(Humble brag of all my Rubik’s cubes)
Hey all, so I’m an ex-mormon who made it through college without a sip of alcohol. I’ve been trying to play catch-up but my wife and I are scared of bars and all my friends’ recommendations have been <some_juice> with vodka.
I’ve been trying to learn how to drink for a couple years now. I’ve built up a medium collection of bottles (some of which I have no idea what to do with…). I feel like I’ve gone through most of the classic cocktails, but recently went back through my starting drinks because I think my pallet has opened up as I’ve gone along. Among the first cocktails I made myself were an old fashioned and a Manhattan and I know I didn’t like either, but I’m having a Manhattan right now and really enjoying it (planning on trying an old fashioned again sometime soon).
Anyway, I’ve frequently wished for an expert to chat with who could give me recommendations. So drop yours below!
Some of the drinks I love:
- Negroni - so far, if there were only one drink I could have the rest of my life, this would be it.
- Sazerac - A close second. I think I’d love some whiskey cocktail recommendations if you have them!
- Jungle Bird - couldn’t tell you why I love it
- French 75 - one of my favorites to show new drinkers, but a bit high-proof
- Hot Toddy - not my go-to, but winters are cold where I live and this drink is super fun
Honorable mentions:
- Whiskey sour - I usually make one alongside a prairie oyster, even though I hate those, so that I can use the whole egg
- Mai Tai - a bit sweet to be on my list of favorites
- I really like tequila but I haven’t tried many cocktails with it
I think anything less sweet, maybe bitter is gonna jive really well with me
Edit:
Very excited about the recommendations! It’ll update the list below over the weeks with what I like
Recommendation High-Scores:
- Tommy’s Margarita - yeah, wow this drink was made for me. Did it with half Mezcal, which I’d never tried until today, and it’s awesome. And my wife loves smokey drinks so it’s way up high on her list as well.
- Paper Plane - Super great, wife loves bourbon so she was a fan. I think I added too much lemon juice because it was a bit sour. Excited to try again.
- Gimlet - a bit basic but it’s a starting point I’m excited to riff off of. I used lime juice but How-to-drink has a video where he makes his own lime-cordial and I kinda want to try it. I guess it’s bitter and fruity and that sounds like something I’d love. I’ve seen a bunch of modified recipes too so I’ll be looking around for ones that speak to me.
- Black Manhattan - It’s just nice. A slow sipper. Intense and boozy, bitter, long evolution - and I’m sure fun to switch out the whiskey in. I used a rye and I immediately want to try my bourbon, but I have a lot of suggestions to try so it’ll have to wait…
- Teresa - super similar to the Negroni - so I really like it. Maybe it’s so similar though that I don’t know that I need it… Definitely will be drinking them 'til I run out of Creme de Casis though.
- Old Fashioned - liked it more than the first time I had one, I think I’d prefer it more diluted. Towards the end once more ice had melted I was really enjoying it. I think next time I’ll stir it in ice and then add it to my bitters-saturated sugar (might use simple next time, or maple/agave as some have recommended).
- Monkey Gland - Really cool. Like dressed up orange juice in a way. The Absinthe doesn’t over-power and instead shines (or lengthens?). Unfortunately, I hate the name and hate the history of the drink (it is interesting though, so look it up!) so I doubt I’ll be making again. I know the name shouldn’t matter, but since it already isn’t a favorite I don’t think I’ll be adding it to my home-bar menu.
One of my favorites: A jack rose.
1.5 oz applejack .75 oz lemon or lime juice (I like a 50/50 mix) .5 oz grenadine (real pomegranate syrup if you can find or make it)
Shake, double strain, serve up, garnish with lemon twist.
Looks similar to the “Irish Rose” which I like a lot.
- 60ml blended scotch
- 15ml lemon or lime juice
- 10ml simple syrup
- 7.5ml grenadine
- 15ml soda water
Add everything except the soda water, shake+double strain, add the soda water.
And my wife loves smokey drinks so it’s way up high on her list as well.
Adding a small update based on this: Maybe she’ll like a Homely Smoke.
I’d bet she would. Adding it to my to-try list, thanks!
Water on the rocks. Nothing quite as refreshing.
Alcohol destroys my sleep so I usually only drink Friday and Saturdays, but the fun of making drinks has made me want to get really good at mocktails. Sometimes I make a good one, but it’s kinda hard to not just end up with super sweet juice…
But I always drink my water without ice. No judgement on ice people, but to me water is for hydration and ice just slows you down. /s
Ice is extra water. Checkmate.
Look at the pinned non-alcoholic thread. I love homemade fermented ginger beer and tepache, they are not 0% but about like kombucha, not intoxicating.
And grapefruit juice can make things taste complex, I sometimes put plain grapefruit juice in a coupe and drink it, or grapefruit juice with just a spoonful of mezcal (I agree with the guys above who said a Paloma with mezcal is really good, I would add it’s even better with a sprig of rosemary if you are using the mezcal.)
We made tepache last summer and it was fantastic. Highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t tried it. I wanted to try bottling it but got too scared from all the explosion stories online.
My brother in law makes mead and he’s had a couple explosions. And once he gifted us a bottle that we didn’t drink for a while and when we opened it it rocketed everywhere. Only had about an inch left in the bottle afterword haha.
I definitely recommend a second try at an Old Fashioned, our tastes seem to have quite a bit of overlap and it’s by far the drink I make the most - just start with the the IBA recipe since most you find around the web add way too much sugar. Also, you may want to test different types of whisky, I prefer mine with Scotch instead of Bourbon, and I also suggest adding a couple drops of Orange Bitters if you have them.
Since you mentioned Sazerac I imagine you already have some Absinthe, so maybe try a Monkey Gland? It’s by far my favorite Gin drink, the balance between sweet (from the Grenadine) and sour/herbal (from the Absinthe) is fantastic.
A friend of mine who is a huge fan of Negroni also loves the Teresa. It’s an interesting one to taste since it feels very sweet at first due to the Cassis… but then the Campari hits and overpowers that with its sour flavor.
I really liked my Old Fashioned last night, I mentioned in the high-scores edit to my original post that next time I’ll try diluting more and I probably won’t use sugar cubes moving forward (simple syrup instead).
The Monkey Gland was good too! But see above for why I probably won’t make it again 😜 The history just makes my nethers tingle in a bad way.
The Teresa was a great suggestion for me! Crazy how close it is to a Negroni even though it kinda comes from a different direction
I’ll try diluting more
The recipe mentions “a few dashes” of water but I usually go higher using ~10ml for mine, maybe try something like this?
I probably won’t use sugar cubes moving forward (simple syrup instead).
Yeah, making the angostura-saturated sugar is a fun thing to do a couple times, but syrup is way faster and more practical. I use ~5ml when making mine.
The Teresa was a great suggestion for me! Crazy how close it is to a Negroni even though it kinda comes from a different direction
This is a problem I feel with Campari drinks - its flavor is very overpowering so at least for my tastes most drinks using it end up a bit similar.
Speaking of which, I remembered another one of these - the Americano is a “lighter” Negroni with less booze. I recommend adding way more than “a few dashes” of Soda Water though, I tend to go with 30ml or each ingredient in mine, pretty much like a traditional Negroni.
Try a Twice Up if you haven’t. 1 part whisky, 1 part still water, ice optional. Works great with most aged spirits IME.
I don’t usually like bitter drinks, but I love Fernet and there’s a ton of great stuff you can do with it. The Toronto cocktail is pretty obvious, but it also mixes great with coffee liqueur and even coffee, which has the benefit of giving you control over how sweet the drink is. It also makes an interesting variant of a Black Manhattan.
Oooh, haven’t heard it called the Twice Up, but here in Montana the Whiskey Ditch is popular which is just whiskey and water. In winter we use snow and I definitely like snow/cold water with mine. I guess people here used to use actual ditch water which I kind of love and will never try
Is snow safe to consume?
Probably depends on local air quality and how recently the snow fell. But I and everyone I know eats snow so I hope so…
Don’t be afraid to add ice or water to any cocktail whatever the recipe states, it can soften and open up the flavour, it’s not against any rules.
My standard cocktail at home is a Tommy’s Margarita, sometimes with some added mezcal. Great if you like sours, like whiskey sour.
My proportions: (1,2,4) 1.5cl agave syrup 3cl fresh lime juice 6cl tequila (I prefer tequila reposado)
Shake well with ice. Serve with or without ice.
Don’t buy shitty tequila but it doesn’t have to be fancy. Should always be 100% agave, from Mexico, and never wear a hat.
And like I said, sometimes I do half and half with tequila and mezcal, so 3cl each. Mezcal is basically tequila, but the agave has been smoked under ground, which adds some nice smoky bites.
My friend, I loved this cocktail and will be enjoying them the rest of my life. Hadn’t had mezcal until today and I really liked it. Wife is a big fan too. Thanks!!
Glad you liked it!
Once you’re ready to experiment with it, you can try adding a piece of cucumber in the shaker. Adds some freshness to it which is nice on a warm day.
Can also try it with pieces of jalapeño in the shaker, without seeds. Ands a similar vegetal flavor but obviously a little spicy too.
I’ve probably only done this without the mezcal, but that could work too.
Edit:
If your into mezcal and if you like an Old Fashioned you can swap out the bourbon for mezcal. Not my favorite but can be fun to try.
