The Japanese Cocktail, with brandy, orgeat and bitters. The forerunner of the modern, "fancy" cocktail.
The Japanese Cocktail
Bitters and Brandy—the Alabazam Cocktail
The Alabazam Cocktail: brandy, curacao, lemon, and sugar. And bitters, lots of bitters.
The Black Manhattan Cocktail
The Black Manhattan: bourbon, Averna, and Angostura bitters. Another variant of one of the greatest of the classic cocktails.
The Widow’s Kiss
The Widow's Kiss: apple brandy, Chartreuse, Benedictine, and bitters. A nineteenth century classic.
Apple whiskey and the Full House Cocktail
The Full House Cocktail: Chartreuse, Benedictine, Apple brandy, and bitters.
Feeling bitter in the Bronx — the Income Tax Cocktail
I still remember the first time I filled out a tax form. I felt very official and bureaucratic; I was an important part of the American economy. Of course, I didn't make enough money that year to actually owe any taxes—I was filing to get all my withholding back. But still... Americans started paying income taxes in 1913, and... Continue Reading →
The Harvard Cocktail
The Harvard Cocktail: brandy, sweet vermouth, sugar, bitters and soda.
Is the Manhattan too sweet for you? Try the Lafayette Cocktail
The Lafayette Cocktail: rye whiskey, French vermouth, Dubonnet and bitters.
Making Zombie Punch
Zombie, the rum-heavy precursor to the Tiki era, with hints of citrus, cinnamon and absinthe.
Searching for the Martini: The Martinez Cocktail
The Martinez, one of the oldest of cocktails: sweet vermouth, Old Tom Gin, Maraschino and bitters.
The Blackthorne Cocktail
The Blackthorne Cocktail: Irish whiskey, sweet vermouth, absinthe and bitters.
Drinking the French Quarter: The Vieux Carré Cocktail
Another New Orleans original, the Vieux Carré Cocktail: rye whiskey, Cognac, sweet vermouth, Bénédictine and bitters.
Why is there cognac in my Sazerac?
The Improved Cognac Sazerac: Cognac, sugar, bitters and absinthe.
Rye and Absinthe: The Sazarac Cocktail
The Sazerac Cocktail: rye whiskey, sugar, bitters and absinthe.
The Champagne Cocktail
The Champagne Cocktail — champagne, sugar and bitters — is easy to make and festive to drink, and beats a plain old glass of bubbly hands down.
Got bitters? — the Seelbach Cocktail
The Seelbach Cocktail: bourbon, triple sec, bitters and Champagne.
The Stork Club Cocktail
The Stork Club Cocktail: Old Tom Gin, orange and lime juices, Cointreau and bitters.
The Scotch Saratoga
The Scotch Saratoga — a variant of the classic, with blended Scotch, brandy, sweet vermouth and bitters.
Back to the tropics with the Queen’s Park Swizzle
The Queen's Park Swizzle: Demerara rum, lime juice, sugar, mint and bitters. And ice. Lots of ice.
The Old Cuban Cocktail
The Old Cuban Cocktail: dark rum, fresh lime juice, sugar, bitters, mint, and sparkling wine.
Cold Glass 