There’s no denying that cold days are made easier with booze to warm the soul, so why not get a head start with some at-home mixology training? After all, making yourself a good drink doesn’t have to be intimidating. Kick off your home bartending career with these four classic cocktail recipes from the Tribune archive—no shaker or super-fancy tools required. We’ll even teach you how to flame an orange peel to add smoky flavor to your old fashioned, manhattan or negroni (trust us, you can do it). Stock your bar now, and thank yourself later when temperatures dip below zero.
OLD FASHIONED
1 teaspoon simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 ounces bourbon
Large ice cubes
1 orange peel
Combine simple syrup, bitters and bourbon in a mixing glass. Stir with ice cubes. Strain over fresh ice into a chilled glass. Twist orange peel over the surface of the cocktail, rub it around the rim of the glass and drop in the drink. –This recipe is a classic from “The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique” by Jeffrey Morgenthaler
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MANHATTAN
2 ounces bourbon or rye whiskey
1 ounce sweet vermouth
3 dashes aromatic bitters
Macerated maraschino cherry for garnish
Pour rye, sweet vermouth and aromatic bitters into a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir until desired temperature and/or dilution is reached. Strain into a glass filled with large ice cubes or straight up in a chilled glass. Garnish with a macerated maraschino cherry.
MOSCOW MULE
2 ounces vodka, chilled
1 lime wedge
Ginger beer, to taste, chilled
Pour vodka into an ice-filled copper mug. Squeeze in juice from lime wedge; drop wedge into cup. Top with chilled ginger beer.
NEGRONI
2 tablespoons each: Campari, sweet vermouth, gin
3 or 4 ice cubes
Soda water, optional
Orange peel for garnish
Pour Campari, vermouth and gin into an old fashioned glass. Add ice; stir. Serve with soda water or as is. Garnish with orange peel.
EXTRAS AND GARNISHES
Simple syrup: Combine two parts sugar to one part water in a small saucepan. Simmer until sugar melts. Let cool to room temperature.
Macerated cherries: Buy your favorite fresh cherries and pack them in a jar with sugar for one day, then fill the jar with maraschino liqueur. Marinate cherries for a week. If need be, marinate a few days more until that distinctive maraschino cherry taste and texture is achieved. –From mixologist Dale DeGroff in “The Essential Cocktail”
Flamed citrus peel: Cut a quarter-size circle from the skin or zest of the fruit. Hold the zest “coin” between thumb and forefinger over the drink. Place a lighter or lit match below the peel; squeeze peel sharply to propel oil through the flame and into the drink.