Philadelphia Weekly

DRINK

Philly Bartenders' Guide to Classic Cocktails

By Rachel Stumpo

Add Comment | Comments: 1 | Posted Nov. 9, 2010

Start with a sugar cube
Add an orange slice and a cherry and muddle
Add 2 oz. bourbon
Add 3 to 4 dashes of Angostura bitters
Top with a splash of club soda

Amateur Hour: Too much sugar, too much bitters.

Penicillin

It’s a balanced, sweet drink that’s easy to make in a mixing container and strain out the ice—great for parties, and makes the medicine go down. Mix:

A bit of fresh lemon juice
Add 3/8 oz. ginger and muddle
Add 3/8 oz. of honey cut 1-to-1 with water, kind of like simple syrup
Top with 2 oz. scotch

Amateur Hour: This one's pretty easy, but watch your proportions.

Brooklyn Heights

An elegant variation on a Manhattan.

1/4 oz. Luxardo Amaro Abano (mild Italian bitters)
Add a couple dashes of orange bitters
Add 3/4 oz. dry vermouth
1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur
1 3/4 oz. rye whiskey
Finish with a spray of Campari

Amateur Hour: Wateriness. It’s all about the ice, says Dave. Ranstead Room’s hand-cracked ice comes in large, solid pieces that chill in the alcohol without watering it down.

Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.

Bartender: Al's been working at Franklin Mortgage since it opened, and before that had been bartending for about eight years.

Brooklyn

Another Manahattan take. Picon, an orange-y bitters usually found in France, is hard to find in the states—the Franklin makes their own in-house (and, like Ranstead, prefer hand-cracked ice). Al gave up the drink recipe, but you'll have to find your own Picon. Mix equal parts, and serve up:

Rye Whiskey
Dry Vermouth
Picon
Maraschino liqueur

Amateur Hour: Replacing the Picon with another type of bitters.

Daiquiri

Don't think of this drink as feminine—Al doesn't believe in assigning drinks a gender.

Pour 2 oz. white rum
Add 3 oz. fresh lime juice
Add 3 oz. house-made simple syrup
Shake and pour

Amateur Hour: Using juice from a plastic lime instead of fresh, or over-sugariness—daiquiris have an undeserved T.G.I.Friday's rep because they're frequently made sticky and sweet. The sugar-water ratio in simple syrup should be 1-to-1.

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