You won’t find a coffee shop inside The Lab, just off 31st and Southwest Boulevard. What you will find is half a dozen intriguing coffees from around the country that Burton says you can’t buy anywhere else in Kansas City.

Jason Burton making a cup of Carrboro's Saul Melara coffee for me at The Lab.

This week, the selection included a Honduran Saul Melara coffee from Carrboro Coffee Company in North Carolina and the El Salvadoran Santa Rita Peaberry from Austin’s Cuvee Coffee Roasting Co. Burton also features Kansas and Missouri coffees like Broadway Roasting Company’s Ethiopia Yirgacheffe—the same one that just earned a Good Food Award.

Pick one, and Burton will make you a pour-over and tell you everything you might want to know about a particular coffee’s characteristics, roaster or origin. There’s no charge, just the hope that you’ll leave with a greater understanding of coffee and a bag of beans (either 4 ounce or 16 ounce). And, if you want a Clever Coffee Dripper or other tools to brew it with, you can buy that, too. The Lab shares space with About the Coffee, which describes itself as a “toy store for coffee fanatics.”

What makes Burton the expert? Boundless enthusiasm and curiosity, and a determination to share what he knows with coffee enthusiasts. The Lab also offers classes (check its web site or Facebook page for details), and it hosted last year’s sold-out Caffeine Crawl in September. This year, the Caffeine Crawl will coincide with Kansas City’s first-ever Coffee & Tea Week and expand to cities like St. Louis, Vancouver and Boulder. With all that going on, there really is no excuse for bad coffee.

The occasion? To introduce Landy Cognac to Kansas City bartenders. The take-away? It’s delicious stuff, in cocktails and on its own.

Ryan Maybee of The Rieger & Manifesto, Jean-François Bonneté of W.J. Deutsch, and Alexis Ganter of Glazer's

“All those organic components give it aromatic potential,” Bonneté said.

Landy’s Cognacs are blended from those of the Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne and Fins Bois regions and aged in Limousin oak barrels. VS Cognacs are required to age a minimum of 2-1/2 years, although Bonneté said those in Landy’s VS average 6 years.

The result is a pale gold Cognac that smells of flowers and citrus and tastes slightly of butterscotch, caramelized bananas and chocolate.

We tasted Landy’s range in wine glasses; Bonneté said he’s not sure where snifters came from, or the ideas of warming or swirling Cognac before sipping it. Warming is essentially re-distillation, while swirling “breaks” the aroma—skip them both, Bonneté said as the VSOP was poured.

Landy's VS, VSOP and XO Cognacs

Again, Landy’s version is aged longer than legally required—around 8 to 12 years, compared to the 4-1/2 year baseline. The extra age imparts more texture and warmth, along with an earthiness and a bit of apple and pear.

The XO  N°1 was that and more. A sweeter nose, with more oaky vanilla (not surprising, considering the Cognacs in this blend run 20+ years in age). Deeper flavors, with hints of dried flowers, stewed pears and prunes, and a long, textured finish.

It’s certainly not the kind of thing you’d put in a cocktail shaker—that’s what the VS is for. And Bonneté is all for that.

“Mixology means education, and when you educate the consumer, you change them,” Bonneté said.

Which brings us back to that Sidecar.

Maybee's Sidecar, made with Landy VS, Cointreau, lemon and orange juices and orange bitters served with a sugared rim.

The husband’s easy at-home method is to simply combine equal parts Cognac, Cointreau and freshly squeezed lemon juice in a shaker; shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass. I like it. A lot. But I might have to try recreating Maybee’s version soon. It was just too good.

Landy Tasting Sidecar: combine 1-1/2 ounce Landy VS Cognac, 3/4 ounce Cointreau, 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice, 1/2 ounce fresh orange juice and 3 dashes orange bitters in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a glass garnished with a sugared rim.

There’s sure to be a lot going on. Some of it keeps us movin’ in the same direction—interesting, well-made spirits and cocktail ingredients, along with skilled and creative mixing. Some not—more flavored spirits and pre-packaged “cocktails.” Here’s a round-up of the predictions:

• Beverage marketing maestro Jason Burton of The Lab expects more of all this: garden-grown bar ingredients, guest bartenders, good cocktail books, bar-to-bar collaborations and bartender-branded products.

• Serious Eats says we’ll see more savory and sour cocktails, while The Daily Meal predicts cocktails on tap, more local spirits and house-made ingredients (is that even possible?) and better hospitality.

• Jason Wilson, author of Boozehound and a columnist for The Washington Post, forsees continued growth in flavored vodkas and whiskies, as well as a shift from high falutin’ mixology to hospitality as bartenders welcome a new generation of spirits-savvy drinkers.

• Spice & Ice author Kara Newman compiled a longer list of trends. More rum will flow, and when we’re not drinking it we’ll be reading about it in Got Rum?, a new online magazine. There will be plenty of new style gins, more bad flavored spirits and more cocktail events than you can shake a stick at.

• Upscale’s the thing, according to Restaurant Management Magazine. We’re apparently still thirsty for more vintage beers, super-premium spirits and big-batch cocktails.

• Jeffrey Morgenthaler, a Portland-based bartender, touched off the current craze for barrel-aged cocktails, so it’s possible his interest in bottling carbonated cocktails might also gain steam.

• Richard Goldsmith of Fox News sees more of the same: more classic spirits and recipes, more prepackaged drinks, more barrel aging.

• Kansas City itself is even a culinary trend, according to Saveur magazine’s editor-in-chief, James Oseland. As he told MSNBC.com, KC’s “now poised to reinvigorate itself and position the city as a new culinary destination.” And all those chefs know they need a solid bar program in their restaurants.

But the No. 1 trend bartenders here are hoping becomes all the rage? Extravagant tipping. Given everything they’re doing to make sure we’ve got something good in our glasses, they certainly deserve it.

It certainly was for us last weekend down in Fort Worth, where we went to cheer on K-State in the Cotton Bowl. One message on Facebook yielded several clues from Ceci Norman (a cocktail muse and communications manager for the Tequila Interchange Project). She put us onto the Windmill Lounge, Marquee Grill and Veritas Wine Room in Dallas and Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar in Plano. Leigh Elmore, one of KC’s best writers and editors, suggested the Rattlesnake Bar in Fearings Restaurant, also in the Big D.

But here’s the thing. We were staying in Fort Worth, and it’s a long way from there to Dallas when you’re on a tight schedule. So, we picked the place with the shortest drive time from our hotel—The Cedars Social, a self-described cocktail den. Freelance media producer Brandon Cummins recommended the place; that boy knows a good drink, so I figured it was worth the gas. It was.

Since I didn't take many decent photos of my own, I snagged this one of The Cedars Social's Mike Martensen off The Dallas Morning News site.

The unprepossessing low, brick building opens into what’s been described as a groovy, swanky, 1960s bachelor hangout, maybe because of the indoor and outdoor fire pits, library cave, funky pendant lights and laminate chairs. We didn’t spend much time on the decor, though—we just headed for the bar.

Where we quickly grew sad. The four-page cocktail menu started off with a long list of punches, all of which looked amazing, and all of which are big bowls meant to serve 5 or 6 people. Another time, we promised ourselves. From there, where, though? We still had three pages to sift through.

I finally went with what barman/proprietor Mike Martensen recommended: the Wicked Garden, a sweetly tart, perfectly balanced drink made with Drambuie 15, honey-sage syrup, Rio Star grapefruit juice and Angostura bitters. The husband ordered Smoke Forbids—Siembre Azul reposado, Dolin sweet vermouth, celery bitters and agave stirred with applewood smoked ice.

But Martensen’s best advice? Where to go once back in Fort Worth. There may be a cocktail renaissance in Dallas, but it’s been slow to migrate across 35W, so we were happy for this next clue.

After dinner with friends at Grace (which Martenson says turns out top-notch drinks, although circumstances led us to drink beer and wine there), we headed to The Usual.

The neighborhood was quiet when we arrived shortly after 10p, and the plain red brick entry impassive. Then we opened the door to a full-fledged cocktail frenzy with four bartenders shaking and double-straining like crazy. Twenty-somethings crowded the bar, ordering Old Fashioneds, “whiskey drinks that taste good” (an actual overheard order) and Imperial, my favorite Costa Rican beer.

Still, we quickly found seats and ordered a Last Word (even sharing a taste with the guy next to us) and a Martinez, made with Ransom Old Tom gin. That seemed to please my bartender, given that a stylish young Texan had just returned one, apologizing repeatedly because it just wasn’t her thang.

No worries, the bartender said, and then he made her something light and citrusy. Folks in D/FW are clearly jazzed about good cocktails, and The Usual is happy to educate them with its menu full of classics, co-owner Juan Solis told me. I was just happy to find another good drink and can’t wait for our next trip down so we can continue hunting for treasure.

Recipe Note: I didn’t ask Mike Martensen for any of his cocktail recipes, but spirits writer Kara Newman did when writing about the Dallas drinks scene for Reuters. Here’s one from her article for a tequila sour called Tequila Por Mi Amante: combine 2 ounces Don Julio silver tequila infused with fresh strawberries, ½ ounce lemon juice and ½ ounce simple syrup or cane syrup in a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into an ice-filled Collins glass. Top with club soda.

Still, I can’t help but publish a few others here. First is the Smokin’ Choke, Maybee’s signature cocktail since Manifesto opened.

This modernized version of the Old Fashioned should not be rushed—it needs plenty of stirring time to fully incorporate and chill the maple syrup with the other ingredients.

To make the Smokin’ Choke: combine 2 ounces applewood smoked Four Roses Yellow bourbon (recipe follows), 1 barspoon Cynar, 1 barspoon Grade B maple syrup and 3-4 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters in a bar glass. Add ice and stir briskly until well chilled. Place one large cube of ice in a chilled Old Fashioned glass; strain cocktail into prepared glass using a julep strainer. Garnish with an orange twist.

To make the applewood smoked bourbon: Pour desired amount of bourbon into a large glass container, leaving room for smoke. Set up and light a PolyScience Smoking Gun according to manufacturer’s instructions. Insert hose, allowing smoke to blow into the bourbon. Once smoke dissipates, remove hose and cap container.

Another favorite that didn’t make it in was the Jackson Co. Democratic Club Cocktail, a Last Word riff named for the organization headed by Tom “Boss” Pendergast during Prohibition. (Pendergast’s old office is just two doors down from Manifesto.)

Here’s how to make it: combine 1 ounce Rittenhouse Rye 100, 3/4 ounce Yellow Chartreuse, 3/4 ounce Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, 3/4 ounce lemon juice and 2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters with ice and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a flamed orange zest.

And that Girl From Cadiz? She just made it into the 75th anniversary edition of the Mr. Boston Official Bartender’s Guide, along with Manifesto’s The Brothers Perryman.

How to make the Girl From Cadiz: muddle 1 mint sprig, 1 barspoon dried juniper berries, 1/2 ounce lemon juice and 1/2 ounce simple syrup in a shaker. Add 1-1/2 ounces Hendrick’s gin, 1-1/2 ounces fino sherry (Maybee uses Lustau) and ice. Shake vigorously, double-strain into a chilled Collins glass and garnish with a stalk of lemongrass.