Invent Your Own Cocktail Party

By Food & Wine
Updated August 13, 2018
Photo © Dave Lauridsen
To help wannabe mixologists, rising-star bartender Eric Alperin threw a party at which he taught a handful of friends how to invent an original cocktail.
Start Slideshow

1 of 6

Invent Your Own Cocktail Party

Photo © Dave Lauridsen
Go to Recipe

Almost all great cocktails involve a few fundamental categories of flavor: strong, sweet, sour and bitter most commonly, plus the outliers floral, smoky and spicy (like cayenne pepper, a new drinks trend right now). With the right proportions, it's possible to play a mix-and-match game of ingredients, which makes coming up with a new drink strangely easy.

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 6

Holland Razor Blade

Photo © Dave Lauridsen
Go to Recipe

Alperin deconstructed some vintage cocktails, like the Holland Razor Blade: gin-like genever (strong), lemon juice (sour), simple syrup (sweet), cayenne pepper (spicy).

3 of 6

Manhattan

Go to Recipe

He also deconstructed a Manhattan: rye whiskey (strong), vermouth (sweet) and Angostura bitters (bitter).

Advertisement

4 of 6

Southside Royale

Go to Recipe

A Southside Royale: gin (strong), simple syrup (sweet), lime juice and champagne (sour) and mint (floral).

5 of 6

Old-Fashioned

PHOTO © DAVE LAURIDSEN
Go to Recipe

An Old-Fashioned: bourbon (strong), sugar cube (sweet), thin strip of lemon peel (sour) and Angostura bitters (bitter).

6 of 6

Chicken Peperonata

Photo © Dave Lauridsen
Go to Recipe

Guests stopped debating whether orange or apricot bitters go better with dark rum when chef Jason Travi brought out the food: roasted chicken cooked with a satisfyingly stewy mix of bell peppers, tangy Peppadew peppers and tomatoes (left); creamy semolina with roasted mushrooms; and Travi's tribute to his mother's baklava, a pear tartlet made with phyllo dough.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Up Next

Advertisement
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.foodandwine.com