This is my variant of the El Diablo, derived from a drink at 9 million in unmarked bills.
2 oz bourbon
½ oz cassis
½ lime, juiced
1½ oz ginger beer
4 dashes cardamom bitters
Combine over ice in an old fashioned glass.
perfect storm
Just don’t go fishing while drinking.
2 oz dark rum
1½ oz hard cider
1 oz ginger beer
vanilla sugar
Rim an old fashioned glass with sugar. Combine ingredients over ice in the glass.
Suggestion: add a few dashes of cardamom bitters.
mojito
I got a bottle of mango rum as a gift. Who, I wonder drinks such an oddity? Turns out, it makes a rather nice mojito.
2 oz mango rum
¾ oz lime juice
½ oz mint syrup
soda water
Combine in a collins glass. Add soda water. Fill with ice.
godfather
The epitome of a simplified drink. Two ingredients, combined in glass. No thought required. Go easy on the amaretto, or you’ll have cough syrup.
2 oz whiskey
splash of amaretto
Combine over ice in an old fashioned glass.
For the godmother, substitute vodka for the whiskey.
margarita
Never, never serve one slushed.
2 oz tequila
1½ oz triple sec
2 oz lime juice
Combine over ice in an old fashioned glass.
Alternate: combine in a shaker over ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.
sazerac
I first tried the Sazerac at a packed New Orleans bar in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle called Toulouse Petit. The bartender spent a while slowly building the drink, and the result was unexpected. You can achieve 90% of the effect with much less effort. Just go easy on the absinthe.
1 ½ oz rye whiskey
1 tsp sugar
3 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
¼ oz absinthe or herbsaint
By tradition: Pack an old fashioned glass with ice. In second glass, dissolve the sugar in rye and bitters. Discard the ice, and coat the glass with absinthe; discard the excess. Pour the whiskey mixture into the chilled glass.
Or, dissolve the sugar in the whiskey and bitters, add a couple of ice cubes, a few drops of absinthe, and call it good.
jersey soda
Because every cocktail list needs a crazy drink. A friend discovered this in eastern Washington. Tastes like an Italian soda.
2 oz Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka
3-4 oz diet cherry 7Up. Maybe more.
Combine over ice. Add a straw.
bourbon crusta
Two options for this one. The first is simple, and fruity. The second is more citrusy and complex.
Option #1
1 ½ oz bourbon
½ oz triple sec or curacao
¼ oz luxardo maraschino
¼ lemon juice
Option #2
2 oz bourbon
½ oz triple sec
½ oz lemon juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 drop cardamom bitters
Combine in a shaker over ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.
kir normand
We discovered this in Normandy. It replaces the champagne in a Kir Royale with cider as is fitting Normandy’s agricultural specialty. The splash of calvados (apple brandy) gives it a little extra kick.
2¼ oz hard cider
½ oz crème de cassis
½ oz calvados
Combine over ice in an old fashioned glass.
Alternate: Chill ingredients, and serve without ice in champagne flute.
greyhound
Some people will tell you that greyhounds demand vodka. There’s few vodka drinks that cannot be improved with gin.
2 oz gin
2 oz grapefruit juice
splash of triple sec
Combine in a shaker over ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.
Alternate: vodka
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