Clover Club

A bright gin sour with an irresistible pink hue.

Improved Gin Cocktail

Genever and Cointreau: odd, but oh-so-compelling.

The Pimmlet

I'm a sucker for good, relatively dry gimlets made with fresh lime juice, gin, and a bit of sugar (I don't dig the Rose's!), so it seemed only natural to attempt a Pimm's-seasoned variation of one.

The Union Bar's Banga #1

This playful concoction from Arthur Wynne at The Union Bar in Vancouver is juicy and thirst-quenching. You'll need a lidded glass jar for each cocktail.

Intro to Aperol

Audrey Saunders of Pegu Club in New York created this fruity and bittersweet drink to introduce customers to the flavor of Aperol. The cocktail is citrusy and mildly herbal, with a subtle undercurrent of bitterness.

Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail has a few of the tropical essentials: first, it's based on rum; second, its flavor is fleshed out with fresh lime juice and the little-known syrup called falernum; and third, the name has both Caribbean and nautical overtones.

Turf Club Cocktail

The drink was suggested to me by Eric Alperin from The Varnish in Los Angeles--it has a suave potency of flavor and rightly demonstrates gin's appealing qualities. Not that a good gin needs any help in the lovability department.

Partly Cloudy

A riff on a Dark and Stormy; the resemblance comes in the pairing of ginger and rum (and, well, the name). At the Spotted Pig, bar manager Ryan Gannon makes his own falernum: a sweet syrup that uses allspice and ginger and clove and lime zest steeped in over-proof rum "until it gets nice and happy," when it's combined with simple syrup with almond extract; in the drink, it commingles with lime and grapefruit juice along with Mount Gay rum, Aperol, and ginger beer.

Bijou Cocktail

With equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and green Chartreuse, accompanied by a dash of orange bitters, the Bijou is bombastically herbaceous.

Cucumber Gimlet

Like a spiked spa drink, this cocktail is refreshing and delicate—just lightly herbal from the muddled rosemary and gin.