The Menu

Born in Florence, 1919, when Count Camillo Negroni asked his bartender to swap the soda in his Americano for gin. An orange slice marked the new drink and a classic was born.

“The bitter truth, over ice.”

Invented by British colonial officers in India who disguised bitter quinine (an antimalarial) with gin, sugar and lime. A medicinal cocktail, technically.

The original Cosmopolitan was invented in Provincetown in 1934 and made famous by Sex and the City. The house version adds grenadine.

“Shaken, stirred, drunk. In that order.”

Hemingway's favourite at La Bodeguita in Havana. His note on the mirror still reads: 'My mojito in La Bodeguita, my daiquiri in El Floridita.'

The original meaning of the word 'cocktail'. In 1806 it was defined as spirits, bitters, sugar and water. This is literally the only cocktail; everything else is imitation.

“Accidentally a classic since 1941.”

First printed in 1916 in Hugo Ensslin's cocktail book. The original recipe included Crème de Violette, which disappeared from the market for 70 years and was only reissued in 2007.

“Named for the sky. Acts like weather.”

One origin story says it was invented in 1938 in Tijuana for a Ziegfeld showgirl named Marjorie King. She was allergic to every spirit except tequila.

Invented by Royal Navy surgeons in the 1800s to get sailors to drink lime juice and prevent scurvy. The name comes from a small hand-drill, or possibly a Dr Gimlette. Nobody is sure.

Invented in Cuba around 1900 by an American mining engineer. Hemingway-approved at El Floridita. He preferred his without sugar. Nobody else does.

Brazil's national cocktail. The name means 'little rural one' in Portuguese, after the country folk who first made it. Originally a folk remedy for the Spanish flu — with less garlic, eventually.

A Prohibition-era favourite of both Al Capone's South Side gang and the 21 Club in New York. Proof that mint, lime and gin transcend loyalties.

“Illegally delicious since 1920.”

“Three jewels and a headache.”

“Statistically, still a gamble.”

“Regally daft pun. Drink anyway.”

“Five ingredients. One passport.”

“Diplomacy, distilled.”

“Lemonade, grown up and slightly drunk.”

“Looks like rose. Lies like champagne.”

A Prohibition classic. 'The bee's knees' was 1920s slang for 'the best'. The honey was there to hide the taste of bathtub gin.

Italicus is a modern liqueur made with bergamot from Calabria, launched in 2016. Finally, Italy's answer to Chartreuse.

“Younger than most of the glasses.”

Possibly invented at the Manhattan Club in 1874 for a banquet thrown by Winston Churchill's mother. Possibly not. Everybody claims this one.

“Absinthe-kissed and regret-free.”

Invented in 1927 in Paris by Erskine Gwynne, an American writer who ran a magazine called Boulevardier. A Negroni in a tuxedo.

“The Negroni that went to Paris and came back insufferable.”

Named after the Dead Rabbit bar in New York, which was named after a 19th-century Irish gang in Five Points. Both have historically caused trouble.

“Street-fight history, table-service delivery.”

Green Chartreuse has been made by Carthusian monks since 1737. The recipe is known by only two monks at a time. They are not allowed to fly together.

The whisky sour first appeared in print in 1870. The egg white is optional. Unless you want to be taken seriously.

“Because the first one was not quite enough.”

“Doctor's orders. Sort of.”

“Designed for the third chapter.”

Invented in 1983 by Dick Bradsell at Fred's Club in London, for a supermodel who asked for something that would 'wake me up and mess me up'. Mission accomplished.

“Vegetables now count as health.”

“Looks innocent. Isn't.”

Invented in the 1970s at Henry Africa's in San Francisco. The sugar rim was meant to protect drinkers from the sour shock. It did not work.

The 'smash' is one of the oldest cocktail categories, dating to 1850. Essentially a muddled mint julep with fruit. Older than most governments.

“Fruit, smashed. Like your expectations.”

“She didn't ask. She inspired.”

“The name does the talking.”

“Mezcal's apology to rum.”

Averna, a Sicilian amaro from 1868, meets rum for a long-distance pairing. Geography doesn't matter if the drink is good.

“The flight you didn't book.”

Named after the French 75mm field gun used in WWI. 'So powerful it felt like being shelled' was a testimonial in 1915.

“Named after a weapon. Accurately.”

“More mayor than you'll ever be.”

“The classico was boring you, anyway.”

“Social media's favourite drink.”

Invented in Paris at Harry's Bar just after WWI. Named after the motorcycle sidecar that a regular used to arrive in, with his driver, naturally.

Invented in 1895, already called 'The Modern Cocktail'. Everybody in 1895 thought they had invented the future. Sound familiar?

A Grynberg original inspired by the Sinatra film. Named more as a warning than an ambition.

A Grynberg original, popular in a small region of Lutry, Switzerland. Beyond that, unknown. Before that, nonexistent.

“Sleep is a choice.”

“Named tenderly. Drinks firmly.”

“Paid in full.”

“And she did anyway.”

Invented in 1937 at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, in the French Quarter (Vieux Carre). Still served at the rotating Carousel Bar there.

“New Orleans in six ingredients.”

“A Greek island in a glass.”

“The name is a promise. Honour it.”

A variant of the Brandy Alexander, which itself dates to the early 1900s. The real Alexander the Great drank wine. He would have approved of this anyway.

“Conquers winter. Not Persia.”

John Lennon once called this 'the Lady Killer' and blamed it for his lost weekend in 1974. Drink responsibly. John did not.

“John Lennon's kryptonite.”

The simplest winter cocktail on the menu. Two liqueurs. Cream. No ice, no tools, no excuse.

“Childhood, now 18 and drinking.”

“Mint-green and entirely unashamed.”

“Italian aperitivo, slushie-style.”

The Espresso Martini was invented at Fred's Club in London in 1983. The frozen version is the most ice-cream-like of the cocktails — closer to dessert than drink.

The French Martini was invented at the Boom Boom Bar in NYC in the late 1980s. The 'French' in the name comes from Chambord, the French raspberry liqueur.

“Pink, tart, frosted, French.”

Adding fruit to a margarita is a Texan invention from the 1970s, when blender machines made tropical variations affordable in Tex-Mex restaurants.

Hemingway's drink at La Bodeguita in Havana. The frozen version uses a mint syrup instead of muddling, which prevents the grassy bitterness mint releases when frozen.

“Cuba, in slushie form.”

“Tropical, creamy, unmistakably summer.”

“Bright, lush, lounger-approved.”

Watermelon and tequila are summer's natural pairing. The optional jalapeno comes from the modern Mexican-American style of giving fruit cocktails a savoury edge.

Mezcal has been made in Oaxaca for centuries. The worm in the bottle is a marketing gimmick from the 1950s. Sorry.

“Literary pretensions. No actual writing.”

“The dessert you order instead of dessert.”

Passion fruit comes from Brazil and was brought to the Caribbean in the 1800s. Originally a Catholic symbol. The flower represents the crucifixion.