Harvard Cooler

Among "Ivy League School cocktails," a series of drinks named after schools like Princeton, Harvard and Yale to name a few, Harvard is the only university that has a soda drink as well as an "up" drink. It is super refreshing with Laird's Old Apple Brandy, a rich and sweet sipping apple brandy. There's not much to this recipe, and its simplicity is part of its smarts.

• 2 oz. apple brandy (Laird's Old Apple Brandy used)
• 1 tsp. sugar    
• sparkling water
• lemon twist

Dissolve sugar in the apple brandy at the bottom of a chilled Collins glass. Add ice and top with sparkling water. Stir and squeeze the lemon twist on top and use it as a garnish. 

Bryn Mawr Cocktail

Meghan took this picture on her newer Iphone. It demonstrates just how well her camera can focus on detail with the splashes of liquid on the glass. The drink itself is the original college cocktail of Bryn Mawr. It is bright pink and tastes a lot like the Normandy Cocktail, which is why I used another apricot garnish.

• 1 1/2 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. apricot brandy
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. grenadine

Shake all ingredients on ice in a shaker. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Bryn Mawr College Cooler

This is my first or second ice cream drink and latest college cocktail for the blog. I can see how this college drink developed. Some bartender figured out that it is a panty dropper of a dessert drink. Actually it comes from Poister's New American Bartender's Guide. It was very tropical, too. A good use of rum, if I do say so. Here's how it's done.

• 1 1/2 oz Malibu coconut rum
• 1/2 oz. dark rum
• dash lime or lemon juice
• Dash orgeat syrup
• scoop butter-pecan or rum raisin ice cream
• maraschino cherry

Mix all ingredients except cherry in a blender until smooth. Serve in a chilled parfait glass or wine goblet. Garnish with a cherry.

Yale

This is my final Ivy League cocktail unless someone can point me to one I missed. There are other schools, but I can't find their cocktails. Yale is a bitter cherry Martini--classically Italian with maraschino and dry vermouth. I just thought it needed a cherry to complete the whole picture.

• 3 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/4 tsp. Luxardo
• 3-5 dashes of bitters (Peychaud's shown)

Shake all ingredients on ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry if desired.

Old Etonian

This is an old college drink, if it isn't Ivy League. An Etonian is someone who works at or attends Eton College. It was a little unintended, but the drink becomes layered when you add the creme de noyaux and bitters. The bitters float and the creme sinks. The lines on the glass really illustrate this effect.

• 1 1/2 oz. gin
• 1 1/2 oz. Lillet Blanc
• 2 dashes of creme de noyaux
• 2 dashes of orange bitters (Peychaud's pictured)

Combine gin and Lillet in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Add bitters adn creme de noyaux.

Princeton

I really appreciate what ruby port does to a gin cocktail. It tastes like desert wine and colors it pink. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the school's colors though. Anyway, it was a stand out among the Ivy League cocktails I've made this week.

• 3 oz. gin
• 1 oz ruby port
• 3-5 dashes of Angostura bitters
• lemon twist

Combine all ingredients except lemon twist in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the twist.

Cornell Cocktail

This is another excellent Ivy League cocktail, this time made with gin. The egg white gives it a very milky and otherworldly color to what would be a clear cocktail. Here's how to make it:

• 2 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. egg white
• 1/2 oz. cherry liquor (Luxardo for clarity)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Harvard

The Harvard is going to be my first in a series of Ivy League school drinks from the old college recipes popular at the time. This one was pretty easy to do and used ingredients most bars have on hand.

• 2 oz. brandy
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. grenadine
• 1 dash bitters

Combine all ingredients with ice in a shaker. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.