Cocktails
658 recipes found
Make-Ahead Martini
Daniel Osborne, the bar manager at Abigail Hall in Portland, Ore., can satisfy orders for gin and vodka martinis and rye and bourbon manhattans in an instant. Each drink is mixed in bulk, diluted and chilled well ahead of time. Advocates of this process say it results in not only quicker service but also a better, colder and more viscous drink. “Dilution and chill are main ingredients” in a martini, Mr. Osborne said. To find out for yourself, you need to plan only a day before cocktail hour. This recipe will yield two drinks. If you wish to have more ready in advance, simply double or triple the measurements.
Tuxedo No. 2
This version of the Tuxedo cocktail first appeared in a cocktail book in 1900. Essentially a traditional martini that is lent sweet and herbal notes by small amounts of maraschino liqueur and absinthe, it is a gentler, more delicate version of its austere cousin. Jarred Roth, beverage director of the Bar Room at the Beekman in New York, prefers the Brooklyn-made Greenhook gin and the soft French Dolin vermouth.
Jack Rose
The Jack Rose is the classic cocktail that never got invited to the oldies reunion. While other sours, such as the daiquiri, the Daisy, the Sidecar and select others, are revered and reinterpreted in their dotage, this mainstay of the 1920s and ’30s has fallen so far out of circulation that few still know its name. More’s the pity, for when properly made it is one of the canon’s stronger pillars, and a perfect sip when the post-equinox winds set in. The drink is simply a sour made from apple brandy — or applejack, as it was known from Colonial times through Prohibition — with grenadine syrup as the sweetener. Its name is attributed to any number of colorful characters, including a famous gangster stool pigeon, but it most likely comes from the shortening of applejack and the dusty rose color the drink attains from the grenadine and citrus.
Disco Ball
This equal-parts drink is not a proper cocktail but a shot, meant to be drunk in one go. If there are any booze bullies that can back mezcal into a corner, it’s the tag team of green and yellow Chartreuse. They dominate here, creating a liquid riot of herbs in a glass, with a background smokiness the only hint that the mezcal’s still hiding in there. The drink is on tap at the Grain and Grape Exchange in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Madame Almack’s Cocktail
The Madame Almack's is a cocktail from 67 Orange Street in Harlem. The bar's address was also the final address of Almack’s Dance Hall, an African-American-owned bar that flourished in the early 1800s. Kali Irwin, the bar's general manager, created this old-school cocktail with a baroque twist. In the Madame Almack's, Bison Grass vodka meets Cynar, an artichoke-flavored aperitif, along with fresh mint and Champagne.
Updated Harlem Cocktail
Traditionally, the Harlem cocktail does not include lemon juice. I’ve added it to this updated version because the additional acidity mellows the sweetness imparted by the drink’s other components. If you’ve got an extraction juicer, fresh pineapple juice makes this drink especially bright and lively — but canned juice will work fine. I like to finish the drink with a couple dashes of Angostura bitters, but consider them optional — to your taste.
Widow’s Kiss
The Murricane (A Bourbon-Watermelon-Elderflower Cocktail)
The Murricane is the nickname the actor Dan Aykroyd supposedly gave to his frequent (and frequently moody) co-star Bill Murray. In this drink, named for the actor, bourbon is shaken with a high-minded mixture of basil, watermelon juice and elderflower liqueur, then flecked with black pepper. Mr. Murray may be funny, but his drink is downright serious.
Fancy Free
Aviation
The Goldfish
The author and bartender Gary Regan revised the recipe for this Prohibition-era cocktail to prevent the strong flavor of the Goldwasser (a herbaceous liqueur) from overpowering the gin. The flecks of gold in the liqueur make this a particularly festive cocktail.
Junior
Gingerbread Apple Cocktail
Limoncello Once Removed
It’s one of those things you never think about, limoncello, until it pops up as a suddenly great idea: that dazzling bright yellow, half-frozen, lemony tang, like an adult slushie. Though it is also sweet, its penetrating citrine pop cuts like the Jaws of Life at the close of a hearty meal. It helps to have another pair of hands while setting this up, but once you’ve gotten the initial setup in place, it takes care of itself.
Gin and Tonic
This refreshing summer cocktail for a crowd came to The Times by way of Toby Cecchini, a bartender and the inventor of the once ubiquitous cosmopolitan cocktail. This recipe originated with his father, Andrea Cecchini, a research chemist who “brought his scrutiny to bear on cocktails.” A few things the senior Mr. Cecchini would insist upon here: Use a pitcher because proportion is crucial, and you need plenty of room for the ice, tonic and limes. The limes should be room temperature. The tonic chilled, and the ice cracked, preferably by hand. Of course, do what you can, and if you want to make a single cocktail, simply divide the amounts by four (use the juice of one lime per cocktail and have another on hand for garnish). Toby likes to use Tanqueray for “its punchy botanicals and authority; it is 94 proof to the more common 80, making it cantankerous in a martini, but perfect for a G and T.”
Cold-Fashioned
This simple riff on the old-fashioned has become a popular way to serve Mr. Black cold brew liqueur in many bars across America. Tom Baker, the founder of Mr. Black, prefers a simple recipe calling for equal parts rye whiskey and Mr. Black, with no sugar or bitters required. But each bar has its own take. This formula, which comes from Peppi’s Cellar, a bar in the NoLIta section of Manhattan, opts for Irish whiskey and a few dashes of orange bitters. The Irish whiskey lends a gentle touch to the drink, softening the kick of the coffee. But, really, with this drink, it’s all about what sort of whiskey you like (bourbon also works), and how much you like that cold brew flavor, so adjust the proportions and ingredients to your taste.
Bee’s Knees
This recipe from Marshall Minaya of Valerie, a bar in Midtown Manhattan, is classic, adhering to the original’s mixture of gin, lemon juice and honey. The addition of Barr Hill Gin, a spirit from Vermont that is finished with raw honey, adds an extra honeyed note to the cocktail.
El Vergel
The aromas and flavors of corn, poblano chiles, grapes and citrus fruits harmonize in this elegantly spicy cocktail.
The Benediction
Striptease
Yana Volfson, the beverage director at Cosme, created this elegant yet lively drink for that Manhattan restaurant. It draws its ingredients equally from France and Mexico. The fiery mezcal is calmed by the subtly sweet and fruity blanc vermouth. The guanabana nectar (also known as soursop), which has litchi-like characteristics, adds yet another unexpected flavor note to this twist on a margarita. The drink is a perfectly balanced amalgam of the unusual and the familiar. Goya makes a guanabana nectar that can be found in many New York City bodegas.
Irish Whiskey in Cocktail Form
The obvious starting point for a proper St. Patrick’s Day cocktail is Irish whiskey. But that is where it gets difficult. Ask a bartender for a classic Irish whiskey cocktail, and you’re likely to get a long, pained pause. That’s because Irish whiskey has kept its distance from the cocktail set. Like its peatier cousin, Scotch, it tends to be a curmudgeonly loner, preferring the company of just ice and a bit of water. This recipe was created in 2009 by Anthony Malone, the Dublin-born general manager and bartender at Puck Fair, as part of a challenge to create a cocktail based on the traditional Irish breakfast — eggs, bacon, black and white pudding, and toast. Malone's drink combines Bushmills with cherry liqueur and orange juice, as in the Scotch-based Blood and Sand, along with a whole egg, “for that creamy consistency.”
Negroni and the Goat
The chef Stephanie Izard created this drink as the June 2014 Negroni of the Month for the restaurant Nostrana, in Portland, Ore. The name is a reference to the Chicago restaurant Girl & the Goat, where Ms. Izard is the executive chef. The substitution of Aperol for Campari makes for a gentler drink, while the addition of Averna, a Sicilian amaro, lends a sturdy bottom note.
Duke Of Bedford
Afton Club Punch
David Wondrich, the mixologist and author, said this punch, which begins with a sugar and lemon peel "shrub,'' is "lowish on the alcohol, and slightly unusual. People like it when I make it.''