I like to get nerdy about alcohol. I was a passionate homebrewer for a good 15 years or so, I brewed a lot of beer, and I’d probably rank myself as a medium-high on the homebrewer nerdiness scale. I gave that up a few years ago when I reduced my overall beer consumption, and I then focused my newly excess nerd reserves on absinthe. Absinthe is still my main squeeze but lately I’ve been finding myself becoming more excited about the larger world of cocktails. I’ve always enjoyed making them, but I’ve never taken the process all that seriously. I’ll throw the drink together, doing my best to follow a solid recipe, but I’ll end up forgoing the garnish, for example, becoming impatient and sucking down what’s already in the glass. Or I’ll not really think about why the different ingredients work together, or the history of the drink, or how long vermouth should live in the fridge. That kinda crap.
So now I think I’m gonna start burrowing down some cocktail rabbit holes like I’ve done in the past with beer and absinthe (and other random weird things like aliens and juggling).
My basic plan is to compile a list of “classic” cocktails that I want to familiarize myself with – their history, recipe, and overall experience. I’ll build a drink for my wife Sabrina and I and get our thoughts, and I’ll document the recipe and the results on this here blog so it can sit unread on the internet forever.
Below is a quick list I banged out of the cocktails I’d like to work through. It’ll change frequently, I’m sure. This initial list is based around some familiar names that come to mind, bottles that we already have in our liquor cabinet, booze that I want to add to our cabinet, and generally just drinks that I want to learn more about. I’ve made plenty of these already, of course, but haven’t given them the proper obsessive nerdiness that I devote to the things that I like.
For inspiration, I’ll reference some of the books I have on hand: The Savoy Cocktail Book, Death & Co. Modern Classic Cocktails, Smugglers Cove, and an old copy of Mr. Boston Official Bartender’s And Party Guide that I bought back in the early 90s or so and somehow never lost. This list of sources will probably change frequently too.
Should be a fun exercise and a good opportunity to dive deeper into the world of classic cocktails, rather than just sticking to my current standard go-tos like a Sazerac, Negroni, Manhattan, or Gin Martini. I do plan to make those, as well, but to give them the proper respect they deserve instead of just sloshing them together and tossing them back like a beer.
More to come on this. Being a current non-nerd in this particular field of study, I welcome any and all of your suggestions, opinions, and insults in the comments as I post my latest drink reports. Or feel free to follow suit and make the cocktails along with me and we can build up our spirits arsenal together.
And forgive me if I abandon this effort after the first couple posts when I’m distracted by some other shiny object and decide to focus my attention on that instead.
Cheers!
(P.S. Please be proud of me for not using the word “libation” once in this entire post)
Oh, here’s the list as it stands today:
- Aviation
- Bellini
- Boulevardier
- Corpse Reviver #2
- Cosmopolitan
- Daiquiri
- Dark & Stormy
- De La Louisiane
- French 75
- Gibson
- Gimlet
- Gin Fizz
- Grasshopper
- Harvey Wallbanger
- Hurricane
- Last Word
- Mai Tai
- Manhattan
- Margarita
- Martini
- Mint Julep
- Mojito
- Moscow Mule
- Negroni
- Old Fashioned
- Pimm’s Cup
- Pina Colada
- Ramos Gin Fizz
- Remember the Maine
- Rob Roy
- Rusty Nail
- Sazerac
- Sidecar
- Singapore Sling
- Tailspin
- Ti Punch
- Tom Collins
- Whiskey Sour
- Zombie
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