You’re having a party? Sounds like fun.
But you don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen making drinks for everyone, like Spencer Tracy in “Father of the Bride.” You can enjoy your party a lot more if you offer a signature cocktail or two.
The trick to successful signature cocktails is to make them early in the day so you can just pour them from a pitcher during the party. That saves time and makes the evening stress-free, especially if you don’t have much to do at the last minute. Just add a splash of soda to the drink, perhaps, or maybe a maraschino cherry.
I also like to make signature cocktails with relatively few ingredients. The simpler the combinations, the more likely you are to please your guests. I like to give my guests something unusual, something a little unexpected, something of my own. And if it is not specifically of my own, then it might come from the local Queen of the Cocktail, Jen Kubiszewski.
Kubiszewski’s New Old-Fashioned is not unlike a regular Old-Fashioned, with one difference. Well, two, but one big one.
Regular Old-Fashioneds mix bourbon or rye with simple syurp and a muddled orange and a cherry. Kubiszewski’s version substitutes a syrup made from brown sugar. The molasses in the brown sugar heighten the caramel notes in the liquor. The New Old-Fashioned also uses unmuddled fruit, both for the purity of flavor and also as a way to save time.
Kubiszewski calls her other drink, the Rose Margarita, “my signature poolside cocktail.” It is the perfect way to cool down in the hot sun, and it’s even pink.
The first signature cocktail I ever created was called the Southside Strangler. The drink itself is infinitely more felicitous than its namesake.
The Southside Strangler is also a summertime drink because it is made with fresh juice from an orange and a grapefruit. The fruit theme continues to a lesser extent with lemon vodka and a bit of orange liqueur, such as Cointreau. All you need to finish it is a cherry.
With all that fruit, you can tell your guests that it’s healthy.
If you buy lemon vodka for a Southside Stranger, you may as well go ahead and use it in a Cosmopolitan, too. The version I make was conjured by the genial genius Derek Watridge, who lives in Annapolis, Md. Watridge came up with the perfect proportion of ingredients.
The next signature cocktail is one that I made up — except it turns out to already exist. The existing version is called a gin sour, but I had never heard of a gin sour until now. It also turns out to be a Tom Collins without any soda water.
So the cocktail, which I am calling an Unoriginal Idea, is not my own creation at all. But it is still refreshing and utterly charming. It is a simple combination of gin, lemon juice and superfine sugar.
My final signature drink recommendation is named for one of St. Louis’ classiest icons. I call it the Grable, as in Betty. It combines two of my favorite liquors, bourbon and Grand Marnier. That’s a little heavy, so I lighten it up with a splash of soda water.
It’s sophistication in a glass. It’s all you need to take a gathering and turn it into a party.
Unoriginal Idea
Yield: 16 servings. Recipe by Daniel Neman.
1 (750 ml) bottle gin
1 cup lemon juice, preferably fresh-squeezed
1 cup superfine sugar, see note
Note: To make superfine sugar, place granulated sugar in a blender and blend until powdery, about 10 seconds. Can be stored indefinitely in an airtight container.
Mix together gin, lemon juice and superfine sugar in a pitcher. Refrigerate before serving or serve over ice.
New Old-Fashioned
Yield: 12 servings
1 (750 ml) bottle rye or bourbon
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) simple syrup, see note
1/2 cup water
12 dashes Angostura bitters
12 maraschino cherries
12 slices orange
Note: To make simple syrup, mix equal parts sugar and water in a small pot and heat to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. For this recipe, brown sugar works best. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Mix together rye or bourbon, simple syrup, water and bitters in a pitcher; stir until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. To serve, pour a generous 2 ounces (1/4 cup) mixture over ice and garnish with cherry and orange slice.
Grable
Yield: 16 servings. Recipe by Daniel Neman.
1 (750 ml) bottle bourbon
1 1/2 cups Grand Marnier
Soda water
16 maraschino cherries
Mix together bourbon and Grand Marnier in a pitcher, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. To serve, pour over ice in an old-fashioned glass, fill with soda water and add a cherry.
Rose Margarita
Yield: 8 servings. Recipe by Jen Kubiszewski
1 bottle rose wine
1 cup tequila
1 cup lime juice, preferably fresh-squeezed
1 1/2 cups simple syrup, see note
Note: To make simple syrup, mix 11/2 cups granulated sugar and 11/2 cups water in a small pot and heat to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Mix wine, tequila, lime juice and simple syrup in a pitcher, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. To serve, pour into a salt-rimmed margarita glass and garnish with a wedge of lime.
Southside Strangler
Yield: 16 servings. Recipe by Daniel Neman.
1 (750 ml) bottle lemon (or citron) vodka
3 cups orange juice, preferably fresh-squeezed
2 cups grapefruit juice, preferably fresh-squeezed
1 cup Cointreau or other orange-flavored liqueur
16 maraschino cherries
Mix together the vodka, orange juice, grapefruit juice and Cointreau in a pitcher, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. To serve, pour over ice and garnish with a cherry.
Cosmopolitan
Yield: 16 servings. Recipe by Derek Watridge.
1 (750 ml) bottle Absolut citron (lemon) vodka
11/2 cups Cointreau
2 cups cranberry juice
2 cups Rose’s Lime Juice
16 lemon rind twists
Combine vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice and Rose’s Lime Juice in a pitcher. Stir well and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate. To serve, pour over ice and garnish with a twist.
