Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide

Like the Corpse Reviver, there are a few different variations on this cocktail, generally denoted by numbers. This particular recipe is essentially a softer, fruitier version of a Daiquiri. The combination of pineapple and rum is, as usual, reminiscent of a beach vacation and helps tone down the acidity of the lime. Grenadine imparts just enough sweetness and a tart pomegranate note for a bit of added depth. Be sure to use real grenadine syrup though, none of that chemical cherry nonsense. This cocktail is among Havana's many contributions to drink menus everywhere and is sure to refresh on even the most sweltering of summer days. Just be careful, these things go down like adult juice boxes.

Grab your old letterman's jacket and head on down to Poor Red's BBQ in California gold country if you want to sample one of these creamy creations. After allegedly winning his bar in a game of dice, Poor Red started serving up some of the best barbecue El Dorado had ever tasted. Sometime in the early 50s, a couple came in and asked the bartender to mix up a new cocktail to celebrate their recent engagement. The bartender noticed that the couple had arrived in a brand new golden Cadillac and decided to make a drink to match it. This is the recipe he came up with. The Golden Cadillac became so popular that Galliano eventually gifted Poor Red's with their very own Golden Cadillac to display outside the restaurant. Pretty hip, huh?

Back in the mid-1900s, airmail was a common method for sending packages and letters, and was without a doubt the fastest way to get something from point A to point B. This cocktail derives its name from that very same idea—it's one of the quickest ways to get from A to B. The origins of the Air Mail are somewhat unclear. The recipe was first published in Esquire's Handbook for Hosts in 1949, but no one is quite sure exactly where it came from. Widely regarded as one of the better champagne cocktails, this fizzy concoction looks like liquid gold poured over ice and tastes like a Caribbean beach vacation in a glass. Email might have replaced airmail, but there's no substitute for this citrusy delight.

This French Quarter mainstay first made landfall sometime in the 1940s at Pat O'Brien's bar in New Orleans. Supposedly, the bar began as a speakeasy with the password “Storm's brewin'”—perhaps foretelling the creation of this cocktail. It would appear that Mr. O'Brien came up with the Hurricane in an effort to empty his stores of the large quantities of rum that his southern distributors required him to buy, hence the ample dosing of both light and dark rum. He poured his new concoction into glasses shaped like hurricane lamps and dubbed it the Hurricane. This cocktail is sticky-sweet and bursting with juicy flavors. Be careful though. It packs a category-five punch.

Your guests will feel very special when presented with gold-topped cups of nog. To transfer the edible gold (or silver) leaf to the drink, use the tip of a fine-tipped artist's brush to lift a large flake of the gold from its tissue. Touch the edge of the flake onto the surface of the eggnog and remove the paintbrush without getting the bristles wet.

A busy barkeeper (or organized home bartender serving a big brunch) will make up large batches of morning cocktails to get a head start on serving. This great variation on the Bloody Mary theme uses Scotch to give it a smoky note. Makes 14 to 16 servings