Bar Keepers Friend -- This powdered cleanser, which has been around since 1882, has been helping bartenders keep things clean. But you don't need to work behind a bar to use it. It removes stains and rust from all kinds of surfaces - stainless steel, porcelain, ceramic tile plastic, copper, china, fiberglass, imitation marble, tile, grout, chrome and composition sinks. One can does it all! The best professional powdered cleanser since 1882. The unique formula in Bar Keepers Friend gently removes stains other cleansers can't. It will even remove rust, and is great for cleaning stainless steel. (You can even use it to clean those vintage Nikes). The motto -- "Once Tried, Always Used!" -- definitely applies. This stuff has been around forever because it works. Look for it near the cleaners in your favorite store. --D.O.

Prairie Organic Vodka -- In an era when many consumers are trying to "go green," this Minnesota product should be a hit. The production process has been certified organic by the USDA and kosher by the Orthodox Union. The corn is free of chemicals. The co-op of farmers are stakeholders in the company with high standards. The kosher certification requires all equipment to be sterilized in between batches to ensure purity. Any biomass waste from the corn and other material is converted to energy to run the stills and the distillers dried grains are used as feed on the farms from which the corn originated. Into the bottling, the glass is recycled and unfrosted and the bottles are packed in cardboard from sustainable wood pulp. Using locally grown grains also cuts the fuel costs of production. None of that would matter though, if it didn't taste good. The vodka has a lush, almost creamy texture and a clean corn flavor. --D.O.

"Barfly" -- If you've cheered Mickey Rourke's "comeback" performance in "The Wrestler," you should check out this 1987 movie that represented him at a performing peak. Rourke plays Henry Chinaski, a full-time boozer modeled after real-life writer Charles Bukowski. As Chinaski, Rourke is a tour de force performance as he drowns himself in Scotch, hangs with Wanda (Faye Dunaway), fights with Eddie the Bartender (Frank Stallone) and frustrates magazine editor (Alice Krige) will make you want to buy a round "For all my friends." --D.O.

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut Yellow Label -- With Valentine's Day approaching, why not go the extra mile and get a bottle of decent champagne to toast your significant other? Veuve Clicquot's Yellow Label is always a crowd pleaser. It's not sickeningly sweet or overly bubbly. It's just right. It may cost about $35 or $40 a bottle, but it's always a crowd-pleaser. --D.O.

The Sazerac -- If you want to go "old school," you can't go wrong with this drink, which dates to pre-Civil War New Orleans and is believed to be one of the first cocktails invented in America. The original drink is based on a combination of Cognac and bitters created by Antoine Amédée Peychaud in the 1830s. Different recipes evolved, but most involved a combination of Cognac, rye whiskey, absinthe, pastis and bitters (Peychaud and Angostura). As for the name, that comes from John Schiller, who opened the Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans in 1859. The drink and the establishment were named for a brand of Cognac, Sazerac-du-Forge et fils. If your bartender is "old school," he'll know how to make it. --D.O.