Gin

This is mixologist David Alan’s grownup version of that old college party favorite Long Island Iced Tea. By using premium spirits in small amounts, David creates a balanced drink that isn’t too sweet or too strong, a far cry from the frat boy rendition, where one drink could put you out for the night. David omits the standard sweet-and-sour mix and tops the cocktail with the traditional splash of cola. Incidentally, despite its name, the drink doesn’t contain tea, but when all the ingredients are mixed together it sure looks like it.

Friend and champion mixologist David Alan created two cocktails for our big-city cocktail party, both named for landmarks in Houston, the state’s most populous city. Skyline takes its name from downtown Houston’s Skyline District, famous as the third tallest skyline in the United States. Hermann Park, created in 1914, is a 445-acre urban playground that encompasses an outdoor theater, municipal golf course, Japanese garden, miniature train, and the Houston Zoo.

While most of my friends are foodies, David Alan’s central focus is liquid refreshment. A coffee distributor by trade, he devotes most of his free time to the art of the cocktail. He writes a witty, drink-packed blog called Tipsy Texan. I asked him to create a couple of drinks for my backyard garden party. Both are beautiful to look at and delicious enough to be dangerous. The drinks are tastiest made one at a time and enjoyed immediately. If you are throwing a party with a spouse or partner, suggest they help by manning (or woman-ing) your “bar”—any small to medium table will do—for the first 30 to 45 minutes of the party. The bar action provides a focal point for incoming guests, and it’s a great icebreaker. Have all the ingredients and drink-mixing paraphernalia assembled in advance and set them out on your bar just before guests arrive. A large ice bucket, or even two, filled with crushed ice is a must.

Salting is a way. It’s the path you take. It lets you discover a passage through the brambles, defines the terrain ahead, sets you on a lost trail, and, toward the summit, reveals key ledges and handholds. The better your use of salt, the higher you can climb and the more enjoyable the ascent. And the view from up top is worth it. The Meadow Martini is a diamond-perfect expression of salt’s power to offer the clearest imaginable view of the most magical possible vista. Crushed Tasmanian pepperberries send blossoms of hydrangea crimson into the translucent liquid of the gin, unleashing extravagant botanical flavors. Tasmanian pepperberry (Tasmannia lanceolata) is sometimes used as a substitute for Szechuan pepper, though it harbors none of the heat and frankly bears no resemblance. If you can’t locate any, substitute a few petals of dried hibiscus or just enjoy your martini in its classic perfection, an arc of Shinkai Deep Sea salt as its only embellishment. Shinkai imparts to the lips the felicitous texture of confetti, and the unalloyed flavor of happiness itself.

One day while cooking some blueberries, it occurred to me that the sharp taste of a sizable shot of gin would nicely complement the berries, so I reached for the bottle and poured some in. Gin’s herbaceous flavor does indeed marry nicely with blueberries—it can hardly be tasted once cooked, but somehow it just rounds out the blueberry notes. Now, whenever I cook with blueberries, a bit of gin finds its way into the mix.

My friend Christopher Day is skilled in the art of mixing a proper drink, so I asked him one inebriated evening if he wouldn’t mind making me a cocktail using Sriracha. In what seemed like mere seconds, a beautiful crimson creation appeared in my hand; it was not only delicious, but also packed quite a punch. We chose the seemingly innocuous name La Caridad in homage to a very dear mutual friend who—like the drink—reels you in with a snazzy, sophisticated appearance and blends it with a touch of intriguing spice that keeps bringing you back for more.

Traditionally, Long Island Iced Tea is made with clear liquors and a splash of cola to give it an iced tea color. Instead, my version depends on a fabulous vodka that my friend Virginia from Alabama gave me: sweet-tea-infused vodka from a small distillery called Firefly.

This drink is a twist on the dirty martini using black olives instead of green. James Bond mastered the mystique of the martini—it is the ultimate sexy drink. The icy vodka, the dryness of the vermouth, and the salty olives make the ultimate ménage à trois.

The recipe for this cocktail-hour snack was inspired by one from contributing editors Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer.

We found this recipe in Jerry Thomas's 1862 How to Mix Drinks or the Bon Vivant's Companion, in a recipe for a single serving. It called for Holland gin—or genever, as we know it today—and was probably a very popular drink. The back story is that when planning our first End of Prohibition party we were searching for punch recipes that could be served in teacups. So we started going through books and shot a few ideas back and forth until we found papa Jerry's recipe. We replaced the genever with Plymouth gin, and with a few more tweaks we got it perfect. The decorative ice block adds a great visual effect.

Family: Punches—A very similar recipe for this punch was detailed in 1958 by David Embury, and following his instructions I use [simple syrup—without it, it's far too dry.](<epi:recipeLink id=)

Herbaceous, nutty, and bright, this rendition of the Prohibition-era classic doubles the gin for a more robust cocktail.

Our
Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail video gives you step-by-step instructions for mixing this classic drink

An excellent cocktail all fall and winter long.

We love the way the gin in this old-school sparkling cocktail pairs with the juniper berry-laced arctic char in our new-school citrus gravlax.

"Here's a summer cocktail that isn't too herbaceous or vegetably," Kinch says. "Aloe juice goes well with cucumbers, and Hendrick's Gin adds nice rose and cucumber notes."

Damon Boelte was aiming for something simple and accessible when he concocted this extremely refreshing, very British cooler. "Like a traditional Pimm's Cup, this recipe works well with other spirits, including bourbon, rum, and tequila," he says. "You have my permission to experiment." St-Germain liqueur, made from Alpine elderflowers, brings a floral note.