Cocktail Hour.

[silenus]

Ahhhh. Cocktail hour. A throwback to less hectic, more civilized times. The wife and I are kicking back after a busy day that started with an order of Pastrami Chili Cheese Fries (with pickles and tomatoes) from The Hat and just got better all day. Now we are enjoying our favorite cocktails. Hers is a Hot & Dirty Vodka Martini, made with Ketel One and a habanero-stuffed olive. Mine is a Father Goose Manhattan, made with Russell's Reserve Rye (extra bitters, multiple cherries).

What's your tipple of choice when it comes to civilized drinking?

[madmonk28]

Either an old fashioned made with rye from Copper Fox Distillery, or in the summer a Tennessee Highball or sometimes a Petworth Punch (my own creation).

[Snarky_Kong]

I just had some Pappy van Winkle 12 yr, neat. I enjoy an old fashioned, without any fruit, on occasion as well.

[madmonk28]

I don't muddle a cherry in an old fashioned because it doesn't really add any flavor, but I like the zip of the orange muddled with the sugar and bitters. I hardly use any soda water at all (like maybe half a tsp), so the orange flavor really is prominent.

[RealityChuck]

Ah yes. Having Cocktails for Two like civilized ladies and men.

[Hunter Hawk]

Originally Posted by madmonk28

I don't muddle a cherry in an old fashioned because it doesn't really add any flavor, but I like the zip of the orange muddled with the sugar and bitters. I hardly use any soda water at all (like maybe half a tsp), so the orange flavor really is prominent.

If you go to post 22 in this thread, that's my process for making an Old Fashioned. You might want to give it a shot (no pun intended) and see if it works for you.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=488378

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by silenus

Mine is a Father Goose Manhattan, made with Russell's Reserve Rye

I thought 'Father Goose' drank Black & White.

[silenus]

He did. But I needed a name.

[madmonk28]

Originally Posted by Hunter Hawk

If you go to post 22 in this thread, that's my process for making an Old Fashioned. You might want to give it a shot (no pun intended) and see if it works for you.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=488378

That's close to mine, but I muddle an orange slice, sugar cube, and 3 dashes bitters (sometimes orange bitters) with half tsp soda water, then add a couple of fingers of rye. Sometimes, I use a clementine orange which a) produces a lot more juice and b) has a really distinctive flavor. Add two ice cubes and walk around the house like Dean Martin.

[Queen Tonya]

A margarita for me, salted and rocks, Irish whiskey for him, neat.

[Sattua]

Sometimes when the weather is just starting to warm up and we can smell spring in the air, I'll spend an evening making Ramos gin fizzes.

In the dog days of summer, my husband makes caipirinhas for us.

Day in and day out for us, though, our drink of choice is gin & tonic. We make it with Rangpur gin and are generous with the lime squeeze, which makes it extra-special.

[Ike Witt]

To me, nothing says cocktail like a gimlet.

[Nametag]

My cocktail of choice is the black russian, but I'm amenable to most good liquors, and I have fond memories attached to G&Ts and champagne cocktails.

[Bambi Hassenpfeffer]

Absolut Mandrin Cosmo. Or this martini made with Absolut Pear or Grey Goose Pear, Midori, sour, and a float of Sprite/7-Up/Sierra Mist on top.

[Johnny L.A.]

My default cocktail is G&T. Only I seldom drink. I've always liked the idea of 'classic' cocktails and wouldn't mind having some (and I have had some) on the rare occasion that I go out. Only with the popularity of Mad Men it seems a bit fad-ish.

[Shawn K]

I like vodka/water add some lime as an option.