If I have to pick one drink to take to a desert island, it's the classic Sazerac.

That is what I will want most of the time when I want a cocktail. However, I will allow a few others to enter rotation, depending on mood, time/temperature, and place:

1. Margarita.
2. Vesper.
3. Pastis.

And, finally, my embarrassing guilty pleasure (which I never order except when I am in company I know well or I am on a Caribbean island): piña colada.

I'm a big fan of a Malt Neat.

The ingredients are:

-3oz Islay malt

That's it! It's so easy and simple, and it's impossible to mess up!

Sazerac - basically a Louisiana old fashioned

• 2 oz Rye whiskey
• 1/4 oz dark simple syrup ( like Turbinado, Demerara, etc)
• 5ish dashes of Peychaud’s bitters
• rinse glass with absinthe (I swear it doesn’t taste like anise/licorice at all in the end)
• lemon twist
• serve straight up

I don't do cocktails much, mostly because I don't really have the ingredients around. One I like to do now and then is whisky (around half the drink, preferably spicy rye) and the rest about equal proportions of apple juice and ginger ale, poured over a chunk of ice.

Dark & Stormy is my favorite, from what I've tried

I normally like my liquor with just a splash of water, but I do make a mean mojito. The secret, which I discovered by accident, is adding a bit of catnip along with the mint. It has a smoother minty flavor which compliments the lime juice really well

Also, catnip tea is commonly used to help people sleep, so you get nice and relaxed without drinking too much.

I quit drinking a while ago, but before I did I was exploring quite a few different things. Kind of amazing how much different alcohol there is.

Some highlights:

1. Belgian beers. Trappist stand out in this field but it is very difficult to go wrong. This encompasses very high quality beers (best in the world, IMHO) of dizzying variety. Sour (NOT bitter like an IPA...SOUR), fruit beers (lambic), wheat, doubles, triples, reds, browns, and more. Here is a nice guide.

2. Rye whiskey. several varieties exist and most of them very unique tasting. Search enough and you'll find some very unusual ones.

3. Vodka martinis. The drunk's drink.

4. Sipping tequila. Costco had some sort of house brand that was amazing. I only recommend agave but there are less good varieties.

5. Bloody Marys. Some places make these with so much food in them they could be a meal. I like spicy.

6. Ouzo chased by Coke is an amazing taste. Try it sometime if you never have.

7. Pepper vodka. I had some I bought in Ukraine (years ago) that was amazing. Pepper meaning spicy pepper not black pepper. Do not buy the absolut version it is shit.

All time favorite: Jungle Bird. The perfect mix of tiki drink in spirit but with a punch and grown up flavors!

Also love me a Bee's Knees with some high quality gin and honey. There's a fantastic New England distillery called Barr Hill that makes gin from honey, which makes for an extra amazing one.

I've really been enjoying the "Sour" format lately, too. Very versatile with all the random liquors or lower-proof alcohols I've collected over the past few years making random drinks.

Personally a fan of the Sonic Screwdriver, because I like my drinks like I like my ladies: sweet, bubbly, geeky as hell, and able to knock my ass out.

2 parts Sprite

2 parts orange juice

1 part vanilla vodka

1 part Blue Curaçao

Combine and serve in a highball glass on the rocks.

Gimlets with homemade lime cordial if I'm trying to get hammered. Alternatively: death in the afternoon to black out

Dark n stormy with lemon hart 151 and a couple dashes of ango if I'm feeling lazy

Old fashioneds with a nice barrel proof bourbon to unwind

Amaretto sour for something sweet

Vieux carre if I want vermouth

There's a whole wide world of fancy booze out there, I couldn't pick just one favorite lol

Scotch and soda.

An Ethicurean. I genuinely believe it's the perfect cocktail but I've only ever come across it in a single bar in all my life.

• Serves 1
• ice cubes
• lemon ¼
• thyme 2 sprigs plus 1 to serve
• honey 1 tsp
• vodka 25ml
• apple juice 100ml

Full recipe.

It always changes on the day but couple of my favourites are

-corpse reviver No. 2 -absinthe sour -pina colada -bloody mary( with gin instead of vodka and homemade chili sauce instead of tabasco)

I've invited one based on my taste for palomas and pisco sour. El Condor:

• 1oz of Tequila or Mezcal
• 1oz of Pisco (Peruvian)
• 0.5oz Syrup Agave (you can find it in the muesli section) or simple syrup
• 2oz Lime juice
• 2oz grapefruit juice
• 1 Eggwhite to shake if you like it more smooth
• chili salt rim or chilistring garnish

Probably the best cocktail I did so far.

Anything spicy or peppery. I'm pretty basic. Jalapeños are enough, but if you're creative about it, so much the better.

Black Russian is my thing most of the time. Also gin sour without egg is great.

Monte Carlo

1.5oz Bourbon, 0.5 Benedictine, 2 dashes Angostura

Caipirinha. Made with cachaça, sugar, and lime. The drink is prepared by pounding the fruit and the sugar together, then adding the liquor.

Well,

Lots of good cocktails in here. Going to plug !cocktails@lemmy.world for everyone to check out and contribute these cocktails, too.

Other than cheap domestic beer when im trying to get drunk, I stick to Old-fashions. Great drink to sip as the liquor slowly mixes with the water from the melting ice, smoothing out the flavors.

1.5 ounce whisky

.5 ounce of simple syrup (I like mine extra sweet)

A couple dashes of Angostura bitters

1 fat chunk of ice

(Basil Hayden is my bourbon of choice)

Visit us at !cocktails@lemmy.world

I love a Paloma and agree, Jarritos and fresh lime, absolutely.

My current favorite is an adjusted Paper Plane

2 parts bourbon

1 part Aperol

1 part Amaro Nonino

1 part fresh lemon juice

Shaken with ice, served up.