Amaretto Sour
So, hear me out on this one. Better yet read my colleague Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s take. He’s not kidding, this recipe is freaking awesome, not to mention safe for beginners. The addition of a high-proof, high-quality spirit makes this drink strong enough for a man whilst remaining Ph balanced for a woman.
Do It Right (via Morgenthaler)
1½ oz amaretto (I love the Lazzaroni amaretto, but Disaronno works well here, too)
¾ oz cask-proof bourbon (I use Booker’s, from the Jim Beam distillery)
1 oz lemon juice
1 tsp 2:1 simple syrup
½ oz egg white, beaten
Dry shake ingredients to combine, then shake well with cracked ice. Strain over fresh ice in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with lemon peel and brandied cherries, if desired. Serve and grin like an idiot as your friends freak out.
Daiquiri
Not just for moms anymore: like the margarita, the beautiful daiquiri has been beaten up by many a cheap blender over the years, and it’s time to take it back. First of all, the guys at PKNY have shown us that even though you can make a good frozen drink, it is damn hard, and requires an Ivy League educated bartender or two to do the research to learn how, so ditch the blender and keep it simple. If you do insist on a twist, try it with an aged rum or agricole rum. When done right, it is the best thing to come out of Cuba since Ricky Ricardo.
Do It Right
2 oz Havana Club or Matusalem Rum
¾ oz fresh lime (Key lime is best here, too)
¾ oz simple syrup
Shake, strain and garnish with a lime wheel.
Beer
Of all the things Prohibition messed up in America, beer suffered the most tragic fate. It has the longest tradition of any alcoholic beverage, and it is possibly the best evidence of a higher power known to man. As if things weren’t bad enough, the ’70s went and created “Light” beer (as opposed to “heavy” beer?). This made beer the flunky stepbrother to wine, the Fredo of fermentates if you will. Thankfully, high-quality, complex and damn tasty beer is back, so feel free to order without looking uncouth.
Do It Right
Good rule of thumb is to go local. Especially in the brewing hotbeds of Cascadia, California and the Northeast, it also gives you ammunition against pretentious wine drinkers. You are not only being green but participating in a time-honored tradition that is shared not only by the elite but by the proletariat as well. Trust me, makes Harvard girls knee’s tremble when you say “proletariat.”
