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Go to most any bar and at some point in the night you'll see some fine girl purr something into the bartender's ear. Chances are, the barkeep whips up some elixir of a color not found in nature. "What'd she order?" you think. There are a lot of new cocktails (or new to you) out there and some of them are actually good. Here are a couple that you should know how to make, if not drink (the Cosmopolitan is a cocktail you make, not drink, big fella):
 Cosmopolitan
A popular cocktail with women, thanks to "Sex and the City," and is easy to make. It looks nice in the glass and goes down easy. Some folks like theirs with flavored vodka (citrus or berry) to mix it up, but purists use regular vodka:
- 1 and 1/2 oz. vodka
- 1/2 oz. Triple Sec
- 1/2 oz. lime juice (Rose's is the most common lime juice available, but you can use 1/4 of a lime also)
- 1 oz. cranberry juice
- Ice
Pour the vodka, Triple Sec, lime juice, and cranberry juice into a shaker cup filled with ice to chill. Shake or stir, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a lemon twist or wedge.
Mojito The Mojito has been a popular drink for the past few years for good reason: it tastes great. Drinking one feels like a summer night on the balcony looking out over the city with a plate of gilled pork and black beans, or being in Adams-Morgan, listening to a live salsa band, which actually reminds us of being in Cuba, but we digress. Traditionally, the garnish for this is a sliver of sugar cane, a nice touch if you can get some. Otherwise, go with our suggestion below:
- 1and 1/2 oz. light rum
- 10-12 mint leaves
- 1 tbsp sugar
- Juice of one lime
- 2 oz. soda water
- Ice
Put lime juice, mint leaves, and sugar into a highball glass and muddle them together (mash them up, using the back of a spoon or a wooden pestle called, appropriately, a muddler) until the sugar dissolves. Add the ice, then the rum and stir. Top with the soda water and garnish with a lime and mint sprig. (If this recipe looks like a mint julep, well, it's pretty damn close. Substitute bourbon for the rum and still water for the soda and you're all set. Garnish with the mint and lime)
David travels back to the golden age:
David likes to experiment making old, classic cocktails to see what all the folks 70 years ago were drinking. He's a gin drinker, and he's always looking for ways to expand beyond the Martini. So, he finds this recipe for a Continental (rum, sugar, lime juice, and crème de menthe). It was so God-awful, he and his wife gagged on the first sip, tossed the crème de menthe and the $20 it cost right down the drain, and went back to martinis. Daisy DukeNo, it doesn’t have anything to do with the “Dukes of Hazzard” or cut-off jean shorts, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Daisy Duke is a cocktail, similar to the Pegu Club Cocktail or Side Car, but with bourbon. For those looking to introduce bourbon into their repertoire, this is a good place to start. The orange liqueur takes away some of the heat of the bourbon, while the bitters gives just the right bite. It’s a bit stiff, probably better for evenings than daylight hours. Try this with smoother bourbons, like Basil Hayden, Woodford Reserve, or Rare Eagle 10 year. - 2 oz bourbon
- ½ oz Cointreau, Grand Marnier, or Triple Sec
- 2 dashes of bitters
Chill a cocktail glass and sugar the rim. Add ingredients and ice to a cocktail shaker and shake liberally. Strain into the glass and serve with a twist of lemon. |
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