Tag Archives: classic cocktail

Casino Cocktail

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casino cocktail

Sometimes for Christmas, I whip up a cocktail that’s uniquely designed for that holiday – like when I put a red bow on one, or when I smashed up candy canes to rim a drink [video link].

Other times, though, the simplicity of a classic cocktail stands as a perfectly suitable Christmas gift, so that’s what I’ve settled on this Christmas: a ghostly white drink with an electric red cherry to garnish. Merry Christmas!

Casino Cocktail

  • in a shaker, combine:
  • 2 oz gin
  • 3/4 oz lemon juice 
  • 1/2 oz maraschino liqueur
  • dash of orange bitters
  • shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
  • garnish with a cherry

We made the Casino on the Simple Cocktails Podcast, too. Listen here.

Bittersweet Cocktail

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bittersweet cocktail

This is a pretty classic drink that prescribes pretty well to the definition of cocktail from over a hundred years ago. It uses Peychauds bitters, which are a New Orleans staple and the essential cocktail bitter in a Sazerac. Combined with the orange juice and whiskey, Peychauds makes this a cool-looking golden  drink that’s pretty old school in it’s flavor profile.

Bittersweet Cocktail

  • 2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
  • 1 1/2 oz whiskey of your choice (I recommend bourbon or scotch)
  • 1 tsp simple syrup
  • fresh-squeezed juice of 1 orange (about 2 oz)
  • shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
  • garnish with an orange slice

Coffee Cocktail

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coffee cocktail recipe

The Coffee Cocktail is a classic recipe, traced back to Jerry Thomas’ 1887 Bartender’s Guide (Amazon link). Thomas’ original recipe appears above, and thankfully, The Cocktail Spirit has translated the old-timey language (“pony,” “goblet,” etc) into modern measurements.

As Jerry Thomas says, the Coffee Cocktail is apparently named after it’s visual appearance, because it contains no coffee. Here it is:

coffee cocktail

Coffee Cocktail

  • 1 1/2 oz port
  • 1 1/2 oz brandy
  • 1 tsp simple syrup
  • 1 whole egg
  • dash of bitters
  • put all ingredients into a shaker and shake without ice to froth the egg
  • add ice to the shaker and shake more to chill
  • pour into a chilled wine or cocktail glass

Special thanks to St. Clair, a local winery who provided me with their excellent Port for this recipe.