The Old Fashioned is THE primordial drink.
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
Spirited
Maple Leaf
The Maple Leaf is a simple riff on the classic Whiskey Sour template.
The 21st Century
Twenty-first year of Twenty-first Century – are we ready?
Cooperstown
Cooperstown is a strong, sweet martini with a touch of mint.
Autumn Harvest
Autumn Harvest is a fine after dinner sipper.
Autumn Leaves
A bracingly strong fall cocktail, appropriately named
Gin Martini
The world’s most popular cocktail even has its own namesake glass and hundreds of variations. This one is the classic.
The Beauty Beneath
The Beauty Beneath is a delicious bittersweet rum based Manhattan.