Instead, add just a few granules to the drink itself to heighten and highlight all the other flavors. But don’t put it on the rim of your glass, where it blows out your ability to taste anything else. A note about salt: All the flavors at play here love a little salt. Leave out the soda water, and you get a Margarita. The classic Margarita is part of the Daisy family, referring to drinks made from a mix of a primary liquor, orange liqueur, citrus juice and soda water. To make it, substitute an equal amount of bourbon for the rum, and an equal amount of lemon juice for the lime. What was tropical and refreshing becomes rich, though still bright. Swapping a brown liquor for white delivers a huge difference in flavor. Whiskey Sour: Consider the Whiskey Sour sort of a bourbon Daiquiri. The Classic: In a cocktail shaker with ice cubes, combine 3 ounces white rum, ½ ounce lime juice, ¼ ounce agave or simple syrup and a dash Angostura bitters. Shake, then strain into a coupe. Variations date to at least the late 1880s, but it was during the early 1900s in Havana that the drink became the icon of white rum, lime juice and sugar we know today. The basic Daiquiri is a model of simplicity and balance. To make it, replace the gin with 3 ounces of vodka and reduce the dry vermouth to ½ ounce. But the vodka martini is a lovely cocktail with ample clean, bright flavors. Vodka Martini: A classic in its own right, the Vodka Martini often is maligned by purists who prefer its gin sibling. Garnish with 1 green olive, such as Castelvetrano, on a cocktail skewer. Stir for 10 seconds. Strain into a coupe or cocktail glass. The Classic: In a stirring glass with ice, combine 2 ounces gin, ¾ ounce dry vermouth, a dash of orange bitters, 1 to 2 spoonsful of olive brine and 6 to 10 granules kosher salt. This is for anyone who likes cocktails strong, clean and herbal. Making it dirty means adding a green olive and a spoonful or so of the olive brine from the jar. Most agree that the basic recipe should be a simple stir of gin, dry vermouth and orange bitters. Gin MartiniĬreated during the late 1800s, the Gin Martini is the original martini, though it has worn many masks over the years. If you have orange bitters, they are a delicious addition. Rum Old Fashioned: For this warm weather take on the classic, just substitute 2½ ounces white rum and ½ ounce aged rum for the bourbon. The Classic: In a rocks glass, stir 3 ounces bourbon, ¾ teaspoon agave or simple syrup, a dash Angostura bitters and 1 small ice cube. This is the drink for people who like whiskey and like it strong. Luckily, in recent years there has been a renewed reverence for the pre-Prohibition-style Old Fashioned. Cue the addition of fruit to the Old Fashioned. Things went sideways during Prohibition, when the poor-quality liquor Americans were able to drink no longer could be appreciated in such simple form. The Old Fashioned began life at least 150 years ago as little more than whiskey with a sugar cube and cocktail bitters, sometimes a splash of water. Once you’re comfortable with the basics, it’s easy to experiment and craft ideas of your own. Where to start? A gin martini, bourbon old fashioned, rum daiquiri and tequila margarita are popular classics that readily lend themselves to innovation. This means learning a few classic cocktails as they traditionally are made, but also mastering an easy twist on each, a simple way to show some creative chops without having to learn a new recipe. As for the recipes? Try a two-for-one approach that iterates on the classics.
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