68 drinks · 28 bottles · ★ marks a house favorite
2 oz LALO Blanco · 1 oz Cointreau · 2 oz watermelon puree · ¾ oz fresh lime · ½ oz honey syrup
Watermelon is mostly water, so it thins a drink more than it flavours one. The ounce of Cointreau is what gives it back its shape — orange and structure where the melon brings only sweetness. That puts it on the Classic Margarita backbone rather than Tommy's, with the puree riding on top.
Shake hard, fine-strain over fresh ice — a puree turns gritty otherwise. Pinch of salt in the shaker as well as half the rim: a half rim means half the sips get salt and half do not. Lime wheel.
2 oz watermelon puree · 1 oz St-Germain · ½ oz fresh lime · 3 oz prosecco · Club soda to finish
No base spirit at all, about 8% ABV, and the prosecco does the lifting. The lime is what keeps the melon from reading as candy.
Shake the puree, St-Germain and lime, fine-strain into a wine glass of ice, then prosecco and a splash of soda. One gentle stir. Mint sprig and a watermelon wedge.
1½ oz Flor de Caña 12 · ½ oz fresh lime · ¾ oz honey syrup · 1½ oz prosecco
A rum-based French 75, and the honey is the whole point — there is nothing else sweet in the glass, so the syrup has nowhere to hide. Older than it looks: it turns up in a Bacardi pamphlet in the 1930s.
Shake the first three hard, strain into a highball of ice, top with prosecco. One brief stir. Lime twist, or a mint tip.
Paul 7 · Jen 6.5 Aug 23
1½ oz Flor de Caña 12 · ½ oz Cointreau · ½ oz fresh lime · ¼ oz honey syrup · 1½ oz prosecco
Orange liqueur carries half the sweetening here, so the honey drops to a quarter ounce — rounder, a little stronger, and the orange picks up the same note the rum already takes as a garnish. Meant to be poured beside the original, not instead of it.
Shake the first four, strain into a highball of ice, top with prosecco. One brief stir. Orange twist, not lime.
1½ oz LALO Blanco · 1½ oz Sarti Rosa · ¾ oz fresh lime · Ginger beer to top
Adds fruit and body, not just aroma — at 1½ oz the Sarti is a second base, not a flavoring.
Over ice, one stir. Lime wheel.
2 oz LALO Blanco · ¾ oz cream of coconut · 1 oz pineapple juice · ¾ oz fresh lime · Ginger beer to top
Changes the texture. Fat is the one thing none of the other additions bring.
Shake everything but the ginger beer — the coconut cream needs it. Strain over fresh ice, top with ginger beer. Nutmeg on top.
1½ oz LALO Blanco · 1 oz Aperol · ¾ oz fresh lime · Ginger beer to top
Adds bitterness, which the base has none of. The most grown-up version here.
Over ice. Orange slice.
1½ oz LALO Blanco · 1½ oz Sarti Rosa · ¾ oz fresh lime · Elderflower tonic to top
The drink that solved the tequila-vs-Sarti standoff, and still the best answer to it.
Tall glass, ice, stir once. Lime wheel, mint slap, half salt rim.
Sweeter pour 1 oz tequila / 2 oz Sarti.
Drier pour 2 oz tequila / 1 oz Sarti.
Angie 8 · Jen 7 Aug 17
2 oz LALO Blanco · 1 oz fresh lime · ½ oz honey syrup
No orange liqueur. Honey stands in for agave nectar and is arguably better.
Shake hard, strain over fresh ice.
2 oz LALO Blanco · ¾ oz Cointreau · 1 oz fresh lime
Cointreau is what the original is built on — orange with structure rather than orange with sugar, and at this ratio it is most of what you taste.
Shake, strain over fresh ice. Salt half the rim. Mr. Boston still does the job if you are making a round of six.
2 oz Herradura Añejo · ¼ oz honey syrup · 2 dashes Angostura
Stir 30 seconds over a big cube. Express an orange peel.
Jen 8 · Rich 8 · Mike 8 · Paul 8 Aug 23
2 oz Herradura Añejo · ¼ oz honey syrup · 3 dashes Spiced Chocolate bitters · 1 dash Angostura
Chocolate bitters and aged agave sounds like a gimmick and isn't. With apple smoke it's the best drink in this book.
Smoke the empty glass 20 seconds with apple or cherry. Big cube, build, stir 30 seconds. Orange peel.
2 oz LALO Blanco · 1½ oz pineapple juice · ¾ oz fresh lime · ½ oz peach syrup · 6–8 mint leaves
Clap the mint, shake everything, dump into a tall glass.
2 oz Herradura Añejo · 1 oz rosso vermouth · 3 dashes Spiced Chocolate bitters
Herradura, chocolate bitters, apple smoke. Sweet vermouth does the connecting.
Smoke the glass, stir 30 seconds, strain in. Orange peel.
2 oz LALO Blanco · ½ oz dry vermouth · 2 dashes Olive bitters
Underrated. LALO is clean enough to carry it and it drinks drier than a vodka Martini.
Stir, strain up. Blue cheese olive.
1 oz LALO Blanco · 1 oz Aperol · 1 oz rosso vermouth
Equal parts, agave-based, and the softer answer to a Negroni. Aperol instead of Campari is the point.
Stir over a big cube. Orange peel.
2 oz mezcal · ¾ oz fresh lime · Ginger beer to top
The reason the mezcal is on the shelf. Better than every variation in the house section above.
Over ice, one stir. Lime wedge. Four dashes of cucumber bitters is excellent here — cool against smoke.
1½ oz LALO Blanco · ½ oz mezcal · 1 oz fresh lime · ½ oz honey syrup
Split base — the LALO carries the body, the mezcal carries the smoke. A real bartender's move, not a compromise, and it stretches the mezcal bottle.
Shake hard, strain over fresh ice. Salt half the rim.
1 oz mezcal · ½ oz LALO Blanco · 1½ oz Sarti Rosa · ¾ oz fresh lime · Elderflower tonic to top
Jen's drink with smoke underneath it. Sarti's peach and floral against mezcal is a genuinely striking combination — make the original first, then this one, back to back.
Tall glass, ice, one stir. Lime wheel.
¾ oz mezcal · ¾ oz Aperol · ¾ oz St-Germain · ¾ oz fresh lime
The modern classic is equal parts mezcal, Aperol, yellow Chartreuse and lime. There is no Chartreuse on the shelf, so St-Germain stands in — less herbal, more floral, and still very good.
Shake hard, strain up. No garnish needed.
2 oz mezcal · ¼ oz honey syrup · 3 dashes Spiced Chocolate bitters · 1 dash Angostura
Stir 30 seconds over a big cube. Orange peel. Chocolate and smoke is the pairing here — and again, leave the smoker alone.
2 oz mezcal · ¾ oz fresh lemon · ¾ oz honey syrup
The Gold Rush template with smoke instead of bourbon. Honey rounds off mezcal's sharp edge better than sugar does.
Shake hard, strain over one big rock. Lemon peel.
2 oz Flor de Caña 12 · ¾ oz fresh lime · Ginger beer to top
Two ingredients. The 12-year makes it far better than the version most people have had.
Ginger beer and lime first, then float the rum over the back of a spoon. Don't stir — the dark layer is half the drink.
2 oz Flor de Caña 12 · ¼ oz honey syrup · 2 dashes Angostura
Stir over one big cube. Orange peel.
Smoke it Apple wood, 20 seconds. This is the drink the smoker was made for.
2 oz Shipwreck White · ¾ oz fresh lime · ½ oz honey syrup · 10 mint leaves · Club soda to top
Press the mint gently with lime and syrup — don't shred it. Rum, ice, soda.
2 oz Shipwreck White · 1 oz Shipwreck Coconut · 1½ oz pineapple juice · 1 oz cream of coconut · ½ oz fresh lime
Made properly with real cream of coconut it's a genuinely good drink, not a cruise-ship joke.
Blend with a cup of ice, or shake very hard and pour over crushed. The lime is what keeps it from cloying.
2 oz Shipwreck Coconut · ½ oz Shipwreck Spiced · 4 oz pineapple juice · 1 oz orange juice · 1 oz cream of coconut
The BVI's answer to the colada. Nutmeg on top isn't optional — it's the drink's signature.
Shake hard, pour over crushed ice. Orange slice and a cherry, then grate fresh nutmeg generously over the top.
2 oz Shipwreck Coffee · 1 oz cream of coconut · 1 oz pineapple juice · 2 dashes Spiced Chocolate bitters
Coconut and coffee, which is a better idea than it sounds.
Shake hard, strain over fresh ice. Nutmeg.
1½ oz Shipwreck Coconut · ½ oz Shipwreck White · 1½ oz pineapple juice · ½ oz fresh lime · Club soda to top
The colada's lighter cousin — no cream, so it's actually refreshing.
Shake all but the soda, pour over ice, top.
2 oz Shipwreck Spiced · 3 oz iced tea · ½ oz fresh lemon
Straight into a tall glass over ice. Scales to a pitcher without thinking.
2 oz Shipwreck Spiced · ½ oz peach syrup · ¾ oz fresh lemon · 3 dashes Peach bitters · Ginger beer to top
Shake all but the ginger beer, strain over ice, top.
1½ oz 3 Olives Vanilla vodka · 1½ oz Shipwreck Coffee · ½ oz honey syrup · Float: ½ oz heavy cream
An espresso martini with no espresso and no coffee liqueur.
Shake the first three hard for 15 seconds — you'll get a light head, not a proper foam. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice, then float the cream over a spoon.
The above, plus 3 dashes Spiced Chocolate bitters
As the Coffee Rum Cream — bitters into the shaker with the rest, cream floated last.
1½ oz Shipwreck White · ¾ oz Bianco vermouth · ½ oz Cointreau · ¼ oz raspberry syrup
1920s Havana. One of the few classics where bianco is the right bottle rather than a stand-in, and the orange wants to be dry — this is a stirred drink with no citrus in it to cover a sweet liqueur.
Stir 30 seconds, strain up. Orange twist.
2 oz Flor de Caña 12 · 1 oz rosso vermouth · 2 dashes Angostura
Stir, strain up. Orange twist. Try it against the Bianco version.
2 oz Woodford Reserve · ¾ oz fresh lemon · ¾ oz honey syrup
Three ingredients, and one of the best cocktails invented in the last thirty years.
Shake hard, strain over one big rock. Lemon peel.
2 oz The Sassenach · ¾ oz fresh lemon · ¾ oz honey syrup · 1½ oz ginger beer · ¼ oz mezcal, floated
A modern classic, and the second acceptable thing to do with the good Scotch. There is no Islay in the house, so the mezcal carries the smoke float.
Shake the first three hard, strain over a big rock, top with ginger beer, then float the mezcal over the back of a spoon. Lemon peel.
2 oz Jim Beam · ¾ oz fresh lemon · ½ oz honey syrup · 2 dashes Angostura on top
Shake, strain over ice, dash the bitters across the surface.
2 oz Woodford Reserve (or Angel's Envy) · 1 oz rosso vermouth · 2 dashes Angostura
The reason to buy the bottle.
Stir 30 seconds, strain up. Cherry.
2 oz Woodford Reserve · ½ oz rosso vermouth · ½ oz dry vermouth · 2 dashes Angostura
"Perfect" means split vermouth, not better — though it usually is.
Stir, strain up. Lemon twist.
2 oz Basil Hayden · 1 oz Bianco vermouth · 2 dashes Angostura
Lighter and more floral than the standard. Basil Hayden's soft 80 proof suits it.
Stir 30 seconds, strain up. Lemon twist, not a cherry.
2 oz The Sassenach · 1 oz rosso vermouth · 2 dashes Angostura
Stir, strain up. Lemon twist.
2 oz Woodford Reserve · ¼ oz peach syrup · 3 dashes Peach bitters · 1 dash Angostura
Peach and charred oak are practically the same flavor.
Stir over a big cube. Lemon peel, not orange. Cherry wood if smoking.
2 oz Woodford Reserve · ½ oz peach syrup · ¾ oz fresh lemon · 8 mint leaves
Shake with the mint, dump into a rocks glass. Big mint bouquet.
2 oz Woodford Reserve (or Jim Beam) · ¾ oz fresh lime · Ginger beer to top · Big mint sprig
Build over ice, ginger beer to top. Slap the mint before you drop it in.
1½ oz The Sassenach · 4 oz club soda
Ice to the rim, whisky first, soda down a spoon. Lemon twist.
2 oz Jameson Orange · 2 oz iced tea · 2 oz lemonade
Over ice, stir. Lemon wheel and mint. Dangerous in the good way.
2½ oz Tito's · ½ oz dry vermouth · ¼ oz olive brine · 2 dashes Olive bitters
Olives, olive bitters, dry vermouth. Two of the three are already on the shelf.
Stir 30 seconds — never shake a Martini, whatever Bond says. Three blue cheese olives.
1½ oz Tito's · ¾ oz St-Germain · ¾ oz fresh lemon · Elderflower tonic to top
Double-dose of the same flower, and the tonic's quinine keeps it from going syrupy.
Shake the first three, strain into a tall glass of ice, top.
2½ oz Tito's · ½ oz dry vermouth · 1 dash Olive bitters (optional)
Stir, strain up. Lemon twist or an olive, not both.
2 oz Tito's · ¾ oz fresh lime · Ginger beer to top
Build in the mug over ice: vodka, lime, ginger beer to top. One stir, lime wedge. Copper if you have it — it genuinely keeps it colder.
2 oz Luscious Lemon Mint · 2 oz lemonade · Club soda to top · Big handful of mint
Let the NJ craft bottle be the point instead of hiding it.
Muddle the mint in the lemonade, add vodka and ice, top.
2 oz Tito's (or LALO) · ¾ oz fresh lime · ¼ oz honey syrup · 5–6 dashes Tonic bitters · Club soda to top
What the Tonic Bitters are for — you build the tonic and set the bitterness yourself.
Build in a tall glass over ice: vodka, lime, honey, then soda. Bitters last, taste as you go. That's the whole point of doing it this way.
2 oz 3 Olives Cherry (or Tito's) · 3 oz strawberry-cranberry juice · ¾ oz fresh lime
Over ice, stir. The lime is not optional.
1½ oz 3 Olives Orange · 1 oz orange juice · ½ oz fresh lemon · Prosecco to top
Shake the first three, strain into a flute, top with prosecco.
1½ oz Aperol · ¼ oz fresh lime · 8 oz Cape May Tan Limes
The lime is already in the beer, so you're stacking with it instead of fighting it. Better than the Corona version for exactly that reason.
Aperol and lime in the glass first, beer poured down the side so it doesn't foam over. Salt half the rim, lime wedge. No ice.
1½ oz Aperol · ½ oz fresh lime (lime, not lemon — Corona wants lime) · 8 oz Corona
Same method. Keep the Aperol at 1½ oz — the standard 2 oz bulldozes a beer this delicate.
2 oz Sarti Rosa · ¼ oz fresh lime · 8 oz Tan Limes or Corona
Jen's version. Lighter, pinker, fruitier, much less bitter — and it works with either beer.
Same method. Lemon twist.
1½ oz Aperol · 3 oz lemonade · Top with a wheat beer or wit
Lower proof, sweeter, a daytime drink. Uses the lemonade.
Over ice in a tall glass. Lemon wheel.
1½ oz Rey Campero mezcal · ¾ oz cream of coconut · ½ oz pineapple juice · ¾ oz fresh lime · 2 dashes Spiced Chocolate bitters
Smoke and coconut fat is a real pairing and an underused one. The fat rounds mezcal's edge without covering it; the lime stops it becoming dessert.
Shake hard 15 seconds. Double-strain: through a fine mesh into a rocks glass over crushed ice — coconut cream leaves grit otherwise. Grate nutmeg. Lime wheel. Don't use the smoker; the mezcal already did.
If it reads sour Add a pinch of salt — salt suppresses sourness directly and usually fixes it alone.
If that isn't enough lime to ½ oz, and split the base ¾ oz mezcal / ¾ oz LALO to halve the lactic funk.
Rich 8 Aug 17
1 oz Sarti Rosa · 1 oz Bianco vermouth · ½ oz peach syrup · ¾ oz fresh lemon · Elderflower tonic to top
Built backwards from Jen's profile: no base spirit at all, about 8% ABV, two bottles she chose herself. Untested as of writing.
Clap a few mint leaves and drop them in the shaker. Shake the first four, fine-strain into a tall glass over fresh ice, top with tonic. Lemon twist and a mint sprig.
2 oz Bianco vermouth · Elderflower tonic to top · Big lemon twist, lots of ice
What Italians actually drink before dinner, and it takes ten seconds.
Wine glass, ice to the top, pour, twist. About 6% ABV — you can have two.
1½ oz St-Germain · 3 oz prosecco · 1 oz club soda · Big mint sprig, lime wheel
The Italian one that's overtaken the Aperol Spritz in Europe. Tastes like a garden.
Mint in the glass, ice, St-Germain, prosecco, soda. Slap the mint first.
2 oz Sarti Rosa · 4 oz elderflower tonic · ¼ oz fresh lime
The Rosa Paloma with the tequila taken out — and it scores higher than the original.
Tall glass, ice to the top, pour, stir once. Lime wheel and a mint sprig. About 7% ABV.
Variations ¼ oz peach syrup makes it rounder. 1 oz prosecco floated on top adds lift without changing the flavor.
Jen 8.5 Aug 17
3 oz prosecco · 2 oz Aperol · 1 oz club soda
Ice first, prosecco before the Aperol. Fat orange slice.
3 oz prosecco · 2 oz Sarti Rosa · 1 oz club soda
Ice first, prosecco before the Sarti, soda last. One stir. Lemon wheel.
1½ oz Aperol · 1½ oz rosso vermouth · Club soda to top
The drink the Negroni was built from — without any Campari in it.
Tall glass over ice. Fat orange slice.
1 oz LALO Blanco · 1 oz Aperol · 2 oz prosecco · Club soda to top
Keep the tequila at 1 oz. Poured at 1½ it read as too spirit-forward to two of three tasters — this drink does not want a heavier hand.
Wine glass over ice. Orange slice.
Colin 8 · Jen 5 · Angie 5 Aug 17
Bottles that don't need anything else. Ask and one turns up in a glass.
Also worth sipping — though these earn their keep in a mixing glass too.
Everything on the shelf. Ask and it goes in anything on the drinks tab.