It’s National Cocktail Day!

It may be Monday, but good news: March 24 is National Cocktail Day!!

What is a cocktail, to be exact? According to the Certified Specialist of Spirits Study Guide, it’s a short drink made by mixing liquor or wine with other spirits, fruit juices, egg whites, and/or bitters. They tend to be served in a short or stemmed glass. This is set apart from a “mixed drink,” which is liquor with a mixer like juice or soda in a tall glass over ice. We like them both.

It’s often argued that the Sazerac from New Orleans was the first original cocktail. Since we already covered the Sazerac (see our Mardi Gras video), we decided to bring you a couple of other classic drinks!

Today, Bart is making a Rob Roy. This cocktail is similar to a Manhattan, though it specifically calls for scotch (instead of bourbon). Though it sounds like a simple difference, it really changes the way the drink tastes.

This cocktail is believed to have first been created in 1894 at the Waldorf Astoria, named after an operetta called Rob Roy.

The ingredients:

2 oz scotch

3/4 oz sweet vermouth

3 dashes Angostura bitters

Garnish with brandied cherries or lemon twist

It’s simple to make. You add the scotch, vermouth, and bitters to a mixing glass with ice and stir, then strain it into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish. Voila!

Bart used Chivas Regal 12 year as his scotch, and you can actually taste that smoky peaty character in the drink!

So Katie was using what she had available at home, and to celebrate this holiday, she ended up making a mixed drink as opposed to a true cocktail 😬 Today, she’s bringing you a Dark ‘n Stormy.

This cocktail comes from the island of Bermuda, and it’s similar to a Moscow Mule, but with rum instead of vodka.

The ingredients:

2 oz Goslings Black Seal rum

1/2 oz lime juice

Ginger beer, to top (approx 5 oz)

Garnish with lime wheel

A few notes here: If you’re making this cocktail at home, you can probably use whatever dark rum you want, BUT you should know that Goslings trademarked the drink Dark ‘n Stormy in 1991, so you can’t legally call it a Dark ‘n Stormy unless you specifically use Goslings Black Seal rum.

Also, as another note, ginger ale is NOT the same as ginger beer. Ginger ale is just carbonated water flavored with ginger. Ginger beer is brewed and fermented like beer, though it’s typically nonalcoholic. So they don’t taste the same.

Now, just add your rum and lime juice to a tall glass with ice, top with the ginger beer, and garnish with! So easy, and refreshingly delicious! If you want to pretend you spent your Spring Break in Bermuda, drink one of these!

We hope you all celebrate National Cocktail Day in your own way. Send us your favorite cocktails!