A lot of us will be traveling this summer, and a friend sent me this tip about how it's perfectly okay for you to bring your own liquor onto a plane as long as the bottles are three ounces or less and fit in those quart-size plastic bags. Maybe I'll try slipping in a tiny bottle next time to test it out.

How to make a concoction called a shrub.

Here's how to drink for less.

Good liquor is expensive. But there is an easy, cheap way to elevate bottom shelf booze: infuse it with something. Way better than the running-Zelko-through-multiple-Brita-filters trap, and definitely better tasting than MD 20/20.

The Things You Need:

1. A sealable container of some kind (like a large flour jar, $3)

2. Booze (like a handle of Seagram’s, $14)

3. Something to put in the booze (like strawberries and cilantro, $3 and $1, respectively)

4. Patience (free)

The Steps:

1. Prepare the subjects of infusion. Here, that means slicing the strawberries into quarters and cutting the roots of the cilantro bundle. Place into container.

2. Pour chosen alcohol into container and seal.

3. Leave it alone, out of direct light, for as long as you want. It’s really up to you. A bartender I know leaves walnuts in vodka for months at a time to make homemade nocino, but I’m not that patient. Start tasting it after three days. Once you think it tastes perfect…leave it one more day. Five usually does the trick for me.

4. Drink! Cocktail umbrellas are not optional.

How many drinks are there in 750ml? Fifteen? Add in a bottle of tonic water ($1) and it comes out to $1.47/drink. What would you pay for a strawberry cilantro-infused g&t at your local bar? (A LOT.)

I realize it's morning, but let's talk about booze for a second.

I know I have a drinking problem because my bank account has a drinking problem. It's there in black-n-white. I try not to look at it, always declining to print a paper receipt because it's quite, well, sobering.