New drinks for a new decade? Sure! Bring on the ingenuity. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bathtub gin, so to speak, while looking forward to the next new thing; plenty of the drinks we’ve enjoyed in past years have deliciousness yet to offer. Far from being passé, these cocktails and flavor combinations continue to inspire and delight, and what a shame it would be to pass them over simply because the calendar starts anew.
Each member of your friendly Skurnik Spirits Team has selected a cocktail previously featured on the Skurnik website that is primed to offer continued enjoyment in the coming year. Whether drinks we never put down, or were jazzed to rediscover, we promise they won’t disappoint, so keep these tried and true tipples queued up in your 2020 cocktail rotation!
By making the recipe booze-forward and serving it on a big cube, I am more inclined to sit back and sip slowly, enjoying the bright marriage of mezcal with fresh citrus and Giffard Pamplemousse, rather than slamming it like a slurpy on a hot July day.
Yum… three more please!
- 1.5 oz Nuestra Soledad ‘San Luis’ Mezcal
- 1 oz Giffard Crème de Pamplemousse Rosé
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- .5 oz fresh orange juice
Combine ingredients in mixing tin; add ice & shake; strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a lime wedge and cucumber slice; salt rim (optional).
- 1.5 oz Domaine de Montreuil ‘Selection’ Calvados
- .75 oz Contratto Vermouth Rosso
- .5 oz Lemorton ‘Selection’ Calvados
- .25 oz Bigallet China China Amer
- 2 dashes apricot bitters
Combine ingredients in mixing glass; add ice & stir; strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a pear slice.
It also never fails to surprise me how switching up the vermouth of choice can completely change this cocktail’s personality. Skurnik has so many fun vermouths representing numerous styles, so there’s absolutely no reason to ever get bored of this failproof classic.
- 1.5 oz Contratto Americano
- 1.5 oz Contratto Bitter
- Top with seltzer
Build in highball, fill with ice, and top with seltzer. Stir once to incorporate and garnish with a long orange peel.
These can be dangerously easy to finish. Be warned!
- 1.5 oz Mizu Green Tea Shochu
- .5 oz Triple Sec
- Ice
- Soda
- Half an Orange w/ Juicer
Build in highball, fill with ice. Garnish with matcha-dipped orange twist.
While Toby added aged rum to the mix, we flipped for Cognac’s slightly brasher cousin, Armagnac. Bolstered by the cardamom, anise, and vanilla notes from Abbott’s Bitters, this is a delightful sour that is rich, tropical, and just creamy enough to suit any season.
Credit: Going Up! NYC
- 1.5 oz Château de Pellehaut ‘Selection’ 5yr Old Armagac
- .5 oz Giffard Ginger of the Indies
- .5 oz Giffard Orgeat
- .5 oz fresh lemon juice
- 2 dashes Abbott’s bitters
Combine ingredients in mixing tin; add ice & shake; strain into chilled cocktail glass.
Credit: c. 1953, Ian Fleming ; adapted for Skurnik Spirits
- 1.75 oz Hans Reisetbauer Blue Gin
- .75 oz Helix Vodka
- .5 oz Contratto Vermouth Bianco
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass; add ice and stir; strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
In 2020, however, I’m bringing back the long, sessionable, light and refreshing Bamboo Tonic. I mean, how can you go wrong? It like Chicken Parm Pizza; of course it’s good! This is the more elegant version of that.
Bamboo cocktails are THE BEST. And my body literally (not figuratively) craves quinine. Plus, I can drink a bunch of them and barely get drunk. If I want to get drunk, I’ll drink a martini.
- 1 oz Emilio Lustau Light Fino Sherry, ‘Jarana’
- .5 oz Vermouth Routin Dry
- 1 tsp Lustau ‘Los Arcos’ Amontillado Sherry
- 4 oz tonic
Combine ingredients in a mixing tin; add ice and shake. Strain over ice into a highball, with a long banana leaf garnish.
Find our Spirited Resolutions for 2019 here,
which focused on what we enjoyed drinking in 2018,
as well as what we looked forward to drinking more of in the new year!
