 IPBartenders - Classic Cocktail Collection
Our friends at B@1 asked us to update their cocktail collection recently from our library, so Liam spent a few weeks poring over the books to compile this extended list.
Of course we thought we'd share it with you too. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of cocktails, far from it. But it is a great range which we hope you find useful.
If you want this full list in an easier format or want the many other cocktails we have available then contact us. Or sign up to one of our cocktail courses if you want to be trained how to make and sell these exceptional drinks
Adonis
30ml Dry ‘Fino’ Sherry
30ml Sweet vermouth
dash orange bitters.
Method: stir and strain
Glass: small martini
Garnish: Orange twist
Comment: named after the 1884 Broadway musical, this is a quintessential aperitif, has the advantage of not being too high in alcohol
Alabazam
40ml Cognac
20ml Orange Curacao
20ml Lemon Juice
10ml Gomme syrup
dash bitters
soda water
Method: shake all ingredients except soda, strain over cubed ice, top with soda.
Glass: Hi-ball
Garnish: none
Comment: Lovely autumnal cocktail conceived by William Schmidt in 1891’s “Flowing bowl”
Alfonso
1 sugar cube
dash Peychaud’s bitters
20ml Dubonnet
top with champagne
Method: as champagne cocktail
Glass: Flute
Garnish: lemon twist (spray and discard)
Comment: This delicious cocktail was concocted for King Alfonso XII of Spain. It was the signature cocktail at the Deauville hotel in Normandy, France
Anejo Highball
40ml Aged Cuban Rum
20ml Orange Curacao
20ml lime juice
dash bitters
Ginger beer
Method: build in glass
Glass: hi-ball
Garnish: Orange and Lime
Comment: A contemporary classic from Mr Dale DeGroff. A tribute to the holy trinity of Caribbean rum drinks, lime, curacao and rum
Aviation
40ml Gin
20ml Maraschino
20ml Lemon juice
Method: shake and strain
Glass: small martini
 Garnish: cherry
Comments: A forgotten classic of yesteryear. The aviation has had something of a renaissance in recent years. When made well it is a delicate, well balanced, dry aperitif
Variations: Add orange bitters and you have yourself a Casino.
Bacardi Cocktail
50ml Bacardi Carta Blanca
25ml lime juice
15ml sugar syrup
5ml grenadine syrup
Method: Shake and strain
Glass: small martini
Garnish: none
Comments: In 1936 a court in New York ruled that this drink could be made with Bacardi Rum only. Thus making it the worlds first mixed beverage where the brand used is a legal necessity. Apart from this fact the cocktail itself is simply a tarted up Daiquiri.
Bee’s Knees
40ml Gin
20ml Honey syrup
20ml Lemon Juice
Method: shake and strain
Glass: small martini
Garnish: none
Comments: The lively combination of Gin and lemon is softened by the honey
Bellini
20ml white peach puree
dash sugar syrup
Champagne or Prosecco
Method: build in champagne flute
Glass: Flute
Garnish: None
Comment: This queen of champagne cocktails was created at Harry’s bar in Venice in 1948 by the proprietor Guiseppe Cipriani. The drink was named after the Italian artist of the same name as the light yellow colour reminded him of Bellini’s paintings.
Variations. With strawberry this becomes a Rossini
Between The Sheets
25ml White Rum
25ml Brandy
25ml Orange Curacao
25ml Lemon Juice
Method: Shake and Strain
Glass: Hi-ball
Garnish: none
Comments: This is a slightly less interesting drink than the Scorpion, but a classic nonetheless.
Variations: Some classic recipes stipulate a version of a sidecar with the addition of Benedictine.
Black Velvet
150ml Champagne
150ml Stout (such as Guinness)
Method: Pour champagne into a tankard top up with cold stout
Glass: tankard
Garnish: none
Blazer
50ml Bourbon/Cognac/Scotch/Rum
10ml sugar syrup
assorted fruit and/or jam
Method: flambé, then pass from vessel to vessel
Glass: Brandy balloon
 Garnish: relevant fruit
Method: based on the original Blue Blazer from Jerry Thomas’ Bon vivant’s guide of 1862. This drink is the perfect winter warmer.
Blood and Sand
20ml Scotch (blended)
20ml Cherry Heering
20ml Sweet Vermouth
20ml Freshly squeezed OJ
Method: Shake and strain
Glass: Large martini
Garnish: Orange zest
Comments: Created in 1922 for Rudolph Valentino’s silent film of the same name, this drink is greater than the sum of its parts. One of the few scotch classics
Bobby Burns
50ml Scotch (Use a quality blend or Speyside malt)
20ml Sweet Vermouth
5ml Benedictine
Method: Stir and strain
Glass: Small martini
Garnish: Cherry
Comments: Basically a Scotch Manhattan with Benedictine. Named after the legendary Scottish poet.
Variation: Omit the Benedictine and you have a Rob Roy, a decent, albeit slightly less interesting drink.
Bramble
40ml Gin
20ml lemon juice
10ml sugar syrup
5ml crème de mure
Method: build in rocks glass with crushed ice, drizzle mure
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: Blackberry and lemon juice
Comments: Number one of three Bradsell drinks combining Gin, lemon and blackberry. This is the closest a contemporary cocktail has come to becoming a bona-fide classic. It is simple and delicious
Brandy Alexander
50ml Cognac
25ml Crème de cacao
25ml Double cream
Method: Shake and strain
Glass: Large Martini
Garnish: Nutmeg grating
Comment: The better cousin of the Alexander, made with Gin. Many drinks involving sweetened cream were popular during prohibition in the United States as they masked the flavour of the poor quality of alcohol that was around at the time.
Brandy Crusta
50ml Cognac
10ml Orange Curacao
5ml Maraschino
10ml sugar syrup
20ml lemon juice
Method: shake all ingredients and strain in flute
Glass : flute
Garnish: Whole lemon spiral and sugar encrusted glass
Comment: A crusta can be described as an ‘extra-fancy’ cocktail due to its sugar crust and its whole lemon peel garnish. The category was invented by Joseph Santina, owner of Jewel of the South in New Orleans in 1852.
Breakfast Martini
40ml Gin
20ml Cointreau
20ml lemon juice
spoon marmalade
Method: shake and strain
Glass: small martini
Garnish: orange twist
Comment: Created by Salvatore Calabrese at the Lanesbrough Hotel, the original drink using marmalade that has spawned many imitators.
Bloody Mary
50ml Vodka
Tomato juice
Worcester sauce
Tabasco sauce
Celery salt
10ml dry sherry
Method: build
Glass: Hi-ball
Garnish: celery stick and lemon
Comments: Invented by Ferdinand ‘Pete’ Petiot at Harry’s bar in Paris in 1919. Petiot moved to New York soon after and took this drink with him, however it was renamed ‘Red Snapper’ as bloody mary was considered offensive, the original drink was almost certainly mixed with gin.
Variations: Swap vodka and Worcester for Tequila, Orange juice and loads more Tabasco, you now have a bloody Maria.
Bronx
35ml Gin
10ml Sweet Vermouth
10ml Dry Vermouth
25ml Fresh Orange juice
Method: shake and strain
Glass: large martini
Garnish: orange twist
Comments: Some describe this as the original disco drink, back when it was invented at the Old Waldorf Astoria in 1897, this drink was so popular that it reminded its creator, Johnny Salon, of feeding time at the Bronx zoo, thus he named the drink after the borough.
Variations: The Bronx itself is a variation on a lesser known drink called the Duplex, equal parts of sweet and dry vermouth with orange bitters and a twist of orange peel.
Caipirinha
50ml Cachaca
6 wedges lime
2 bar spoons white sugar
Method: muddle lime and sugar in glass, add crushed ice, Cachaca and stir
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: none
Comments: Caipirinha means ‘small countryside drink’ in Portuguese, this is the national drink of Brazil and its immense popularity ensures that sales of Cachaca regularly top 300,000,000 bottles per year!
Variations: add tropical fruits or red berries for flavour. Made with vodka this becomes a Caipiroska (Australia’s number one selling cocktail) or with rum it becomes a Caiprissima
Classic Champagne Cocktail
1 sugar cube
dash angostura bitters
20ml cognac
top with champagne
Method: Soak cube in bitters add cognac and champagne
Glass: flute
Garnish: Orange twist (spray and discard)
Comment: The origins of this drink can be traced back to Jerry Thomas’ bon-vivants companion of 1862! However the addition of cognac made this a jazz age favourite. In the sphere of champagne cocktails its hard to beat the delicate well balanced drink. Don’t be shy about adding a dash of sugar syrup to make the drink sing!
Clover Club
50ml Gin
25ml Lemon juice
20ml Sugar syrup
3 raspberries
half an egg white
Method: Shake hard and strain
Glass: Large Martini
Garnish: no garnish
Comment: Named after the Gentlemen’s organisation that met at the Bellevue-Stratford hotel in Philadelphia. This was their house cocktail. This book was credited in A.S Crockett’s Old Waldorf Bar Days (1931).
Variation: To make a Clover Leaf, add a small pinch of mint to the shaker.
Cobbler
60ml Ruby Port/Sherry/Rum/Whisk(e)y
20ml Orange Curacao
5ml Sugar syrup
1 wedge pineapple
1 wedge lemon
1 wedge orange
Method: muddle fruit, add other ingredients. Shake, strain
Glass: Hi-Ball
Garnish: pineapple, mint, cherry, lemon, orange
Coffee Cocktail
40ml Cognac
20ml Port
15ml Gomme syrup
1 egg
15ml cream
Method: shake and strain
Glass: Port or Sherry glass
Garnish: nutmeg dust
Corpse Reviver no.2
20ml Gin
20ml Triple sec
20ml Lillet Blonde
20ml Fresh lemon juice
dash absinthe
Method: shake and strain into cocktail glass
Glass: small martini
Garnish: none
Comments: this is the nicest and most interesting of the corpse reviver variations. Harry Craddock, whose recipe this is, suggested four of these in quick succession would ‘un-revive’ the corpse again
Cosmopolitan
30ml citrus vodka
20ml triple sec
10ml lime juice
30ml cranberry juice
Method: Shake and strain
Glass: large cocktail
Garnish: Flamed orange twist
Comment: One of the top three selling mixed drinks on the planet. This drink probably emerged from the club scene in Boston and New York in the 1980’s. Two men have claimed this drink, New Yorkers Toby Cecchini and Dale De Groff. There have been many variations of this tart vodka drink but the above is the definitive recipe.
Cuba Libre
50ml white Cuban rum
10ml lime juice
Coca cola
Method: build in glass
Glass: Hi Ball
Garnish: Lime wedge
Comments: A collaboration between Cubans and Americans during the Cuban war of independence. After mixing Cuban rum with the American soft drink a toast was made to ‘Cuba Libre’ or ‘Free Cuba’
Daiquiri
50ml Cuban light rum
20ml lime juice
15ml sugar syrup
Method: Shake and strain
Glass: large martini or coupette
Garnish: none needed
Comments: While entertaining guests at his mine in Cuba in 1898, Engineer Jennings Cox found that his Gin supply had run out, left with nothing else except local rum, lime and sugar, he mixed them together and the rest is history. Most now know this drink as a slush-puppie style beverage, however the original, served straight up, is delicious, JFK’s favourite aperitif!
Variations: The ‘Hemingway’ daiquiri is the same as the regular recipe with the addition of grapefruit and maraschino liqueur, alternatively fresh fruits work a treat, particularly banana and strawberry.
Dark and Stormy
50ml Goslings Black Seal Rum
10ml lime juice
dash gomme syrup
top with ginger beer
Method: build in glass
Glass: Hi-ball
Garnish: lime wedges squeezed
Comments: One of the few cocktails in the world dominated by a single spirit brand, Goslings have an international trademark on this drink everywhere except from Australia. It is also the national drink of Bermuda.
Delicious sour
40ml Calvados
10ml Peach Brandy (crème de peche)
25ml lime juice
10ml sugar syrup
dash egg white
Method: Shake hard and strain over cubed ice
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: Cherry and lemon
Comments: From the 1892 book “the flowing bowl by William Schmidt. True to its name this cocktail is in fact….delicious.
Detroit Martini
50ml Vodka
pinch mint
dash gomme
Method: shake and strain
Glass: small martini
Garnish: mint leaf
Comment: A contemporary classic from London bar Detroit.
Variation: made with Gin this is a cowboy hoof!
El Diablo
40ml Tequila
20ml Cassis
20ml Lime Juice
Ginger beer
Method: Shake first three ingredients, top with ginger beer
Glass: Hi-Ball
Garnish: Lime wedge
Comment: an interesting long tequila drink
Fog Cutter
35ml White Rum
15ml Brandy
15ml Gin
50ml Orange Juice
15ml Lemon Juice
10ml Orgeat
5ml Cream Sherry
Method: shake and strain over cubed ice
Glass: Collins
Garnish: Orange, lemon and Cherry
Comments: An interesting and lethal concoction from the Tiki family, an odd mixture of ingredients but surprisingly it works.
Fish House Punch
25ml Jamaican Rum
25ml Cognac
15ml Crème de Peche
15ml Peach Puree
15ml Lemon Juice
10ml Sugar syrup
Method: Shake all ingredients and strain over cubed ice
Glass: Goblet
Garnish: Peach slice
Comments: This punch originates from the Fish House in Philadelphia, the club was formed in 1732 and this punch probably originated soon after, when in season use fresh peaches.
Flip
50ml Dark Spirit and/or Fortified wine
10ml Gomme syrup
1 egg
15ml Cream optional
Method: Shake all ingredients hard and fine strain.
Glass: port or sherry glass
Garnish: nutmeg dust
Comment: the early forerunner of this was a favourite in colonial American taverns, the drink was made by pouring a batter, made from eggs cream and sugar, over a tankard of ale, the mixture was then warmed with a scorching hot ‘loggerhead’ poker from the fire! This mixture would probably not be too popular today, so the above is a tailored down version designed for the modern palate.
Variation: The most famous variation of this drink is the New York flip, use 35ml of Bourbon and 15ml of Port with egg and sugar. Add milk and cream to the above, and use half brandy, half rum for a Baltimore eggnog.
French 75
25ml Gin
15ml Lemon juice
10ml sugar syrup
Champagne
Method: shake first three ingredients, strain into flute, top with champagne
Glass: Flute
Garnish: lemon spiral and cherry
Comments: One of the finest classic cocktails involving champagne. This drink was named after the French 75mm field gun 1897 model. This particular weapon was notorious for its soft smooth operation, perhaps this is reflected in the taste of the drink.
Variation: This drink is often made with cognac in place of gin, although bourbon (French 95) is also good.
Gimlet
50ml Gin
25ml Rose’s lime cordial
Method: shake and strain
Glass: small martini
Garnish: lime twist
Comments: This is the drink that introduced Gin to the royal navy. Rose’s lime cordial was originally used to preserve lime juice for long journeys across the Atlantic ocean. It was mixed with Gin to help sailors ward of scurvy.
Variations: Lime cordial these days is a very different product from what it once was. A nice alternative is to put a spoonful of lime marmalade into your gin with a spoon of lime juice.
Gin Fizz
50ml Gin
25ml lemon juice
20ml sugar syrup
dash soda water
Method: Shake gin, lemon and sugar, strain over cubed ice top with soda.
Glass: Hi-ball
Garnish: none
Comments: This is basically a Tom Collins on a shorter plain, the introduction of charged water in the 1800’s allowed gentlemen (and ladies) to freshen up their drinks with a dash of soda, the fizz became a generic term for this style of drink, the Gin Fizz was the most famous.
Variations: add egg white this becomes a ‘silver’ fizz, add the yolk and you have a ‘golden’ fizz. Toss a couple of fresh raspberries into a silver fizz and you have a delicious ‘Albermarle fizz’
Gin Rickey
50ml Gin
15ml Limejuice
10ml sugar syrup (optional)
Soda water
Method: Build in hi-ball glass
Glass: Hi-ball
Garnish: Lime wedge
Comments: Created in Shoemaker’s bar, Washington D.C, for ‘Colonel Joe’ Rickey. Coincidentally or not, Rickey went on to become the major importer of limes into the US. This drink is traditionally served dry, (no sugar syrup needed) However to most this would be too bitter, try adding sugar a spoonful at a time until you get the right mixture.
Variations: mix Gin and apricot brandy ½ and ½ for a delicious Apricot Rickey
Golden Cadillac
25ml Galliano
25ml Crème de Cacao
25ml cream
25ml Freshly squeezed orange juice
Method: Shake and strain
Glass: Large martini
Garnish: Cinnamon sugar dust
Comment: This is one of the few decent drinks to come out of the 1980’s, a really complex, rich and delicious. Better than pudding. The orange juice is a must to freshen the drink up and to make the drink look golden.
Golden Dragon
40ml Tequila
15ml Pisang Ambon
20ml lime juice
10ml passionfruit syrup
60ml Apple juice
Method: shake and strain over cubed ice
Glass: Sling/Catalina
Garnish: lime and cherry
Comments: A relative newcomer, but a tasty, refreshing long drink nonetheless
Harvey Wallbanger
50ml Vodka
110ml Freshly squeezed orange juice
Galliano (to float)
Method: build in order over ice
Glass: Hi-ball
Garnish: orange slice
Comment: Purportedly named after Californian surfer Harvey, who drank so many of these he stumbled out of bars bashing his surfboard into walls. Drinks journo William Grimes, however claims that this was simply a Galliano marketing gimmick, either way this much maligned drink is actually quite tasty if made with fresh orange
Variation: Use Tequila in place of vodka and you have a Freddie Fudpucker.
Hedgerow Sling
25ml Gin
25ml Sloe Gin
25ml Lemon juice
10ml sugar syrup
soda water
5ml mure
Method: shake first four ingredients and strain over cubed ice, top with soda and drizzle with mure.
Glass: Sling
Garnish: Blackberry and lemon juice
Comments: Bradsell: Gin/lemon/blackberry again to devastating effect.
Honeymoon Cocktail
40ml Calvados
10ml Benedictine
10ml Orange Curacao
20ml lemon juice
Method: shake and strain
Glass: large martini
Garnish: none
Comment: classic cocktail from the 1930’s
Hong Kong Phooey
10ml Vodka
10ml Gin
10ml Tequila
10ml Triple Sec
10ml White Rum
20ml Midori
5ml Green Chartreuse
20ml lemonade
lemonade
Method: Shake and strain over cubed ice, top with lemonade
Glass: Sling/Catalina
Garnish: Lime and Cherry
Comments: one of Dick Bradsell’s ‘party’ drinks
Variation: Hong Kong Phooey “reloaded” with a spritz of sparkling wine.
Hot Buttered Rum
50ml Gold rum
1 knob compound butter (butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and clove)
15ml honey
hot water
Method: Add all ingredients to glass. Skim the top
Glass: Liqueur coffee
Garnish: lemon slice
Comments: this is a classic colonial American winter warmer
Variations: substitute the water for cider.
Hot Toddy
50ml Scotch/Rum/Brandy
15ml honey
lemon peel
cloves
cinnamon stick
hot water
Method: build in glass
Glass: Liqueur coffee
Garnish: lemon peel studded with cloves
Hurricane
25ml Demerara Rum
25ml Cuban Rum
10ml Galliano
20ml lime juice
50ml Passion fruit juice (or syrup and puree)
50ml Fresh Orange juice
50ml Pineapple juice
15ml simple syrup
dash angostura
Method: shake and strain over cubed ice
Glass: Hurricane
Garnish: lime, orange, pineapple, cherry
Comments: Made famous by Pat O’Brien’s in New Orleans, this drink became popular during the 1939 world fair in New York, where they were served at the Hurricane bar.
Irish Coffee
25ml Irish Whiskey
spoon brown sugar
hot coffee
lightly whipped double cream
Method: mix coffee whiskey and sugar in a liqueur coffee glass, and carefully spoon over cream.
Glass: Liqueur Coffee
Garnish: none
Comment: Popularised at Dublin airport by Joe Sheridan before the second world war. The key with this drink is sweet coffee and cold cream, this makes it far easier to layer.
Variations: any dark spirit or liqueur will work well in this formula.
Jack Rose
50ml Applejack or Calvados
20ml Lime juice
10ml sugar syrup
5ml grenadine
Method: shake and strain
Glass: Small martini
Garnish: cherry
Comments: Legendary cocktail author David A. Embury named this as one of his seven most important cocktail, this is dubious but either way it’s an interesting drink nonetheless.
Mai Tai (Trader Vic’s)
50ml Aged Jamaican Rum
20ml Orange Curacao
20ml Lime juice
20ml Syrup d’orgeat
10ml gomme
Method: shake and strain over cracked ice
Glass: double old fashioned
Garnish: Mint sprig
Comment: ‘Trader’ Vic Bergeron claims to have created this drink for friends of his at his bar in Oakland, CA. The couple who had just returned from Polynesia exclaimed ‘Mai Tai Roe Ae’ meaning “the best, out of this world” Anyhow this drink was originally made with Wray and Nephew 17 y.o which is unavailable except for a few bottles in the hands of collectors
Variation: ‘Trader’ Vic’s mentor Don the Beachcomber might well have fixed the original Mai Tai, a very different concoction, equal parts Cuban and Jamaican rums, lime, grapefruit, falernum, grenadine, Cointreau and a dash of Absinthe. Or if you can be bothered roast some Pineapple and muddle it into the Vic’s recipe above.
Manhattan
50ml American Whiskey (Bourbon or Rye)
25ml Vermouth (Sweet = rosso, Dry = extra dry, Perfect = half/half)
dash angostura bitters
Method: stir and strain
Glass: small martini
Garnish: Cherry/lemon twist
Comments: Created at the Manhattan club in New York in 1874 in honour of Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston.
Variations: using cognac and orange bitters gives you a Harvard.
Margarita
40ml Premium Tequila (preferably 100% Agave)
20ml Triple sec (or Cointreau)
20ml Lime Juice
Method: shake and strain into ½ salt rimmed glass
Glass: large martini or coupette
Garnish: lime wheel and salt rim
Comments: no definitive answer as to the origins of this cocktail, although rumours abound that it was created for Nicky Hilton, the owner of the Hilton hotel group in the 1940’s. It is now the no.1 selling cocktail in the USA, and has led to Tequila becoming an international spirit.
Variations: any fresh fruit or puree works well in a margarita, although grapefruit and passion fruit work particularly well.
Martinez
50ml Gin
20ml dry vermouth
5ml maraschino
dash angostura bitters
Method: stir and strain
Glass: small martini
Garnish: twist of lemon peel
Comments: some claim this is the original martini, right or wrong it is a spectacularly tasty drink.
Martini Dry (Gin)
60ml Premium Gin
5ml Dry Vermouth
Method: stir and strain
Glass: small martini
Garnish: lemon twist or olive
Variants: with vodka becomes a vodkatini, with a mixture of gin and vodka and lillet, a vesper or garnished with onions for a Gibson.
Origins:
1) West coast; developed from the Martinez (see below) named after the town of the same name and claimed by Jerry “the professor” Thomas. It is claimed that a traveller in California wanted to purchase a pint of Whiskey and with the change from his gold nugget asked the bartender for a drink to be created, the result the Martinez!
2) East coast; Italian bartender Martini di Arma di Taggia created the drink at the Knickerbocker hotel in New York in the late 19th century
Either way the drink has become dryer and dryer over the years, originally vermouth came in greater quantities than Gin but by WWII some such as Churchill omitted vermouth completely.
Mary Pickford
50ml Cuban rum
50ml FRESH pineapple juice
bar spoon grenadine
dash maraschino
Method: shake and strain
Glass: large martini
Garnish: lime twist
Comments: This drink was created at the Hotel Nacional in Cuba in the 1920’s for silent film star Mary Pickford. This drink is made or broken by the quality of pineapple juice used. Made with fresh pineapple juice it is a simple, easy to drink, summer aperitif, made with cheap carton juice it is a nasty, sickly Alco pop.
Virginia Mint Julep
50ml Bourbon Whiskey
spoon sugar syrup
2-3 sprigs of mint
Method: bruise mint with sugar, add whiskey, crushed ice and swizzle
Glass: Toby Tin (or tankard)
Garnish: bushy mint sprigs
Comments: After the martini this is the second most argued about cocktail in history. The good people of Virginia and Kentucky argue tooth and nail as to what kind of whiskey, mint, sugar, glass, garnish should be used. Some advocate bruising the mint then discarding, some suggest that a pineapple wedge should be run around the rim of the glass. Whoever’s right, the key thing with the julep, as with the martini, is the temperature. Cold!
Variations: The original mint julep was probably made with brandy and peach brandy, a nice variation would be to muddle some fresh peach in season to the recipe above.
Mojito
50ml White Rum
25ml Lime juice
20ml gomme syrup
8 mint leaves
dash of soda (optional)
Method: add all of the ingredients to a hi-ball glass and swizzle with crushed ice.
Glass: Hi-ball
Garnish: Mint sprig
Comments: The British navy has been mixing rum, lime, mint and sugar for over 400 years, however the modern incarnation of this Cuban classic probably came together during prohibition, when the drinking cultures of Cuba and America began to merge.
Variations: again, some fresh fruit or different herbs work well, replace the mint with basil and muddle some strawberries, for example
Monkey Gland
50ml Gin
20ml Fresh Orange Juice
5ml grenadine
dash absinthe
Method: shake and strain
Glass: small martini
Garnish: none
Comment: A well balanced pre-dinner drink
Moscow Mule
50ml Vodka
dash lime juice
top with ginger beer
Method: build in glass
Glass Hi-ball
Garnish: Cucumber, mint and lime wedge
Comments: THE drink that launched vodka in the USA. Originally served in embossed copper mugs, the Moscow Mule was invented by John G. Martin at the Cock and Bull bar in Hollywood in 1941. Still an amazingly refreshing drink, worth its place on any cocktail menu.
Negroni
25ml Gin
25ml Sweet Vermouth
25ml Campari
Method: build in glass with cubed ice
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: Orange slice
Comments: This drink was conceived at the Casoni bar in Florence in the 20’s when Count Camillo Negroni requested a splash of Gin in his Americano (simply vermouth and Campari) This drink is the ultimate aperitif, with dryness from gin and bitterness in the Campari, tempered by the smooth, spicy sweetness of the vermouth.
Variations: Dale Degroff adds 10ml of Cointreau and 20ml of fresh orange juice to create an old flame, this drink is shaken and finished with a flamed orange peel.
New York Sour
50ml Rye Whiskey
20ml lemon juice
15ml sugar syrup
20ml red wine
Egg white
Method: Shake all ingredients. float red wine
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: Lemon slice and cherry
Old Fashioned
50ml Bourbon Whiskey
5-7ml simple syrup (1/2 sugar ½ water)
dash angostura bitters
Method: stir in glass for 2-4 minutes
Glass: rocks
Garnish: Orange twist
Comments: this is a jazzed up version of the original cocktail, sugar, water bitters and spirit, this particular version hails from the Pendennis club in Kentucky, and in its full glory is known as the “Old Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail”
Variation: made with aged Rum and a dash of apple juice this becomes a Treacle.
Paloma
50ml Tequila
50ml Pink grapefruit juice
10ml lime
10ml sugar syrup
top with soda
Method: build in glass
Glass: Hi-ball
Garnish: salt rim and/or grapefruit wedge.
Comments: This is a traditional Mexican cooler, which is a great way to showcase different tequilas while also making an accessible drink. In Mexico, the Paloma is made with a grapefruit soda called ‘squirt’
Pina Colada
50ml Golden Rum
5-6 large chunks of pineapple
25ml Coco Lopez
pinch of salt
Method: blend with crushed ice
Glass: Hurricane
Garnish: Pineapple leaf and cherry
Comments: The Pina Colada was created at the Caribe Hilton in Puerto Rico in 1951. The recipe was sold to Coco Lopez, then a local fruit company, and the recipes creator, a lowly bartender in the hotel, died impoverished.
Pineapple Fix
50ml Aged Rum
25ml lemon juice
20ml sugar syrup
3 chunks pineapple
Method: muddle pineapple, shake other ingredients, strain over cubed ice
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: Pineapple leaf
Comments: A fix constitutes a spirit, lemon, and some kind of sweet fruit served short, this is one of the finest examples of this genre.
Pisco Punch
40ml pisco
15ml pineapple marinade
3 pineapple chunks
15ml lime juice
dash gomme syrup
champagne
for the marinade, chop a pineapple into wedges and leave to soak in a sealed container with sugar syrup and cloves.
Method: muddle pineapple add, sugars, Pisco and lemon and shake, strain into ice filled goblet topped with champagne.
Glass: Goblet
Garnish: Pineapple wedge
Comment: The Pisco punch was San Francisco’s biggest contribution to the cocktail world in the 1870’s. Ships from South America brought the exotic Pisco brandy which was mixed into a number of different punches and cups. This recipe is that of Thomas Nicol from the Bank exchange, his secret was the marinated pineapple.
Pisco Sour
50ml Pisco
25ml Lemon juice
20ml Sugar syrup
dash angostura bitters
½ an egg white
Method: shake very hard and strain into small wine goblet, dribble bitters
Glass: small wine goblet
Garnish: bitters
Comment: Hailing from Chile and Peru, Pisco is a brandy made from distilled Muscat wine, it has an extremely distinctive and delicious flavour that is well displayed in this drink
Variation: adding 20ml of Aperol will give you a slightly bitter edge.
Planter’s Punch
25ml light rum
20ml Demerara rum
10ml Orange curacao
50ml Fresh Orange
50ml Pineapple
15ml lime juice
10ml simple syrup
dash grenadine
dash angostura
Method: shake and strain over cubed ice
Glass: Hi-Ball
Garnish: Orange and cherry
Comment: This is one version of many for the classic plantation sunshine drink. Refreshing, balanced and delicious. Some version of this drink has been enjoyed in the Caribbean for a couple of hundred years.
Polish Martini
25ml Zubrowka
25ml Krupnik honey liqueur
25ml Polish vodka
25ml apple juice
Method: stir all ingredients with ice, strain
Glass: large martini
Garnish: apple slice
Method, a fantastic contemporary cocktail, which showcases the best that Polish vodka has to offer.
Ramos Gin Fizz (aka New Orleans fizz)
50ml Gin
10ml lemon juice
10ml lime juice
15ml sugar syrup
20ml cream
dash orange flower water
dash egg white
soda water
Method: shake all ingredients, without soda, for roughly five minutes until thoroughly aerated, pour into glass without ice, top with soda.
Glass: Hi-Ball
Garnish: none
Comments: The venerable Henry C. Ramos arrived in New Orleans in 1888 and set up shop at the Imperial Cabinet Saloon, this was the signature drink at Ramos’s joint and required the vigorous shaking skills of up to thirty five bartenders at a time to reproduce the requisite lightness.
Variations: Add a dash of maraschino and 15 ml of fresh orange juice for the delicious Grand Royal Fizz.
Reggae Rum Punch
50ml Wray and Nephew
25ml Lime Juice
15ml Sugar syrup
25ml Fresh Pineapple
5ml Strawberry syrup
Method: Shake and strain over crushed ice
Glass: Hurricane
Garnish: Pineapple wedge and cherry
Comments: There is a Jamaican ditty which encapsulates the balance of the Rum punch. “one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong and four of weak.” Although if you followed this recipe exactly you would probably lose your teeth! This Rum punch tempers the strong flavours of the Wray and Nephew with the sharpness of lime and the sweetness of the fresh pineapple.
Variations: too many to mention, but every decent cocktail bar should have its own house rum punch to serve by the batch at parties. Popular ingredients include, Orange Curacao, Orgeat, all manner of tropical juices and, of course, a lot of Rum.
Russian Spring Punch
25ml Vodka
25ml Lemon juice
15ml Gomme syrup
15ml Crème de Cassis
Champagne
Method: shake first four ingredients and strain over ice. Top with champagne.
Glass: Catalina
Garnish: lemon and raspberry
Comment: Created by Dick Bradsell at a house party with the ingredients on hand. Now a firm contemporary classic.
Variation: more often than not this drink is made with a large splash of raspberry puree.
Rusty Nail/Whisky Mac/Godfather
40ml Scotch
20ml Drambuie/Ginger wine/Amaretto
Method: Build in Glass
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: Optional orange twist
Comment: A versatile digestif template
Sangrita
50ml quality tequila
20ml tomato juice
5ml lime juice
10ml fresh orange juice
5ml grenadine
2-3 dashes of Tabasco
pinch of salt
black pepper
Method: stir all non alc. Ingredients and strain into shot glass, pour tequila into another shot glass
Glass: shot glasses
Garnish: none
Comments: a delicious way to enjoy premium tequila. The drink should be sipped from one glass at a time. Popular in Mexico where their sangrita mix will probably be much more piquant.
Satan’s Whiskers Cocktail
30ml Gin
15ml Sweet Vermouth
15ml Dry Vermouth
30ml Orange Juice
15ml Grand Marnier
dash orange bitters
Method: Shake and strain
Glass: large martini
Garnish: Orange Peel
Comments: This is a luxurious version of the Bronx cocktail, the sweetness of the orange liqueur brings the drink to life.
Variation: When the Grand Marnier is replaced with Orange Curacao this becomes a ‘Satan’s curled whiskers’
Satin Sheet
40ml Tequila
15ml gomme
10ml Velvet falernum
25ml Lime Juice
Method: Shake and strain
Glass: large martini
Garnish: none
Comment: An interesting, tangy, margarita style drink.
Sazerac
50ml Rye Whiskey (Or cognac)
dash Peychaud’s bitters
5ml sugar syrup
10ml Absinthe
Method: Fill rocks glass with absinthe and chilled water, discard, stir whiskey with bitters and sugar and strain into rocks glass
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: Lemon twist
Comments: One of the earliest classic cocktails. This drink was created in New Orleans and sold in the Sazerac coffee house using bitters made by N.O apothecary Antoine Amadee de Peychaud. This drink was originally made with cognac, however, the onset of the Phyloxera virus in the 1870’s meant that whiskey took over as the Sazerac spirit of choice.
Variant: dry substituting chartreuse or any other herbal liqueur for absinthe.
Scorpion
25ml Cuban rum
25ml Cognac
25ml Orange juice
15ml Lime juice
10ml orgeat syrup
Method: Shake and strain
Glass: Large martini
Garnish: none
Comments: Another Tiki drink that relies on a mixture of base spirits, this seems to be the only family of drinks which does this with a positive effect.
Sidecar
40ml Cognac
20ml Orange Curacao
20ml lemon juice
Method: shake and strain
Glass: small martini
Garnish: optional sugar rim
Comment: Harry MacElhone, of Harry’s bar Paris claims that he created this cocktail for a retired army colonel who arrived at Harry’s on a motorbike sidecar. Claiming he felt under the weather, Harry mixed him up this drink.
Singapore Sling
30ml Gin
10ml Cherry Liqueur
10ml Benedictine
10ml Orange curacao
25ml lime juice
30ml pineapple juice
dash bitters
dash grenadine
soda water
Method: Shake all ingredients strain over ice and to with soda
Glass: Sling
Garnish: orange, cherry and pineapple.
Comment. Created in 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon at the Raffles hotel in Singapore. There are more recipes for the Singapore sling than almost any other drink. The original recipe is closely guarded, however these days you are more likely to be given your Sing sling direct from the post-mix gun at the Raffles hotel.
Silk Stockings
40ml Tequila
20ml Crème de Cacao
5ml Grenadine
25ml Double cream
Method: Shake and Strain
Glass: Large Cocktail
Garnish: cinnamon sugar rim
Comments: A really interesting and complex cream drink. Has become a contemporary classic.
Southside
50ml Gin
20ml Gomme syrup
20ml Lime juice
pinch of mint
Method: shake and fine strain
Glass: large martini
Garnish: none
Comment: short, sharp, tangy aperitif
Spritz al Bitter
100ml Dry white wine
25ml Campari
soda water
Method: build in glass
Glass: large wine goblet
Garnish: none
Comment: this is the quintessential Venetian aperitif. Delicious, light and refreshing.
Variations: equally nice with Aperol in place of Campari.
Stinger
40ml Cognac
20ml White crème de menthe
Method: Build in glass with crushed or cubed
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: None
Comment: The classic New York nightcap
Variation: made with vodka this becomes a white spider
St Lawrence
50ml Bourbon
25ml Lemon juice
20ml Maple syrup
Method: shake and strain over cubed ice
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: Lemon wedge
Comments: a rich, flavoursome whiskey sour
Swizzle
50ml Aged rum
10ml Velvet Falernum
10ml Sugar syrup
25ml lime juice
dash angostura bitters
Method: add ingredients to sling glass and swizzle
Glass: Sling
Garnish: Mint sprig and orange slice
Comments: Back in the early 1800’s in Guyana. British ex-pats would enjoy a jug of this drink on the terrace of the Georgetown club. The mixture of Rum, Lime and Bitters would be mixed with a long five-pronged branch-wood swizzle stick. The idea being to swizzle it until frosting appeared on the glass.
Tiger’s Milk
50ml Calvados
25ml Double cream
15ml honey
dash grenadine
Method: shake and strain over cubed ice
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: chocolate dust
Comments: delicious, creamy after dinner drink
Ti’ Punch
50ml Rhum Agricole Blanc
5-6 rough cut lime wedge
sugar to taste
Method: roughly muddle limes and sugar, add rum cracked ice and stir
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: absolutely not
Comments: this is a colloquial spelling of the original petite punch from the French Caribbean, nothing flashy here just a rustic mixture of rum, lime and sugar.
Tom Collins
50ml Gin
25ml lemon juice
20ml sugar syrup
top with soda water
Method: build
Glass: Collins
Garnish: Lemon slice and cherry
Comments: Again the origins of this drink appear to have been lost in the sands of time, however it is believed that a little known Irish-American bartender from New York named John Collins was responsible for the original drink. Back then a Tom Collins was a variation on the original John Collins and was made with sweetened Old Tom gin, hence the name.
Variations: Fresh fruit such as raspberry, pear or blackberry work well, alternatively all other spirits would work well, particularly blended whisky and cognac.
Vodka Espresso
40ml Vodka
20ml Coffee liqueur
20ml Espresso coffee
dash sugar syrup
Method: Shake (v.hard) and strain
Glass: large martini
Garnish: Coffee beans
Comments: One of a number of contemporary classics created by London bar guru Dick Bradsell. This is the perfect alternative to a vodka and red bull as it has a great balance between booziness and pick-me-up.
Variation: Try the drink with Tequila, Bourbon or Cognac, all delicious.
Ward 8 Cocktail
50ml Bourbon or Rye
25ml lemon juice
15ml sugar syrup
5ml grenadine
15ml Fresh orange juice
Method: Shake and strain
Glass: Large Cocktail
Garnish: no garnish
Comments: created in Boston’s Locke-Ober restaurant in 1898 to celebrate the victory of Martin Lomansey in the election of Ward 8 of the state legislature, Lomansey later became a prohibitionist and was annoyed his ward became famous for a drink.
Whiskey Daisy
40ml scotch whisky
15ml Grand Marnier
10ml honey
20ml lemon juice
Soda water
Method: shake and strain, float soda
 Glass: large martini
Garnish: none
Comments: There are many arguments over what constitutes a daisy, however conventional wisdom suggests that it is a straight up drink containing two sweet ingredients and charged with a carbonated mixer, normally club soda.
Whiskey Smash
50ml Bourbon
½ a lemon in quarters
15ml gomme syrup
pinch of mint
Method: Muddle lemon, mint and sugar. Add Whiskey and shake, strain over crushed ice.
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: lemon slice and mint sprig
Comments: a slightly more tangy, flavoursome version of a Whiskey sour.
White Lady
40ml Gin
20ml Cointreau
20ml Lemon juice
dash egg white
Method: Shake and strain
Glass: small martini
Garnish: none
Comment: Created by Harry MacElhone at Ciro’s in London, 1919, a quintessentially British cocktail. Light, dry and moreish.
Wibble
25ml Gin
25ml Sloe Gin
25ml Pink Grapefruit
5ml Crème de mure
5ml lemon juice
5ml sugar syrup
Method: Shake and strain
Glass: large cocktail
Garnish: Lemon twist
Comments: Bradsell again
Zombie
20ml Cuban light Rum
20ml White Jamaican Rum
20ml Aged Jamaican Rum
20ml Barbadian Rum
20ml Demerara Rum
20ml Grapefruit juice
25ml lime juice
10ml gomme syrup
dash absinthe
dash angostura bitters
15ml maraschino liqueur
15ml velvet falernum
Method: Shake and strain
Glass: Hurricane
Garnish: Orange, cherry, lime, pineapple and mint
Comments: This cocktail is one of the most lethal around, don’t skimp on the quality of the rum. Don the beachcomber, who concocted this potion, would limit his guests to two per night. Once when strong-armed by some shady characters in his bar for a third, Don agreed to a $100 bet as to whether he could drink three. Don allegedly laced his drinks with glycerine, making the drink less potent to taste and ensuring it entered his blood stream faster, thus teaching him a lesson and rendering him unconscious (certainly not something we’d recommend doing today!)
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