Section

Classic Cocktails

The drinks every bar should know, and why they work.

8 drinks
5min Classic Cocktails · Recipe Why a Sidecar has no single recipe: four proportions and a balance builder The Sidecar is a Cognac sour: brandy, orange liqueur and lemon juice, shaken cold and served up. Yet two bars can both call theirs classic… 5 min 4min Classic Cocktails · Picker Why a Negroni is equal parts: the spec and a ratio builder The Negroni is the simplest spec in the book: equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, built over ice. It looks like a guess, but it is… 4 min 5min Classic Cocktails · Recipe Why a Manhattan is two parts whiskey to one of vermouth, with a ratio and stir-time builder The Manhattan is whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters, stirred and served up. This page gives the IBA spec and the common bar version in ml… 5 min 5min Classic Cocktails · Recipe Why a Margarita needs three things in balance: the spec and a tart-to-sweet dial A Margarita is tequila, orange liqueur and lime, shaken cold. It sounds simple, yet most bad ones get the balance wrong: too sweet, or too… 5 min 5min Classic Cocktails · Recipe Why an Old Fashioned is just four things, and how long to stir it The Old Fashioned is whiskey, sugar, bitters and a little water: the 1806 idea of a cocktail, still going. This page gives the IBA spec and… 5 min 5min Classic Cocktails · Recipe Why a Dry Martini is stirred, and how much vermouth it needs A Dry Martini is just gin, a little dry vermouth and ice, so every small choice shows. The IBA spec is 60 ml gin to 10 ml vermouth, stirred… 5 min 4min Classic Cocktails · Recipe Why a Daiquiri needs only three things, and how to balance them The Daiquiri is just rum, lime and sugar, which makes it the best drink for learning how a cocktail is balanced. A few millilitres of lime… 4 min 4min Classic Cocktails · Recipe Why a Negroni is equal parts, and how far you can bend the rule The Negroni is one rule: equal parts gin, red bitter and sweet vermouth, stirred over ice. Bitter and sweet pull against each other and the… 4 min