The booze-loving New York Times devotes much of its Dining and Wine pages this week to the tipple. Because I love you all, I’ll give you a brief rundown of each article:

Pete Wells starts with a fun piece on off-putting cocktails: a Cosmo spiked with Pernod and pomegranate, for example, or a rum drink with bell pepper and spanked basil. (He provides recipes for all the drinks, in case you want to weird out your friends.)

Eric Asimov leads a tasting panel that samples several rye whiskeys. Don’t miss the video feature, linked on the left of the article. (The sharp-eyed New Yorkers — if there are any reading this — will recognize the whiskey cabinet at LeNell’s.) As a bonus, Asimov follows up with a blog post about the process of sampling so many ryes.

Mmmmm, rye. I’ve got a bottle of Wild Turkey 101 that I should tuck into tonight.

If you’re looking for a food pairing with your rye (that is, if you’re not in the mood for nuts or a snack mix), you can try the biscotti that Florence Fabricant recommends.

Also, briefly:

Julia Moskin explores whether pregnant women can or should enjoy the occasional drinky; Mark Bittman offers some nosh for your next cocktail party. Rob Willey looks at boutique tonic waters, while Ms. Fabricant hits the tequila and Brooks Hamaker samples some strong beers.