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San Francisco Cocktail Week returns next week (May 13 - 19) with a whole slew of very cool booze-centric events scattered around some of the city's finest watering holes, and while it's hard to choose a favorite from the roster of events, next Saturday's "Literature, Booze, and History" discussion in The Salon at Hotel Rex (562 Sutter) seems uniquely poised to fulfill Cocktail Week's mission of honoring SF's "vibrant cocktail culture." The illustrious panel includes cocktail historian David Wondrich, author of Imbibe! and Killer Cocktails: An Intoxicating Guide to Sophisticated Drinking, local writer and bartender Jordan Mackay, and San Francisco Magazine's Scott Hocker. As a regular at the Make-Out Room's very own Writers With Drinks reading series, I can say from personal experience that you haven't really heard a writer talk about their work until you've heard him/her do it drunk. Maybe the most exciting part: guests will be treated to a version of the San Francisco classic Pisco Punch as interpreted by the mixologists at the excellent Cantina. It happens May 17 from 5:00 -- 7:00 p.m.; $30 per person. For reservations visit www.sfcocktailweek.com.

-- Brian Bernbaum