Just published this piece on the stories behind six modern cocktails that have proven to have long legs. The most eye-opening part of the research was discovering the stats. I knew these drinks had a solid reputation within cocktail circles, but that can often mean next to nothing where public perception is concerned. The robust average sales numbers here surprised me. The Juliet & Romeo at Violet Hour is only outsold by the Old-Fashioned. People order the Oaxaca Old-Fashioned at the new L.A. Death & Co., even though it’s not on the menu. And PDT sells a whopping 150 Benton’s Old-Fashioneds a week!! Astounding.
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Interesting piece. Love the stats – not surprised by the Benton’s though.
Away from their home bars (and from the US), I’d say the only two drinks that are widely featured on menus are the Penicilin and the Tommy’s. The Oaxaca and the Benton extremely influential, but not seen so much.
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That makes send, re: Benton’s, given the work required in fat-washing the bourbon, and the relative difficulty in acquiring Benton’s bacon.
I’ve seen a lot of Oaxaca Old-Fashioneds on menu, but under a different name. Same basic drink.
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The Benton’s has been extremely influential in terms of fat washing (unfortunately) – there are many fat-washed Old Fashioned cocktails around. Most of the Oaxaca style drink I’ve seen – under this name or, more often, under another one – are not really tequila OF accented with mezcal. They either veer one way or the other. It’s more the idea than the exact specs. But this happens with a lot of drinks. The first time I was introduced to the Penicilin, it was served up in a coupe. The last time I had it – over the weekend – the bartenders had apparently decided juicing ginger was too much of a drag so they added 1 cl or so of ginger beer…
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@RobertSimonson wrote a significant new piece for Punch:
With this, I think he really ties something of a bow on the Cocktail Renaissance, at least from an internal perspective.
On the other hand, most of us have been so invested in the Cocktail Renaissance for so long that it can be a challenge to see outside the bubble. The “mainstream” within the bubble of cocktail bars and cognoscenti, is not the “mainstream” of the greater world we live in. The former has produced a hierarchy of noteworthy, accomplished new drinks, but the latter has adopted none of them (miserable list), to-date, despite re-embracing the general cocktail idea itself. I am reminded of this uncomfortable fact nearly every time I dine out. On the plus-side, the Negroni has never been more popular, world-wide.
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Thanks for posting, Martin. It is true that what are classics inside the cocktail bubble are not classics to the greater, and greatly incurious, world. If I had to choose the modern classics are are indeed well known and well-liked outside the cocktail community, I would say:
Espresso Martini
Tommy’s Margarita
Penicillin
Paper Plane
Oaxaca Old-Fashioned
Porn Star Martini
White Negroni
Maybe the Old Cuban and Trinidad Sour.
That’s about it. And, in it’s way, it’s not a small achievement, when paired with the resurrection work done on old drinks like the Old-Fashioned, Negroni, Last Word, Jungle Bird, Moscow Mule, etc.
We’re also not much different from the food world, that talks endlessly about classic/landmark dishes from various chefs and restaurants that most people have never heard of.
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Great point.
I think we may also be overestimating how many drinks were really widely known in the 1910s or 1930s. In cultural works, it’s always the same drinks that come up.
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