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I first encountered the Negroni during my junior year of college when I was studying abroad in Italy. I was in Siena for a long weekend away from my program in Rome, and while my friends and I sat on the ground of the clam-shell shaped Piazza del Campo in the center of town enjoying …

Read More about The Negroni, a bright and bitter classic cocktail

Anyone who regularly orders a Martini rarely just orders a Martini. They have the specs for the drink they want in their head, and they tell the bartender how they like it. Whether it’s a Vodka Martini, straight-up, stirred, with three olives or a Gin Martini, very dry with a lemon twist, it’s a drink …

Read More about The Dry Martini, the most enduring classic cocktail

The Rusty Nail is an old man drink, but it’s a much younger one than, say an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan. The latter cocktails are pre-Prohibition classics that were already popular in the 19th century, but one of the two essential components of the Rusty Nail—Drambuie—wasn’t even available commercially until 1909. And the combination …

Read More about Rusty Nail, a Scotch + Drambuie suburban sipper

The Vieux Carré is what it would look like if the Manhattan had an eccentric, worldly, New Orleanian great aunt. It’s rich and spirit forward with a split base of rye and cognac. Like the Manhattan it also gets rounded out with sweet vermouth. But unlike her straight-laced nephew, the Vieux Carré has an unruly …

Read More about Vieux Carré, a rich + spirit-forward classic

It’s been too long since I’ve shared a cocktail recipe around here. This one, with Cynar (pronounced chee-nar), Cognac, and Punt e Mes, is a keeper. In recent months, Dan and I have been spending lots of time with the herbaceous, bitter, primarily-Italian amaro section of our liquor cabinet. (And if you’re interested in learning …

Read More about The Popinjay, a cocktail with Cynar, Cognac, and Punt e Mes