Tired of “your drink” and looking to make happy hour exciting again? Welcome to take 2 in our series on classic cocktails with a twist (you can check out part one here). You were missed.
If You Love a French 75… Try a Hemingway in Paris
A French 75 has just four ingredients — gin or cognac, lemon juice, simply syrup, and sparking wine — but a Hemingway in Paris (courtesy of the bright minds at Behind the Bar) is about as straightforward as one of the legendary author’s weighty tomes. You’ve got white rum, Cointreau, Luxardo cherry liqueur (please don’t use the radioactive grocery store stuff instead), grapefruit juice, lime juice, simple syrup, and sparkling wine. Few! But somehow, once it’s all in a champagne flute, it works.
If You Love a Tom Collins… Meet His Brother Phil
You may remember Tom from your parents’ bridge nights. He comes rolls in looking tall and frosty, with a bucket of gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and club soda to keep the cards company. He’s a classic, but it takes more than this oldie to rock the Sussudio. Against All Odds, some crafty bartender has come up with a tasty variation that tastes like Another Day in Paradise. All it takes is some cucumber vodka, yellow Chartreuse, fresh lime juice, simple syrup, cranberry bitters, and soda water and you’ll be ready for One More Night with Your Easy Lover. We can Feel it in the Air Tonight….. get it?
If You Love a Daiquiri… Try an Airmail
If you’re like most people, your experience with a daiquiri has been unpleasant to say the least. That’s probably because you’ve only encountered the sticky-sweet frozen nonsense that has nothing to do with the lightly sugared, lime-laced rum drink birther in Cuba. If that’s the case, just trying the original may be a revelation, but the Airmail makes things even funkier with aged rum, honey syrup, bitters, and an ounce of dry sparkling wine. We suggest whipping up both, just for the sake of science.
If You Love a Negroni… Try a Bermuda Hundred
Negronis are so swanky, just ordering one makes you feel like you’re in a noir film or on your way to meet a paramour in Florence. The swishy mix of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth is nothing short of luscious, so any variation needs to honor that same profile. The Bermuda Hundred fits the bill, but livens things up with hint of the tropics thanks to pineapple juice and the almondy/orangewatery orgeat.