Classic Cocktail and Drink Recipes

There is nothing like a classic cocktail when entertaining or celebrating. Get all the classic bar recipes, from the perfect Old Fashioned to the always classy Manhattan.

Photo By: Michael Symon ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved.

©2012, Food Network

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Photo By: Stephen Murello ©Stephen Murello

Photo By: Stephen Murello ©Stephen Murello

Photo By: Michael Chiarello ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Chuck Hughes ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Drink Up ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Chuck Hughes ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Drink Up ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved.

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Photo By: Ingrid Hoffman ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Michael Chiarello ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Drink Up ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved.

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Old Fashioned

Drink in style with the ever-classy Old Fashioned cocktail. Pour a splash of soda water over sugar and a maraschino cherry, add a few drops of bitters and top off with bourbon or rye of your choice. Serve on the rocks if you prefer it chilled.

Get the Recipe: Don's Old Fashioned

Manhattan

Michael Symon's classic Manhattan — made with bourbon, sweet vermouth and angostura bitters — calls for a few top-quality Maraschino cherries.  

Get the Recipe: Classic Manhattan

Dark and Stormy

Brian Boitano's take on the Dark and Stormy cocktail features homemade ginger simple syrup and soda water. If you're short on time, you can use ginger beer found at your local health food market.

Get the Recipe: Dark and Stormy

Classic Gin Martini

Also known as "perfect," this variation on the martini uses equal parts sweet and dry vermouth for a perfectly balanced drink. Garnish with an olive or a lemon rind.

Get the Recipe: 50/50 Martini

Mojitos

The combination of sweet simple syrup with the fresh citrus and mint flavors harmoniously blends with the light rum in this refreshing Cuban cocktail.

Get the Recipe: Mojitos

Mint Julep

This all-American Southern cocktail has minty flavors reminiscent of a mojito, but it uses whisky instead of tequila. Freeze it overnight for a slushy consistency and garnish with a mint or lavender sprig.

Get the Recipe: Mint Julep

Long Island Iced Tea

After a long day, nothing quite takes the edge off like a Long Island Iced Tea. Though it's named for the nonalcoholic beverage it resembles, you can be sure that the five types of liquor in this highball cocktail will do their job.

Get the Recipe: Long Island Iced Tea

Pina Colada

Sit back, relax and let the beach come to you with the tropical pineapple and coconut flavors in this go-to frozen cocktail.

Get the Recipe: Piña Coladas

Classic Negroni

The Negroni has, over time, become a template for drinks involving a base spirit, a bitters and a vermouth. This take on the mixture uses the more classic combination of gin, Campari and sweet vermouth.

Gin and Tonic with Cucumbers and Lemongrass

Chuck freshens up this classic, bitter highball cocktail with some fresh mint, crisp cucumber slices and a stick of citrusy lemongrass.

Get the Recipe: Gin and Tonic with Cucumbers and Lemongrass

Classic Margarita

Do you take yours shaken, on the rocks, blended or straight up? Would you like to add fruit flavor to yours or just keep it simple? With this classic tequila cocktail, there's something for everyone.

Get the Recipe: Margarita

Kir Royales

This classic French apéritif is traditionally served before meals to help stimulate the appetite. The sweet blackcurrant in the Crème de Cassis is balanced out by the addition of a light, bubbly white wine and citrusy orange rind in this popular cocktail.

Get the Recipe: Kir Royales

French 75

Gin adds a new dimension to this full-bodied champagne-based cocktail, while lemon juice and simple syrup balance out the alcohol with subtle flavor.

Get the Recipe: French 75

Caipirinha Cocktail

Dave adds a splash of club soda for a fizzy take on Brazil's national cocktail, classically made of fresh lime, raw sugar and cachaça (sugar cane rum).

Get the Recipe: Caipirinha Cocktail

Limoncello

Gabriele Corcos shares his family recipe, straight from his Aunt Laura's handwritten cookbook, for the most authentic Italian Limoncello. Though it takes six weeks for the final product to come to fruition, every sip is worth the wait.

Get the Recipe: Limoncello

Classic Pisco Sour

This Pisco Sour will give your taste buds a whole new experience. With the exotic, spicy flavors the South American pisco brings to the mix, and the frothy aspect brought by the egg whites, this cocktail certainly sets itself apart.

Get the Recipe: Classic Pisco Sour

Pimm's Cup Cocktail

This English drink is named for the liqueur that's in it. Pimm's Cup distills various liqueurs by adding a secret recipe of fruits and spices to a base spirit, and its No. 1 Cup gin-based spirit is its most famous.

Get the Recipe: Pimm's Cup Cocktail

Rob Roy

The Rob Roy — similar to the Manhattan, but traditionally made with Scotch instead of rye — was created in 1894 for the opening of Reginald De Koven's musical of the same name, as it was common practice back then to christen a new show with a cocktail of its own.

Get the Recipe: Rob Roy

Dark and Stormy with Homemade Ginger Beer

Tiffani makes homemade ginger beer for her Dark and Stormy, and it couldn't be easier. Just boil together grated ginger, allspice, cloves, sugar and water, and then add lime zest, juice and rum.

Get the Recipe: Dark and Stormy

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