Booze banter: if you like this, you should try this
Are you a ride-or-die for a Margarita, or maybe you wouldn’t be seen dead ordering anything other than a classic Martini? Well, it’s time to broaden your horizons with our alternative suggestions to your favourite cocktails.
We get it. It’s very easy to get stuck ordering the same drink over and over again, especially when cocktails are expensive and taking a risk could leave you £20 worse off with a drink you don’t like.
But variety is the spice of life, so to get you out of that ‘I’ll just have the usual’ rut, The Spirits Business editorial team has put together their suggestions for when you’re willing to take a bit of a risk, but want some reassurance you’re not going to have buyer’s regret as soon as the glass is placed in front of you.
If you like: a Gin Sour
Then you should try: an Army & Navy
The Army & Navy cocktail is a refreshing Gin Sour that is elevated by the nutty sweetness of almond orgeat and aromatic bitters. Fans of almond croissants or lemon macarons, like myself, will definitely enjoy this alternative option, and as swaps go, there is nothing too drastic going on here, so it shouldn’t feel like you’re straying too far from your comfort zone.
The best thing is it’s a simple adjustment for any bartender to make, and if you’re making it at home, all you need is a bottle of orgeat in your drinks cabinet. I use Monin, which is readily available online, and follow the recipe from Schofield’s Fine and Classic Cocktails: Celebrated Libations & Other Fancy Drinks cocktail book:
- 50ml Gin (they recommend Tanqueray)
- 25ml Lemon juice
- 20ml Orgeat
- Lemon coin to garnish
Add all the ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a chilled coupette, gently squeeze the lemon coin over the top, and serve.
Georgie Collins, digital editor
If you like: Old Fashioneds
Then you should try: a Vieux Carré
There is arguably no whisky cocktail more well-known than the Old Fashioned. Its heavy measure of whisky lets the spirit shine and it’s fairly easy to make – just don’t overdilute it. You could also mix it up by swapping out the whisky for rum or mezcal.
But to level up the experience, a Vieux Carré is an herbaceous take on the Old Fashioned, and crosses into the Manhattan and Sazerac territories.
While the Old Fashioned tends to favour Bourbon as the base, the Vieux Carré adds a touch of French elegance with equal parts rye whiskey and Cognac. It also calls for sweet vermouth and a herbal liqueur alongside two types of bitters. It might sound complicated, but it’s worth it for a richer and slightly sweeter drink.
- 20ml Cognac (or brandy)
- 20ml Rye whiskey
- 20ml Sweet vermouth
- 10ml Bénédictine liqueur
- 2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
- 1 dash of Angostura Bitters
- Optional: Bar spoon of Luxardo Original Maraschino Cherry
In a rocks glass, add the Cognac, rye, vermouth, Bénédictine and both bitters, then add ice and stir to mix well.
Nikki Carruthers, deputy editor
If you like: a Whisky Sour
Then you should try: a Morning Glory Fizz
This is a real antique of a cocktail, a Highland hangover cure from a bygone era.
The earliest known mention of the Morning Glory Fizz was in the great Harry Johnson’s New and Improved Bartenders’ Manual (1882), in which he extolled its virtues as “a morning beverage, which will give good appetite and quiet the nerves”.
We’d make no such health-giving claims today, of course, and a strong drink like this is almost certainly better served after 5.30pm. But the principle behind it remains sound: a Whisky Sour lengthened with soda and lent extra horsepower by a few dashes of absinthe.
- 50ml Scotch whisky (nothing too peaty, ideally American oak matured)
- 15ml Lemon juice
- 10ml Lime juice
- 15ml 1:1 simple syrup
- 1 Bar spoon Absinthe
- 1 Egg white, or vegan equivalent
- Soda water
- Lemon peel for garnish
Shake first without ice until foamy, and then a second time with ice until frosty. Double strain into a Fizz glass or a small Highball and top very slowly with chilled soda water. Stir gently to combine, express your lemon peel over the top of the drink and discard.
Joe Rogers, acting digital editor
If you like: a Negroni
Then you should try: an M&M
OK, first of all, there is absolutely no shame in ordering a Negroni at every bar you visit. There is also no shame in it being the only cocktail you ever make at home. I speak from experience.
However, sometimes even I feel like mixing things up a little. I actually think a Oaxacan Negroni (subbing the gin for mezcal) tops the original for me, but that seemed like a boring answer for this Booze Banter.
So, if you want to take things a step further, while keeping things bitter, why not try an M&M? It’s another equal-parts cocktail, but even easier than a Negroni, as it’s only TWO ingredients: mezcal and Amaro Montenegro.
You can use whichever mezcal you have to hand (I’m partial to a bit of Lost Explorer Espadín), but absolutely DO NOT sub the Montenegro for a different amaro. You need its funky, herbalness to match the smoky, vegetal notes of your mezcal. Express an orange peel over the top and off you go with your new favourite cocktail.
- 40ml Amaro Montenegro
- 40ml Mezcal
- Orange twist for garnish
Stir your two ingredients with ice, then strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Express your orange peel over the top.
Lauren Bowes, bars editor
If you like: a Sidecar
Then you should try: an Xanté Sidecar
The Sidecar cocktail combines Cognac with triple sec and fresh lemon juice – someone might even argue that the serve is almost like a Cognac Sour. For those looking to bring a vibrant element to the original recipe, Sweden-based Anora Group’s Xanté Cognac & Pear Liqueur pops orchard fruit into the mix. This not-too-sweet classic Scandi is bottled for the UK market at 35% ABV – like me, if I were still 35-years-old.
Xanté is made by combining natural pear extract with four-year-old Cognac aged in French Limousin oak barrels. It stands out in cocktails – so nicely, in fact, that I don’t mind drinking Xanté in a Sour with egg white and ice or in a Champagne Cocktail. When paired with lemon-lime soda and ice, it tastes like a pear popsicle. Slurp.
In a Sidecar, ditch the Cognac and try Xanté instead. To adjust the sweetness, you can always reduce the triple sec and add more Xanté.
- 50ml Xanté Cognac & Pear Liqueur
- 20ml Triple sec
- 20ml Fresh lemon juice
Pour all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Double-strain into a chilled cocktail glass. No garnish needed.
Miona Madsen, content writer
If you like: a Bloody Mary
Then you should try: Tomatini
Bloody Marys are great, but taking on more than two or three in a sitting is a challenge, and also drinking at them at night can be frowned upon in some circles. If you’re still after that tomato-savoury taste but on a lighter note, and one that’s more salad than soup, there’s the Tomatini.
It’s also a fair bit classier than a Bloody Mary (no offence to the BM), and is the face of the cocktail programme at LPM, the fancy French Riviera-inspired bar and restaurant group where the drink originated. According to the group, the Dubai venue sold 820 serves on Tomatini Day (12 November) in 2024.
Though it may seem intimidating, this modern classic can be made at home by someone without experience, with a bit of care and extra effort. The idea is to muddle 100mg of quartered tomatoes (coeur de boeuf tomatoes, if you want to replicate its creator Jimmy Barrat) in the base of a cocktail shaker. Then add a mixture of salt and freshly ground black pepper, the liquids, some ice and give it a strong shake.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 10ml Balsamic vinegar
- 5ml Sugar syrup
- 50ml Ketel One Vodka
From here, double-strain into a chilled Martini glass and cap it off with a cherry tomato garnish for some pizazz.
Rupert Hohwieler, senior staff writer
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