The Supreme is a cocktail that shows off the spirit's abilities: crisp with citrus and with the ethereal nuttiness of orgeat, a French almond syrup usually laced with orange flower water. The Supreme promotes the rich and fruity flavor of apple brandy to a well-deserved starring role. More

Originally named for a Philadelphia social club with roots tracing back to the 1880s, the Clover Club was, for decades, one of the marks of the sophisticated boozer, a manly drink (despite its pink hue) shaken by the bucketload in the wood-paneled lounges of the early 20th century. More

Over the years, the drink has faced some challenges--bottles of Holland House Collins Mix in my parents' liquor cabinet spring to mind. Was squeezing a lemon really so difficult? But successfully navigating its course from horse-and-carriage days to the digital age, the Tom Collins is built for survival. Keep some lemons and soda water on-hand this weekend and knock together a Collins in between grilling stints. More

The Knickerbocker dates to at least the 1860s, when it made its print debut in the first known bartending manual, penned by Jerry Thomas. The recipe called for "Santa Cruz rum," or rum from St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, along with lime juice and sweetener in the form of raspberry syrup and curacao, and garnished with berries in season. More

Remember the Maine is absolutely wonderful. A rye Manhattan given a subtle sweetness with cherry liqueur and a hint of savagery from good absinthe, the drink has the flavor of another time. Drink one when you feel like tasting history. More

Named using the French term for what's now known as the French Quarter, the Vieux Carré; traces its origin to the bar back in the 1930s, and first appeared in print in 1937, in Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em. It's as rich and decadent now as it was back then, and still remarkably evocative of the Big Easy. More

Ti Punch has only a few ingredients and is extraordinarily simple to prepare. The Ti Punch looks much like a daiquiri or a caipirinha, but the distinctive flavor of rhum agricole makes this a particularly musky and rugged drink. Using a white agricole is traditional, though the aged agricole, or rhum vieux, are a bit more user-friendly for the agricole novice. More

Dating back more than 120 years, to a time when drinking beer as you worked all day was considered somewhat normal, the Cincinnati Cocktail is immensely easy to prepare, but it isn't, in any true sense of the word, a cocktail: first, there's no spirits or even wine in there; and second, what alcohol there is in the glass is diluted by a lot of fizzy water. More