Did you know that Kissinger once said “Covert action should not be confused with missionary work” after leading hundreds of thousands of Kurds to their deaths in order to destabilize the Middle East? Or that he facilitated the Cambodian genocide, African civil wars, coups and death squads in Latin America? He’s directly responsible for more than three million deaths, which definitely puts him in the villain category. He finally did something to make the world a better place and died in 2023.

Anyways, totally totally unrelated, but this cocktail is real tasty.

What You'll Need

• 1.5 part dry gin
• 3/4 part Strega
• 1/2 part crème de cassis
• 2 dashes of orange bitters
• Champagne to taste

Shake all parts except Champagne in ice until well chilled. Strain into Collins glass and top with Champagne. It’s a celebration, after all.

Ada Coleman created this cocktail in the 1920’s for Sir Charles Hawtrey, a celebrated actor who visited London’s swank Savoy Hotel. As the story goes, he asked for a drink with a punch. Coleman served him this fine number, leading him to exclaim “By Jove! That is the real hanky-panky!” The name stuck.

What You'll Need

• 1 1/2 part gin
• 1 1/2 part sweet vermouth
• 2 dashes Cynar
• orange twist

Add the liquids into a mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with an orange twist.

The Feast of Saint Patrick (Lá Fhéile Pádraig), is held on 17 March and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. It’s perceived as the middle day of spring and people expected that weather would improve, so farmers would begin planting potato and other crops. It’s celebrated with parades and merrymaking and wearing of green attire or shamrocks. Just as importantly, the Lenten restrictions on drinking alcohol were lifted for the day.

So let’s celebrate with a St Patrick’s Day inspired cocktail combining London Dry Gin and single grain whiskey. It’s strong and complex, just like your favorite Irelander.

What You'll Need

• 2 parts Ford’s London Dry Gin
• 2 parts Irish Whiskey
• 1 part Sloe Gin
• 1 part sweet vermouth
• Dash of orange bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime twist.

The Last Word was created just before the start of Prohibition, around 1915. After decades of being lost to history, it was rediscovered and its heady balance of sweet, sour and herbal flavors made it one of the first pre-Prohibition drinks to lead the cocktail revival of the noughties.

Noughties is just a silly fun word that means the first decade of a century. Say it with me, the noooouuuuughties.

In any case, I hope The Last Word will leave you, um, speechless.

ℹ️ The Carthusian monks deep in the mountains of France who produce Chartreuse from a top secret recipe cannot keep up with demand and there’s a global shortage. I’ve replaced it with Dolin Génépy le Chamois.

What You'll Need

• 3/4 part gin
• 3/4 part Dolin Génépy le Chamois
• 3/4 part Luxardo maraschino liqueur
• 3/4 part lime juice
• Brandied cherry as garnish

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

So why’s it called Mah Nà Mah Nà? No one knows. But the song that’s probably in your head right now was originally written for the soundtrack of a 60’s film about wild sexual activity, lesbian nightclubs, and swinging in Sweden. The song, while not exactly being sexy at all, accompanied a suggestive sauna scene which gave it its original title “Viva la Sauna Svedese” (“Hooray for the Swedish Sauna”). The Muppets came later.

I don’t know how you get from there to this cocktail, but there you have it.

What You'll Need

• 1 part Gin
• 3/4 part Aquavit
• 1/2 part Strega
• 1/2 part Lemon juice
• Lemon twist as garnish

Add the liquids into a mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

The Negroni is said to have been invented in Florence by the dashing Italian adventurer Count Camillo Negroni who decided that his favorite cocktail, the Americano, just wasn’t strong enough. Replacing the usual soda water with gin was just the thing to put hair on your chest or whatever it was that manly men were after.

That fateful substitution resulted in one of the most popular stirred drinks in history, and its simple ratios has made a platform for thousands of riffs. For example, if you substituted bourbon for the gin you’d get a Boulevardier and using dark rum gets you a Kingston.

My preference is a less bitter cocktail, so mine is the more controversial take of replacing the Campari with Aperol. Or if you’d like to amp it up to 11, try it Magröni style by using Malört instead!

You can try it any way you like it!

What You'll Need

• 1 part gin
• 1 part Campari, Aperol, or Malört
• 1 part sweet vermouth
• Orange twist as garnish

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

London is famous for its foggy weather. The geography of the city is like a basin, so when moisture rises from the river running through, it’s trapped and settles in. Then as the Industrial Revolution filled the air with pollutants, the fog grew dark and dank and eventually became the toxic pea soup of legends.

There are several takes on a London Fog cocktail, from a blended Scotch concoction to a smoky absinthe masterpiece. This one simply riffs on the Earl Grey tea drink, and brings it home to the good old PNW for a local twist. We first had this cocktail at the Hi-Top tavern around the way.

What You'll Need

• 2 part Aria gin
• 1 part Earl Grey simple syrup
• a splash of Bénédictine
• Lemon slice as garnish

Stir with ice in a rocks glass until well chilled. Garnish with a lemon slice, squeeze juice to taste.

Whitechapel is a swank pub in the San Francisco Embassy hotel. This cocktail combines the light sweetness of an Old Tom gin with blanc vermouth and a splash of Bénédictine for a cocktail that drinks like a Martini, but with more complexity and crucially, fewer preconceptions and less pretentious.

What You'll Need

• 1 1/2 part Old Tom gin
• 1 part blanc vermouth
• 1/4 part Bénédictine
• 2 dashes orange bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Express an orange peel over the drink and discard.