Gentlemen.  As a frequenter of the “evening scene,” I am here to speak to you about your choice of drink.  Perhaps you feel lager makes you gassy, wine gives you too much a hangover or that a liqueur straight up just doesn’t do it for you.  So what’s the alternative but the cocktail! Now, I certainly don’t claim to speak for everyone, and many people might disagree with me, but from this gals perspective, when a lad dances up to me with a pink or umbrella-ed libation, I have to drown out the thoughts like “gay!” or “pansy!” that run through my head.  Don’t get me wrong, I have many gay friends and I love them dearly.  But us hetero girls don’t necessarily want to be seen with a guy who’s drink is prettier than she is.  So may I present to you a variety of cocktails that look as manly as you hope to.  And when I say manly, I mean they LOOK manly.  Women don’t really care what your drink TASTES like, as long as it doesn’t look like it’s something only Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods would drink.

Tom Collins

Manhattan

The grandfather of manly cocktails, the Manhattan has been a favourite for over a hundred years.  The traditional Manhattan is made with a rye whiskey:

2 ounces Rye Whiskey
3/4 ounce Sweet Vermouth
3 dashes Bitters

Stir and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

But how about showing off your good taste and distinguished taste by ordering the Uptown Manhattan, made with a more expensive whiskey, and giving the establishment of your choice the chance to use some creative “juices” while making you look quite the debonaire.

Bijou Cocktail

First sighted in 1882 in Harry Johnson’s Bartender Manual, the Bijou Cocktail, which means “jewel” in French, is made with the three most precious jewels in mind: gin (diamond), vermouth (ruby) and chartreuse (emerald).

3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth
3/4 oz Gin
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
1 dash Orange Bitters
1 Cherry

Shake all ingredients (except the cherry) with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Add the cherry on top and serve.

Nowadays, the Bijou is shaken up, combining the colours into a lovely amber colour, which is where some of you may have heard of this drink before, but under the name “Amber Dream.”

Fort Lauderdale Cocktail

Found in Playboy’s Bar Guide from 1971, the Fort Lauderdale Cocktail is sweet but manly.

1 1/2 oz Golden Rum
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz Orange Juice
1/4 oz Lime Juice
1 slice cocktail orange in syrup

Shake with ice and pour over rocks in a pre-chilled old-fashioned glass.

Pearadis Cocktail

Found only at Eleven Nightclub and Restaurant, Carolineoncrack.com called the Pearadis Cocktail “spiked flower water” without being too sweet.  Garnished with a few blueberries, so far all we have are the ingredients.

You’ll have to play with this one at home to come up with your favourite way to mix it.  So get out your Absolut Pear, stirrings lavender and lemon-lime soda and get mixing!

Nevada Cocktail

About.com describes the Nevada Cocktail as: a short, neat and nice “rum martini.” This is also a great cocktail to show off your favorite rums, paired with fresh squeezed grapefruit and lime juices. I like to use demerara simple syrup because it adds a nice richness that balances out the citrus.

2 oz light rum
2 oz grapefruit juice
1 oz lime juice
2 tsp superfine sugar
dash of bitters

Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake well, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Bengal Cocktail

Born in New York City in January of 1889, the Bengal Cocktail is a gin/vermouth based drink meant to be drunk from a port glass… very classy! Artofdrink.com has a nice recipe for thie old fashioned libation:

1 Dash Maraschino
3 Drops Absinthe
2 Dashes Orange Bitters
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
2 oz Old Tom Gin

Combine all of the ingredients into a shaker glass packed with ice. Stir until very cold and strain into a wine glass (port glass if you have one).

The selling point of this drink, though, is the name.  Just thinking about a gentleman leaning over to the bartender and ordering such an exotic named drink… so feline… so primal.  Yea, go for it guys.