- 1 tablespoon sugar syrup
- Juice of 1 medium lemon
- 3-4 ounces of gin (2 measures)
Stir all of the above together in the Tom Collins glass (see image
above) and add 4 ice-cubes. Fill with soda water, stir again, and serve
immediately. If you use Old Tom Gin (see below), use half the quantity
of sugar syrup.
Originally a Tom Collins was made with Old Tom Gin which is a
sweetened type of gin. Unfortunately it is not seen often these days so
we have to substitute regular gin and sugar syrup1.
A collins is served in the tallest glass used for cocktails which is,
appropriately, named a Tom Collins glass. It will normally hold 12-16
ounces.
In a tall bar glass (this is not used for serving – just mixing) put 1
tablespoon of sugar syrup, a dozen young mint leaves, and 2 or 3 dashes
of angostura bitters. Bruise the mint gently with a muddler and blend
the whole mix by stirring and pressing slightly (do NOT use a blender).
Do not crush the mint leaves or it will release bitter juices. Pour 2
ounces of Bourbon over the top.
Remove julep glasses from the refrigerator and fill with crushed ice
(being careful not to touch the glasses with your bare hands. Pour the
julep over the top and stir for a few minutes. Add some more ice and
top with enough Bourbon to fill the glass to 1/4 inch from the top.
Insert two long straws and decorate with sugared mint leaves and serve.
Everyone has their own take on the julep (particularly the mint
julep) so it can be very controversial to present a recipe as the
“best”. Nevertheless, I think after tasting you will agree with this
one.
1 teaspoon of sugar syrup
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
3 ounces of gin
Combine the ingredients in a goblet or highball glass. Fill the
glass with chilled soda water. If you wish, you can omit the lemon
juice, but I recommend keeping it. This is now ready to serve.
The generic term sling refers to a drink made of sweetened spirits
and water. You can substitute virtually any spirit for gin in this
recipe to produce a whiskey sling, a rum sling, a brandy sling, etc.
1 part French vermouth
3 parts rum
1 dash of grenadine
Put all three ingredients in to an old fashioned glass (an old
fashioned glass is the type of glass you normally serve a whiskey on the
rocks – “old fashioned” here does not mean antique,) with large cubes
of ice. Drop a twist of orange peel (and optionally a cherry) on to the
top and serve. NOTE: many people mistakenly think that grenadine is a
raspberry liqueur – that is not correct. Grenadine is made from
pomegranates and you should not substitute raspberry in this recipe.
This recipe is for the “Cuban” El Presidente. There is also an “American” El Presidente which includes lemon juice and curacao.
Shake all of the above vigorously and strain in to chilled old fashioned or cocktail glasses.
Interestingly, this drink was originally called a Bacardi, but the
Bacardi company won a copyright suit so the name daiquiri has stuck.
1 teaspoon of sugar syrup
3 dashes of bitters
2 – 2.5 ounces whiskey
Fill small old fashioned glasses with ice and set aside to chill.
Stir the above ingredients with large ice cubes until thoroughly
chilled. Empty the old fashioned glasses and swirl a dash of absinthe
in each one – discarding any left over liquid. Strain the liquor into
each chilled and swirled glass. Twist a peel of lemon over each glass
and drop it on top as a garnish. Serve with a small glass of ice water
on the side as a chaser.
1 part tequila
1 part Cointreau (or any orange liqueur
1 part lime juice
Combine the above ingredients in a small old fashioned glass with crushed ice and stir to combine. Serve immediately.
The origins of the Margarita are unknown. What is known is that it is not a drink that is meant to be blended in an electric blender and served like a slushy!
1 part cointreau
2 parts lemon juice
8 parts brandy
Shake the above ingredients over ice and strain in to a glass of your choice (see below).
These are normally served in a sour or delmonico glass, but you can
use a standard cocktail glass. This happens to be my favorite cocktails.
1 part Italian vermouth
5 parts whiskey
1 dash angostura
Stir (never shake) the above in a bar glass with ice. Strain in to a
cocktail glass and garnish with a single maraschino cherry – if it does
not have a stem, place it on a toothpick.
The Manhattan is normally made with rye whiskey, but you can substitute bourbon if you prefer.
1 part Lillet Vermouth (French)
7 parts best quality gin (I recommend Tanqueray No. 10)
This is likely to be the most controversial cocktail on the list as
the true martini has been greatly maligned in film and bars all around
the world. First of all, let us just clarify a few points. A martini is
made with gin. Always. If you use vodka, it is not a “Martini” it is a
“Vodka Martini” – only an ignorant person would ask for a martini and
complain if it is not made from vodka. Using a twist of lemon instead
of an olive in a Vodka Martini, gives you an entirely different drink
which is called a Kangaroo.
The second serious issue that needs clarification is that you never shake a Martini. James Bond is wrong – a Martini is always
stirred. If you ask for a Martini shaken, you merely show your
ignorance. The reason for this is that all white cocktail are stirred –
shaking introduced bubbles, introduces too much water, and the shaken
wine (vermouth) makes the final result murky. Incidentally, if you
absolutely must have it shaken – it is not a Martini, it is a Bradford.
Now, on to the recipe. This is the best Martini recipe you will find.
Stir ingredients (don’t stir too vigorously) in a bar glass with ice.
Strain in to a chilled cocktail glass and twist some lemon peel over
the top (do not put the peel in the drink – just twist it to spray the
top with the juices). Serve with one stuffed olive on a
toothpick (for some reason it has become fashionable to serve a martini
with 2, and sometimes even 3 olives. This changes the flavor of the
drink and should not be done).
If you use a cocktail onion instead of an olive, you have a Gibson rather than a Martini.
** Sugar syrup can be made at home by combining
equal parts of sugar and water and cooking until the sugar has
completely dissolved. It is much easier to use this for cocktails as
sugar can be difficult to dissolve in alcohol and you can up end up with
grains in your cocktail. When using sugar syrup, you can substitute
one for one**.
