5 Classic Cocktails With a Twist
I’ve stated it before, but I do believe that cocktails have a place alongside food in the culinary world as with both mixing and cooking you take humble ingredients and transform them into something unique and tasty.
While I do love the classic cocktails like the Manhattan, margarita, mojito, and whiskey sours, sometimes I just can’t help but need a twist on some of those classics.
Fortunately, the Milk Street Online Cooking School, founded by Christopher Kimball from America’s Test Kitchen, has provided me with a unique class that takes 5 classic cocktails and puts a unique, flavorful twist on them.
I was very excited to take the class and learned a lot from it, so I would like to share the delicious cocktails that I ended up making.
Disclaimer: I’m hoping I don’t need to say it, but as tasty as these drinks are, I strongly suggest that you enjoy them responsibly.
Honey-Basil Gin Sour
Sours are one of my favorite cocktails because you can take just about any liquor, add lemon juice and syrup to it, shake it up and bang, you’ve got an easy, tasty classic cocktail.
This unique sour takes the flavors of gin, honey, and basil and melds them together in a delicious way!
1/2 ounce of honey syrup (made by dissolving equal parts honey and water. This stuff is also great for a classic Bee’s Knees cocktail.)
4-5 large fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 ounces of gin
1/2 ounce of fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce of fresh lemon juice
4-5 drops of cocktail foamer (see note)
For garnish: A basil leaf and bee pollen, though you can skip the pollen if you have an allergy.
Note: Classic sour recipes call for adding an egg white to the drink for a frothy, foamy top. However, not everyone is a fan of the thought of eggs in their cocktails, so cocktail foamer (available in big liquor stores) is a good way to get the foam without having to add an egg.
To make, place the basil leaves and honey syrup into a shaker then gently muddle until the basil becomes aromatic. Add the gin, lime, lemon, and foamer, then fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously until chilled and the drink appears to be foamy.
Strain into a coup or even a wine glass, then garnish with the basil leaf and bee pollen.
(So…I was unable to obtain bee pollen in time, but just imagine the little yellow specs on top)
What you get is the sweet, floral flavor of the basil, the wonderful honey flavor, and the peppery gin for a perfect balance.
Modern Medicine
Another twist on a classic whiskey sour, this cocktail is a play on another drink called the Penicillin, made with whiskey, ginger, honey, and lemon.
It combines bittersweet Aperol, aromatic bitters, and a splash of sweetness that can make you feel good any day.
1 1/2 ounces of bourbon
1/2 ounce of Aperol
3/4 ounces of fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce of Demerara syrup*
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
1/4 ounce of smoky Scotch
For garnish: A lemon twist (made by peeling a strip of lemon zest with a vegetable peeler and giving that a twist.)
*Demarara sugar is a type of brown sugar similar to Sugar in the Raw, the kind that people stir into their tea. To make that into a syrup, simply combine 2 parts of the sugar with one part water until the sugar is dissolved.
Combine the bourbon, Aperol, lemon juice, syrup, and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, then shake until combined and very cold. Pour all of the contents into a rocks glass, use a bar spoon to carefully float the Scotch on top of the drink and garnish with the lemon twist.
You get the spice of the bourbon, a bit of bitter-sweetness from the Aperol, a subtle smokiness from the scotch, and that citrusy lemon to lift up the whole drink!
Peruvian 75
The French 75 is a very classic cocktail that consists of gin, lemon, sugar, and sparkling wine (often champagne) for a classic tart, fizzy drink.
This recipe takes it to a Peruvian level with the use of pisco, a type of unaged brandy, and tart passion fruit syrup for a fruity, tangy twist.
1 1/2 ounces of Pisco
1/2 ounce of lime juice
1/2 ounce of passion fruit syrup*
1 dash of aromatic bitters
3 ounces of sparkling wine
For garnish: a lime wedge
*I suppose you could make your own passion fruit syrup by combining equal parts sugar and passion fruit juice, but passion fruits are quite hard to find in the US so I say you can go ahead and buy passion fruit syrup online.
Combine the pisco, lime juice, syrup, and bitters in a cocktail shaker with some ice and shake until the shaker feels cold.
Strain into a stemmed wine glass, then top with the sparkling wine and garnish with the lime wedge.
It’s bubbly, refreshing, has a bit of tartness from the passionfruit, and is is a really good drink to have with brunch.
Pineapple Train-Wreck
The most well-known tropical cocktail on the planet, the Mai Tai, is the perfect thing to sip on while sitting on the beach in Hawaii, the Caribbeans, or any tropical beach, and there are many variations in many bars across the country.
Mai Tai classically consists of lime, aged rum, orange liquor, and an almond syrup called orgeat, but this uniquely fruity version takes that concept and gives it the addition of funky rum, pineapple juice, and ginger for a unique sweet and spicy flavor.
1 1/2 ounces of aged rum
1/2 ounce of overproof rum
1 1/2 ounces of pineapple juice
1/2 ounce of fresh lime juice
3/4 ounce of ginger syrup (see note)
1 dash of Peychaud’s bitters
1 dash of Angostura bitters
For garnish: Pineapple frond and maraschino cherry (luxardo cherry, if you can find them)
Note: To make this ginger syrup, start by pulsing a large chunk of fresh ginger in a food processor or grating in the tiny holes of a box grater. Put that ginger pulp into a bowl lined with cheesecloth, then squeeze out as much juice as you possibly can.
Combine that ginger juice with an equal amount of sugar, nuke in the microwave for 15 seconds, and stir until the sugar is dissolved, then leave to cool.
Combine all of the ingredients in a shaker with some ice and shake until very cold.
Strain over ice into a rocks glass, then garnish with the pineapple frond and the cherry.
This has to be my favorite of the 5, it has that sweet spiciness of the ginger, the pineapple, the lime, and that funky rum to make this a drink well worth making if you want to feel like you’re on the islands of Hawaii.
Power-Up Technique
The Margarita is, without question, the most popular tequila drink in the world and happens to be my personal favorite, there’s just something about the combination of tequila, lime, triple sec, and agave that puts a smile on my face and takes my mind to a fiesta.
This power-up margarita features a seemingly unusual ingredient, carrot juice, for a slightly sweet, earthy flavor that will make it hard to drink any other margarita.
1 ounce of mezcal
1 ounce of tequila reposado (the golden, aged variety of tequila)
3/4 ounce of carrot juice
3/4 ounce of fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce of jalapeno agave syrup (see note)
For garnish: black sea salt and a lime wedge.
Note: To make this syrup, combine 4-5 fresh jalapeno slices with 1 part agave nectar and 1 part water in a small saucepan and swirl over low heat until combined. Leave to cool.
You can also make it even easier by muddling some jalapeno slices into some agave nectar. I would suggest removing the seeds and membrane if you’re going to do that to prevent the drink from becoming too spicy.
In a shaker, combine the mezcal, tequila, carrot juice, lime juice, and syrup. Add some ice, then shake until the shaker feels cold.
Strain into a rocks glass that’s had the rim lined with the black salt, then garnish with the lime wedge.
I had to say, the carrot in this drink was quite pleasant. It brought a bit of earthiness that melded really well with the smoky mezcal, the slightly spicy syrup, and it’s a nice way to step up your classic margarita.
All 5 of the cocktails made during the class were absolutely delicious, especially when drunk responsibly, and are all cocktails that have certainly opened up my creativity a bit. If you end up making one of them, then please let me know in the comments!
