Top 5 G.O.A.T Cocktails According to Bartenders on World Cocktail Day

Celebrate World Cocktail Day, May 13, with the Top 5 Greatest of All Time cocktails according to bartenders.

 

First, a bit of history, as one version of the story goes. On a special day back in 1806, an upstate New York newspaper known as The Balance and Columbian Repository published the original definition of the word “cock-tail.” The famous line read, “A stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters.”

 

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word originates from the physical appearance of a horse’s tail. A thoroughbred horse by default had a tail that hung downward. On the other hand, one that was mixed possessed a tail similar to a cock’s ; a “docked tail,” which stuck upward instead.

 

But enough of the history lesson. In honor of World Cocktail Day, Chilled’s expert bartenders compiled a list of cocktails they deem to be the G.O.A.T.’s.

 

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5. The Martini

Known for its unmistakably cool and clean character, the Martini will forever hold its spot as one of the colossal cocktails. While several theories contest the truth of the drink’s origin, one of the most prevalent stems from the city of Martinez, California during the Gold Rush of the 1800’s. The rumor is a parched gold miner traveled to a local bar seeking a way to celebrate his newfound fortune. After finding out his desired choice of champagne was unavailable, he let the bartender whip something crafty up from what was in stock. What resulted was a drink called the Martinez, a concoction comprised of gin, vermouth, bitters, maraschino liqueur, and a lemon. It is widely believed that its evolutionary successor was the Martini!

Martini

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ oz. Gin or Vodka
• ½ oz. Dry Vermouth
• Lemon (for garnish)

Preparation: Chill the Martini glass before serving by placing it in the freezer. Place the gin or vodka and dry vermouth into a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for 30 seconds. Strain the mixture into your chilled Martini glass and garnish with a lemon peel or olive Peel or Olives

 

 

4. The Daiquiri

Opposite the Martini and many other classic cocktails, the Daiquiri’s backstory is no urban legend. Widely known today as a strawberry-flavored boozy slushy, the concoction’s foundation was nothing but a simple sour with a base spirit, citrus, and sweetener. The original documentation was an authentic recipe card signed and dated in 1896 by an American engineer named Jennings Cox. Cox, an employee of Cuba’s mining industry, would frequently host guests and provide entertainment in the form of booze. One night he came across a dire inconvenience; there was no gin left. To hastily resolve the issue, he went out with the goal of obtaining the most readily available spirit, which at the time was rum. Upon returning with the locally made booze, he decided to craft a punch that contained other plentiful ingredients such as sugar and citrus. He poured the ingredients over ice, topped it with mineral water, and the rest is history!

Daiquiri

Ingredients:

• 2 parts Light Rum
• 1 part Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
• 2 tsp. Sugar
• Mint leaf

Preparation: Place sugar and lime juice into a cocktail shaker and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Pour in the rum and fill the shaker with ice. Shake vigorously until thoroughly chilled. Strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a mint leaf.

 

 

3. The Negroni

The most accepted tale of the Negroni’s conception dates to 1919 at Caffe Casoni in Florence, Italy. Count Camillo Negroni requested that his bartender, Forsco Scarselli , add some kick to his go-to beverage (the Americano) by replacing the soda water with gin. Scarselli added an orange garnish, instead of the lemon typically associated with an Americano. Little time passed by before all the locals were coming into the same bar for a “Negroni.” The drink’s widespread success allowed the Negroni family to establish Negroni Distillerie in Treviso, Italy.

Negroni

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. gin
• 1 oz. Campari
• 1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• Orange Twist (for garnish)

Preparation: Add all liquid ingredients to a mixing glass with ice. Stir until chilled and strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Express an orange peel over the top of the drink and drop it in as a garnish.

 

 

2. Margarita

Arguably the most convoluted and multilayered history belongs to the Margarita, the ultra-satisfying cocktail which possesses the perfect balance of 4 of the 5 detectable flavor profiles: sour, salty, bitter, and sweet. Mainstream media caught its first glimpse of the drink in Jose Cuervo ads as early as 1945 with the punchline, “Margarita: it’s more than a girl’s name.” Twenty years later, it debuted in print when the Oxford English Dictionary formally classified the Margarita as “a cocktail made with tequila and citrus fruit juice.”

The cocktail’s true conception however is believed to have taken place sometime in the 30’s. Of all the possible accounts, the most acknowledged took place in Tijuana Mexico. One day, bartender and owner of a restaurant, Carlos “Denny” Herera, faced the challenge of pleasing the limited palate of a booze-allergic Ziegfeld girl named Marjorie King. It is said that Marjorie was only capable of drinking tequila without reacting negatively, yet she didn’t like anything served straight up. Denny improvised by adding salt and lime, making the first ever Margarita.

Margarita

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Tequila
• 1 oz. Cointreau
• 1 oz. Lime Juice

Preparation: Rim a glass with a lime slice to make the salt stick. Shake the tequila, lime juice, and Cointreau in a shaker with ice and pour into the glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

 

 

1. The Old Fashioned

The number one Greatest of All Time cocktails according to bartenders is The Old Fashioned.

The Old Fashioned is one of the world’s first cocktails, dating back to around 1880. Legend has it that James E. Pepper, master distiller of his bourbon, introduced the world to the drink in the midst of a trip to Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Here he met frequently with other renown businessmen like John D. Rockefeller, Theodore Roosevelt, and Fred Pabst. As the recipe for the Old Fashioned is extremely straightforward, it is still essential to use top quality bourbon or rye to execute correctly.

The Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Good Quality Rye or Bourbon
• 1/2 tsp. Sugar
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Preparation: Add the sugar and bitters to a rocks glass and lightly muddle. Add the bourbon and ice and gently stir to combine. Express an orange peel over the glass and use as garnish.