Margarita
The true Margarita—a blend of fresh lime juice, tequila and orange liqueur with an optional sweetener—is a potent, well-built entry in the cocktail canon.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Daniel Krieger
Black Scottish Cyclops
Sometimes coming up with a name for an original cocktail is a challenge, and other times it just comes to you when you’re watching a YouTube clip from the multiplayer…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo:
Old Pal
Harry MacElhone credited his “old pal” and barfly William “Sparrow” Robertson with the inspiration for this drink.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Daniel Krieger
Cloud 9
When bartender Toby Maloney visited Jeremy Oertel at Mayahuel looking for a White Negroni, Oertel created this tequila-based riff with Lillet and gentian liqueur.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo:
Breakfast
Akin to a Negroni or a Boulevardier, this cocktail is essentially "breakfast encapsulated," says the drink’s creator, Aaron Polsky of NYC's Amor y Amargo.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo:
LCD Soundsystem’s Espresso Martini
LCD Soundsystem's espresso machine was often co-opted for cocktail hour, resulting in a drink Nancy Whang calls "a network TV version of a speedball.”
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo:
Between the Sheets
This potent sour is a rum-laced riff on the Sidecar christened by Harry MacElhone of Harry's New York Bar in Paris.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
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Attention
Thanks to the resurgence of absinthe and crème de violette, this lost classic is finding its way back into the barman's repertoire.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Daniel Krieger
Bitter Handshake
An after-dinner Fernet Old-Fashioned brightened with a blood orange reduction.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Lizzie Munro
The Long Hello
Damon Boelte, the bar director at Brooklyn’s Prime Meats, has an affinity for naming his original drinks after songs, albums and musicians including this autumnal Champagne cocktail.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Ed Anderson