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Cocktail Stories

Cocktail Stories

Bea Bradsell on the real story of the Espresso Martini

To celebrate Espresso Martini Day, Bea Bradsell - recently appointed on-trade director at Glasgow-based agency The Drink Cabinet -  shares the story behind her father Dick Bradsell's coffee-vodka classic. 

Cocktail Stories

Classics: La Louisiane

Clinton Cawood unearths the lesser-known New Orleans classic La Louisiane.

Cocktail Stories

Modern classics: the Penicillin

The poster-cocktail for modern-era classic creation is the Penicillin by Sam Ross. Clinton Cawood brings the potted history. 

Cocktail Stories

Classics: The Irish Coffee

The Irish Coffee is the latest cocktail under Clinton Cawood's microscope. He brings us the history and this hot-cold classic.

Cocktail Stories

Classics: Remember the Maine

Clinton Cawood unearths the dusty old classic Remember the Maine, which in constitution is not dissimilar to the Manhattan.

Cocktail Stories

Modern classics: The Old Cuban

Clinton Cawood's latest investigations into modern classics takes him to Audrey Saunders' Old Cuban.

Cocktail Stories

Classics: The story of the Corpse Reviver #2

Clinton Cawood takes a trip down memory lane with the Corpse Reviver #2.Bright and bracing, this century-old classic certainly lives up to its name, having brought countless drinkers back to life over the years, particularly in bygone times when a morning cocktail was a more common means of undoing the effects of the night before. It’s a revivifying drink at any time of the day though, for those suffering near-fatal hangovers or not.

Cocktail Stories

Classics: Making sense of the history of the Negroni

Our series on Classics stops in on the Negroni. How much of this old cocktail's yarn is true, we'll let cocktail writer Clinton Cawood be the judge

Cocktail Stories

Classics: The story of the Tuxedo

Clinton Cawood dusts off the storied Martini-twist the Tuxedo.

Cocktail Stories

Modern classics: all about the Paper Plane

First up in our series on modern classics is Sam Ross' Last Word twist: Paper Plane. 

Cocktail Stories

Julio Bermejo: how I make the Tommy's Margarita

Hamish Smith gets the full skinny on the Tommy’s Margarita from the creator himself, Julio Bermejo.

Cocktail Stories

The New Fashioned - how the classic of classics has changed

The Old Fashioned is being given a makeover, catering to demands for lower-abv and culinary cocktails. Tyler Zielinski looks at some of the twists that are available.

Cocktail Stories

The Manhattan - its history and falsehoods

A drink with a colourful, if erroneous, backstory, the Manhattan remains a classic among classics. Clinton Cawood traces its mukey origins.

Cocktail Stories

The Pisco Sour - an underrated classic with a disputed history

Clinton Cawood unearths the history of the South American classic.

Cocktail Stories

The past and present of the French 75

Clinton Cawood tackles, with military precision, a classic named after a field gun. 

Cocktail Stories

The story of scurvy, seafaring and the Gimlet

Clinton Cawood peels back the layers on a cocktail with a rich seafaring history.

Cocktail Stories

Florodora - the tale of the tribute cocktail that outlived its inspiration

With its stage musical roots, this fruity pick-me-up gives Jane Ryan a rich history to pick through.

Cocktail Stories

The Milk Punch: the story of a very English drink

Jane Ryan unpicks the history of this English classic.

Cocktail Stories

Golden oldie: the tale of the Champagne Cocktail

Jane Ryan hits the history books again to determine the origins of probably the oldest classic cocktail known to the world.

Cocktail Stories

The story of the Dark 'n Stormy

One of only a handful of trademarked cocktails, the Dark ’n Stormy has a long and rich history. Jane Ryan fills us in.

Cocktail Stories

The Rusty Nail - why the 70s classic just makes sense

Jane Ryan hammers home the delights of this simple combination of scotch and Drambuie

Cocktail Stories

How the Piña Colada turned from kitsch to cool

Jane Ryan chronicles the adventures of the Piña Colada - from Puerto Rico to East London and everything in between.

Cocktail Stories

Ramos Gin Fizz - do it right, or not at all

Jane Ryan explores the roots of a much-copied classic, the shake of which is subject to much debate.

Cocktail Stories

The Sazerac - behold and beware

Jane Ryan delves into the annals of cocktail history to unearth the beginnings of the Sazerac – the drink that so often ends the night.

Cocktail Stories

The Whisky Highball story part 2: The ball that rolled

In Part 2 of Tristan Stephenson’s opus on the Highball, we hear how the ‘ball’ rolled around the world

Cocktail Stories

The Martinez - why this classic is misunderstood

Jane Ryan continues her exploration of the classics with a venture into the confusing world of the Martinez

Cocktail Stories

The Whisky Highball story part 1: High time

In the first of two articles on the Whisky Highball, Tristan Stephenson explains why this now-popular serve took its time to catch on in the UK. The story starts in Japan.

Cocktail Stories

How the Old Fashioned stayed old fashioned

Jane Ryan’s journey through the cocktail ages takes her to the Old Fashioned, an American drink the English had more than a small part in preserving, she says

Cocktail Stories

How the Espresso Martini survived the 1980s

Jane Ryan traces the chequered history of the Espresso Martini. 

Cocktail Stories

The Bloody Mary: go easy, it's not a garnish arms race

Jane Ryan traces the history of the most famous hangover ‘cure’ ever invented.