Cocktails That Have Flexed Their Influence Over the Past 20 Years

As we’re celebrating Imbibe’s 20th anniversary, we can attest to the fact that we’re living in the best timeline for cocktails. The modern cocktail renaissance brought classic cocktails, some nearly forgotten, back to the bar with renewed vigor. At the same time, as bartenders sought and found inspiration in cocktail history, they applied ingenuity, quality ingredients, and culinary technology to old recipes and categories while creating their own modern classics. Here are some of the cocktails and drink styles—both classic and modern—that have driven cocktail trends over the past two decades.

Amaretto Sour

This craft cocktail era saw the return of previously forgotten cocktails, like the Jungle Bird, modernized with quality ingredients and spirits. But thanks to bartenders like Jeffrey Morgenthaler, we also enjoyed the resurrection of formerly maligned drinks, specifically from the ‘70s and ‘80s, like the Amaretto Sour. In 2010, he revised the saccharine cocktail by balancing its sweetness and adding dimension with a cask-proof bourbon, which also gave it much needed backbone, and shaking it with egg white for a silky texture. The successful reboot inspired drink makers to elevate other disco drinks, such as the Harvey Wallbanger and Midori Sour. 

Black Manhattan

The simple swap of Averna for the sweet vermouth in a classic Manhattan proved to be a gamechanger upon its 2006 debut at Bourbon & Branch, and, according to Imbibe editor in chief Paul Clarke, “helped drive the wave of putting amaro into everything.” While many bartenders continued riffing in the Manhattan and Brooklyn directions (see below), others let amari lead in other directions, such as with Stephen Cole’s Cynar-based Bitter Giuseppe, and the Eeyore’s Requiem from Toby Maloney, both originating at Violet Hour in Chicago.

Brooklyn and Manhattan

In his January/February 2007 piece about rye’s comeback, Paul Clarke wrote about how bartenders used the Manhattan cocktail to introduce their customers to rye. The popularity of the whiskey inspired drink makers to explore other rye classics. But it was Milk & Honey bartender Vincenzo Errico’s riff on the classic Brooklyn, the Red Hook, that kicked off a series of rye-based variants named after Brooklyn neighborhoods, such as the Greenpoint, Bensonhurst, and the Slope.

Audrey Saunders, meanwhile, brought the concept back across the bridge in her Cynar-accented Little Italy, while Jim Meehan headed to New Jersey with his riff, the Newark, tapping the flavor of the state’s own Laird’s apple brandy. Not to be outdone, New Orleans bartender Chris Hannah took the concept in a Caribbean direction with his rum-based Bywater, named for the NOLA neighborhood that’s home to much of the city’s hospitality industry.

Clarified Milk Punch

The recipe for this crystal-clear milk punch originated in the 1600s, but the milk-clarification process was resurrected around 2008 by bartenders including Eamon Rockey at Eleven Madison Park, and John Gertsen at Drink in Boston. Soon after, clarified milk punches popped up on menus everywhere, the drink’s transparency and silky mouthfeel proving irresistible to imbibers. In Los Angeles, bartender Michael Lay’s pristine English Milk Punch won him Esquire Magazine’s Cocktail of 2014. Before long bartenders were presenting their clarified takes on everything from a New York Sour to a Miami Vice.

Espresso Martini

Even though this coffee cocktail, also known as Vodka Espresso, was invented in the 1980s by London bartender Dick Bradsell, its appeal remains inescapable to this day. The mere sight of the froth-topped coupe being served at a bar is enough to set off a flurry of orders. This “Espresso Martini Effect” extends to bartenders, compelling them to create their own caffeinated cocktails or to swap out the vodka for other spirits.

Last Word

This simple equal-parts cocktail originated around 100 years ago and then promptly disappeared, but it found new life in the early aughts thanks to Murray Stenson of Seattle’s Zig Zag Cafe, who discovered it in a 1951 cocktail book. Clarke noted that the recipe’s use of green Chartreuse and its “powerful, take-no-prisoners flavors” appealed to the longtime bartender. Turns out Stenson was onto something, as the Last Word went on to inspire Sam Ross’ Paper Plane, Joaquín Simó’s Naked & Famous, and more.

Martini

While the ‘90s temporarily changed people’s notion of what a Martini is, the classic formula has held firm. Not only has the Martini kicked off a renewed interest in Martini-dedicated bars and menus but countless variations, from 50/50 takes such as Julie Reiner’s Gin Blossom and Audrey Saunders’ Fitty-Fitty to easily batchable freezer versions.

Negroni

We’d be remiss if we didn’t include the bitter cocktail that launched a globally celebrated cocktail week as well countless riffs, such as the Kingston Negroni and the White Negroni. The quintessential equal-parts cocktail appealed to bartenders, not only for its simplicity but its in-your-face flavors from gin and Campari that are perfectly balanced by sweet vermouth. The Negroni’s many cousins, such as the Americano, the Boulevardier, and the Sbagliato, have also enjoyed a resurgence in popularity.

The Not-So-Simple Sour

While classic sours like the Pisco Sour, Whiskey Sour, and Daiquiri have all enjoyed a freshening up over the past two decades, the sour category has also expanded far beyond the familiar. Julio Bermejo got into the game early at his family’s San Francisco restaurant, Tommy’s Mexican. Introducing guests to the then-novel idea of 100 percent agave tequila, Bermejo eschewed the Margarita’s standard orange liqueur, instead sweetening his Tommy’s Margarita with agave syrup to better let the tequila shine.

In New York City, a modern Gold Rush was launched in 2000 when honey entered the standard Whiskey Sour formula at Milk & Honey. And Giuseppe Gonzalez demonstrated that “base spirit” is in the eye of the beholder, using 1 1/2 ounces of Angostura bitters as the foundation for his Trinidad Sour. This bold maneuver not only took the cocktail to menus worldwide, but it prompted its own rippling trend of cocktails with ample additions of bitters, such as Jamie Boudreau’s Angostura Collins from Canon in Seattle.

Old Fashioned

In the early aughts, the Old Fashioned was one of the most popular classics for bartenders to riff on. In 2007, when mezcal was still largely niche and unknown, Phil Ward took the Old Fashioned in a fresh agave-based direction. Using a base of reposado tequila and a 1/2 oz. of mezcal in his Oaxaca Old Fashioned, Ward introduced countless drinkers to the wonders of mezcal. Meanwhile at PDT, Don Lee tapped Eben Freeman’s still-novel tactic of fat washing and used it to introduce bacon to bourbon. By mixing the savory spirit with maple syrup in his breakfast-inspired Benton’s Old Fashioned, Lee not only created a modern classic, but inspired other fat-washed experiments using everything from butter to olive oil to croissants.

Penicillin

While he and his fellow Milk & Honey bartenders were shaking up the Gold Rush, Sam Ross began working with the whiskey-honey combo and managed to launch his own cocktail trend. Mixing two types of Scotch whisky in the formula and adding a bite of ginger, the Penicillin has proven a popular cure for drinkers around the world, and has inspired riffs using agave spirits, sugarcane spirits, and more.

Piña Colada

Like many classics, this beloved vacation libation served as a vehicle for bartenders to introduce new flavors. The herbaceousness of green Chartreuse worked beautifully with the pineapple in Erick Castro’s Piña Verde, while a jigger of Angostura bitters brought a bold complexity to the Zac Overman’s Angostura Colada. Even the drink’s Strawberry Daiquiri-spiked spin-off, the Miami Vice, saw a resurgence.

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