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  1. Home
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  3. 16 Whiskey Cocktail Recipes Every Home Bartender Should Know
Cocktails + Spirits

16 Whiskey Cocktail Recipes Every Home Bartender Should Know

By Food & Wine Editors February 24, 2022
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old fashioned cocktail
Credit: Lucas Allen

It's perfectly fine to enjoy your whiskey neat or on the rocks, but a whiskey cocktail (or "whisky" depending on where you are in the world) is a particular delight. A classic Manhattan, Old-Fashioned, Whiskey Sour, Mint Julep, or Rob Roy certainly celebrates the best of whiskey's many pleasures, but even whiskey lovers can find something new in creative whiskey cocktail recipes like the Scotch-based Paris Between the Wars, a rye-spiked Northern Standard, the warm Irish whiskey-kissed Gaelic Punch,  or a spiritous The Circle of the Sun that may wake you up to a new side of Japanese whiskey. Whether you're sticking with a standard or sipping something unexpected, you'll find the best whiskey cocktail recipes for your tastes right here.

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New York Sour

New York Sour
Credit: Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas
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With the perfect balance of fruity red wine and smoky-sweet bourbon, the New York Sour cocktail is a classic for a reason. Shaking the cocktail with large ice cubes will chill the cocktail without diluting it, and those large cubes look great in a rocks glass, too.

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Old-Fashioned

old fashioned cocktail
Credit: Lucas Allen
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According to cocktail historian David Wondrich, the old-fashioned is a direct descendant of the earliest known cocktail, which in 1806 consisted of "a little water, a little sugar, a lot of liquor and a couple splashes of bitters." Purists may scoff at the inclusion of a muddled cherry, but if it brings you pleasure, don't hold back.

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Paris Between the Wars

Paris Between the Wars Cocktail
Credit: Photo by Victor Protasio / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
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With rich smokiness from the blended Scotch, rounded bitterness from Campari, and a tart bite from fresh lemon juice, this cocktail from New Orleans hospitality legends Ti and Lally Brennan is well-balanced and extra-refreshing thanks to a splash of sparkling wine.

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Big-Batch Rye Sours

Big-Batch Rye Sours Recipe
Credit: Gregory DuPree
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Hibiscus flowers, curaçao, and lemon juice bring bright and refreshing floral notes to bartender Sother Teague's rye-based cocktail. And should you fall in love with it, you'll be delighted to know that this recipe yields 15 servings.

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Gaelic Punch

Gaelic Punch
Credit: © Tina Rupp
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Punch prophet David Wondrich notes that for hot drinks, young Irish whiskeys work best. Heat intensifies the tannic edge of older whiskey; young ones stay smooth. Nutmeg, cloves, and citrus peels round out the cozy comfort.

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The Circle of the Sun

The Circle of the Sun
Credit: © Lucas Allen
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Bartender Jason Patz says, "I was looking to make a spirituous cocktail, but one that isn't a punch-you-in-the-mouth drink." He lightens Japanese whisky with vermouth and pear liqueur in this elegant, stirred drink.

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Bourbon-Tea Julep

Bourbon Tea Julep
Credit: Kelly Marshall
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Tannins from black tea add a beautiful hint of bitterness to author and bon vivant Alexander Small's twist on a classic mint julep. Oleo saccharum, also known as citrus oil, is made here by steeping lemon peels in sugar; its bright flavor is the perfect lift to finish each sip.

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Northern Standard

Northern Standard Cocktail Recipe
Credit: Carey Jones
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This drink is a shade more complex than a Manhattan, thanks to three different bitter elements. Created by mixologist James Ives, this full-flavored cocktail uses rye aged in charred barrels to balance out the richness of Carpano vermouth for a sip that's equally strong and smooth.

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Morrison Mule

Morrison Mule
Credit: © Eva Kolenko
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In memory of Jim Morrison's stay at the historic Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans (and his affinity for whiskey), Benton Bourgeois of the hotel's Hot Tin bar offers this take on a classic Moscow Mule with bourbon and local Peychaud's Aperitivo.

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Bottled Manhattan

Bottled Manhattan
Credit: Greg DuPree
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Pre-mixing batches of Dave Arnold and Don Lee's rye-forward Manhattan in bottles and stashing them in a cooler allows you to separate chilling from dilution, resulting in a perfect drink every time. Lee notes, "Making a bottled cocktail is great for dinner party planning, too, because it lets you do the work ahead of time."

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Palmer Park Swizzle

Palmer Park Swizzle
Credit: © Eva Kolenko
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The ultimate Southern refresher, this cocktail from the Bayou Bar at the Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans combines tea-infused bourbon, lime juice and mint for a whiskey-forward take on iced tea.

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Classic Manhattan

Manhattan
Credit: © Wendell T. Webber
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Rye whiskey, vermouth, and Angostura bitters are all it takes to craft this iconic cocktail. A cherry is the standard garnish, but if a lemon twist fits your mood, follow that bliss.

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Chocolate & Whiskey Liqueur

Chocolate & Whiskey Liqueur
Credit: © Hans Gissinger
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For chocolatier Christopher Elbow's first annual employee Christmas party, he mixed up a chocolate-and-whiskey liqueur that's creamy, boozy and delicious, straight up, over ice or even over ice cream. Elbow says, "The consensus at the Christmas party was that if we could get a liquor license, we should sell this at our shop!"

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Classic Sazerac

Cocktail recipe: Sazerac
Credit: © Lucas Allen
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A trip to New Orleans just wouldn't be complete without a sip of a Sazerac — the distinctive meld of rye whiskey, absinthe, Peychaud's bitters, simple syrup, and a lemon twist. 

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Irish Buck Cocktail

Irish Buck Cocktail
Credit: Eva Kolenko
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Light yet oaky, Irish whiskey joins tart lemon juice, honey, and spicy ginger beer in this refreshing, fizzy, basil-scented Irish Buck cocktail.

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Classic Mint Julep

Mint Julep
Credit: © Wendell T. Webber
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When New Orleans bartender Chris McMillian mixes mint juleps at Bar UnCommon, he recites an ode, written in the 1890s by a Kentucky newspaperman, that calls the cocktail "the zenith of man's pleasure…the very dream of drinks."

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    Everything in This Slideshow

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    1 of 16 New York Sour
    2 of 16 Old-Fashioned
    3 of 16 Paris Between the Wars
    4 of 16 Big-Batch Rye Sours
    5 of 16 Gaelic Punch
    6 of 16 The Circle of the Sun
    7 of 16 Bourbon-Tea Julep
    8 of 16 Northern Standard
    9 of 16 Morrison Mule
    10 of 16 Bottled Manhattan
    11 of 16 Palmer Park Swizzle
    12 of 16 Classic Manhattan
    13 of 16 Chocolate & Whiskey Liqueur
    14 of 16 Classic Sazerac
    15 of 16 Irish Buck Cocktail
    16 of 16 Classic Mint Julep

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