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
Beloved by bartenders for its pungent flavor and ability to stand up to spirits like whiskey, rum, and tequila, ginger beer is a major player in classic cocktails like the Moscow mule or Dark and Stormy—but the spicy elixir is refreshing enough sipped on its own. The naturally fizzy drink is made via a simple … Read more
Known equally for its alleged nausea-relieving properties as for its ability to turn any spirit into a quick cocktail, ginger ale has a broad fan base. Trouble is, some store-bought brands skip real ginger root (the very ingredient responsible for that stomach-settling sensation) in favor of artificial ginger flavors and sweeteners. The good news? You … Read more
We get the Army & Navy cocktail from David Embury’s 1948 cocktail book, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. Though it includes orgeat, a rich almond-flavored syrup that you might recognize from the mai tai, this fragrant gin sour is not a tiki drink. The citrus and botanical dimensions play nicely with the luscious toasted … Read more
Scores of cocktail drinkers got their first taste of orgeat in a mai tai. Orgeat is an almond-flavored syrup predating the dawn of mixed drinks—the cognac-based, orgeat-sweetened Japanese cocktail notably appears in Jerry Thomas’s historic 1862 bartender’s guide—but it’s been largely through tiki drinks like the mai tai, scorpion, and fog cutter that orgeat has … Read more
During Lunar New Year lychees symbolize the promise of close family ties for bartender-mixologist William Tsui. And what better way to bring everyone together than with a festive punch? Here lychee combines with elderflower liqueur and citrus for a low-effort, high-reward big-batch cocktail. Lychee liqueur adds nuance to the lychees’ floral notes, but feel free … Read more