Screwdriver

Sometimes simple is exactly what is called for. You want orange juice that gets you drunk, right? That's the screwdriver. Easy to make. Easy to drink. Go for it with breakfast or on hot days. Or, you know, when you want orange juice that gets you drunk.

• 2 oz. vodka (Aylesbury Duck used)
• orange juice

Build drink in a Collins glass full of ice with vodka and top with orange juice.

Kretchma Cocktail

Not a real Russian drink, a spoof drink made after a spoof Russian song. The Kretchma, according to the song, "is where you catch Ma, drinking vodka every night."

Not a bad idea for a drink, if it is a little sweet. The slightly red color from the grenadine is there I guess to distinguish it from the Ninotchka.

• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 1/2 oz. creme de cacao
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 2 dashes grenadine

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

Island Cooler (Non-Alcoholic)

Papaya juice is very drinkable, even when you are working with a funky papaya. If you have a juicer or a hand squeezer, it's easy to press an ounce of juice from a few cubes of cut papaya.

This cooler is a great summer mocktail that has all the tropical flavors--some more exotic than others--to suggest a vacation in a glass without the alcohol.

• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 2 oz. orange juice
• 1 oz. papaya juice
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• sparkling water
• maraschino cherry
• pineapple spear (optional)

Combine all juices in a Collins glass with ice. Top with sparkling water and stir gently. Garnish with the maraschino cherry and pineapple spear. (Mint leaf pictured.)

Papaya Smoothie (Non-Alcoholic)

Let's face it. Papaya is pretty nasty if it's not perfectly ripened. Get it too green and it smells like vomit. When too ripe, it smells like crap. Making a smoothie with papaya, if you must do this, is the best way to control the potential or actual unpleasantness of a papaya.

• 1/2 a papaya cubed
• 1 banana sliced
• 1/2 oz. honey
• 6 oz. orange juice
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. 

Whiskey Sangaree

As I've said before, Sangaree is just another word for punch that was used during colonial times. I imagine that this cocktail is the single-serving version similar to that shared between Native Americans and colonists, if not a little stronger.

What we have here is an Old Fashioned with porto dessert wine instead of fresh fruit. Here's the rundown.

• 2 oz. blended whiskey (Seagram's 7 used)
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. water
• 1 tbsp. ruby port

Combine sugar and water in an Old Fashioned glass and stir until sugar dissolves. Add whiskey and ice and stir. Float port on top.

(Blended) Whiskey Collins

The John Collins is specifically a blended whiskey Collins, but usually implies an Irish whiskey. I wanted to showcase an American blend for this entry--a necessary entry if a little redundant in the New York Bartender's Guide.

• 3 oz. blended whiskey (Seagram's 7 used)
• 2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• sparkling water
• orange slice
• maraschino cherry

Build drink in a Collins glass with whiskey, lemon juice and sugar syrup and ice. Top with sparkling water and stir gently. Garnish with the orange slice and cherry. 

(Blended) Whiskey Cocktail

This cocktail recipe specifically calls for blended whiskey. Unlike the Rye Whiskey Cocktail and the Bourbon Whiskey Cocktail of the same proportion and ingredients, a blended whiskey makes this drink a little smoother and more reliant on other ingredients to keep it interesting. I used a demerara sugar syrup which really added a sweet richness that blended whiskey often lacks. Angostura bitters, even a single dash, were totally appreciated here.

• 3 oz. blended whiskey (Black Velvet Special Reserve used)
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup (demerara used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.