Your Favorite Cocktail

[bremersm]

When on a date night, or at nice restaurant and not feeling wine, I order a vodka martini, dirty, on the rocks, with extra olives. I had dinner years ago with a few gentlemen and saw one order it. Tried it, and love it.

At home and with friends, Bourbon is my go to.

Whoa color me intrigued. I have never had a Dirty Martini on the rocks. I might need to try that.

[Dev]

Gin Gimlet is my standard, though I'm always interested in trying something new.

[biggumby]

I'm a bourbon guy and I've been drinking a few Manhattans over the past few months. While the rye is good, I like mine better with bourbon and on the rocks(mostly because I don't feel comfortable drinking from a martini glass).

[the new transported man]

Sazerac if the bar has the absinthe/aperol & a mister. Any rye will do! At home, it's bourbon + agave + ginger shaken, club soda on top. Or just a short glass of rye or bourbon. If it's brown, drink it down.

[BA]

Manhattans are a solid bet. If you have a decent bartender, a Negroni, or specifically a Cornwall Negroni is always good. With the proliferation of bars specializing in cocktails I usually order something unusual to try. If you're paying $, why not give something a whirl that you probably wouldn't have the ingredients for at home?

[Jessy Diamond]

If you have a decent bartender, a Negroni, or specifically a Cornwall Negroni is always good.

How do you know if the bartender's good when visiting a new place?

[Johdus]

Been experimenting with St. Germain - an elderberry liquor from France. Extremely refreshing taste. Goes well with standard mixers.

[BA]

How do you know if the bartender's good when visiting a new place?

You can usually tell by glancing at the cocktail menu. If it is featured prominently and doesn't have things like Maui Zowie Zombie Long Island Iced Tea on it, you should be ok. Also, observing the bar for a second before you order is also a good idea--if the staff look overwhelmed or intimidated, chances are they are new or not up to speed. I usually sit at the bar for a drink if I can as most of the bartenders I've encountered are pretty excited about talking about different concoctions if you show an interest beyond the usual brown or clear plus soda. Any place that is slammed busy I usually just get a premium beer since the cocktail will prob be sloppily or badly prepared. But I'm way more partial to more laid back bars/restaurants anyway.

[dapperazn]

Grey Goose and ginger ale is my go to for most places.

[JGL]

Whiskey Sour
Gin & 7
Rye & Ginger

[LesserBlackDog]

Ginger ale is one of my favorite mixers. Ginger ale and fresh squeezed lime goes with all kinds of liquors. Tuaca, ginger ale, and lime is probably my favorite semi-girly mixed drink. Best with higher quality ginger ales - Hansen's is pricey but has a really nice, spicy ginger kick to it.

I also enjoy a [fill in the blank] sour as long as the "sour" is homemade - fresh lemon or lime juice with simple syrup, rather than lemon-lime soda. I liked amaretto sours a lot when I was in college, and now I enjoy a nice whisky sour.

To me, mixed drinks are like cooking - the fresher and simpler the ingredients, the better it will taste.

[Leslie Chow]

Rusty Nail. Scotch and Drambruie.

[kevinD]

I always ask for a Moscow Mule but most places can't make it, so it's a gin and tonic or Knob Creek and Coke

[greg_s]

Sazerac is currently my favorite. Though that's probably more of a cocktail and less of a mixed drink if we're splitting hairs. I make a lot of my own liqueurs which is very easy and they lend themselves very well to mixing. Currently going to try a basil vodka gimlet this weekend. Also making a lemongrass ginger liqueur that I think will make a mean gimlet.

Whatever the drink I like it to highlight, rather than mask, the flavor of the liquor.

[yoyorobbo]

Mostly Manhattans.

My dad digs them too, so it's nice to make us both one, whenever my parents are over. There's some further family history with them too, as his mom (my Grandma) used to make a pitcher of the darn things (IIRC), and she'd often serve them up, with extra cherries, when we would visit her. That was a quite a while ago, so the details are dusty, but the memory is still there.


Old Fashioneds are great too, but many bars hose them up pretty badly. I like to make them at home, when I have the time to *muddle* and such.

In the summer, I like to make myself a Negroni, and chill by the pool.

I did the gin&tonic thing back in the '90s, but have switched from tonic to club soda for a mixer in most cases requiring one; usually a whisky/bourbon based drink.


All of that being said, my most frequent alcoholic drink choice is whisky (bourbon, Canadian, rye) - usually on the rocks; neat if I wanna warm up.