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Whiskey cocktails
Bourbon, rye, and Scotch. Warm, spirit-forward classics from the Old Fashioned to the Manhattan.
17 recipes · step-by-step · exact ratios
Blood and Sand
A rare equal-parts Scotch cocktail balancing smoky whisky, sweet vermouth, cherry liqueur and fresh orange juice; the fixed 3/4oz ratio makes proportional scaling for a crowd trivial.
See recipe →
Boulevardier
A whiskey-based cousin of the Negroni with bourbon, Campari, and sweet vermouth — entirely spirituous and stirred, perfect for batching ahead and stirring to dilution.
See recipe →Brooklyn
A drier, bittersweet cousin of the Manhattan built on rye and dry vermouth with maraschino and amaro accents; all-spirit and stable, so it scales and stores beautifully for batching.
See recipe →Godfather
A two-ingredient spirit-forward sipper of Scotch softened by nutty-sweet amaretto; equal-ish parts and zero perishables make it one of the easiest cocktails to scale and pre-batch for an event.
See recipe →Gold Rush
A modern three-ingredient bourbon sour sweetened with honey syrup instead of sugar, rich and rounded; the simple spirit-to-citrus ratio batches predictably for parties.
See recipe →
John Collins
The bourbon-based cousin of the Tom Collins; whiskey, lemon, sugar and soda make a refreshing highball whose spirit base batches easily ahead of soda topping.
See recipe →Manhattan
Rye, sweet vermouth, bitters — the stately stirred classic.
See recipe →Mint Julep
A Kentucky Derby staple of bourbon, sugar, and mint over crushed ice — all-spirit core with no perishable citrus, making it ideal for large-batch service.
See recipe →Old Fashioned
Whiskey, sugar, bitters — the original cocktail, built in the glass.
See recipe →Paper Plane
A modern equal-parts classic of bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino and lemon, bittersweet and bright; the symmetrical build is ideal for large-format pre-batching.
See recipe →Penicillin
Scotch, lemon, honey-ginger, peaty float — a modern classic.
See recipe →Rob Roy
The Scotch cousin of the Manhattan: whisky, sweet vermouth and aromatic bitters, stirred and silky. Three stable ingredients and a fixed ratio make it a reliable batch-and-chill candidate.
See recipe →Rusty Nail
A bold two-spirit nightcap of Scotch and Drambuie, stirred over ice; being all-spirit and crystal clear it pre-batches perfectly, with dilution coming purely from stirring or controlled water addition.
See recipe →Sazerac
New Orleans rye classic with an absinthe-rinsed glass and Peychaud's bitters — a spirit-forward, citrus-free stirred drink that batches and dilutes predictably.
See recipe →Vieux Carré
A New Orleans monument layering rye and Cognac with sweet vermouth, Bénédictine and two bitters; complex but all spirit-and-liqueur, so it pre-batches and stirs to order without splitting.
See recipe →Whiskey Smash
A bright bourbon sour built on muddled lemon and mint — citrus-forward and refreshing, so batch the spirit-and-syrup base and add fresh lemon and crushed mint to order to keep it lively.
See recipe →Whiskey Sour
Bourbon, lemon, and sweetener — the essential American sour.
See recipe →Whiskey cocktail FAQ
What cocktails can I make with whiskey?
There are 17 classic Whiskey cocktails in our reference, including Blood and Sand, Boulevardier, Brooklyn, Godfather. Each has a step-by-step recipe and exact ratios.
What's the easiest Whiskey cocktail to make?
Start with the Boulevardier — it's a easy stirn drink with just 3 ingredients.