Not to be confused with the morning espresso drink, the Americano cocktail is meant to start your evening. The lightly alcoholic drink is a touch bitter; it whets your appetite and goes wonderfully with little predinner snacks. The formula is simple: a mix of bitter liqueur and fruity fortified wine lightened with sparkling water. Build … Read more
The Garibaldi served at Dante in New York is one of my favorite cocktails of all time—the simple combination of fluffy freshly squeezed orange juice and bitter Campari is, frankly, flawless. But lots of great drinks are even more fun when they’re frozen, and this low-ABV, brunch-friendly little number is no exception. Rather than starting … Read more
A slice of ripe watermelon cannot be improved upon—unless you add a sprinkle of salt. This juicy pitcher drink goes one step further, adding a little heat in the salt mix on the rim of each glass. Lemon and just a touch of bitter Campari balance the ripe summer sweetness of watermelon juice and strawberry … Read more
As with many classic drinks, the screwdriver cocktail has a long lineage. As legend has it, American soldiers stationed overseas during World War II created proto-screwdrivers by mixing orange juice with local neutral spirits. As vodka’s popularity grew across the United States throughout the 20th century, savvy producers like Smirnoff positioned the easy cocktail recipe … Read more
It’s easy to confuse Blue Hawaiian and Blue Hawaii, two similarly named tropical cocktail recipes with nearly identical vibrant blue colors. But the two have different ingredients and origin stories. The Blue Hawaii dates to 1957 when Harry Yee, a bartender at what’s now the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Resort in Honolulu, Hawaii, created a … Read more
Hannah says New Orleans drinkers have always gravitated to the flamboyant. It is a city known for the Café Brûlot—a coffee drink always made with brandy lit afire—and the Ramos Gin Fizz—the classic cocktail that calls for a famously long shake to create its luxuriously foamy texture. “A pousse-café,” Hannah says, “is the most elegant … Read more
The New York sour is a standout of the whiskey sour family that dates back to the 19th century. While its core is a fairly classic combination of whiskey, fresh lemon, and sugar, the drink calls for a small pour of red wine to be floated ever so carefully on top of the otherwise mixed … Read more
Mezcal is special stuff, and you don’t need to make elaborate mezcal cocktails to appreciate the agave spirit’s layered, complex flavor. But if you do feel like making a mixed drink at home, you’re missing out if you don’t have a bottle of mezcal on hand. Once you’ve got one, the sky’s the limit. While … Read more
The first known record of the Greyhound cocktail dates to Harry Craddock’s 1930 drinks compendium, The Savoy Cocktail Book. Craddock’s version used gin and fresh grapefruit juice; as Americans’ appetites for vodka grew during the 20th century, bartenders tinkered with the ingredients in this classic cocktail. Its reputation as a vodka drink was cemented when … Read more
Amaro, and a handful of other bitter liqueurs, are having a renaissance and showing up outside of the post-dinner digestif. I’ve been using the local-to-me Granor Farm Blue Corn Amaro as a component in lower-ABV cocktails to start the night, like my take on the Lumberjack, which is usually made with cognac or whiskey. I … Read more