The Art of Classy Drinking

Photo Credit: Tate Carlson Styling by Dan Oskey

In an era of frilly drinks the ability to mix a classic cocktail and recite useless information about it is frequently overlooked. We sat down with two of the most prominent drink afficionados in the Cities to get the scoop on some classics, so that maybe one day, we will actually know what we are ordering. Pip Hanson, manager of the bar at Café Maude and Twin Cities METRO Magazine drink columnist, and Dan Oskey, bartender at The Strip Club Meat and Fish, both gave us their two cents on the details behind these cocktails. The first thing we learned is that there is definitely no correct way to make a cocktail—it’s all based on preference. Recipes can be rules of thumb, but everyone has a different idea of what a certain cocktail involves. However, it is possible to outline some of the basic aspects of a cocktail and move on from there.

One thing to know is measuring with ratios. You’ll hear a lot of bartenders talking about “four parts to one,” or something along those lines. Some jiggers use ounces to measure, some use centiliters. With ratios, you can use any measuring device you have and still get a consistent drink. So if you use 4 cL of brandy and 2 cL of triple sec, you have a 4:2 ratio. Add in 1 cL of fruit juice and you now have a 4:2:1 ratio.

Now, on to the drinks! 

The Martini
James Bond drank it, so it has to be classy; it isn’t too hard to make either. It is important to note, however, that just because a drink comes in a cocktail glass does not make it a martini, and even more importantly, an appletini is definitely not one. Here is a recipe for a standard dry martini.

Ingredients:
• 4 parts gin
• 1 part dry vermouth
• Olive or lemon peel

Directions:
Pour the gin and vermouth in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and then strain, leaving the ice behind, into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish it with an olive or lemon peel.

The 4:1 ratio of gin and vermouth is common, but that can be manipulated depending on the bartender, bar and drinker. If you want to go back in history, both Oskey and Hanson suggest a dash or two of orange bitters stirred into the drink. This was a transitional ingredient left over from its predecessor, the Martinez.

The Manhattan
Dan Oskey mumbled something along the lines of “such a perfect cocktail” when this drink was brought up. Legend has it that it was created in 1874 at a party hosted by Winston Churchill’s mother at the Manhattan Club. Like most history, it’s probably all fiction, but it makes for a good story at the bar.

Ingredients:
• 4 parts bourbon (or rye whiskey)
• 2 parts sweet vermouth
• Angostura bitters
• Orange slice or maraschino cherry

Directions:
Pour the bourbon, sweet vermouth and a single dash of Angostura bitters into a mixing glass filled with ice. Thoroughly stir the ingredients, then strain, leaving the ice behind, into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish it with an orange slice or a maraschino cherry.

The Old-Fashioned
This is the quintessential cocktail, it’s how it all got started. Dating back to the early 1800s, it’s claimed to have been concocted at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kyo., but it has come a long way since those days. Now it is the most readily debated cocktail in all American bars. To even put a “correct” recipe on paper is begging for an uproar from the bartending community, so here goes nothing.

Ingredients:
• A small lump of sugar
• 1 to 2 large ice cubes
• Angostura bitters
• 4 cL of whiskey (or bourbon)
• A twist of lemon or orange

Directions:
Place the ice cubes in a lowball or old-fashioned glass. Pour the sugar, a dash or two of bitters and the whiskey into the glass. Stir it thoroughly and garnish with the lemon or orange slice.

This is just the basics, and bartenders will constantly change that recipe. Some will put maraschino cherries in it, some will pile the sugar on, some will muddle it all together. You’ll even see bartenders filling it up with soda water, but aficionados see this as just diluting the taste of the alcohol. Pip Hanson refers to what we now drink as a “new-fashioned” because “bartenders can’t resist mucking things up. So as soon as the recipe comes out, they have to improve it.” Hanson recommends leaving the maraschino cherries out, or at least the lye-soaked radioactive-red ones we’re used to seeing. But, he does say, “If you have an actual Marasca cherry that has been macerated in maraschino liqueur or brandy, by all means [use it].”

The Sidecar
The history behind this one is a bit more solid and equally interesting. In World War I, an American military captain would commonly attend the Ritz Hotel in Paris for an afternoon drink. The drink that he ordered was named after how he was transported to and from the hotel bar, in a motorcycle sidecar.

Ingredients:
• 4 parts brandy
• 2 parts triple sec
• 1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 lemon peel

Directions:
In a cocktail shaker, mix the brandy, triple sec and lemon juice. Shake it all together. Strain, leaving the ice behind, into a chilled and sugar-rimmed cocktail glass and garnish it with a twist of lemon peel.