While times are changing for the better, most men still drink cheap beer, and sugar-filled shots. Thanks to the growing classic cocktail trends across, the growing number of small distilleries and breweries, and television shows like Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire, more and more are becoming interested in better quality products and more traditional drinks. So many great drinks and products were lost during Prohibition, and while the practice of drinking well did continue to a lesser extent from the 1930's until the 1960's, it is for the most part the great classics from the Golden Age that survive today. A Modern Gentleman appreciates these drinks for their taste and history, and cares for the manner in which they are made. Below are five classic drinks for this Modern Gentleman that he should know intimately, their history, what they taste like, and the proper way to make them.

Old-Fashioned

This is the drink with the most variations, the source of so many debates, the biggest growing popularity, yet one of the most misunderstood. Thanks to Donald Draper on TV's Mad Men, this drink is now ordered by droves of non-experienced drinkers. The disappointing news is that practices from the dark ages of drinking (the 1970's to the 1990's) are still alive today, and the drink is often ruined or just unrecognizable. It is a finicky drink to maintain the balance of so few ingredients, and of course most everyone prefers his or hers a slightly different way. The recipe below is from “Modern American Drinks” by George Kappeler in 1895, and is the best way to make a proper Old-Fashioned. The type of bitters and spirit is up to the drinker and trying new combinations makes for a multitude of exciting options.

2oz whiskey

2 dashes Angostura bitters

1/2tsp of sugar (or one small sugar cube)

1 piece of lemon peel

Dissolve the sugar with a little water in a whiskey-glass [Old-Fashioned or rocks glass]; add bitters, a small piece ice, a piece lemon-peel, and whiskey. Mix with a small barspoon and serve.

A small piece ice can be substituted today with a few nice cubes (don't ruin the drink with small, watery ones), and the lemon peel can be swapped for orange if you please. Express the oil of the peel over top of the drink for best effect. A common practice is to soak the sugar in both water and bitters before adding ice and spirit.

Sazerac

Ordering this drink just a few years ago would have gotten you strange looks. Because of its history and fantastic taste, it was and is an obscure favourite among cocktail enthusiasts. Its inception can be traced to 1850's New Orleans in a slightly different form than we most often enjoy now. The Sazerac is the product of two smart men: one who imported the Sazerac de Forge et Fils, and the other who changed the name of his bar to "Sazerac House," where the cocktail was first made and became popular, thus naming it the "Sazerac Cocktail." Peychaud's bitters was literally made down the street, so it was the obvious choice. The drink's flavor is dry and spicy, and the union of Peychaud's, absinthe, and rye is something truly special. Use a good quality spirit, preferably a higher-proof and spicy rye, absinthe if you can, raw sugar, and lastly you can substitute Bitter Truth Creole Bitters for Peychaud's .

2 oz straight rye whiskey

1 sugar cube

2-3 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Absinthe

Lemon peel

Fill an Old-Fashioned or Sazerac glass with cracked ice. Put the sugar in a mixing container, add the bitters and a little water and let dissolve. Add the whiskey, fill with ice, and stir. Dump the ice out of the glass and pour in a little absinthe, and roll around to coat the glass before discarding. Strain the whiskey mixture into the glass, then express the oil from the lemon peel over top and drop it into the glass.

Manhattan

This one is the probably the most famous and enduring of all classics, enjoyed by many in literature and film, particularly gentlemen. Vermouth entered the mixed drink equation sometime in the 1870's, drastically changing things for generations to come. Suddenly cocktails weren't just spirits with small additions of liqueurs, bitters, sugars, and sometimes fruits. Now spirits shared the spotlight or even had a supporting role in many popular drinks. Arguably the first of these was the Manhattan, made at the Manhattan Club in, yes, Manhattan. Early incarnations included maraschino, absinthe, gum syrup, and no whiskey specification, but the drink simplified over time. The type of whiskey and bitters are still optional, and like the Old-Fashioned make for very different drinks. A higher-proof whiskey mixes better, with rye being drier and spicier and bourbon being fuller and sweeter. Always stir, never shake, serve up and not on the rocks, and the garnish is always optional.

2oz whiskey

1oz sweet vermouth

2-3 dashes bitters

Add ingredients to a mixing glass, add ice, stir, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a real cherry, or a citrus peel (optional).

Martini

The origins of the Martini are some of the most disputed of them(as noted in my earlier article “The Martini, An Icon”), but the concept remained the same. The latest and most popular incarnation, The Dry Martini, made an important change in recipe: swapping Italian vermouth for French. As time wore on after Prohibition, Martinis got drier and drier, reducing the vermouth down to smaller and smaller amounts. In the later half of the 20th century good-quality vermouths were harder to come by and the lack of knowledgeable bartenders left it sitting on shelves instead of fresh and in the fridge, and the vermouth became essentially non-existent. Furthermore, James Bond confused many by calling his Kangaroo Cocktail a "Vodka Martini" (which even confused the Bond girl). A classic gentleman does not drink a Martini with vodka, though will sometimes drink it dry. However, a Martini without dry vermouth is not a Martini.

2oz gin (Old Tom traditionally, but London Dry works just fine)

1oz dry vermouth

Stir(never shake) ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with an olive or lemon peel.

Negroni

In 1860’s Italy, Gaspare Campari invented the most famous of amari, aptly named Campari, before settling down and opening a cafe. The signature drink there was the “Milano Torino,” combining Campari from Milan and Cinzano vermouth from Turin then topped with soda. The early 20th century brought an influx of American tourists, among whom the drink found popularity and was renamed the “Americano.” (It found popularity elsewhere too, even being the first drink James Bond ever ordered). In 1919, Count Camillo Negroni asked the bartender, Fosco Scarselli, at the Caffe Casoni for a stronger version of this drink by swapping the soda with gin, hense the Negroni. The three ingredients balance and accent each other beautifully. While Campari is very bitter and therefore an acquired taste, it's a worthwhile one, and the Negroni is a drink bound to be in your life for good.

1oz London Dry gin

1oz Italian vermouth

1oz Campari

Add ingredients together and stir with ice. Strain over rocks in an old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a slice of orange a piece of lemon peel.