Tom Collins

The original Collins is the gin fortified Tom Collins. This cocktail was known in the old days to be a very potent drink--though now it is regarded as gentle summer sipping. That is because it used to be part of a family of cocktails known as fizzes and flips. These drinks were served without ice and were intended to be drunk in one gulp: eggwhite, soda, lemon and all. This practice continued when egg white was ommited, ice was left in and the glass was filled to the top with soda. So people used to down a Tom Collins on command (when people at the bar ordered you one as a bit of a joke), and the three ounces of gin and all that soda made sure you were pretty tipsy.

Nowadays people seldom do the cherry and orange slice for garnishes, partly because it is a lemon juice drink and doesn't require orange or cherry in the cocktail itself. The Tom Collins has always been about simplicity and speedy drink making, so do what suits you according to your bar requirements and preferences.

• 3 oz. gin
• 2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup
• club soda
• maraschino cherry
• orange slice

Combine gin, juice and sugar in a highball glass full of ice. Top with soda and stir. Garnish with fruit (lemon slice shown).

Rum Buck

Probably the most popular of the "Buck" series of drinks, the Rum Buck gets its name as a drink made at the Buck Club in London at the turn of the 20th century. For this cocktail, I chose dark rum, which incidentally is the same recipe as the Dark and Stormy except with ginger ale instead of ginger beer. I used Maryland's Lyon Dark Rum, and this rum is the 53% abv Sailor's Reserve batch that Lyon ages in ex-bourbon barrels. This makes the caramel rum taste more like whiskey and the high alcohol content keeps the drink tasting very dry and potent.

• 2 oz. rum
• 1 oz. lime juice
• ginger ale
• lime slice

Combine rum and lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a highball glass and top with ice to fill. Top with ginger ale and stir. Garnish with lime slice. 

Whiskey Rickey

This is an all-American favorite for summer sipping. The original Rickey called for bourbon whiskey, but for ages, the most common whiskey in America was blended. Seagrams 7 Crown is a rich oaky blend at a good price--very hipster! Making the drink without sugar means that it is tart and very cooling on a hot day.

• 2 oz. blended whiskey
• 1 oz. lime juice
• club soda
• lime slice

Combine juice and whiskey in a shaker full of ice. Shake and pour into a highball glass and add ice to fill. Top with soda and stir. Garnish with lime slice.

Port Wine Cocktail

Such a simple cocktail, you can see why the founding fathers enjoyed it so much. Port, a fortified wine that was popular at the American revolution, gets a little help from American brandy--Catoctin Creek 1757 Distiller's Reserve brandy made from Virginia grown grapes. The alcohol content is light in this drink, so have more than one.

• 3 oz. port
• 1 tsp. brandy

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (or coupe).

Danish Gin Fizz

I love a gin fizz in the summer. I also love all things Danish. That includes Peter Heering's cherry liqueur. Additionally, this drink has more black cherry flavors from kirschwasser and a fresh cherry. When I try this one, I think of it as very similar to the Singapore Sling but with lime and kirsch.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. Cherry Heering
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. kirschwasser
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• club soda
• lime slice 
• maraschino cherry (Michigan used)

Combine all ingredients except soda and fruit in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a chilled highball glass. Top with soda and garnish with fruit.

Port Wine Cobbler

I'm finding that I enjoy most cobbler drinks as they are similar to punch. They are also very colonial-style cocktails with ingredients that were available to our forefathers who first came to America. In this way, cobblers impart a sort of fun sense of "period" cocktail when you are enjoying one. This cobbler is sweeter than most, but a nice alternative to a wine spritzer.

Notice that I used a Michigan cherry rather than maraschino. I felt that this also accompanied the colonial flavors of the drink.

• 3 oz. port wine
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 oz. sparkling water
• orange slice
• maraschino cherry

Dissolve sugar in sparkling water in a wine goblet. Add port and crushed ice and stir gently. Garnish with fruit.

Crimson

There's not enough grenadine in the recipe (thankfully) to really make this drink actually crimson. And port tends not to be a bright red. What you have here is an old-school tasting gin cocktail that I wasn't especially fond of. It was still a nice summer drink with plenty of fruit flavor and port sweetness. You see my hand adding the port as a float, however, port tends to sink into juice, so you are left with a big gob at the bottom of the glass.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. ruby port
• 2 tsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. grenadine

Combine all ingredients except port in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Float port on top.