Cherry liqueur is really two different drinks sharing a name - the sweet dark red kind you sip, and clear dry maraschino that is distilled and belongs in a Last Word. Why maraschino comes out colourless, where vishniak fits, and the three bottles on our shelf at $16.99, $31.99 and $36.99.

Amaretto is the sweet almond-flavoured Italian liqueur, and Disaronno is the bottle almost everybody means. What the name means, why there may be no almonds in it at all, what ours costs at $39.99, and the five things worth doing with an open bottle.

Smirnoff Green Apple is $14.99 for the 750ml and $19.99 for the litre, and it tastes like an actual Granny Smith - tart first, sweet second, which is the opposite order to most flavoured vodka. The two bottles on our shelf, the drinks worth making, and who should buy something else.

Vermouth is wine, not liquor - which is why it belongs in the fridge. Sweet, dry and bianco explained, plus the three drinks worth knowing.

Rum is sugarcane turned into spirit, and that is the only rule. What separates white from gold from dark, why the island of origin matters more than the colour, and which bottle to start with.

Coffee liqueur is cold coffee, sugar and a neutral spirit. The espresso martini ratio that actually works, the dairy-or-pareve question nobody else explains, and which kosher bottle does which job.

The orange drink everyone is holding on a patio has a name and a job. What aperitivo means, how the 3-2-1 spritz works, what vermouth actually is, and which bottle to start with.