10 Three-Ingredient Cocktails Everyone Should Learn to Make for Their Loved One

I admit, this post should be called "10 Three-Ingredient Cocktails Everyone Should Learn." But what is cocktail making for but to bring people together for happy moments. And who better to do that with than that special person in your life to make those non-special moments special.

It's been a long day, your feet are dragging, you open the door to your home and there, standing with a big smile on their face, your loved one is mixing one of your favorite cocktails. Or it's a lazy Sunday, no agenda, you've sat down on the couch to read your favorite magazine and a cocktail gets placed in front of you for no reason at all. Talk about love.

A cocktail made with a bit of TLC can be a simple romantic gesture that can instantaneously change the mood and atmosphere. The sound of a cocktail shaker, the presentation in a glass, the first sip - a wonderful ritual that adds a needed pause to the day, triggering conversation and intimacy.

Here are some simple three-ingredient cocktails (plus garnish) I like to make for my wife, quite simple to prepare with ingredients available at your local liquor store and market.

Some Classics

Martini

The Martini is a great cocktail to get to know more about your partner. Almost anyone you ask has their own preference in how it's made - the ratio of gin to vermouth, the garnish, shaken or stirred. Here is a more classic version of the Martini that can be tweaked to the likes of that special person in your life.

For a decadent pairing serve your Martini with some toast and creamy blue cheese.

2 oz. Gin
1 oz. Dry Vermouth
Dash of Orange Bitters
Garnish

As I've noted before, traditionally Martinis are stirred. This allows it to be chilled without the greater dilution that comes from shaking and provides a crystal-clear presentation, avoiding the cloudiness of air bubbles and chipped ice that can result from shaking. When you stir be sure not to churn the ice but rather "push" it in a clockwise motion as demonstrated below.

Add the gin, vermouth and orange bitters to a mixing glass. Fill with plenty of ice. Stir for 15-20 seconds, strain into a cocktail glass (aka Martini glass) and garnish with a twist of lemon or olive depending on preference.



If you don't have a mixing glass the glass from a French coffee press will work great or it can be stirred in a cocktail shaker or tall, wide glass. Don't have a bar spoon? Try a long bamboo skewer. Works like magic.


Manhattan

For the bourbon or rye lover the Manhattan can't be beat. Simple to make, rich in flavor, aromatic, spicy, slightly sweet - a nice sipping cocktail.

2 oz. Bourbon or Rye
1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
2 Heavy Dashes Angostura Bitters
Lemon Twist

The Manhattan can be built in the glass it's served in but I prefer to use a mixing glass. Combine ingredients in a mixing glass, fill with ice, stir for about 10-15 seconds and strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

Old Fashioned

Made right the Old Fashioned is smooth as silk. It's name derives from the "old fashioned" or original method of making a cocktail - a spirit with sugar, bitters and water (from diluted ice). There, now you have your conversation piece. Here is a version that predates the post-WWII style with muddled fruit.

2 oz. Bourbon or Rye
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup (1 part sugar dissolved entirely into 1 part hot water, chilled)
2 Heavy Dashes Angostura Bitters
Lemon Twist

In a mixing glass combine the bourbon or rye, simple syrup and bitters. Fill with ice and stir for 10-15 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Sours

Sours are a type of cocktail that utilize mainly lemon or lime juice along with a spirit and sweetener. Though they should have a citrusy zing, they should also have a balanced sweetness. The pucker from these cocktails should come only from your loved one as they prepare to land a big fat kiss on your mouth after you've served them one.

Sours are very versatile, mainly made of 3-4 ingredients. Switch out the spirit, sweetener and citrus and you've got a whole new cocktail. Bourbon + Lemon Juice + Simple Syrup = Whiskey Sour. Cognac + Lemon Juice + Cointreau = Sidecar. Tequila + Lime Juice + Cointreau = Margarita. The possibilities are endless, but hey, here's how to make all three:

In all of these recipes I can't emphasize more the importance of using freshly-squeezed juice. Hands off the bottled stuff!

Whiskey Sour

Squeeze some lemon juice in advance and put it in a container to cut down on your cocktail-making time and optimize one-on-one time.

1.5 oz. Bourbon or Rye
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup (1 part sugar dissolved entirely into 1 part hot water, chilled)
1/2 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
Twist of Lemon
Maraschino Cherry (optional)

Easy to make and so delicious even for people who don't normally drink whiskey cocktails. Add bourbon or rye, simple syrup and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and shake for 10-15 seconds until icy-cold. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice and garnish with a twist of lemon and a maraschino cherry (optional).

Sidecar

2 oz. Cognac
1 oz. Cointreau
1/2 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
Twist of Lemon

The cognac adds a nice caramel-vanilla tone to the cocktail. Crisp and refreshing. The orange citrus flavor of the Cointreau is brightened even more with the lemon juice. Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and shake for 10-15 seconds until icy-cold. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist. For an added sweet touch you can begin by rimming the glass with sugar by moistening the rim with the flesh of a lemon and then rolling it in a layer of fine sugar.

Margarita (on the rocks)

1.5 oz. Tequila (preferably 100% Agave)
1/2 oz. Cointreau
1/2 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
Lime Wheel
Salt (optional)

It's the recipe of the original Margarita. Need I say more? Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and shake for 10-15 seconds until icy-cold. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice and garnish with a wheel of lime. If preferred, salt the rim of the glass beforehand by rubbing the flesh of a lime wedge around the rim and then rolling the rim over a layer of salt.

A Swoop Down to the Tropics

If getting down to some warm islands with your main squeeze isn't happening soon, you can easily send your taste buds there. Here are a couple rum cocktails for a couple of romantics:

The Daiquiri

If it's a steamy hot day I might throw in an ice cube for some extra chill.

I know what you're thinking: slushy, candy-sweet, neon-red. Please. It's me, people. We're talking the original Daiquiri preferred by the likes of President John F. Kennedy and Ernest Hemingway.

2 oz. Light Rum
3/4 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup (1 part sugar dissolved entirely into 1 part hot water, chilled)
Lime Wheel

Light, crisp, and refreshing. Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and shake for 10-15 seconds until icy-cold. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lime wheel.

Dark 'n' Stormy

If you can't make it to Bermuda you can at least enjoy their national drink. Be sure to get ginger beer (as opposed to ginger ale) which is much more robust in flavor with a spicier kick.

2 oz. Gosling's Black Seal Rum (if unavailable, your favorite spiced rum will do)
Ginger Beer
Lime Wedge

Fill a tall glass with ice, add rum and top off with ginger beer and squeeze in a wedge of lime. So simple with a sensuous flavor.

For the Sweet Tooth

Though many of the drinks listed above have a balanced sweetness there are some out there who love to turn the dial up a bit more. If done correctly, swapping out a spirit with a liqueur can create a luxurious cocktail that avoids being candy-sweet while nectarous on the palate.

Amaretto Sour

1.5 oz. Amaretto
3/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
1/4 oz. Simple Syrup (1 part sugar dissolved entirely into 1 part hot water, chilled)
Maraschino Cherry

Remember those sours listed above? This is basically a Whiskey Sour but instead of bourbon or rye we're using Amaretto. The contrast of the tart lemon with the nutty Amaretto can be quite nice.

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and shake for 10-15 seconds until icy-cold. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and garnish with a Maraschino cherry.

Something Creamy

For that special person who enjoys the velvety texture of cream laced with chocolate liqueur and hints of nutty caramel and vanilla flavors from a good cognac finished with a sprinkling of aromatic nutmeg, I bring you the Brandy Alexander.

Brandy Alexander

1.5 oz. Cognac
1 oz. Cream
1 oz. Creme de Cacao (dark)
Fresh Nutmeg

In a cocktail shaker combine the cognac, cream and creme de cacao. Fill with ice and shake for 10-15 seconds until icy-cold. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a dusting of fresh nutmeg.

So there you have it. Ten easy cocktails that if prepared often will not only become a breeze to make but will add more special moments to a relationship, bringing a smile and a wink and likely a smooch from that special person in your life.

The Gateway Cocktail

I like to think of the Martini as the steak of cocktails. Extremely simple in nature with countless ways to make one and everyone has their preference. You take gin, dry vermouth and perhaps some bitters, stir it all on ice, strain into a cocktail glass and add your garnish of choice. Which gin and how much vermouth distinguishes each martini and the people who make them. There are those who prefer a one-to-one ratio of gin to vermouth and others who use barely any at all and everything in between. And then there are those like Winston Churchill who when once asked how much vermouth he would like in his martini is quoted as saying "I would like to observe the vermouth from across the room while I drink my martini." Though everyone will tell you their martini is the best and most authentic, you might as well argue over which cut of beef and technique makes the best steak.

"Sorry about that."

Though there is no right way to make a martini, over the past 50 years or so some serious delinquencies have evolved affecting martini culture. In my opinion, this was helped in some part by Hollywood's favorite secret agent. As much as I envy and secretly wish to be James Bond, his martini preference may have opened the door to the cocktail loosing its way on a bizarre walkabout. You see, in developing his character Bond needed to come across as a super bad ass, one so cool that he went against convention in all respects. Thus, the shaken vodka martini. This version laughed in the face of those craggy old gin drinkers with their tediously stirred martinis.* Over the decades the trend spread like wildfire almost to the point that the stirred gin martini was forgotten. What's more, martini became a "style," devoid of any link to its root with almost no limit to its definition with countless fill-in-the-blank "tinis" found on menus like the candy-sweet Appletini. Don't get me started on variations using flavored vodka. A Gummy Bear Martini, really!?

Then there's one of the biggest offenders, the Dirty Martini. I think this cocktail was solely concocted to sell cheap vodka, gin and vermouth, all so vile they had to be masked with the addition of cocktail olive brine. When I hear it ordered I cringe. Call me a cocktail snob, but seriously, you're drinking a spiked pickling solution from God knows where. And even with the opening of more and more bars with menus offering classic and innovative cocktails crafted from the finest ingredients, prepared with great technique, with selections to satisfy anyone's taste, orders of the Dirty Martini endure.

So in an effort to stop some of the madness and bring a more orthodox martini approach and appreciation to Dirty Martini drinkers I would like to offer an anti-dirty martini of sorts, something to satisfy your taste but open your eyes and guide you in a direction of what a martini should be. I bring you the Gateway Cocktail**:

Gateway Cocktail

2 oz. Gin
1 oz. Dry Vermouth
1-2 dashes of Celery Bitters (to taste)

Add ingredients to a mixing glass or a pint glass or any tall, wide glass you have. Add a couple scoops of ice and stir for about 15-20 seconds until icy cold. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with an olive.

This is essentially a martini, but as I don't want be accused of perpetuating a confused martini culture, I'm calling it a cocktail as it veers slightly off the traditional recipe with the addition of celery bitters. The bitters add a wonderful vegetal tone while the olive garnish adds a slight brininess. I love how both play with the botanicals of the gin and the minerality of the vermouth but don't overpower them. I prefer using a London dry-style of gin as gins with more botanical flare, like newer American-style gins, can be a bit too much, confusing the taste buds and making the cocktail taste off. Enjoy.

*As the ingredients of a Martini are all alcohol-based, tradition calls for it to be stirred (same for cocktails like the Manhattan or Old Fashioned). Many swear by this for a couple reasons. One, stirring, as opposed to shaking, will result in a much clearer cocktail. Shaking introduces air bubbles and shards of ice, clouding a cocktail. Stirring will also dilute your cocktail less, which apparently has been scientifically proven. Shaking intensifies the melting process. When you introduce ingredients like juices, mixers, shrubs, etc. that is when shaking is called for in order to thoroughly incorporate such ingredients.

**Disclosure: The addition of celery bitters to a somewhat standard martini recipe is not an original idea. I know bartenders who recommend it to customers or add it by request and some makers of celery bitters have suggested it on their websites. I have to give credit where credit is due.