The Manhattan and Old-Fashioned are fall and winter standbys for a reason. But there are plenty of forgotten riffs on those classics, as well as newer drinks featuring everyone’s favorite cold-weather spirit, that are worthy of your attention. Whether it’s a regional classic that’s yet to make a bigger splash or an overlooked drink pulled from the pages of historic recipe books, here are five to know.
Rapscallion
The Rapscallion has become a modern classic at cocktail bars across Europe, but stateside, the drink is much less known. Born in Edinburgh at The Hallion (an old Scottish word for rapscallion), the drink traveled to the Copenhagen bar Ruby before making its way around the world thanks to its inclusion in The PDT Cocktail Book. A spirit-forward mix of Scotch, PX sherry and pastis, it’s subtly sweet and smoky.
Fourth Regiment
The classic Fourth Regiment, which was first recorded in the 1880s, is distinguished by a subtle savory touch in the form of celery bitters. In Austin, Texas, bartender Caer Maiko has brought the Manhattan riff back. Her version of the drink ups the vegetal tones with a concentrated celery shrub and matches it with a vermouth selected for its oregano and thyme notes.
Old-Fashioned Appetizer
Published in Hugo R. Ensslin’s Recipes for Mixed Drinks, this lighter take on the Old-Fashioned dresses up the typically pared-back drink. The whiskey base is split with the aperitif Dubonnet, while Curaçao is used as the sweetener. The Old-Fashioned Appetizer perhaps gets its name from its garnishes: a lemon twist plus slices of orange and pineapple.
Red Hook
The Brooklyn cocktail, itself a riff on the Manhattan, has a whole family tree of neighborhood-inspired twists on the blueprint. For instance, there’s the Greenpoint, made with Chartreuse, and the Slope, flavored with apricot liqueur, to name a few. The entire canon—and its long-distance cousins, like the New Orleans–born Bywater—is worthy of consideration, but the Red Hook is an easy place to start thanks to its simple three-ingredient build.
Brainstorm
First appearing in print in the early 20th century, the original Brainstorm was a mix of Irish whiskey, Bénédictine and dry vermouth, served over ice. For New York bartender Al Sotack, it’s also an excellent showcase for a base spirit that doesn’t get a lot of love: “Irish whiskey is lean and the reason that it doesn’t get used a lot in cocktails is because it gets beat up,” he says. By contrast, the Brainstorm, which he describes as “a Bobby Burns’ weird Irish cousin,” lets the whiskey shine.
