The Rob Roy is basically a Manhattan that uses Scotch instead of rye. It’s believed to have been named after Robert Roy MacGregor, who was a Robin Hood-like figure in 18th century Scotland. Hence the Scotch. For best results, opt for a blended Scotch here. Dewar’s or Famous Grouse are both simple yet effective. Rob Roy 2 1/2 ounces scotch 1 ounce sweet vermouth 2 dashes Angostura bitters Stir with ice in a mixing glass. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a lemon peel or cherry. If you like the Rob Roy, try the Bobby Burns. It’s another Scotch cocktail, but it ups the...

The Negroni starts with an Americano base -- sweet vermouth and Campari -- and adds the boozy stoutness of gin. While the Negroni is an aperitif and meant to stimulate the appetite before a meal, too many of these guys on an empty stomach will have you falling off your chair. Legend has it that Count Negroni created this drink in Italy, when he asked the bartender to spice up his Americano with gin rather than soda, which was a customary addition. Gin in place of fizzy water? I like this Count Negroni. Negroni 1 ounce gin 1 ounce sweet vermouth 1 ounce Campari Stir with...

The martini is one of the world’s best known and most popular cocktails, having been immortalized by such drinking greats as Winston Churchill, James Bond and Frank Sinatra.  However, nowadays, half the martinis made in a bar use vodka instead of gin, totally exclude vermouth, are shaken like hell rather than stirred and owe most of their flavor to olive juice.  A tragedy indeed. As vodka is a flavorless spirit, and olive juice tastes like, well, olive juice, this poor beverage has become a bastardized victim, a shell of its former self unable to live up to its potential. If you want...

The Vieux Carré was born sometime prior to 1937 in New Orleans at what would later become the Carousel Bar at the Monteleone Hotel.  According to Ted Haigh’s Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, the cocktail was named for the old French term for New Orleans’s French Quarter—le Vieux Carré—which means “The Old Square.” Vieux Carré 1 ounce rye whiskey 1 ounce cognac 1 ounce sweet vermouth 1/2 teaspoon Benedictine 2 dashes Peychaud's Bitters 2 dashes Angostura Bitters Stir all ingredients with ice, then strain into an ice-filled Old Fashioned glass.  Garnish with a twist of lemon....

The Vesper Martini was first popularized in the James Bond book by Ian Fleming, Casino Royale, and gained further, more recent notoriety in the 2006 film of the same name.  The drink was named for Bond’s love interest Vesper Lynd, and showing much fondness for the drink, Fleming’s Bond recited the full recipe for a bartender. Unlike the traditional martini’s dry vermouth, the Vesper calls for Lillet, a quinine aperitif that is smoother and sweeter than most dry vermouths. Plus, the addition of vodka to the cocktail complements the gin by smoothing out some of its sharpness. The result is a...

Many drinkers have one liquor they just cannot stomach.  The one spirit from their past in which they “had a bad experience.”  For me, and many others, that liquor was tequila.  Though I'd learned to tolerate tequila over the years -- largely due to drinking better stuff -- it was not until a trip to Boston’s Drink, one of the country’s best cocktail bars, that my attitude toward tequila was fully changed. Misty Kalkofan, a bartender at Drink, created the Maximilan Affair, a complex, tasty little treat wrapped in a tequila package.  Made with tequila, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, Punt e...

Though the name has been popularized by coffee houses, the Americano cocktail predates the coffee drink. If you like the Americano, try the Negroni, which cuts the soda and ups the booze factor with an equal measure of gin. Americano 1 ½ ounces Campari 1 ½ ounces sweet vermouth Club soda Orange slice Pour Campari and vermouth into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with three ounces of club soda. Garnish with an orange....

Tuxedo Cocktail Recipe 2 ounces gin 1 ½ ounces dry vermouth ¼ teaspoon absinthe or anise liqueur substitute ¼ teaspoon Maraschino liqueur 3 dashes orange bitters Combine all ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Stir well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry or twist of lemon....

The Manhattan is one of six basic drinks listed in David A. Embury's classic book, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. The origin of the Manhattan is a bit cloudy, but popular history suggests that it first appeared around 1870 at the Manhattan Club in New York City. The name stuck, and the Manhattan remained a popular drink throughout the decades, further immortalized by the Rat Pack—a band of formidable, professional drinkers secondarily known for their music and movies. Some bartenders use American whiskey or bourbon in Manhattans, and sometimes, inexcusably, craft the drink without bitters, but the drink is traditionally...

This tasty cocktail originated in Havana, Cuba in the 1920s, a time and place in which many of today’s most popular rum drinks originated. It was named after Cuban president, Gerado Machado. Bacardi works fine as the base spirit in an El Presidente and allows the other ingredients to shine, but using a richer rum like Appleton white or 10 Cane will add a mellow smoothness to the cocktail. Noilly Prat makes an excellent dry vermouth, and for the adventurous set, try creating your own grenadine. Simply mix pure pomegranate juice with superfine sugar until the sugar is well dissolved...