the NYC Wine & Food Festival."

Little did the Shecky's reporters know that they would discover VeeV.

What is VeeV? It's an alternative to vodka in mixed drinks. It comes from açaíberries grown in the Brazilian rainforest.

Is that a typo for the second "V" to be a capitalized in "VeeV"? No. In fact, the way that VeeV is catching on in New York City, we might end up with "NeW YorK CitY"!

Well, it was a tough job, but someone had to do it. The reporters from Shecky's said they sampled "more than 100 of the finest liquids in a three-hour span." But in the process of drinking their way through NYC, they made a VeeV discovery that no doubt helped them avoid the effects of a hangover.

The Shecky's team from New York City said, "What's new and trendy? How about VeeV, the world's first spirit made fromaçaí, which has more antioxidants than pomegranate - it tastes like grape juice, which isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Not a bad thing at all. Not a bad thing indeed. Here's a VeeV cocktail recipe that is among those that are becoming popular in New York City:

VeeV Eco Lemonade

Ingredients:

four lemon wedges

four sprigs of mint

two ounces of VeeV açaí spirit

club soda

Instructions: Muddle four lemon wedges and four mint sprigs in a mixing glass. Add VeeV and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake. Pour into a glass, top with club soda and garnish with fresh mint.

Written by Michael Thompson