we go out for drinks. Be prepared to multiply everything
by 1½ or 2.
Don’t forget to R&D.
R&D your drinks before
you serve. This is what
Mondays, Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, and Thursdays
are for. Every cocktail recipe,
no matter the source, needs
to be tested before it’s
served. Adjust levels of liquor,
sugar, and mixers to your
taste — and write it down.
Hole-in-One Serve in martini glass »
2oz scotch
¾oz dry vermouth
2tsp simple syrup
½oz lemon juice
Dash orange bitters
Negroni Serve in martini glass
Liquors are interchangeable. Many classic drinks
have versions that are made
with alternative liquors.
Although there’s usually
one version that is best,
substituting rum or whiskey
for vodka can get you out of
a bind at times and you may
find yourself with a variation
that has its merits.
1oz Campari
1oz sweet vermouth
3oz gin
Dash orange bitters
Lemon Campari Cocktail Serve in martini glass
Garnish elevates all
cocktails. When drinking
alone, you can skip the garnish. Otherwise, an excellent
drink is always improved if
you include the lemon twist
or the fresh-grated nutmeg.
Garnishes add flavor as well
as improve looks. Be creative.
3oz
1oz
½oz
1oz
vodka
simple syrup
Campari
lemon juice
Orange Bitters Martini Serve in martini glass
Use the right glass. A good,
thin-walled martini glass
extracts less heat from the
cocktail, and feels more
elegant in the hand. Plus the
long stem keeps hot fingers
from warming up the drink.
With 60% of the heat capacity
of regular glass, crystal is the
best choice of all.
An “old-fashioned” glass
is the other essential item of
glassware, suitable for all on-the-rocks drinks. The heavier
this one is, the better it feels.
A big, glass bottom and a wide
mouth are nice attributes.
2½oz vodka
1½tsp dry vermouth
Dash orange bitters
Garnish with a slice of orange.
Caribbean Sour Serve in old-fashioned glass »
1oz lemon juice
1Tbsp simple syrup
2oz rum
dash orange bitters
Garnish with a cherry and
a slice of orange.
Beware glasses that are too
capacious. They make even
big drinks seem small. You
want your cocktail to always
fill the glass to the brim.
Spice Island Serve in martini glass
3oz rum
1oz ginger simple syrup
Dash orange bitters
Alex Mountjoy traces his
drinking habit to the gift in all
innocence of a cocktail book
from his mother-in-law, “for
the beautiful pictures.”
Sugar-frost the rim by wetting
with ginger pulp and rolling in sugar.
Make
your own
bitters on
page 106!
»
