Classic cocktails to know: Old Fashioned, Negroni, Daiquiri, Margarita, Martini

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Most of the cocktails on a modern menu are variations on a small number of classics. Learn these five and you will understand how the rest are built. The measurements below are common ratios rather than the one true recipe; bartenders adjust them, and so should you. A useful idea before the recipes: nearly every classic is a balance of strong (the spirit), sweet (sugar, liqueur or vermouth), and either sour (citrus) or bitter (bitters or a bitter aperitif), with water from the ice holding it together.

Old Fashioned

50 to 60ml whisky (bourbon or rye are traditional)
About 5 to 10ml simple syrup, or a sugar cube muddled with a splash of water
2 to 3 dashes aromatic bitters
Stir with ice, strain over a large cube in a rocks glass, and express an orange twist over the top.

Why it works: this is close to the original definition of a cocktail: spirit, sugar, water and bitters. The sugar softens the whisky, the bitters add depth and spice, and slow dilution over a big cube changes the drink gently as you sip. Use only a little sugar; the aim is to round off the whisky, not sweeten it.

Negroni

Equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and a bitter red Italian aperitif, often 25 to 30ml each
Stir with ice and serve over ice with an orange slice or twist.

Why it works: three strong flavours at equal weight, bitter, sweet and botanical, meet in the middle. The equal-parts recipe makes it easy to remember, and swapping one element gives you a family of drinks (with bourbon instead of gin, it becomes a Boulevardier).

Daiquiri

50 to 60ml light rum
20 to 25ml fresh lime juice
15 to 20ml simple syrup
Shake hard with ice and double strain into a chilled coupe.

Why it works: the classic Daiquiri is not the frozen, fruity drink of holiday menus but a simple sour, and it is a good test of balance. Rum, lime and sugar: if one is off, you taste it immediately. Many bartenders use it to check a new rum or a new bar.

Margarita

50ml tequila (100% agave)
20 to 25ml fresh lime juice
15 to 20ml orange liqueur
Shake with ice and strain into a glass rimmed with salt (half the rim lets drinkers choose), either up or over ice.

Why it works: it is a sour in which orange liqueur supplies the sweetness, so it gains a second fruit note. The salt is not decoration; a little salt sharpens citrus and tames bitterness. Some people use agave syrup instead of, or as well as, orange liqueur.

Martini

Gin and dry vermouth, commonly somewhere between 2:1 and 5:1, for example 50 to 60ml gin to 10 to 25ml vermouth
An optional dash of orange bitters
Stir with ice, strain into a chilled glass, and garnish with a lemon twist or an olive.

Why it works: vermouth is not just a dilutant; it adds herbal and wine notes that make the gin taste rounder. "Dry" means less vermouth. Fresh vermouth, kept in the fridge, is the single biggest improvement most people can make. A vodka Martini follows the same method.

How to learn from them

Make each one to the recipe first, then change one thing at a time.
Taste side by side: an Old Fashioned and a Manhattan, a Daiquiri and a Margarita.
Notice the families. The Daiquiri, Margarita, Whisky Sour and Gimlet are all sours; the Negroni and Martini are spirit-and-fortified-wine drinks.

Drink them like classics

These drinks were designed to be small and strong. A Martini or a Negroni contains a good deal of alcohol for its size, so one goes a long way. Sip slowly, eat something, and drink water alongside. Which classic did you learn first, and what is your preferred ratio? Share it, or ask about a variation, in the comments.