Cocktails

Cocktails

I prefer frozen for blended drinks like daiquiris and margaritas; they add chill and texture without watering down the flavor. Fresh berries are better for drinks that are muddled.

The latest crop of bars are doing all of the above and then some, putting an emphasis on zero waste, housemade distillates, off beat wines, and immersive vibes. What's also clear is the geography of drinking culture: its clear epicenter is Lower Manhattan, with a few exciting entries in Brooklyn and one in Long Island City, Queens.

Contrary to popular belief, rye was actually America's native spirit. George Washington owned the largest rye distillery in the country after he left the White House. Historically, it was a very important cocktail ingredient. But by the end of the 20th century, rye had practically disappeared from stores and bars.

Prohibition was the nationwide ban on the sale, manufacturing, and transportation of alcohol in the United States from 1920 to 1933. During this period, gangsters and bootleggers produced illegal booze, smuggled it across state lines, and ran secret bars throughout the country. While some bars were raided by the authorities, others thrived as a result of deals with the police or extensive protective measures.

Fernet-Branca is a specific brand of an Italian liqueur subcategory, fernet. Fernet is an amaro that's especially bitter and menthol-forward, and is stronger than your average amaro at around 30% to 45% ABV. It includes botanicals like cardamom, mint, rhubarb, gentian, saffron, and chamomile, and is believed to have been developed by the brand Fernet Vittone in Milan during the mid-19th century.

"I wouldn't say the bramble is the only way to enjoy contemporary gin, but it's absolutely one of the most flattering cocktails to highlight the category," says Justin Lavenue, co-owner of Austin's famed cocktail bar The Roosevelt Room. "Contemporary gins, which tend to lean away from heavy juniper and more toward citrus, floral, root, and herbaceous notes, shine in cocktails where those subtleties have room to breathe. Unlike many other gin-based classics, the bramble gives them exactly that platform."

In Regarding Cocktails, Sasha Petraske's posthumous 2016 book, written by Georgette Moger-Petraske, Solomon shares the drink's origins. "I was inspired to create the Bensonhurst as an alternative to the Brooklyn cocktail, partly because of the lack of original-formula Amer Picon," he says in the book. "Vincenzo Errico had already created the Red Hook at Milk & Honey in 2004 as the first of the Brooklyn variations, which set the precedent of choosing other Brooklyn neighborhoods to name the variations it spawned."

If you're wasting away in Margaritaville, you want to be drinking a good margarita. And the Margaritaville man himself has just the recipe. The legendary singer is best known for his hit song "Margaritaville" and the brand he built around it, including restaurant and resort chains, food products, and - of course - tequila. It's no surprise that he also knew exactly how to make a perfect margarita.

A new cocktail bar is making the claim that it's okay to cry, or as SZA sings, "Call Me Miss Crybaby." Crybaby brings Alpine wines, cocktails, and food to the Lower East Side at 153 Bowery, at Broome Street, when it is scheduled to open in the spring. Crybaby's core inspiration is the Alps - the mountain range spanning several European countries, with notable winemaking regions like France's Jura and Savoie, as well as cheeses and cozy, hearty foods.

Whether you're patronizing a swanky cocktail bar, a classic dive, or somewhere in between, there are a few ways to let the bartender know you're the kind of customer worth giving special treatment to. Sure, tipping well and being polite will get you far enough - along with a few other do's and don'ts of ordering at the bar, but getting the type of service that the bartender's favorite regular receives is not that simple, especially on your first visit.

If it's been a while, head over to your local bar. Tell the bartender you don't need to see their list of $36 artisanal craft cocktails, thank you. You don't want their watered-down fruit juice in a tiny glass, and if there's a teaspoon of tequila in there, you count yourself lucky. What you want is a Long Island Iced Tea. It's the strong magic potion you're looking for, and here at Esquire, we fully endorse it.

Flying internationally in the winter can be difficult - crowded airports sometimes turn into a no-man's land of grumpy travelers, downcast due to bad weather and flight delays. But I know one thing can make that trip more bearable: a cocktail. Especially when it's in a themed bar. During a recent 16-hour journey from the UK to the US, I decided to visit a speakeasy called Williams & Graham during my layover at the Denver International Airport.

Jeff Bell has never been the loudest voice in the room. "I'm a quiet guy until I have something to contribute," he says, a line that could double as the mission statement for Kees, his new bar tucked beneath Mixteca in New York's West Village. After 16 years, helping to define the tone and precision of pioneering and James Beard Award-winning modern speakeasy PDT in the East Village, Kees is Bell's distilled point of view: understated, technical, and built around the idea that you don't need to be loud to say a lot.

Not to sound too wistful, but these days, it's easy to forget how modest the amaro options in the U.S. once were. Now, most backbars are lined with a wide and rich spectrum of amaro and European liqueurs, but that was not the case when, as a burgeoning drinks writer in the mid-2000s, I first spiraled down the bitter rabbit hole.

Despite its minuscule size, Backdoor 43 has charm. The four-square-meter space boasts soaring ceilings ringed with rows of rare whisky, yellowing vintage photographs and various other ephemera from butterfly collections to dangling carved hot air balloons, which is a surprising amount to look at in a bar that has only four seats and a to-go window (or the "drink away" window, as Backdoor 43 calls it).

For the first time ever, Topo Chico Hard Margarita FAB is available in the brand's unmistakable glass bottle - bringing its iconic symbol into the world of full-flavor Margaritas FABs, it says. Made with real lime juice and added minerals for a crisp finish, the iconic vessel delivers the same balanced sweet-tart lime flavor fans love, now in a more premium, ready-to-enjoy experience, it adds. Before opening, drinkers are invited to "Flip Before They Sip" - a simple ritual printed directly on the bottle that encourages flipping to fully mix the real lime juice before that first refreshing sip, the company notes.

Triple Sec is the name for a category of dry orange liqueurs: it translates to "triple dry" in French. The other major family of orange liqueurs is Curaçao, which are sweeter (and sometimes blue, like in these Blue Curacao cocktails!). Within the Triple Sec category, you'll find a wide range of quality and price: check out my guide to Cointreau vs Triple Sec.

For those who always reach for the dark chocolates, we recommend the Rosita, a complex bittersweet cocktail. For the sweetie who craves sweets, the Billy Ray Valentine from Ray's bar is the perfect treat. For those who crave a whiskey cocktail no matter the occasion, the Roses are Red #2 is a sultry twist on a whiskey sour from the Warren Street Bar & Restaurant.

What goes into the ideal Italian cocktail, as a result, is as much about sociability and presentation as it is about a specific flavor profile or provenance of ingredients. It isn't just a drink, it's a way of life. As soulful as a Puccini-penned opera. As colorful and exuberant as a summer sunset over the Amalfi Coast. Equally as expressive regardless of time or season.

In the entranceway to Gucci Giardino Osaka, a massive woven bamboo sculpture by artist Chikuunsai Tanabe IV anchors the staircase landing-a visual overture to the drama above. Inside the fashion house's cocktail den, walls glow in Rosso Ancora, a deep shade of red that nods to founder Guccio Gucci's early days as an elevator operator at London's Savoy Hotel. Leather seats and backlit panels complete a seductive setting where intrigue feels inevitable.

just before we collectively stumbled into this shitty timeline marred by "fake news" and idiot fascism, a journalist did that thing that journalism used to do: hold power to account. In this case, the power was Big Bay Leaf, and the reporter was Kelly Conaboy, writing for the Awl on a "vast bay leaf conspiracy" that-then as now-cons well-meaning home cooks into buying weird leaves that taste and smell like "nothing."

While one of the bartenders at the legendary Connaught Bar in London mixes your martini tableside, you're invited to choose your bitters to complete the drink. Lavender, perhaps? Or would tonka, coriander, or cardamom please you? Oh, what about the house-developed Dr. Ago's? Whatever your choice, you feel special for having collaborated on your order. But in truth, the selection process is so carefully planned by the Connaught that they're still behind the wheel. It's customization and control in perfect balance.

One of the oldest recipes for a classic, pre-Prohibition whiskey sour calls for a simple mixture of sugar, lemon juice, and whiskey. While some renditions swap simple syrup in place of sugar or add an egg white to the recipe to give it a frothy body, another variation on this famous favorite, widely known today as the New York sour, includes a float of red wine.

When agriculture was able to meet demand, sugar prices crashed overnight. Companies that had bet big on expensive inventory suddenly found themselves drowning in debt. Pepsi declared bankruptcy. So did RC Cola's predecessor, Chero-Cola. Coca-Cola, however, managed to secure emergency financing from a bank by offering something no other company could: their closely-guarded secret formula as collateral. That gamble paid off big time.

This reimagining of the old fashioned, in which American whiskey meets Andalusian flair, is a well-earned indulgence for the depths of winter. Deep, dark and full of Spanish warmth, it's a cocktail that wraps you up like a velvet jacket with bourbon spice, sherry sweetness and a glint of orange zest. El toro Serves 1 50ml bourbon we use Wild Turkey 15ml Spanish brandy we use Gran Duque de Alba

The martini is actually such a degenerate drink. It's straight up alcohol; the only thing that makes it feel classy is the glassware and the temperature. It's boozehound behaviour dressed up in formal wear. If you were drinking lukewarm vodka out of a leftover soda bottle, we would say you had a drinking problem. But drink it ice-cold in a coupe glass and now you're at Soho House. Now you're patrician. Now you're God.

For the uninitiated, the viral Del Destino Golden Pineapple Spears that have the internet buzzing are massive, toothy rods of pure pineapple jarred in coconut water. They're crisp, refreshing, sun-ripened, and made in Peru - nearly 2 pounds of fruit for between $6.69 and $6.79, and a shelf-stable way to enjoy a taste of the tropics even as the winter rages on.

Hidden in a Philadelphia back alley, behind a clandestine door, lies a dark yet spirited cocktail lounge. Called the Ranstead Room, it's one of Philly's best-kept secrets. The speakeasy isn't easy to find, unless you happen to be behind El Rey Mexican restaurant on Ranstead Street. And even then, you'll have to locate a discreet black door with two R's emblazoned into it. But it's worth the quest, and it's one of my favorite lairs in the city.

There are several iconic cocktails-from the Bobby Burns to the Singapore Sling to the Vieux Carré-that call on Bénédictine . But despite the cocktail revival's best efforts, there are dozens more that have remained in obscurity. Shawn Lickliter, owner of the newly opened Vandell in LA's Los Feliz neighborhood, is perhaps the perfect practitioner to steward long-lost drinks made with the liqueur back into the spotlight.