prevailing favorites
drinks that never let me down
I've figured out that for me at least, simple is better. Lots of more complicated drinks don't do much for me, and as Charles Baker mentions in Jigger, Beaker, and Glass once your basic spirits ingredient list goes beyond 3, no matter how awesome those spirits are there's a tendency to wind up with a muddled mess of flavors that sum near-zero, as with soup and other things. I guess I just prefer more striking one-note drinks that let a single spirit or two sing loudly. Come to think of it, that is often the case with my tastes in other things too (food/dishes, art, music...). I've also noticed that for all the fun and novelty of vintage and obscure drinks, there seems to generally be a reason those still with us um, are; that is, with anything like Campari or gin or whiskey, the famous drinks we all know like Americanos and Martinis and Manhattans are the most famous for a reason. They're simply the most pleasing and easiest to make without ruining. So I guess I'm boring on two fronts, then! Feels a little funny given the massive amounts of "research" and sniffing out I've done the past couple years (Gary Regan, Ted Haigh, David Wondrich, Harry Craddock, Jerry Thomas, David Embury, and the zillions of Misty-and-Audrey-lovin' metropolitan bar scene blogs are practically household brands at this point in terms of reading material), but also kind of reassuring.
A few of these are rather outre and the first drinks I ever made really over 5 years ago (Cape Codder!), but I haven't grown out of my affection for them for whatever reason.
Baker is also absolutely spot on about cold drinks needing to be cold and hot drinks needing to be hot. I'd take a lesser recipe drink made properly (right size and amount of ice, stirred or shaken long enough, etc.) to a dynamite recipe made poorly any day (though some drinks are more forgiving than others, of course).
cool weather:
Bobby Burns (My favorite lethal winter cocktail. So.freaking.good.)
Manhattan (If I'm out with friends and need to stick to something basic, this tends to be my go-to these days. Best with rye but also good with bourbon. Making it with the right proportions and vermouth that isn't terrible is key; for years I thought I hated them because a bad one is really, really bad, like undrinkable bad.)
Fanciulli (worth getting that bottle of Fernet even if it's all you ever use it for)
Vieux Carre
Ginger Dram
Stinger
Sidecar
Hot Toddy (Earl Grey and Scotch, occasionally Ginger)
Milk Punch
Pink Squirrel
Grasshopper
Nocello, Coffee, and Cream
Irish Coffee
Car Bomb (Shameful but true! Like ice cream)
warm weather (see also champagne):
Dad's Martini (5:1 gin, preferably Plymouth, with a fat twist or a large caper berry. Stirred for a good long time to get it as frosty as possibly and strained into an ice cold glass.)
Gin and Tonic (Plymouth, Schweppes tonic ice cubes)
Americano (Probably my favorite Campari-based drink, even beyond things like Haschi Baschis/G&Cs. Sometimes simple is best, especially with amari which are already complex. This makes me outre I know, but I vastly prefer them over Negronis... honestly I don't mind Negronis but I doubt I'd ever make one at home because if I could it'd mean I could just make an Americano instead, which I would always rather do.)
Campari and Soda
Caipirinha
Tom Collins (Something so straightforwardly boring and '50s-feeling retro shouldn't be so delicious but then I'm like oh right, it's homemade fresh lemonade...made fizzy...with gin...and topped with fresh citrus and a cherry. Duh.)
Elderflower Collins (like more interesting Frenchified adult lemonade almost)
Ginnifer Flowers (ditto)
Orangette (Shake 2 oz Aperol, 3/4 to 1 oz Dolin dry vermouth, 1 oz fresh grapefruit juice thoroughly with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Perfect springtime drink)
Patio
Mint Julep
Mojito
Margarita
Gimlet
Sloe Gin Fizz
Svedka Clementine with Dry Ginger Ale
Cuba Libre (the trick is to not just half-assedly dump a piece of lime in, but actually incorporate the juice and if possible the oils from the rind properly)
Kalimotxo/Calimocho (Bizarrely delicious and straightforward and so ideal for late night moon-watchin'/fire pit/patio party chatter, but one must proceed with caution as it's very very drinkable...like lazy man's less sweet sangria which is perfect for me since I usually find sangria too sweet anyway. I like it best made with Mexican cane coke and the boxed Spanish wine Seven.)
any season:
Old Fashioned (The simpler/sparser the better...not crazy about the ones loaded with zillions of different fruits. I'll always think of Amy from now on, and that's a good thing!)
Sazerac (I actually didn't care for them until I made one myself...never liked the ones I'd had out for some reason)
Golden Dawn (Hands down the best entirely-new-to-me drink in that Ted Haigh book...and I love that you can tell he likes it more than normal too, hints at it in his notes. Perfect example of the wonder of mixing--it shouldn't be as perfect a balance of things as it somehow winds up being. Magic! Granted, I've noticed it favors precision and careful following of shaking protocol, right down to ice melt level. Similar to a good Manhattan in that regard, hm...)
Sweet Grass
Pimm's Cup (a summer drink I know, but really, I like it any time)
Amaretto Sour
Punt e Mes Fizz
Ramos Fizz
Cape Codder
champagne:
French 75 (and David Parks' Ginger 75 and Cucumber 75...probably my favorite festive cocktail just because I'll always associate it with our first anniversary and great weather.)
Aperol Spritz
Pamplemousse
Kir Petillant
Violette Royale
C&C (I am such a sucker for the "girly, often French and floral/bramble liqueur + champagne" thing)
Champagne Cocktail
brunch:
Bellini (freshly pureed peaches please!)
Bloody Mary (with pickled okra or green beans)
shot (I haven't done a shot since I was like 22 or something, but still, if hypothetically I ever did again it would only be for this):
Korean Soju (NOT the same thing as Japanese Shochu and unfortunately unlike Shochu Soju seems impossible to get here. It's like verrrry slightly sweeter and smoother vodka.)
I've figured out that for me at least, simple is better. Lots of more complicated drinks don't do much for me, and as Charles Baker mentions in Jigger, Beaker, and Glass once your basic spirits ingredient list goes beyond 3, no matter how awesome those spirits are there's a tendency to wind up with a muddled mess of flavors that sum near-zero, as with soup and other things. I guess I just prefer more striking one-note drinks that let a single spirit or two sing loudly. Come to think of it, that is often the case with my tastes in other things too (food/dishes, art, music...). I've also noticed that for all the fun and novelty of vintage and obscure drinks, there seems to generally be a reason those still with us um, are; that is, with anything like Campari or gin or whiskey, the famous drinks we all know like Americanos and Martinis and Manhattans are the most famous for a reason. They're simply the most pleasing and easiest to make without ruining. So I guess I'm boring on two fronts, then! Feels a little funny given the massive amounts of "research" and sniffing out I've done the past couple years (Gary Regan, Ted Haigh, David Wondrich, Harry Craddock, Jerry Thomas, David Embury, and the zillions of Misty-and-Audrey-lovin' metropolitan bar scene blogs are practically household brands at this point in terms of reading material), but also kind of reassuring.
A few of these are rather outre and the first drinks I ever made really over 5 years ago (Cape Codder!), but I haven't grown out of my affection for them for whatever reason.
Baker is also absolutely spot on about cold drinks needing to be cold and hot drinks needing to be hot. I'd take a lesser recipe drink made properly (right size and amount of ice, stirred or shaken long enough, etc.) to a dynamite recipe made poorly any day (though some drinks are more forgiving than others, of course).
cool weather:
Bobby Burns (My favorite lethal winter cocktail. So.freaking.good.)
Manhattan (If I'm out with friends and need to stick to something basic, this tends to be my go-to these days. Best with rye but also good with bourbon. Making it with the right proportions and vermouth that isn't terrible is key; for years I thought I hated them because a bad one is really, really bad, like undrinkable bad.)
Fanciulli (worth getting that bottle of Fernet even if it's all you ever use it for)
Vieux Carre
Ginger Dram
Stinger
Sidecar
Hot Toddy (Earl Grey and Scotch, occasionally Ginger)
Milk Punch
Pink Squirrel
Grasshopper
Nocello, Coffee, and Cream
Irish Coffee
Car Bomb (Shameful but true! Like ice cream)
warm weather (see also champagne):
Dad's Martini (5:1 gin, preferably Plymouth, with a fat twist or a large caper berry. Stirred for a good long time to get it as frosty as possibly and strained into an ice cold glass.)
Gin and Tonic (Plymouth, Schweppes tonic ice cubes)
Americano (Probably my favorite Campari-based drink, even beyond things like Haschi Baschis/G&Cs. Sometimes simple is best, especially with amari which are already complex. This makes me outre I know, but I vastly prefer them over Negronis... honestly I don't mind Negronis but I doubt I'd ever make one at home because if I could it'd mean I could just make an Americano instead, which I would always rather do.)
Campari and Soda
Caipirinha
Tom Collins (Something so straightforwardly boring and '50s-feeling retro shouldn't be so delicious but then I'm like oh right, it's homemade fresh lemonade...made fizzy...with gin...and topped with fresh citrus and a cherry. Duh.)
Elderflower Collins (like more interesting Frenchified adult lemonade almost)
Ginnifer Flowers (ditto)
Orangette (Shake 2 oz Aperol, 3/4 to 1 oz Dolin dry vermouth, 1 oz fresh grapefruit juice thoroughly with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Perfect springtime drink)
Patio
Mint Julep
Mojito
Margarita
Gimlet
Sloe Gin Fizz
Svedka Clementine with Dry Ginger Ale
Cuba Libre (the trick is to not just half-assedly dump a piece of lime in, but actually incorporate the juice and if possible the oils from the rind properly)
Kalimotxo/Calimocho (Bizarrely delicious and straightforward and so ideal for late night moon-watchin'/fire pit/patio party chatter, but one must proceed with caution as it's very very drinkable...like lazy man's less sweet sangria which is perfect for me since I usually find sangria too sweet anyway. I like it best made with Mexican cane coke and the boxed Spanish wine Seven.)
any season:
Old Fashioned (The simpler/sparser the better...not crazy about the ones loaded with zillions of different fruits. I'll always think of Amy from now on, and that's a good thing!)
Sazerac (I actually didn't care for them until I made one myself...never liked the ones I'd had out for some reason)
Golden Dawn (Hands down the best entirely-new-to-me drink in that Ted Haigh book...and I love that you can tell he likes it more than normal too, hints at it in his notes. Perfect example of the wonder of mixing--it shouldn't be as perfect a balance of things as it somehow winds up being. Magic! Granted, I've noticed it favors precision and careful following of shaking protocol, right down to ice melt level. Similar to a good Manhattan in that regard, hm...)
Sweet Grass
Pimm's Cup (a summer drink I know, but really, I like it any time)
Amaretto Sour
Punt e Mes Fizz
Ramos Fizz
Cape Codder
champagne:
French 75 (and David Parks' Ginger 75 and Cucumber 75...probably my favorite festive cocktail just because I'll always associate it with our first anniversary and great weather.)
Aperol Spritz
Pamplemousse
Kir Petillant
Violette Royale
C&C (I am such a sucker for the "girly, often French and floral/bramble liqueur + champagne" thing)
Champagne Cocktail
brunch:
Bellini (freshly pureed peaches please!)
Bloody Mary (with pickled okra or green beans)
shot (I haven't done a shot since I was like 22 or something, but still, if hypothetically I ever did again it would only be for this):
Korean Soju (NOT the same thing as Japanese Shochu and unfortunately unlike Shochu Soju seems impossible to get here. It's like verrrry slightly sweeter and smoother vodka.)