If you’ll recall, a few months ago, I did an article on four basic cocktails. In that article, in addition to discussing the ingredients and mixing of said drink, I also discussed types of glassware, and made it clear that I am not a professional bartender, but that I have used my self-taught knowledge of cocktails to ingratiate myself to hosts. If you have any questions about the terminology I’ll be using in this article, please refer back to that article.
And with that being said: Here are 5 more cocktails-you’re in luck because most of this set will not require any muddling or preparation, just mixing.
1) The Martini
Ah, what can be said about the classic martini? The drink of choice for decadent 1950s business tycoons, British spies, and the nerds who desperately want to emulate 1950s tycoons and British spies. There are a variety of “-tini” drinks made for stupid college girls who want to play at being glamorous, but I won’t bother with that nonsense (I’ve already given you two girly cocktails, and there’ll be more in the future, but let us show some dignity, please).
No, we will be dealing with the traditional, James Bond-style martini. To begin with, you’ll need to take out your stemware-and as luck would have it, the traditional glass is explicitly referred to as the martini glass. Thus, finding it is a cinch.
A traditional martini (referred to as the “Dry” martini) is made with gin and dry vermouth (as opposed to sweet vermouth): 6 centiliters of gin, and 1 of vermouth: Pour it all into a mixer with ice and stir vigorously. Strain into a chilled glass, garnish with an olive or lemon slice, and serve.
(Just for the sake of being informative, a shaken martini is properly referred to as a “Bradford”).
The main variation to this is the vodka martini, which is exactly the same as the gin martini but replaces the gin with vodka. And in case you were wondering, anything else that has the -tini suffix is called so due to using vodka as a base, and literally no other reason.
2) The Manhattan
The Manhattan is a whiskey based cocktail, typically utilizing either bourbon or rye whiskeys. To make this cocktail, you mix 5 cL whiskey, 2 cL sweet vermouth, and a dash of bitters (bitters being botanical herbs and spices infused with alcohol. You can buy them in liquor stores). Put over ice and stir, strain into a chilled glass, garnish with a maraschino cherry.
Like all good things there are many variations to this recipe: The “Rob Roy” (named after everyone’s favorite Caledonian cattle rustler) utilizes Scotch Whiskey, a Dry Manhattan replaces the sweet vermouth with dry vermouth, and so on and so forth. Most variations involve replacing the whiskey with some other hard liquor and naming it after said liquor (ie: a Mexican Manhattan uses Tequila, a Cuban uses red rum, etc.)
3) Old Fashioned
The only cocktail of this article that will require preparation other than mixing, named due to it apparently being the first drink to be dubbed a cocktail in the United States.
This will require a tumbler known as an Old Fashioned Glass, as well as a whiskey such as bourbon or rye, sugar, bitters, and either water or seltzer: Mix one sugar cube, a dash of bitters, and a splash of water/seltzer in the old fashioned glass and muddle thoroughly. Fill the glass with ice cubes and fill with whiskey. Garnish with an orange slice or cherry if desired.
Personally, I find the plain water to be better than the seltzer Old Fashioned. Also, try making it with brandy (known as the Brandy Old Fashioned). I’m not sure if you can substitute other whiskeys as you can with the Manhattan, try for yourself.
4) Bloody Mary
It’s something of a debate as to who the cocktail is named after, but it goes without saying that this is a bit more complicated than the ones preceding it, due to its larger amount of ingredients. You will need vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, tabasco, pepper, salt and celery.
Taking a highball glass (one of the larger tumblers), put a dash of Worcestershire, Tabasco, salt, and pepper into that glass. THen pour 4.5 cL vodka, 9 cL tomato juice, and 1.5 cL lemon juice into the glass, put in ice cubes, and gently stir. Garnish with the celery stalk.
The complexity of the Bloody Mary really comes into play with its variations. There are many, MANY recipes involving different types of base liquors, percentages, and especially the different types of sauces and spices utilized. Experiment for yourself, using this basic recipe as a starting point.
And finally, the most complicated of all:
5) The Screwdriver
Take a tumbler, fill it up 30-40 percent of the way with vodka, and then fill the rest with orange juice. Add ice cubes, stir, and serve. That’s it
There are a few variations of it, the most common of which is to pour in equal parts, orange juice, orange soda, and vodka. Any way you slice it, this is a cocktail so simple that even a dirt poor college kid can make it to give his frat party a thin veneer of sophistication.
There’s five more cocktails I’ve taught you-9 total. Keep a list of them handy, and become the life of the party today!