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.

Agavoni

Developed by German bartender and drinks writer Bastian Heuser, the Agavoni replaces the Negroni's gin with the bright spark of a silver tequila. Accenting the Campari's citrus notes with a couple of dashes of orange bitters, the Agavoni breathes new life into the venerable classic. To me, it simply tastes like spring. Even if you have to turn up the heat and put on a sweater to ward off the arctic chill while retrieving the ingredients from the liquor cabinet, mix an Agavoni this weekend and re...

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.

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.

The Two-One-Two

Created by New York bartender and consultant Willy Shine, the Two-One-Two is brilliantly simple, yet has an engagingly complex flavor. Composed of a base of reposado tequila—Partida, one of the better brands to emerge in recent years, is recommended here—the Two-One-Two includes a couple of the agave spirit's most agreeable companions: fresh grapefruit juice, and the Italian amaro Aperol, a bright, bitter liqueur rich with orange peel and rhubarb.

Chrysanthemum

This classic drink, published in Hugo Ensslin's 1916 book, Recipes for Mixed Drinks has no gin or whiskey. Instead, dry vermouth is the main ingredient.

Bamboo

I love well-made vermouth, and this is a good drink to showcase its potential. The Bamboo dates to at least the early 20th century, and unlike most cocktails you come across, it has a more modest payload, being based on equal parts dry vermouth and dry sherry (I like the bone-dry crispness of manzanilla in mine, though you could explore the range of dry sherries with this drink; an oloroso or amontillado could have interesting results).

The Supreme

The Supreme is a cocktail that shows off the spirit's abilities: crisp with citrus and with the ethereal nuttiness of orgeat, a French almond syrup usually laced with orange flower water. The Supreme promotes the rich and fruity flavor of apple brandy to a well-deserved starring role.

Date Martinez

A rich, layered twist on a classic cocktail.

Tuxedo

Did I mention this drink is dry? Good lord, it's nothing less than arid—your typical dry martini is positively flamboyant next to a cocktail as reserved as the Tuxedo. But don't take this dryness as a sign that it's boring; rather, the sherry brings a touch of its distinctive nuttiness to the drink, which puts a new spring in the gin's step and makes this relative of the classic martini a worthwhile variation.