cocktail spy's top cocktail recipes
What makes for a top cocktail recipe, according to the Cocktail Spy?
It's arbitrary, of course. The first thing I look for is a widely available base liquor. A great cocktail should have few ingredients, all easy to find. It needs to be simple to prepare, without a ton of work required. And finally, it has to be classic enough that bartenders all over the world know how to make it.
vodka cocktails
Pumpkin Pie Sangria:
1 bottle sparkling cider (chilled)
1 bottle white wine (chilled)
4 oz pumpkin pie vodka
1 apple (chopped)
1 pear (chopped)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
Cinnamon sticks
Instructions: Mix the sugar and pumpkin spice on a plate. Rim wine or highball glasses with a slice of apple and then dip them in the mixture to coat the lip. Add ice to the glasses. Combine all liquid ingredients in a large pitcher, add chopped fruit, and stir. Pour into the glasses and garnish each with a cinnamon stick.
Purple Rain:
1.5 oz vodka
1 oz blue curacao
1 oz grenadine
1 oz pineapple juice
1 oz cranberry juice
Optional: 1 lime
Instructions: Combine all liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake. Pour the mixture into a highball glass filled with ice. If you have a lime, cut off a wedge or wheel for garnish and squeeze in fresh juice from the remainder.
Cosmopolitan:
1.5 oz vodka (preferably citrus or lemon)
.5 oz Cointreau
1 oz cranberry juice
.5 oz fresh lime juice
Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Bloody
Mary:
2 oz vodka
4 oz tomato juice
1 oz Lemon juice
3-5 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Horseradish and Tabasco to taste
Instructions: Combine all ingredients and shake. Pour into a highball glass over ice. Garnish with celery, lemon, lime, or olives.
Vodka Sour:
It’s not just for whiskey. Most spirits work well in
a classic sour recipe – and the ratio for the ingredients is simple: 2 parts
liquor, 1 part sweet, and 1 part sour.
2 oz vodka
1 oz fresh lemon juice (can substitute lime)
1 oz simple syrup
Instructions: Mix the ingredients with ice and shake well. Strain the mixture into a rocks glass with ice and garnish with citrus peel.
gin cocktails
Pomegranate Gin Fizz
2 oz London dry gin
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp rosemary simple syrup
2 tbsp pomegranate juice
Club soda
Pomeranate arils and fresh rosemary sprig
Make the simple syrup ahead of time by boiling a cup of sugar until the sugar dissolves. When it does, remove from heat and let steep with the rosemary for 15-20 minutes. Remove rosemary, and refrigerate the syrup until you're ready to use it.
Shake with gin, lemon juice and pomegranate juice. Shake with ice and pour over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with the rosemary and pomegranate arils.
Negroni:
1 oz Campari
1 oz London dry gin
1 oz Dolin Sweet Vermouth
Then combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain the liquid into an old-fashioned glass over ice. Garnish with an orange peel.
The Last
Word:
1 oz gin
1 oz green chartreuse
1 oz maraschino liqueur
1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
Ingredients: Combine with ice in a shaker. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. If you don't have maraschino liqueur, combine 2 oz. gin, .5 oz. green chartreuse, and .5 oz. lime juice to make a Green Ghost.
Tom Collins:
1.5 oz gin
.75 oz fresh lemon juice
.75 oz simple syrup
Club soda
Instructions: Stir the gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup into a highball glass over ice. Top the mixture with club soda and garnish with a lemon wedge and cherry.
French 75:
2 oz champagne
1 oz gin
.5 oz lemon juice
2 dashes simple syrup
Instructions: Shake the gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup over ice. Strain into a chilled champagne glass and top the mixture with champagne. Garnish with a lemon peel.
scotch cocktails
Blood and Sand
.75 oz Blood orange juice
.75 oz Sweet Vermouth
.75 oz Cherry Heering
.75 oz Blended Scotch
Instructions: Shake vigorously over ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Add a splash of orange juice on top. Garnish with burnt orange peel and cherry.
Rob Roy:
2 oz blended Scotch
1 oz sweet vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Lemon or orange peel
Instructions: Stir Scotch, vermouth, and bitters in a mixing glass over ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist the peel over the mixture and use it as a garnish. If you have a different whiskey other than Scotch, use it instead to mix a Manhattan.
Penicillin:
2 oz Blended Scotch whisky
.75 oz Lemon Juice
.75 oz Honey-ginger syrup
.25 oz Islay single malt Scotch
Instructions: Shake the blended Scotch, lemon juice, and honey-ginger syrup with ice. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Top with single malt Scotch and garnish with a piece of candied ginger.
bourbon cocktails
Old
Fashioned:
2 oz bourbon
1 sugar cube or bar spoon of simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Splash of water
Orange twist
Instructions: Muddle the sugar, bitters, and water at the bottom of a rocks glass. Add the bourbon and stir. Add one large ice cube and stir to chill the mixture. Garnish with the orange peel.
Brown Derby:
1.5 oz bourbon
1 oz fresh grapefruit juice
.5 oz honey syrup
Instructions: Combine the ingredients and shake with ice. Strain the mixture into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish wtih a grapefruit twist or wedge.
Whiskey
Smash:
2 oz bourbon
1 oz simple syrup
.5 lemon, cut into wedges
4 mint leaves
Instructions: Muddle the simple syrup, mint leaves, and lemon in a cocktail shaker. Add bourbon and ice, shake, and then strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel and sprig of mint.
tequila cocktails
Juan Collins:
4.5 oz. tequila
9 oz club soda
1.5 oz lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
Instructions: Build this drink in a highball glass filled with ice and stir. Garnish with a lemon wedge.
Tequila
Sunrise:
1.5 oz tequila
.75 oz orange juice
.75 oz grenadine
Instructions: Pour the tequila and orange juice into a rocks glass over ice. Pour the grenadine down the side of the glass or over the back of a spoon. It should settle at the bottom for a layered cocktail. Don't stir - just add a maraschino cherry and orange slice to garnish, and serve. Viva la '70's!
Margarita:
1.5 oz tequila
.5 oz triple sec
1 oz fresh lime juice
Salt
Instructions: Combine the liquids with a pinch of salt and shake over ice. Chill a margarita glass. Use the lime juice to wet the rim, and then dip the upside down glass into a plate of salt to fully line the edge of the glass. Pour the margarita in and serve.
Rum cocktails
Mai Tai:
1.5 oz spiced rum
1.5 oz coconut rum
3 oz pineapple juice
2 oz orange juice
1 tsp grenadine
Instructions: Combine and shake all ingredients with ice. Pour into a rocks or highball glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a pineapple spear, slice of orange, and maraschino cherry.
Daiquiri:
2 oz dark rum
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz simple syrup
Instructions: Shake vigorously with ice. Strain the mixture into
a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lime wheel. Add 4 oz. (half a cup) of fresh or frozen fruit to create a sweeter version (like a strawberry daiquiri) with a thicker, smoothie-like texture.
Cuba Libre Cocktail
2 oz rum
4 oz cola
.5 lime
Instructions: More than a simple rum and coke, the lime makes all the difference here. Squeeze the juice from the lime into a highball glass filled with ice. For a stronger and more complex flavor, drop the lime rind in and muddle it. Add the rum and cola and stir well before serving.
brandy cocktails
Spiced Brandy Wine:
1 bottle light-bodied red wine (pinot noir, beaujolais, etc.)
3 oz brandy
1/2 cup sugar
4 long strips lemon zest
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
Instructions: Add all ingredients to a sauce pan. Cover the pan and let the mixture simmer over high heat. Let the cocktail steep for 10 minutes after removing from heat before straining into mugs. Garnish with fresh zest from the same lemon you used earlier.
Sidecar:
2 oz cognac
.75 oz triple sec
.75 oz lemon juice
Instructions: Combine the ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a citrus wedge or peel.
Corpse
Reviver #1:
Reviver drinks are “hair of the dog” recipes
intended to treat a hangover. A number of variations exist which feature
different spirits.
1 oz cognac
1 oz Calvados (apply brandy)
.5 oz sweet vermouth
Instructions: Shake well with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel or a maraschino cherry dropped into the bottom of the glass.
Brandy
Alexander:
1 oz cognac
1 oz crème de cacao
1 oz fresh cream
Instructions: Shake over ice until frothy. Strain the mixture into a chilled cocktail glass. Sprinkle fresh-ground nutmeg over the top. For more punch, mix in an extra half ounce or ounce of cognac.
Not sure where to begin? Click here to see which liquors you should include in your home cocktail bar.