Classic cocktails

These are the drinks every serious bartender knows by heart: the Martini, the Manhattan, the Old Fashioned, the Daiquiri and the rest of the canon that has survived changing fashions for generations. Each recipe here comes with a tested specification, a note on its background and practical tips, so you can mix the original first and then understand why so many modern drinks are built on the same few templates.

34 cocktails

What makes a cocktail a classic

A classic is less about age than about staying power. The drinks in this category have been mixed, written down and argued about for decades, and they still work when made exactly to spec. Most of them come from a handful of simple templates: spirit, sugar, water and bitters (the Old Fashioned); spirit, sour and sweet (the Daiquiri, the Sidecar); or spirit plus aromatised wine (the Martini, the Manhattan).

Why the originals matter

Once you know the templates, new drinks become easy to read. A Margarita is a Sidecar family member with tequila, a Negroni sits between the Manhattan and the aperitivo tradition. Learning the classics gives you a vocabulary, and it makes it much easier to adjust a recipe to your own taste without losing balance.

Getting classics right at home

Where to start

If you are new to mixing, begin with a Daiquiri and an Old Fashioned. One teaches you sour balance, the other teaches you dilution and sweetness. Everything else in this list builds on those two lessons.