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.
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Invent Your Own Cocktail Party

Credit: Photo © Dave Lauridsen
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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.

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Holland Razor Blade

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

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Manhattan

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

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Southside Royale

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

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Old-Fashioned

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

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Chicken Peperonata

Credit: Photo © Dave Lauridsen
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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.

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