Perfecting the Cocktail

Food & Wine Cocktails 2009 is the ultimate drinks directory, with over 150 recipes and our spirits taste-test winners. Here, a peek.

Recipe:

Strawberry-Lemon Mojitos: Strawberries sweeten these mojitos from Joaquin Simo of NYC’s Death & Co.

Courtesy of Junípero Gin

Best Value: Beefeater
Crafted from the original 1820 recipe. $22

Best High-End: Junípero (left)
From Anchor Brewing’s distillery. $32

Best for Novices: Bombay Sapphire
Fresh and clean-tasting. $25

Best All-Purpose: Plymouth
From England’s oldest distillery. $30

Courtesy of Prairie Organic Vodka

Best Value: Smirnoff
One of liquor’s best price-quality ratios. $13

Best High-End: Grey Goose
Distilled in Cognac, France. $30

Best New: Prairie Organic (left)
Made of corn from Minnesota farm co-ops. $25

Best All-Purpose: Stolichnaya
Rationed to Soviet soldiers during World War II. $22

Courtesy of Gosling’s Rum

Best Light: 10 Cane
Aromatic, with notes of fruit and toffee. $35

Best Dark: Gosling’s Black Seal (left)
Bermuda’s oldest business. $20

Best Aged: Ron Zacapa 23-Year-Old
Beautiful and honey-inflected. $45

Best Rhum Agricole: Neisson Réserve Spéciale
Aged for up to 10 years. $67

Courtesy of Wild Turkey

Best Value Bourbon: Bulleit
Created in the 1800s by a Kentucky tavern-keeper. $36

Best Blended Scotch: Black Bottle
Good peatiness. $23

Best Value Rye: Wild Turkey Rye (left)
By 55-year veteran Jimmy Russell. $20

Best Single-Malt Scotch: The Macallan
Rich and malty. $50

Published March 2009