One of those classical cocktails, Vieux Carre gets its name from its place of origin – the French Quarters in New Orleans (which is also called Vieux Carre). It was invented by Walter Bergeron in the 1930s. The bar he worked in when he invented this was called (and still is) Carousel bar. If any one is visiting New Orleans, this bar is inside Hotel Monteleone on Royal St (between Bienville St and Iberville St).

On the lighter side, any Bengali having a vague idea about French pronunciation is probably going to stay away from this drink – “kenona ei drink-e oder bhoy korey” 🙂

This cocktail has Rye Whiskey, Cognac, Benedictine and bitters.

This is a very close cousin of the Bijou. Instead of the (orange) bitters, you use Campari which leaves its unique bitter taste and aroma at the end of the sip. Swett Vermouth, Gin, Green Chartreuse and of course, Campari.

Frangelico and Vodka served in a Martini glass dipped in lime juice and powdered sugar in the edges…

Originally created in Vong’s Thai Kitchen in Chicago, this cocktail has vodka, hypnotiq, cointreau and lime juice.

This drink was created by William Elliott in the bar of Maison Premiere in Brooklyn, NY back in 2012. It used to sell for $13 then and I believe it sets you back by $17 now.

It is a very interesting but refreshing drink. It has gin, absinthe, aperol, sweet vermouth, orange bitters and crushed ice.. Technically, you should put in a couple of drops of orange flower water too. Unless you are a connoisseur, you won’t notice it if that is skipped.

It is pretty interesting for a Julep. For one, there is no muddled mint. Instead you put in absinthe. You mix the ingredients first and then put the crushed ice. Moment you put the crushed ice, you can smell the minty smell of absinthe pouring out. The mint sprig completes the bouquet. The Pontarlier part of the name comes from the traditional French home for absinthe distillation.

The gin is mostly to stretch the strength of the absinthe. The bittersweet taste with the strong mint aroma makes it very refreshing on a hot and muggy day like today.

I would let the crushed ice to sit for some time to get the full effect of the drink.

Not sure what the history of the name is. It is a gin based, slightly sharp drink due to the lime juice.

Gin, Chartreuse, Lillet Blanc and lime juice. I added a little simple syrup to soften the acidic sharpness.

After a prtty tiring three days on the road – driving and meeting up and down Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virgina and DC and a delayed flight back home… finally time to be by myself and have a new cocktail.

This one has gin, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur and bitters…

For folks who like Bourbon based cocktails, this can be a nice one to start the evening with. Other than Bourbon, it has Benedictine, Sweet Vermouth and Bitters.

From the grand old book of cocktails – Savoy Cocktail Book of 1930, this classic drink has sweet vermouth, gin, anisette liqueur, brandy and a dash of grenadine…

Did some research on different kind of Spritzes and thought would try this one out today. If you like Negroni or slightly bitter drinks, you might enjoy this. BTW, “sbagliato” means mistaken or incorrect in Italian. That might have to do with the fact that, by mistake, Prosecco was added instead of gin!

Here is the history I read: The legendary Bar Basso in Milan (which originally opened in 1933 and moved to its current space in 1947) claims to have given birth to this drink. The jovial proprietor Maurizio Stocchetto tells his patrons the story that his father Mirko – the legendary midcentury barman and original owner of the place – was the “accidental” inventor of the drink in the early 1970s. (By mistake added Prosecco instead of gin).

If anyone of you ever visit Milan, try out this place (it is on Via Plinio) and check out their handblown goblets and huge icecubes that they serve this drink with.

Campari, Sweet Vermouth and Prosecco.