Cocktails
658 recipes found
Sotol Pepino
This refreshing drink doubles down on the earthy herbal complexity of sotol, a traditional spirit from Northern Mexico. When making this cocktail, be sure to muddle the cucumber and mint well. This ensures the final drink is infused with plenty of their bright, vegetal and herbal flavors — as well as a pretty green hue. A pour of blanc vermouth adds a touch of floral sweetness.
Sotol Cítrico
The bright, citrus-forward combination of sotol, grapefruit, lime and orange bitters adds a sweetly acidic punch that balances the herbal, earthy undertones of sotol, a traditional spirit from Northern Mexico. A few dashes of orange bitters underscore those citrus notes even further (and should you have another citrus-based bitter on hand, such as grapefruit or lemon, feel free to swap it in). Serve it up in a chilled glass just as written, or add a salt or Tajín rim for a welcome layer of texture and spice (see Tip).
Lower-Alcohol Dirty Martini
Dry vermouth and fino sherry make up the base of this lower-in-alcohol cocktail, while keeping all the flavor of an original dirty martini. To start, ensure everything (the bottles of dry vermouth, fino sherry and spirit, the olive brine and garnish) is nicely chilled and use plenty of ice to stir your drink before pouring into your (also chilled) glass. If you’re unsure just how dirty you prefer your dirty martini, start with ¼ ounce brine and work your way up. Lastly, the small but aromatically complex addition of fino sherry gives the drink more depth and texture.
Carajillo
Icy and bold, the Mexican version of the carajillo cocktail combines strong coffee with Licor 43, a buttery Spanish liqueur boasting 43 ingredients, dominated by vanilla and citrus notes and a subtle hint of anise. While many carajillo recipes combine equal parts strong coffee and rum or brandy, this Mexican interpretation has become a classic. Serve the cocktail after dinner to keep the evening going, or for a weekend brunch. If you’re avoiding caffeine, decaf coffee works just as well.
Ponche Crème
A twist on eggnog, Trinidad’s ponche crème uses sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk instead of whole milk, cream and sugar. The name of this libation is a combination of Spanish and French, harkening to the island’s history of colonization: Ponche is Spanish for “punch” and crème means “cream” in French. (Despite different variations on the name, including poncha creme and poncha de crème, ponche crème is most common in spoken vernacular.) The condensed and evaporated milks create a thick, aromatic drink with a warm, spicy flavor provided by rum and Angostura bitters. Native to South America, tonka bean imparts a unique Caribbean flavor that is warm and spicy, with notes of vanilla, but it should be used sparingly, since it is a natural source of coumarin, a blood-thinner. If you don’t want to use tonka, mixed essence approximates its flavor. Normally added raw, the eggs in this adaptation are cooked into a light custard with food safety in mind. Ponche crème lasts, refrigerated, for up to three days.
Mulled White Wine
This lighter, brighter take on mulled wine is both festive and modern, made with white wine rather than the more traditional red. The mulling spices stray away from the expected baking variety and include toasted coriander seeds, black peppercorns, fennel, allspice and bay. Blanc vermouth, elderflower liqueur and honey gently sweeten and layer flavors, while a final addition of lime juice adds a fresh pop of acidity.
Mulled Beer
Flipping the idea of a cold one on its head, mulled beer is served hot and infused with fragrant warming spices — cinnamon, allspice, clove and star anise — with maple syrup for sweetness, Cognac for fortification and orange (in both peel and juice form) for brightness. The resulting drink is festive and warming, ideal for cold weather celebrations. When choosing a beer to mull, reach for something that isn’t too bitter or hoppy, such as a Belgian-style wheat ale (witbier), Hefeweizen or a low-hop amber ale.
Pistachio Martini
In Boston’s North End, the pistachio martini is a common menu item, made with pistachio liqueur and vanilla vodka and then garnished with chopped pistachios. The origins are hard to pin down, but many believe the cocktail came about because of Boston’s strict liquor laws, which often inspire mixologists to get creative with flavored liqueurs. This recipe is based on the pistachio martini served at Caffé Vittoria, open since 1929, and it embraces the best parts of a pistachio dessert: rich and creamy, with plenty of bold pistachio flavor that’s accented by vanilla. Serve this at the end of a holiday dinner party as dessert in festive martini glasses that can hold at least 5 or 6 ounces.
Presbyterian
As with all short ingredient lists, quality matters. Make sure to look for a drier ginger ale with a bite to it and reach for a whiskey you like to drink. Bourbon will result in a sweeter-leaning drink, Scotch a smokier variation, rye one that’s a little more spiced. While the citrus garnish is optional, if you do opt for it, lean in fully and squeeze the garnish directly into the drink. The hit of fresh citrus will brighten and add a lovely aroma.
Perfect Manhattan
All these years later, the formula for the manhattan, a late-19th-century classic, remains the same: two-parts whiskey, one-part vermouth, plus bitters, stirred over ice and served up. Making it “perfect” simply means splitting the traditional sweet vermouth into equal parts sweet and dry. While this recipe calls for rye whiskey, lending spiced notes to the final drink, bourbon is a fine substitute. As for the garnish, a cherry will sweeten the drink slightly (as well as provide a boozy snack), while a lemon twist brightens.
Caffè Amaro
The caffè amaro takes a lighter, lower-in-alcohol approach to caffeinated cocktails. Made with cold brew coffee, amaro, vermouth, lemon and a brown sugar simple syrup, the drink is rich in both flavor and texture. Opt for a lighter, more citrus-forward amaro and be sure to shake the cocktail firmly — served up, the drink’s layer of creamy froth harkens to its full-proof, also caffeinated cousin: the espresso martini.
Maggie Smith
Joaquín Simó was a bartender at Death & Co in the East Village when he came up with the Maggie Smith, an elaboration on an old drink called Between the Sheets. Maggie Smith’s character in “Evil Under the Sun” offers a Between the Sheets to Hercule Poirot, who asks for cassis or crème de banane instead. He should have taken her up on it.
Coconut Paloma
In this bright, hydrating take on the Paloma, coconut water is incorporated two ways: in the shaker alongside tequila, grapefruit and lime juice, and in the ice the final drink is poured over. As the ice cubes melt, they infuse the drink with coconut-forward flavor. Use any extra ice cubes in the next morning’s cold brew coffee, iced tea or another chilled drink.
Coconut Piña Colada
Frosty and smooth, this take on the piña colada adds coconut water to the classic combination of rum, pineapple and cream of coconut. Freezing coconut water into cubes takes a bit of forethought, but the act of blending them into the drink in lieu of standard ice cubes results in a drink that is layered with coconut flavor. The (optional) float of high-quality dark rum tips the drink toward party fare, and chilling your glasses in the freezer before pouring from blender to glass ensures the drinks stay frosty for as long as possible.
Wet Martini
Originally, a dry martini was one made with dry vermouth, but over time it came to mean one made with as little vermouth as possible. Its opposite was a wet martini, which brought to the foreground the softening, complicating aromatics of vermouth. Eel Bar in Manhattan blends two kinds of vermouth into its wet martini and stirs them with an equal proportion of London dry gin. Orange bitters stiffen its spine a bit, as does a mist of citrus oil from the peel of an orange. Like a dry martini, this cocktail should be served very, very cold.
Beeritas
A can of limeade concentrate combined with equal parts lager and tequila, this falls into the don’t-knock-it-until-you’ve-tried-it category. The beerita, a margarita-like drink with beer, is a refreshing cocktail that’s incredibly easy to assemble, thanks to the can of limeade. After the concentrate is emptied into a pitcher, simply fill the 12-ounce container with tequila, then again with water and finally, pour in a standard-size beer. (To bring home the warm, orange flavor associated with a margarita, mix in a little triple sec.) The end result is a batched cocktail enough for eight, which makes it ideal for a summertime cookout or block party.
Pickle Brine Margarita
Ever felt as if your margarita was missing something? Take some inspiration from Heather Rush, a co-owner and bartender at Pine Box Rock Shop, who adds pickle brine for a salty-sweet combination that’s hard to resist and delightfully umami-forward. (The bar, based in a former coffin factory in Bushwick, Brooklyn, keeps the brine on hand for another local classic: the pickleback, a shot of whiskey chased with a shot of brine.) There are plenty of ways to customize your pickle brine margarita, including a dash of habanero hot sauce or by substituting mezcal for tequila, but stick with brine from classic dill pickles, as bread and butter pickles lean too sweet. Just go easy on the salt rim; this cocktail is plenty salty on its own. For those interested in making a batch of pickle brine margaritas, see Tip.
Bellini
When summer peaks and ripe peaches fill farmers’ market stands and grocery stores, one of the most simple and seasonal beverages you can make is a bellini. A fragrant cocktail of (preferably white) peach purée and Prosecco, it’s said to have originated in Venice, Italy, by way of Giuseppe Cipriani of Harry’s Bar. The crisp, bubbly nature of the Prosecco is a perfect foil for the sugary sweetness of ripe peaches. Even though fresh ripe fruit is ideal, this drink also takes well to frozen peaches, just be sure to defrost them completely before making the purée. Frozen peaches can sometimes be tart or sour, so taste the purée and add sweetener if needed.
All Day Cassis
This combination of dry vermouth, lemon, crème de cassis, dry tonic and sparkling rosé is bright and refreshingly bubbly any time of day. The small add of crème de cassis (a black currant-based liqueur) balances the drink's acidity, while a pinch of flaky sea salt smooths and enhances flavors. The drink can be made to serve one, as written, or the mix of vermouth-lemon-crème de cassis can be batched in advance, then poured over ice and topped with dry tonic and sparkling rosé just before serving.
Hard Lemonade
This recipe is far removed from the spiked six packs of yore. The cocktail’s hard lemon base is a combination of fresh lemon juice, vodka or limoncello, simple syrup and a pinch of flaky sea salt. The salt serves to enhance, balance and brighten, while a final topping of bubbly soda water lengthens and elevates. When choosing between vodka or limoncello, follow your palate. Vodka offers a more straightforward flavor. The limoncello variation is sweeter — though nothing approaching cloying — and a bit more complex.
Sgroppino
Traditionally, a Sgroppino is an Italian palate cleanser, though it’s equally as suitable served as a cocktail or dessert. Whatever time of day you choose to make this boozy, lemony combination, you’ll want to drink it quickly once it’s in front of you. The slushy, lightly fizzy texture comes from a combination of sorbet, vodka and Prosecco — but, if you have another dry, light sparkling wine, that works well, too.
Negroni Sbagliato
Trade the gin in a Negroni for Prosecco and you get the Negroni Sbagliato, a happy accident that translates to “wrong” or “mistaken” Negroni. The story goes that a bartender at Bar Basso in Milan grabbed Prosecco instead of gin to top off a Negroni. The result was still bittersweet like a Negroni, but also festive and fizzy from the bubbles. This “wrong Negroni” is so right at the start of a meal or night, or to sip on all day or for the duration of a cocktail party. For even less booze, consider the Americano, a highball that trades the Sbagliato’s sparkling wine for soda water.
Milano-Torino
Before the Negroni, there was the Americano, and before the Americano there was the Milano-Torino. This bittersweet combination of Campari (from Milan) and sweet vermouth (from Turin) is served on the rocks with an orange slice. While you can use any red bitter or sweet red vermouth you like, if you’re looking to hew closest to the classic, reach for some Campari, and a sweet vermouth from Turin, such as Carpano Antica Formula, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino or Del Professore Rosso Vermouth.
Bicicletta
The popular lore goes that the Bicicletta, a classic Italian aperitivo, was named after the wobbling mode of transportation used by elderly men after a spirited afternoon or evening. However the drink came to be named, the three-part combination of red bitter liqueur, dry white wine and soda water is bright, refreshing and as easy to make as riding a bike.