The classic spec for a Margarita started firming up in the late 1930s, though not necessarily going by its now-famous name yet. The drink took hold of America in the 1950s on a grand scale and this classic version with orange liqueur served up reflects the drink’s aesthetic at the time. The sugar-salt rim sprang from my fascination with people who order sugar rims on their Margaritas, but trust me on this one–it works!

By the 1860s, it was common practice to add liqueurs–Curaçao and maraschino in the early days–to the Cocktail’s original formula. The term “Fancy Cocktail” typically denotes this addition and the assurance of a lemon twist, too. “Improved Cocktails” typically layer yet more flavor, with absinthe, multiple liqueurs, or a combination of bitters. The recipe below is technically an Improved Cocktail, though omitting the absinthe will knock it down to the “Fancy” level.

The Martinez and other early “Martinis,” were a lot like the first Manhattan recipes. Many such recipes called for a 2:1 ratio of vermouth to gin–which you are welcome to try! I went with 1:1 here. The gin, of course, would have been in the sweetened Old Tom style or Holland gin, aka genever. Lemon is traditional, but I went with an orange twist, wrapped around a cherry for visual interest.

Apple brandy Manhattans are one of the most delicious (and fall-appropriate) branches of the family tree. We have a great triumvirate here: the dry Star (Harry Johnson, 1900), the sweet Star (George Kappeler, 1895), and the Marconi Wireless (Old Waldorf Astoria Bar Book, 1935).

The earliest versions of the Manhattan resemble quite closely the original Cocktail (spirits, sugar, water, bitters) and feature a split base of rye and Italian (sweet) vermouth. This is an excellent example, taken from the second edition of Harry Johnson’s Bartenders’ Manual.

The Mai Tai is Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron’s most famous creation and one of the great drinks of the tiki canon. Rum expert Shannon Mustipher’s version offers the ingenious introduction of a small measure of unaged rhum agricole. I’ve made just a couple of slight alterations based on our supply list.

Ned King helped me immensely in planning this month, including bringing this post-WWII Zombie to my attention. Though different from the 1930s Zombie, this version reads as a direct descendent of Planter’s Punch. I’ve made a couple of changes to Ned’s spec based on what we have on hand this month.

This is a Don the Beachcomber original from 1937. Ned King has spent a lot of time perfecting this recipe, which is fresh and bright. We’ve taken a couple of small liberties to minimize our supply list, but the spirit of Ned’s spec for this early tiki classic shines through.

This is third in my Lords of Misrule series: the Abbot of Unreason, which the Scottish title for the Lord of Misrule. I’m very interested in a couple of aspects of this drink as broader themes in cocktail history and drink development. 1. Fizzy drinks that have a stirred, rather than shaken, base; a subgenre for which it’s far less easy to find examples in the Olde Books 2. How we can take frequently-used flavor combinations (orange and chocolate, banana-nut, apple and cinnamon, etc.) and use them as subtle underpinnings for complex cocktails.

Adapted from Jerry Thomas’s 1862 Fancy Brandy Cocktail recipe, this variation on an Old-Fashioned puts boiled cider in the role of sweetener, which lends a certain dimension to the whole.

Essentially a single-serving sparkling punch, our Daisy honors the apple harvest with apple brandy, boiled cider and dry fizzy cider on top.