The banquette
On this page a flight is three drinks from the Recipe Book that share a spirit, a method or a flavor. The line under each flight says what they share.
Three stirred whiskey drinks, each tagged sweet, boozy, spirit-forward, warming and aromatic.
Bourbon, Campari and sweet vermouth: the Negroni's Paris cousin
A stirred bitter-sweet whiskey cocktail from 1920s Paris: bourbon, Campari and sweet vermouth, served over a large cube or up with an orange twist.
Rye and sweet vermouth, stirred to a dark gloss
The classic New York whiskey cocktail: rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters, stirred with ice and served up with a brandied cherry.
Rye, sugar, Peychaud's and an absinthe-rinsed glass: New Orleans in one pour
The official cocktail of New Orleans: rye whiskey, a sugar cube, Peychaud's bitters, stirred and served neat in a chilled glass rinsed with absinthe, with a lemon peel expressed over the top.
Three shaken drinks on rum, tequila and pisco, each tagged sour, refreshing, citrus and tart.
Rum, lime and sugar, shaken until the tin frosts
The Cuban rum sour: white rum, fresh lime juice and simple syrup, shaken hard and served straight up in a chilled coupe.
Tequila, lime and orange liqueur, with salt on half the rim
The classic tequila sour: blanco tequila, fresh lime juice and Cointreau with a touch of agave, shaken and served with salt on half the rim.
Lima's grape-brandy sour under a cap of foam and bitters
Peru's national cocktail: pisco, fresh lime, simple syrup and egg white, shaken without ice and then with it, strained up and finished with drops of aromatic bitters on the foam.
Three built drinks, each tagged refreshing, citrus and effervescent.
The Veneto's orange aperitivo, poured three, two, one
Italy's aperitivo-hour spritz: prosecco, Aperol and soda water built over ice in a wine glass with an orange slice, in the 3-2-1 proportion.
Whisky and soda, built with care over clear ice
Japanese whisky and chilled soda water built over large clear ice in a frosted highball glass, at roughly one part whisky to three or four parts soda, with an optional lemon peel.
Mexican lager, lime, salt and savory sauces over ice
Mexican lager served over ice with fresh lime juice, Worcestershire-style sauce, hot sauce and a chili-salt rim, with optional Clamato for the clamachela style.
Three muddled drinks, each tagged sweet, sour and citrus.
Brazil's lime and cane spirit short drink, built in the glass
Brazil's national cocktail: cachaca, fresh lime wedges and sugar muddled together and built over ice in a rocks glass.
Havana's mint and lime highball, pressed not pulverized
Cuba's mint and lime highball: white rum, fresh lime, sugar or syrup and gently pressed mint, built over ice and topped with soda water.
Madeira's cane spirit, honey and lemon, beaten with a wooden stick
Madeira's traditional drink of aguardente de cana (the island's cane spirit), honey and fresh lemon juice, beaten together with a wooden stick and served cold.
Three gin drinks, each tagged citrus and botanical.
Gin, lemon and champagne, named for a field gun
A sparkling gin sour from the 1920s: gin, fresh lemon juice and sugar shaken, then topped with chilled champagne. A cognac version is also traditional.
Gin, dry vermouth and the long argument about how much
The dry gin Martini: London dry gin and dry vermouth stirred with ice, finished with optional orange bitters and served straight up with a lemon twist or olive.
Equal parts, Florence, and a count who wanted more
Italy's bittersweet aperitivo classic: equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, stirred and served over ice with an orange slice or peel.
Three whiskey drinks made hot, built and shaken, each tagged sweet and caramel.
Hot whiskey coffee under a cold cream float, from the Shannon estuary
A hot drink of Irish whiskey, strong filter coffee and demerara sugar, finished with lightly whipped cream floated over the back of a spoon.
Whiskey, sugar, bitters and the patience to stir
The original whiskey cocktail: bourbon or rye stirred in the glass with a dissolved sugar cube and Angostura bitters, served over a large ice cube with an expressed orange peel.
Bourbon, lemon and sugar: the American sour at its plainest and best
A shaken bourbon sour: bourbon, fresh lemon juice and simple syrup, with optional egg white dry-shaken for a silky foam. Served over ice or up.
My guide to flavor pairing lists the natural companions of each base spirit. These are the base spirits from that list that the Recipe Book uses, each with its companions and the drinks that use it.
If you taste several drinks in a row, pour 0.5 oz (15 ml) per sample, spit or sip, drink water between rounds and stop at five samples, as the guide advises.
Each recipe page has the measures and the method, and the whole list is in the Recipe Book.