3. MIX ONE OF THESE CLASSIC DRINKS

We were thinking about putting these in ascending order of the average specific gravity of their ingredients, but we decided to be original and list them alphabetically. First we list them by name only, so you can see what we've got, and then we go straight to the detailed listings which tell you how to make the drinks.

Drinks Listed by Name Only:

B-52
Bellini
Black Russian
Bloody Mary
Brandy Alexander
Champagne Cocktail
Cosmopolitan
Daiquiri
Fuzzy Navel
Grasshopper
Harvey Wallbanger

Irish Coffee
Long Island Iced Tea
Manhattan
Margarita
Martini
Old Fashioned
Pina Colada
Pink Lady
Planter's Punch
Rob Roy
Rusty Nail
Singapore Sling
Stinger
Tequila Sunrise
Tom Collins
Velvet Hammer
Vodka Martini
Whiskey Sour
White Russian
Zombie

Detailed Listings:

B-52

1 part Grand Marnier
1 part Kahlua
1 part Bailey's Irish Cream

Shake ingredients in equal parts with ice. Strain into tumblers or serve as shooters.

Bellini

1 oz. Peach Schnapps
3 oz. Champagne

Pour the Peach Schnapps into a champagne glass (if you have one) or a cocktail glass and add Champagne.

Black Russian

1.5 oz. Vodka
.75 oz. Coffee Liqueur

Pour Vodka (preferably Russian) into a tumbler filled with ice. Add Coffee liqueur and stir. This drink looks jaunty with a swizzle stick in it, but don't worry if you don't have any.

Bloody Mary

1.25 oz. Vodka
2.5 oz. Tomato Juice
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
Dash of Tabasco Sauce
Dash of Salt and Pepper

Pour Vodka into a tall glass with ice and pour Tomato Juice on top. Add the spicy stuff, and then garnish with a Celery Stick. For a "Bloody Caesar," replace Tomato Juice with Clam-Tomato Cocktail.

Brandy Alexander

1.5 oz. Brandy or Cognac
.5 oz. Dark Creme de Cacao
1 oz. Cream or Ice Cream

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Cosmopolitan

oz. Cointreau
oz. Triple Sec
1 oz. Vodka
oz. Lime Juice
oz. Cranberry Juice

Fill a mixing glass halfway with ice. Pour in all ingredients, shake vigorously,and strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a Lime wedge.

Champagne Cocktail

3 oz. Chilled Champagne
1 cube Sugar
Dash Angostura Bitters

Place cube of Sugar in a chilled champagne flute (if you have one) or cocktail glass, fill with Champagne and stir once. Garnish with a Lemon Twist.

Daiquiri

1.5 oz. Light Rum
.5 oz. Lemon Juice
1 tsp Powdered Sugar

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. If you're wondering where the ice slush is, you must be thinking of a Frozen Daiquiri, which we don't discuss in this article because of our emphasis on classic drinks.

Fuzzy Navel

1.5 oz. Peach Schnapps
3 oz. Orange Juice

Pour the Peach Schnapps into a tumbler with ice, add the Orange Juice and stir.

Grasshopper

.5 oz. Green Creme de Menthe
.5 oz. White Creme de Menthe
.5 oz. Cream

Put the ingredients into a blender with a glassful of ice and blend until smooth. Serve in a margarita glass (if you have one), a cocktail glass, or a tumbler.

Harvey Wallbanger

.25 oz. Galliano
1 oz. Vodka
4 oz. Orange Juice

Pour Vodka and Orange Juice into a tall glass with ice. Float the Galliano on top of the other ingredients (don't stir) and serve.

Irish Coffee

1.5 oz. Irish Whiskey
Hot Coffee
Sugar
Cream

Pour Irish Whiskey into a mug, fill with coffee and add cream and sugar to taste. It's Irish because it has booze in it. Irish booze, no less.

Long Island Iced Tea

.5 oz. Vodka
.5 oz. Light Rum
.5 oz. Gin
.5 oz. Light Tequila
.5 oz. Triple Sec
Cola

Shake the booze with ice and strain into a tall glass. Fill the glass up with Cola and make your apologies in the morning. Can also be served over ice.

Manhattan

2 oz. Whiskey (not Scotch - use Irish or Bourbon)
1 tbsp. Sweet or Dry Vermouth
Dash Angostura Bitters

Pour ingredients into a tumbler, stir, and garnish with a Cherry.

Margarita

1 oz. Tequila (your preference)
1 oz. Cointreau or Triple Sec
1 oz. Sweet & Sour Mix or Lime Juice

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a salt-rimmed margarita glass or cocktail glass with ice. Alternatively, you can blend the ingredients with a glassful of ice. Garnish with a Slice of Lime. This is the classic margarita; all other "margaritas" are usually just fruity booze smoothies. To rim the glass with Salt, you simply place a small amount of Salt (Coarse Salt looks coolest) on a dry surface, rub a Lemon or Lime slice around the rim of an empty glass, and then rub the rim of the glass in the Salt.

Martini

2 oz. Gin
Dash Extra Dry Vermouth

Shaken, or stirred? You can make your martini either way. Shake or stir the ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an Olive (or several Olives, as seems fashionable at the moment) or a slice of Lemon Rind (a.k.a. a Lemon Twist). A drink of this importance deserves further comment. This recipe will yield a very dry martini; the less Vermouth you add, the drier the martini will be. Some recipes call for a 2-to-1 or 3-to-1 Gin-to-Vermouth ratio, and there's nothing wrong with mixing your martinis that way if you like them that sweet. Experiment with different ratios and see if you like your martini sweeter or drier. Try not to shake or stir long enough to allow the ice to melt and dilute the drink. Eight good shakes or about five seconds of stirring should be enough, and then you strain it into a glass immediately. Real martinis are made with gin, and they precede vodka martinis by decades. Do not upset purists by asking whether they want vodka or gin in their martinis; if someone asks for a martini, he wants gin, and if he wants vodka he'll have to say so.

Old Fashioned

1.5 oz. Whiskey (any kind)
.25 oz. Powdered Sugar
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
1 tbsp. Club Soda
Cherry
Slice of Orange

Place Cherry (without stem), Orange Slice, Sugar, and Club Soda in a tumbler and mash them around with a spoon until they have blended well. Add the whiskey and bitters and stir.

Pina Colada

1.5 oz. Rum (your preference)
2 oz. Pineapple Juice
2 oz. Cream of Coconut

Shake with ice and serve in a margarita glass or cocktail glass over ice. Alternatively, you can blend it with a glassful of ice.

Pink Lady

1.5 oz. Gin
2 tsp. Grenadine
3 oz. Cream

Shake all ingredients with ice until well blended and strain into a cocktail glass.

Planter's Punch

2 oz. Light Rum
1 tsp. Sugar
2 oz. Orange Juice
Dash Grenadine
1 tbsp. Dark Rum

Shake Light Rum, Orange Juice, Sugar, and Grenadine with ice and strain into a tall glass. Top with Dark Rum.

Rob Roy

2 oz. Scotch
.5 oz. Sweet Vermouth

Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. After a few of these, you'll be convinced that you're Scottish, and might be tempted to speak in a Scottish accent. Don't.

Rusty Nail

1 oz. Scotch
1 oz. Drambuie

This stuff is an alcoholic's candy. Pour the booze into a tumbler with ice and stir. Swirl the booze and the ice cubes around under your nose and inhale the sweet smell of excess.

Singapore Sling

1.5 oz. Gin
.5 oz. Benedictine
.5 oz. Grenadine
Dash Lemon Juice
.5 oz. Cherry Brandy
Club Soda

Pour first four ingredients and into a tall glass with ice and stir well. Fill almost to top with Club Soda, top with Cherry Brandy. Garnish with a Cherry.

Stinger

1.75 oz. Brandy or Cognac
.25 oz. White Creme de Menthe

Pour ingredients into a tumbler with ice and stir.

Tequila Sunrise

1.5 oz. Tequila (your preference)
.5 oz. Grenadine
Orange Juice

The idea of this drink is to pour it so that there are recognizable layers. You must pour it very gently or the ingredients will mix together and ruin the effect. Pour Grenadine into a tall glass and then place ice cubes into the glass with ice tongs until full. Then gently pour in Tequila, then Orange Juice. It should go from bright red to deep orange to light orange. If it doesn't, it's probably because you poured it too fast, so don't blame us. Garnish with a slice of orange, and then stop worrying about the layers and serve it or drink it.

Tom Collins

1.5 oz. Gin
1 oz. Lemon Juice
Club Soda

Shake Gin and Lemon Juice and pour into a tall glass over ice. Fill with Club Soda and serve.

Velvet Hammer

1 tbsp. White Creme de Cacao
1.5 oz. Vodka
1 tbsp. Cream

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Vodka Martini

2 oz. Vodka
Dash Extra Dry Vermouth

Shake or stir ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with Olive(s) or a Lemon Twist. This recipe makes a very dry vodka martini (see the discussion of the Martini, above), so if you like it sweeter you should use more vermouth -- up to about .75 oz., depending upon your taste. James Bond likes his vodka martinis dry, so that's how we mix'em.

Whiskey Sour

1.5 oz. Whiskey (not Scotch, Irish, or Bourbon)
1 oz. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Powdered Sugar

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a whiskey sour glass (if you have one) or cocktail glass. Can also be served over ice.

White Russian

1.5 oz. Vodka
.5 oz. Coffee Liqueur
.5 oz. Cream

Shake all ingredients and serve in a tumbler over ice.

Zombie

.75 oz. Light Rum
.75 oz. Dark Rum
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 oz. Orange Juice
1 oz. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Powdered Sugar
Dash Overproof Rum ("151")

Shake all ingredients except Overproof Rum with ice and strain into a tall glass (with or without ice). Then float the Overproof Rum on top and garnish with a slice of Pineapple (if you have one kicking around) and/or a cherry.