12 American cocktails

12 American cocktail recipes

Old fashioned

A seriously sophisticated cocktail, the original old fashioned calls for just four ingredients. It's a punchy, mature and classy option.

See our best whisky cocktails for more inspiration.

Peach and mint julep

A mint julep is the perfect thing to sip as summer starts to heat up. Make a batch of minted bourbon and keep in the fridge for instant cocktails, and remember to jazz up this recipe with fresh peach.

Bloody mary

Our recipe for this classic cocktail combines vodka, tomato juice, worcestershire sauce, port and sherry with a few dashes of Tabasco to turn up the heat. Garnish with a celery stick and some tomatoes and olives to serve.

Sazerac

The sazerac is a classic cocktail made famous in New Orleans. You can make it with brandy, too, but we like ours with rye. There’s a ritual to making this drink but you don’t need any fancy equipment - just two glasses. Antoine Peychaud created his own bitters in the 1800s and it's what give the Sazerac its distinctive flavour. You can buy it from specialist drink shops or online at thedrinkshop.com

Manhattan cocktail

Live like a trendy New Yorker with our classic manhattan recipe. It's best served in a coupe glass, with an luminous cocktail cherry to garnish.

Discover more bourbon cocktails, from smooth and tart whisky sours, to sophisticated manhattans.

Aviation cocktail

A classic gin cocktail, made from maraschino liqueur, freshly squeezed lemon juice, a healthy glug of gin and some chilled mineral water.

For more drinks, see our easy gin cocktails for the likes of a classic martini to a tom collins.

Gin sour cocktail

A fresh, zesty cocktail from King of Soho London dry gin. A glug of gin, sugar syrup, lemon juice, fresh grapefruit juice and some decorative basil leaves make this a great cocktail to sip in the sunshine.

Spiced sidecar

A warming, cold-weather cocktail made using homemade spiced brandy. Omit the spices for a classic sidecar cocktail, or try using bourbon if you can’t find cognac.

French martini

Feeling fruity? A French martini is a simple, fragrant blend of raspberry liqueur, pineapple juice and vodka. Garnish with a single raspberry.

Zombie cocktail

Like your cocktails intense? This one comes packed with three types of rum, anise liqueur and Angostura bitters.

Moscow mule

Serve this refreshing cocktail in a copper mug for an easy summer cooler.

Cosmopolitan

Make like Carrie Bradshaw and fix yourself a cosmo this evening – you only need four ingredients.