Cocktailing for beginners Pt 8:- Putting it together

If you've been buying along you should now have a pretty good drinks cabinet.
Let's look at some things we can make.
Gin & both types of vermouth is the basis for a number of great drinks, here's one that uses pretty much everything at once

The journalist

6 pts gin
1 pt sweet vermouth
1 pt dry vermouth
1 dash bitter
1 dash lemon juice
1 dash triple sec.

Shake hard over ice.

or for a real classic

The Bronx

3 pts gin
1 pt dry vermouth
1 pt sweet vermouth
1 pt orange juice

finishing up with gin if you switch it in for the brandy in a side car you get

The white lady

2 pts gin
1 pt lemon
1 pt Cointreau or if you prefer you can use Embury's formula for a sour type drink of 8 base spirit (gin in this case) 2 sour (lemon juice) 1 sweet (Cointreau)

Brandy
you can swap brandy for bourbon in both the old fashioned & the Manhattan for a deeper taste or try one of these

The gazette


5 pts brandy
4 pts sweet vermouth
2 dashes lemon juice
a pinch of sugar if wanted & stir with ice

The Charles


1 pt brandy
1 pt sweet vermouth
1 dash bitters stir with ice

and finally our last base spirit

Bourbon


The admiral


6 pts bourbon
3 pts lemon juice
2 pts dry vermouth shake over ice & serve

The westminster


4 pts Bourbon
3 pts dry vermouth
3 parts sweet vermouth stir with ice

Of the above the journalist & the white lady are the ones I've drunk most, but my taste tends to run to dry citric gin cocktails. The admiral makes a good aperitif and I make it now & then. Brandy is tricky as its a very aromatic base so it tends to steer clear of vermouths and run with Brandy liqueurs, such as apricot & cherry.

Next time we'll look at another base spirit and another real classic cocktail