Gin Gimlet

This gin gimlet, a refreshing cocktail with the perfect balance of slightly sweet lime juice and the juniper and herbal flavors of gin, is a wonderful classic drink. 

This is a strong cocktail with the tart lime balanced with the botanicals of the gin. It's very gin forward. 

Gin and Celery Tonic

This Gin and Celery Tonic is as about refreshing as cocktail can be. The green color is so appealing and it makes you feel like consuming a cocktail is almost healthy.

 

This celery tonic lends itself perfectly to the herbal notes of gin. I'd suggest a botanical gin such as Hendrick's or St. George's, but any herbal or London dry gin will do. If you like gin, this cocktail will make you very happy. And if you think you don't care for gin, maybe you should give it another chance!

The Dirty Martini

The Dirty Martini is a controversial member of the martini family. For some, it is actually desecration of the purity of the gin martini. 

Some folks like their martinis with a twist of lemon. Some folks like their martinis with olives. Then there's the Gibson martini, which is garnished with pickled onions. I usually order mine with olives. 

The Jasmine Martini

The Jasmine Martini is a beautiful deep pink color, but don't mistake it for a girlie cocktail. 

The Jasmine Martini gets its pretty hue from Campari, which is a liqueur with a complex and bitter flavor. I love Campari in cocktails, but for some, it can be an acquired taste.

The Spring Fling Cocktail

This Spring Fling is a lovely and refreshing gin cocktail. 

I'm a huge fan of The Kitchen on Food Network, and it's a part of my Sunday morning routine. First, CBS Sunday Morning (brain food, and one of the best secrets on television), and then The Kitchen.

Corpse Reviver #2 Cocktail

Prior to the Prohibition era, the Corpse Reviver #2 Cocktail was originally meant to cure hangovers. Thus, the name "Corpse Reviver."

I first found a recipe for this cocktail in my 1948 edition of The Standard Bartender's Guide by Patrick Gavin Duffy (interestingly, the book does not contain a recipe for #1).

The least prominent, but the most interesting ingredient in this cocktail is absinthe. It has quite a history and ritual for consumption, and was often thought of as a hallucinogenic and associated with addiction. You can read more about absinthe here. It's pretty fascinating. It is a botanical liqueur with a very high alcohol content. It is traditionally prepared by holding a slotted absinthe spoon and a sugar cube over the absinthe and slowly pouring iced water over the sugar until it dissolves.

Stork Club Cocktail

I made this Stork Club Cocktail to celebrate the opening of the final season of Mad Men, which begins April 5. I've been watching the show since the beginning, and have so enjoyed the historical stories in the background.

The setting is a Madison Avenue advertising agency. The series begins in 1960, and ends in 1969. Many of us "of a certain age" know what pivotal years those were.

For those of you who haven't indulged in watching the show, the themes include drinking at work, alcoholism, smoking, adultery, sexism, and racism. Fun, right? It's actually a pretty amazing period piece.

If you haven't watched the show yet, I highly recommend binge watching it this week in preparation for the final half of the final season.

The Stork Club was described by Walter Winchell as New York's "New Yorkiest" place. Don Draper, the show's main character, visited the Stork Club in Season 2, Episode 7, with his former model wife Betty to celebrate a client's new television show. The relationships in the episode are, as they say, "complicated."

This cocktail was supposedly enjoyed by New York City's rich and famous.

To honor the period, I also made the daiquiri featured in Season 3, Episode 3. Evidently it was President Kennedy's favorite cocktail, and became all the rage. It consists of 1 1/2 ounces of white rum and 2 tsps of limeade concentrate.

The stack of coasters on the right are my mom's crystal horoscope coasters. How 60s is that?

Stork Club Cocktail

Ingredients

Dash of lime juice

Juice of half of an orange 

Dash of triple sec

1 1/2 ounces of gin

Dash of Angostura bitters

Instructions

1. Add all of the ingredients to an ice filled shaker.
2. Shake, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

This cocktail is from The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook.

The book is filled with retro recipes, including cocktails, appetizers, salads, main courses, and desserts. Besides the great retro cocktails, some of my favorites include deviled eggs, rumaki, the wedge salad, and beef Wellington.

Check out the Mad Men Finale Party for more ideas!

Pamplemousse Ginger Martini

This pamplemousse martini so refreshing! 

"What the heck is pamplemousse?" you ask. It's French for grapefruit! 

There is actually a Crème de Pamplemousse liqueur, and as you can tell by the bottle on the right, I've taste tested it... a few times. It's quite wonderful. It's not as strong or syrupy as limoncello, and has an aromatic and citrusy flavor. It definitely tastes like grapefruit. 

This martini combines the flavors of herbal gin, ginger, grapefruit, and lime. Seriously tasty. 

Pamplemousse Ginger Martini

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces gin

1/2 ounce ginger liqueur

1 ounce pamplemousse rose liqueur

1/2 ounce lime juice

lime wedge

Instructions

1. Add the gin, ginger, pamplemousse, and lime juice to an ice filled cocktail shaker.
2. Shake for about 30 to 60 seconds, and strain into a chilled martini glass.
3. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Enjoy!

Bittersweet Martini

The basis for this Bittersweet Martini is Aperol, a low alcohol Italian digestif made from bitter oranges, sweet oranges, rhubarb, and other root vegetables. It is somewhat like Campari, but with half the alcohol, and a much milder flavor.

It is best know as an ingredient in "The Spritz," an Italian cocktail with Aperol or some other bitter liqueur, procecco, and soda on the rocks.

This cocktail is so refreshing, with just enough bitterness to give it an "adult" flavor, but just enough sweetness to make it easy to sip on a warm evening.

Bittersweet Martini

Adapted from A Cocktail Life, makes one cocktail.

Ingredients

2 ounces gin

1/2 ounce Aperol

1/2 ounce tangelo or tangerine juice (you can also use orange juice)

1/2 ounce lime juice (I used Bearss lime juice)

1 1/2 tsp frozen lemonade concentrate

Grapefruit, tangelo, tangerine, or orange twist

Instructions

1. Fill a shaker with ice and add the gin, Aperol, juices, and lemonade concentrate. 
2. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 
3. Twist the zest over the cocktail and drop it into the cocktail.

Enjoy!