One of the great innovations in mixology took place around the 1880s, when vermouth and other fortified wines were mixed into the Ancestrals to subdue the alcohol’s bite and to add complexity of flavor. Spirit-Forward Cocktails are usually composed of a base spirit with a modifier of vermouth, or another fortified wine such as sherry, quinquina, or port, often accompanied by other ingredients such as bitters or small doses of liqueurs or syrups. These drinks are properly prepared by stirring the mixture with ice (rather than shaking it in a cocktail shaker), and are served straight up or, less frequently, on the rocks. If fruit appears at all, it’s either as a small amount of syrup, or in the form of a twist of lemon or orange peel, or as a cherry on a pick as garnish.

This category includes some heavy hitters—the Martini, the Manhattan, the Negroni—along with relatives such as the Bijou, El Presidente and the Red Hook. Category description by Paul Clarke, Serious Eats

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