The McQueen

McCarthy affectionately refers to this one as the "Smoky Smoky," although by my count, you could tack on a few more iterations—smoky smoky smoky? Scotch and Fidencio mezcal blend with dark agave and orange and chocolate bitters, with a spritz of hyper-smoky Ardbeg 10-year, plus a mighty twist of flamed grapefruit.

The Trident

The Negroni is a classic cocktail composed of equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari. The Trident takes the same formula, but swaps out each of the ingredients. In place of the herbaceous character of gin, the Trident uses the cumin-and-caraway flavors of aquavit ; sweet vermouth is replaced with the nuttiness of dry sherry; and for the bitter edge, Cynar takes the place of Campari.

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.

John McCarthy's Scotch Regency Punch

Cardamom meets lemon, Black Grouse, and soda for what's a essentially a scotch Tom Collins against a cardamom backdrop.

Twentieth Century

The Twentieth Century mixes gin with lemon, crème de cacao and the French aperitif wine, Lillet. While the list of ingredients can look discordant--I mean, gin, lemon and chocolate? Really?--the mixture is rich and elegant, much like the train it was named for.

Irish Cocktail

This classic drink is similar to the Improved Holland Gin Cocktail, but uses Irish whiskey instead of malty genever.

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 Claridge

But while the Slope keeps me coming back to the magical interaction between rye whiskey, apricot brandy, and bitter vermouth, the Claridge keeps the stone fruit's appeal alive when it's mixed with gin and dry vermouth.

Quill

This classic twist on a Negroni adds in some absinthe to bring great herbal and light anise flavor that lingers in the background.

Architects and Kings

Bartender Josh Relkin developed this recipe for Sable Kitchen & Bar in Chicago. It plays on the bitter side of coffee, adding herbal amaro and spicy bitters. Topped with whipped cream, it's a great way to wind down after dinner.