Ebrium

There are only six cocktails.

Or so says the Cocktail Codex. The Old Fashioned, the Martini, the Daiquiri, the Sidecar, the Whisky Highball, and the Flip. If you’ve ever step foot in a bar before, you might be inclined to disagree with that. But the fact is that these six “root recipes” describe pretty much every cocktail out there.

Gimlet:

Gimlet

  • Gin
  • Lime Juice
  • Simple Syrup

Manhattan:

Manhattan

  • Rye Whiskey
  • Sweet Vermouth
  • Aromatic Bitters

Negroni:

Negroni

  • Gin
  • Bitter Citrus Aperitif
  • Sweet Vermouth

White Lady:

White Lady

  • Gin
  • Lemon Juice
  • Orange Curaçao
  • Simple Syrup

Daiquiri: Rum, lime and sugar may date back to the Golden Age of Piracy, but it took iron miners in Cuba, not pirates, to turn it into this timeless drink.

Daiquiri

  • Light Rum
  • Lime Juice
  • Simple Syrup

Rum, lime and sugar may date back to the Golden Age of Piracy, but it took iron miners in Cuba, not pirates, to turn it into this timeless drink.

Dry Martini: Gin, and not vodka. Stirred, and not shaken. Vermouth, because it's delicious. A lemon peel, and no olives. And yes, wars have been fought for less.

Dry Martini

  • Gin
  • Dry Vermouth

Gin, and not vodka. Stirred, and not shaken. Vermouth, because it's delicious. A lemon peel, and no olives. And yes, wars have been fought for less.

Flip: Once poked with a red hot iron rod and served warm. Nowadays, you only have to contend with a whole egg.

Flip

  • Brandy
  • Sugar
  • Egg

Once poked with a red hot iron rod and served warm. Nowadays, you only have to contend with a whole egg.

Old Fashioned: Before any mixed drink started to be called a cocktail, this was the original Cocktail: booze, sugar, water and bitters.

Old Fashioned

  • Bourbon
  • Simple Syrup
  • Aromatic Bitters

Before any mixed drink started to be called a cocktail, this was the original Cocktail: booze, sugar, water and bitters.

Sidecar: Where the basic sour cocktail template meets the exotic curaçao orange liqueur, making for a complex, layered drink.

Sidecar

  • Brandy
  • Orange Curaçao
  • Lemon Juice

Where the basic sour cocktail template meets the exotic curaçao orange liqueur, making for a complex, layered drink.

Whisky Highball: The seemingly simple combination of just whisky and water can be transcendentally delicious when mixed with the right attention to the details and technique.

Whisky Highball

  • Blended Scotch Whisky
  • Seltzer

The seemingly simple combination of just whisky and water can be transcendentally delicious when mixed with the right attention to the details and technique.