Penicillin
60 ml Scotch whisky, 20 ml Lemon juice, 20 ml Honey syrup, 1 slice Ginger, 7.5 ml Mezcal, 1 piece Crystallised ginger
The rocks glass
Short, heavy and wide: the glass for a drink built over one big cube.
About 200 ml for an old fashioned glass, up to 400 ml for a double
24 cocktails here
Where it comes from
Three names for one glass, and each says something different: old fashioned after the drink, rocks after what is in it, lowball because it is short. Some bars keep a smaller old fashioned glass apart from a roomier rocks glass and most do not, so the distinction is a matter of house style rather than of definition. The name to retire is tumbler, which is folklore dressed as etymology - the glass does not tumble, and nobody has shown that it ever did.
Nor is this the oldest glass a whiskey cocktail has been served in. Jerry Thomas, writing in 1862, asks for a fancy red-wine glass for his Whiskey Cocktail; the short glass is what the drink settled into later, when ice became ordinary.
What to look for
Weight is what matters: a thick base and heavy sides stay cold and do not skate across a table. Straight sides to the rim, and a mouth a little wider than the ice you use.
Served in a rocks glass
All cocktails →
Tommy's Margarita
60 ml Tequila blanco, 30 ml Lime juice, 15 ml Agave syrup, 1 pinch Salt, 1 wheel Lime
Oaxaca Old Fashioned
45 ml Mezcal, 15 ml Tequila blanco, 7.5 ml Agave syrup, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 1 Orange twist
Arnold Palmer
120 ml Iced tea, 120 ml Lemonade, 1 wheel Lemon
Old Fashioned
60 ml Bourbon, 10 ml Simple syrup, 4 dashes Angostura bitters, 1 Orange slice
Mai Tai
30 ml Dark rum, 30 ml White rum, 15 ml Orange curaçao, 15 ml Orgeat, 20 ml Lime juice, 1 spent shell Lime, 1 Mint sprig
Boulevardier
45 ml Bourbon, 30 ml Campari, 30 ml Sweet vermouth, 1 Orange twist
Bramble
50 ml Gin, 25 ml Lemon juice, 12.5 ml Simple syrup, 15 ml Crème de mûre, 2 berries Blackberry
Sazerac
60 ml Rye whiskey, 1 cube Sugar, 3 dashes Peychaud's bitters, 1 dash Absinthe, 1 Lemon twist
Gold Rush
60 ml Bourbon, 20 ml Lemon juice, 20 ml Honey syrup, 1 Lemon twist
Margarita
50 ml Tequila blanco, 20 ml Triple sec, 25 ml Lime juice, 1 pinch Salt, 1 Lime wedge
Negroni Sbagliato
30 ml Campari, 30 ml Sweet vermouth, 60 ml Sparkling wine, 1 Orange slice
Jungle Bird
45 ml Dark rum, 20 ml Campari, 45 ml Pineapple juice, 15 ml Lime juice, 15 ml Simple syrup, 1 wedge Pineapple
Vieux Carré
30 ml Cognac, 30 ml Rye whiskey, 30 ml Sweet vermouth, 7.5 ml Bénédictine, 1 dash Angostura bitters, 1 dash Peychaud's bitters, 1 Lemon twist
Negroni
30 ml Gin, 30 ml Campari, 30 ml Sweet vermouth, 1 Orange slice
Caipirinha
60 ml Cachaça, 1 lime, 20 ml Sugar, 237 ml Ice
Americano
30 ml Campari, 30 ml Sweet vermouth, 60 ml Soda water, 1 Orange slice
Zombie
45 ml Dark rum, 45 ml White rum, 20 ml Lime juice, 10 ml Grapefruit juice, 5 ml Simple syrup, 1 pinch Cinnamon, 15 ml Falernum, 5 ml Grenadine, 1 dash Angostura bitters, 3 drops Absinthe, 1 Mint sprig
Rusty Nail
45 ml Scotch whisky, 25 ml Drambuie, 1 Lemon twist
Whiskey Sour
50 ml Bourbon, 25 ml Lemon juice, 20 ml Simple syrup, 1 Egg white, 1 Orange slice, 2 dashes Angostura bitters