The Classic Cocktails Every Serious Drinker Should Know

Dante won Best Bar in North America partly because of what it does with classic cocktails. Their Negroni is the one we recommend to anyone asking where to start: built with a proper Italian gin, house-selected vermouth, and Campari at the right proportions, stirred to the correct dilution, served over a single large cube. It is the platonic Negroni. The Americano, their other classic, is equally excellent and the better choice for a long afternoon.

Order: The Negroni — classic formula, no variations needed here

The Connaught Bar Martini is prepared tableside on a trolley with the bartender's own bitters blend, and it is one of the few theatrical gestures in cocktail bars that actually improves the drink rather than just performing for Instagram. Their Old Fashioned is made with a reverence for the original 1806 definition: spirit, sugar, bitters, water, and nothing else. If you are ordering classic cocktails in London and have the budget, this is where to start.

Order: The tableside Martini — it is an experience that changes how you think about the drink

Colin Field has been making classic cocktails at Bar Hemingway for decades, and the Old Fashioned he builds is made with the particular care that comes from believing the drink is worth that care. The room is small, the wood is dark, the lighting is amber. Hemingway's own champagne cocktail recipe is on the menu. This is not a bar that tries to be classic — it simply is, which is harder to achieve than it looks.

Order: The Serendipity — their signature built on the Sidecar template

Hemingway drank his Daiquiris here, and while the tourist crowds can be intense, the drinks remain excellent. The house Daiquiri uses Cuban rum made for this bar and fresh lime pressed to order. It is the original — no modifications, no foam, no coconut — and it is exactly right. The Papa Doble, Hemingway's version made with double rum and grapefruit, is the version worth ordering once you've had the classic.

Order: The classic Daiquiri first, then the Papa Doble

Employees Only built its reputation on doing classic cocktails exactly right before adding its own innovations on top. The Whisky Sour here uses egg white, proper lemon, and good bourbon — not a shortcut anywhere. The bar is open late and gets louder as the night progresses, but the cocktails remain precise regardless of the hour. Our pick for the best consistent classic cocktail programme in New York.

Order: The Whisky Sour — egg white, fresh lemon, house blend bourbon

The French 75 was popularised in New Orleans, and Arnaud's is where you drink the definitive version. Cognac — not gin, per the original recipe — champagne, lemon, and sugar, made by bartenders who have been making the same drink for decades. The room is antique and the clientele ranges from tourists to locals who have been coming since before they could legally drink. The drink itself is worth a trip to New Orleans alone.

Order: The French 75, cognac base, not gin

The Bellini was invented here in 1948 by Giuseppe Cipriani, and the version served today uses the same formula: white peach puree pressed from peaches sourced near Venice, combined with Prosecco in the correct proportion. The room is plain white with brown wood and no decoration to speak of. Harry's Bar is the reminder that the best places rarely need to announce themselves.

Order: The Bellini — the original, in the room where it was created

The Singapore Sling was created here in 1915, and the Long Bar serves it with the gin, cherry brandy, Cointreau, Benedictine, pineapple juice, lime, and bitters that Ngiam Tong Boon's original recipe specified. It is sweet and complex and more interesting than its reputation suggests. The peanut shells on the floor are part of the tradition. The drink is a legitimate classic that deserves to be ordered in the room that created it.

Order: The Singapore Sling — house recipe only