The Arnaud's Special

With the advance of autumn, it's time to break out the dark-spirit drinks suitable to the cooler seasons. The Arnaud's Special is a close cousin to the Rob Roy, and was the house cocktail for Arnaud's Restaurant in New Orleans during the 1940s and '50s.

Manhattan Cocktail

The stiff, smooth union of whiskey and vermouth is a classic of the cocktail canon.

Modern Cocktail No. 2

The Modern Cocktail No. 2 shows how wonderfully blended scotch can work in a cocktail. As written in the Savoy Cocktail Book from 1930, the Modern #2 matches the smooth richness of blended scotch with the sharp tang of sloe gin, with dashes of absinthe, grenadine and bitters lending additional complexity.

The Chancellor Cocktail

The Chancellor is a close relative of another scotch cocktail, the Rob Roy, with a couple of interesting twists. In place of the Rob Roy's bittersweet tang from Italian vermouth, the Chancellor relies on the robust richness of port, its gentle sweetness tempered by a little dry vermouth.

Boulevardier

Essentially a Negroni with whiskey swapped in for gin, this classic is a beautiful cocktail in its own right.

Old Pal

A cousin to the Boulevardier, balancing whiskey and Campari with dry vermouth.

Blood and Sand

Scotch, orange, and sweet vermouth: An unlikely-sounding trio that come together flawlessly.

Vermouth Cocktail

The Vermouth Cocktail illustrates the flavorful beauty of good vermouth, with just a little adornment. If you're prone to dismiss this drink out of hand because it's based on vermouth, then you're denying yourself the opportunity to see what the original fuss from the nineteenth century was all about.

Man About Town

This cocktail from Gramercy Tavern in NYC is a take on a Boulevardier (which is like a Negroni, but with bourbon instead of gin). Here, however, spicy rye is the star, complemented by the bittersweet Sicilian amaro, Cynar.

The Jacobean

McCarthy's take on a Manhattan makes use of green chartreuse; "The Jacobeans always sided with the French, so my chartreuse drink is named for them." AnCnoc is stirred with Carpano Antica ("the more savory of the sweet vermouths"), a half-ounce of green chartreuse, and a good measure of ice.