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.

The Rose

Rescued from a vintage bar menu by cocktail historian David Wondrich, the Rose enjoyed a brief flash of popularity at the Chatham Hotel in Paris in the 1920s. Good luck finding it since then, which is a shame; soft, floral, lightly sweet and with a titillating aroma from the cherry eau de vie, the Rose is an exercise in delicate decadence, a drink that, like the Widow's Kiss, can put the imbiber in a mindset from a completely different era.

Widow's Kiss

The Widow's Kiss is a powerfully flavored mixture of the distinctive French apple brandy, Calvados, plus ample measures of yellow Chartreuse and Benedictine —French herbal liqueurs with a long monastic heritage. Tinged with Angostura, the Widow's Kiss is rich, heady and potent; with a crackling fire in front of you and one of these inside you, February doesn't stand a chance.

Courting Two Sisters Cocktail

Vermouth stars in this cocktail that pays homage to The Court of Two Sisters Restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

DIY Sweet Vermouth

Sweet vermouth has a delicate balance of rich, spicy, sweet, and bitter flavors, and is an essential ingredient in dozens of classic cocktails.

French 75

The combination of gin, lemon juice, and Champagne brings out the best in each.

The Pompier

Enter the Pompier. Also known as the vermouth cassis, this tall glass of icy goodness offers a gentle, sophisticated alternative for those looking to idle away a steamy afternoon. Based on vermouth--so it's lower in alcoholic horsepower than many other seasonal refreshers--the Pompier increases its allure with the robust fruitiness of crème de cassis, a blackcurrant liqueur.

Orgeat Lemonade

This drink combines traditional bar staples into a tasty non-alcoholic drink that's both tasty and elegant.

Drink Without a Name

The Drink Without a Name uses vodka's neutral character to soften the blow of its two other vibrantly flavored ingredients: the dry, orange-flavored Cointreau and the bombastic, herbaceously complex green Chartreuse.

Cocktail à la Louisiane

First documented 70 years ago in Arthur's Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em, the Cocktail à la Louisiane has been largely ignored since then. It's worth the effort to search out the ingredients (or a talented bartender in a well-stocked establishment) and bring this drink into the 21st century.