Cocktail

Manhattanesque in both composition and deliciousness, this whiskey and sherry welcomes swapping in bourbon if you prefer your drink a little sweeter.

Many unconfirmed reports of this cocktail’s creation exist. Some believe it came from Chicago’s South Side during Prohibition; others think that it comes from the Southside Sportsmen’s Club on Long Island. Manhattan’s 21 Club also claims it as its own creation. There, they serve it long in a Collins glass over ice with a mint spring for garnish.

This simple two-ingredient cocktail is the ideal brunch or before-dinner drink. Campari gives it a delicate bitterness, while fresh orange juice creates a beautiful froth.

Strawberries shine in this tall, refreshing, gingery cocktail, made with bourbon, fresh lemon, muddled berries, and spicy ginger beer.

This cocktail is a refreshing, slightly bitter spin on the Pimm’s Cup, thanks to the addition of Cynar, a vegetal Italian liqueur.

I created this sparkling cocktail for the menu at Keith McNally’s Morandi Italian restaurant.

This luscious drink gives hot chocolate a run for its money. Really caramelizing the sugar keeps the drink from tasting cloyingly sweet. Add a glug of good rum or skip it as desired.

This winter cocktail is bright and fizzy, spicy with ginger, and smoky with Scotch. Think of it as a Penicillin, gone extra-festive.

No new drink of the twenty-first century has gone further in terms of fame than this complex, spicy, smoky turn on a Whiskey Sour. 

This easy-to-make cocktail was one of the earlier drinks I created for the bar menu at our Brentwood restaurant, Tavern. It is made with a honey syrup infused with fresh ginger and chiles de árbol, so you get those flavors and that heat in the cocktail. I added grapefruit to make it tangy.

Warm up with this concoction of bourbon, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. It’s not a Southern classic, but it certainly drinks like one.

In this cocktail, Riesling (Marrero favors dry Rieslings from the Finger Lakes or Alsace) adds brightness to a mix of fresh apple cider and bourbon. Blending dried figs with honey syrup gives you a sweetener that’s full of earthy, nutty notes, and a small amount of floral liqueur gives the tart, refreshing drink a subtle luscious quality.