Classic cocktail recipes and their histories
25 cards · food-drink
Sign up to start studying this deck
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Old Fashioned | 2 oz bourbon or rye, 1 sugar cube, 2 dashes Angostura, orange peel One of the oldest cocktails (1800s); originally called the whiskey cocktail. |
| Manhattan | 2 oz rye, 1 oz sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Angostura, cherry Originated in 1870s New York; often linked to the Manhattan Club. |
| Whiskey Sour | 2 oz bourbon, 0.75 oz lemon, 0.75 oz simple, egg white optional Recorded in 1862 by Jerry Thomas; the egg white “Boston Sour” came later. |
| Sazerac | 2 oz rye, 1 sugar, 3 dashes Peychaud's, absinthe rinse, lemon peel New Orleans classic from the 1800s; iconic for Peychaud’s and absinthe. |
| Sidecar | 2 oz cognac, 1 oz Cointreau, 0.75 oz lemon, sugar rim WWI-era cocktail from Paris or London; named for a motorcycle sidecar. |
| Martini | 2.5 oz gin, 0.5 oz dry vermouth, lemon twist or olive Born in the late 1800s; the dry style rose to fame in the 20th century. |
| Negroni | 1 oz gin, 1 oz Campari, 1 oz sweet vermouth, orange peel Created in Florence circa 1919 for Count Camillo Negroni. |
| Gimlet | 2 oz gin, 0.75 oz lime, 0.75 oz simple Naval roots with lime cordial; crisp and spirit-forward. |
| Tom Collins | 2 oz gin, 1 oz lemon, 0.75 oz simple, soda Appeared in the 1870s; tied to the “Tom Collins hoax” of 1874. |
| Aviation | 2 oz gin, 0.75 oz lemon, 0.5 oz maraschino, 0.25 oz violette Published in 1916 by Hugo Ensslin; violette was long omitted in the U.S. |
| French 75 | 1 oz gin, 0.5 oz lemon, 0.5 oz simple, Champagne top WWI-era; named after the powerful French 75mm field gun. |
| Bellini | 2 oz white peach purée, 4 oz Prosecco Created at Harry’s Bar in Venice in the 1940s by Giuseppe Cipriani. |
| Last Word | 0.75 oz gin, 0.75 oz green Chartreuse, 0.75 oz maraschino, 0.75 oz lime Born at Detroit Athletic Club (c. 1916); revived in the early 2000s. |
| Corpse Reviver No. 2 | 0.75 oz each gin, Cointreau, Lillet Blanc, lemon; absinthe rinse From the 1930 Savoy book; a famed “hair of the dog” pick-me-up. |
| Vesper | 3 oz gin, 1 oz vodka, 0.5 oz Lillet Blanc, lemon peel Created by Ian Fleming for James Bond in Casino Royale (1953). |
| Daiquiri | 2 oz white rum, 1 oz lime, 0.75 oz simple Cuban classic from the early 1900s; simplicity spotlights good rum. |
| Mojito | 2 oz white rum, 0.75 oz lime, 0.5 oz simple, mint, soda Cuban highball with mint; modern form popularized in Havana bars. |
| Mai Tai | 2 oz aged rum, 0.75 oz lime, 0.5 oz curaçao, 0.25 oz orgeat, 0.25 oz simple Trader Vic, Oakland 1944; crafted to showcase quality rum—not fruit juice. |
| Margarita | 2 oz tequila, 1 oz Cointreau, 1 oz lime, salt rim Daisy-style tequila sour from 1930s–40s Mexico; salt rim is classic. |
| Pisco Sour | 2 oz pisco, 1 oz lime, 0.75 oz simple, 1 egg white, bitters Early 1900s Peru; celebrated as a national drink with its own holiday. |
| Cosmopolitan | 1.5 oz vodka, 1 oz Cointreau, 0.5 oz lime, 0.5 oz cranberry 1980s creation; pop-culture fame surged via late-1990s TV. |
| Espresso Martini | 1.5 oz vodka, 1 oz espresso, 0.5 oz coffee liqueur, 0.25 oz simple Dick Bradsell, London 1983; a caffeinated, silky, modern classic. |
| Bloody Mary | 2 oz vodka, 4 oz tomato juice, 0.5 oz lemon, Worcestershire, hot sauce Likely 1920s at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris; name origin debated. |
| Americano | 1 oz Campari, 1 oz sweet vermouth, soda Precursor to the Negroni; served since the 1860s in Milan. |
| Caipirinha | 2 oz cachaça, 1/2 lime muddled, 2 tsp sugar Brazil’s national cocktail; rustic, bright, and sugarcane-forward. |