There comes a time in the life of even the most dedicated whiskey purist when a cocktail is called for. You might be hosting friends who don’t drink straight spirits. It might be 100 degrees outside, and the idea of drinking straight whiskey sounds awful. Or you might have ended up with a bottle of something you don’t particularly care for on its own.
For the uninitiated, here are five of the most essential whiskey cocktails, ranked in no particular order.
The Old-Fashioned
Now ubiquitous on every bar menu worth its finishing salt, the old fashioned is having a real moment right now. In its simplest form, this is whiskey muddled with sugar, amended with bitters, and served over ice. Orange sometimes makes an appearance in the form of a strip of zest, some expressed oil, or even a bit of orange bitters – but it’s not required. Here’s a great starter recipe from Esquire.
The Manhattan
I remember the first time I tasted a Manhattan: via a cocktail-soaked cherry fished out of the bottom of my mom’s glass. That’s all it took. The basic Manhattan recipe consists of whiskey, sweet vermouth, and a dash of angostura bitters, garnished with a cherry. Rye is the classic choice, although bourbon is a popular substitution that gives you a sweeter end result. If you can go fancy on the cherry, do. Amarena cherries are a fine choice. Get a recipe here.
The Highball
This hardly qualifies as a cocktail, but it’s still an essential. Highballs leaven whiskey with a bit of seltzer water, served over ice. Perfect for those times when you want something tall and refreshing minus the sugar. You don’t need a recipe for this one: just add whiskey to an ice-filled glass, and top with seltzer water.
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The Whiskey Sour
If you’ve only had whiskey sours made with that fluorescent mix that comes out of shelf-stable plastic bottles, you’re missing out. Whiskey, lemon, and simple syrup is a divine combination on its own, and the addition of egg white (do a dry shake) brings things to another, wonderful, silky level. Serious Eats has a good recipe for this “comfortable T-shirt of drinks.”
The Hot Toddy
Not much hits the spot like a well-made hot toddy. The basic toddy is nothing more than whiskey, lemon, a sweetener like honey, and hot water, perhaps garnished with a cinnamon stick or orange wheel. Substitute freely; tea, ginger, spices, other citrus, even cranberry juice can all find a happy home in a hot toddy. Wine Enthusiast has a winter’s worth of riffs to try here. Hint: for the perfect temperature, warm your glass first.
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