Four Seasons Book of Cocktails

Scotch and bourbon are hardly the only whiskeys on the block. At The Four Seasons Grill Room the bartenders make good use of other types from across the ocean, north of the border, or right here in the USA.

Old-fashioned rye whiskey, which has made a comeback in recent years, is grassy and a little sour when young, and tastes of caramel and spice with age. Tennessee whiskey, made at only two distilleries, is lighter-bodied and sweeter than bourbon thanks to its filtration through finely ground sugar-maple charcoal. Irish whiskey lacks the smokiness of Scotch but makes up for it with maltiness. Canadian blended whiskey is our northern neighbor’s pride and joy, with virtually all Canadian distillers producing blends of grain whiskeys of different ages.

A nightcap after the show?

2 ounces Canadian Club whiskey

2 ounces ruby port

1 ounce dark rum

4 or 5 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice, shake, and strain into glass.

Created at the eponymous hotel’s Blue Bar by bartending legend David Grinstead, who ended his career at The Four Seasons

1½ ounces whiskey of choice

1 ounce dry vermouth

1 ounce pineapple juice

1 ounce club soda

Combine whiskey, vermouth, and juice in mixing glass. Add ice and stir to chill. Strain into glass, top with club soda, and stir.

Named for the investment company in our 52nd Street block

1½ ounces Jameson Irish whiskey

½ ounce blue curaçao

½ ounce Cognac

Orange peel spiral for garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice and stir to chill. Strain into glass and garnish.

A WORD FROM THE BARTENDERS

Fruit garnishes aren’t anything to skimp on. At The Four Seasons, we cut a wedge of lemon or lime no less than an inch wide; lime, lemon, and orange slices end up close to half an inch wide. The rationale? You’ll flavor your drink all the more when you squeeze a citrus garnish and drop it into the glass. Presentation is well and good, but it’s not going to thrill the palate.

In honor of yet another neighborhood firm

2 ounces whiskey of choice

½ ounce dry sherry

½ ounce fresh sour mix

Maraschino cherry for garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Strain into glass and garnish.

A blast from your college past

12 ounces beer of choice, chilled

1 ounce whiskey of choice

Pour beer into highball glass, top with whiskey, and stir.

Half Irish, half Scottish

1½ ounces Irish whiskey

1½ ounces Scotch

Pour whiskeys into ice-filled rocks glass and stir.

Mountain cherry picking

2½ ounces whiskey of choice

½ ounce Hiram Walker cherry brandy

Maraschino cherry for garnish

Pour whiskey and brandy into ice-filled highball glass. Stir and garnish.

A Four Seasons bartender reinterprets an old favorite (Rye Old-Timers).

2 ounces Canadian whiskey

½ ounce fresh sour mix

½ ounce grenadine

Crushed ice

Orange slice for garnish

Combine whiskey, sour mix, and grenadine in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Strain into glass filled with crushed ice and garnish. Serve with a straw, if desired.

Mad swirl of whiskey and two liqueurs

1½ ounces whiskey of choice

½ ounce white crème de menthe

½ ounce dark crème de cacao

Pour ingredients into ice-filled rocks glass and stir.

For imbibing on your yacht

2 ounces whiskey of choice

½ ounce Drambuie

1 ounce fresh sour mix

Orange slice for garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Strain into ice-filled glass and garnish.

Created by—and named for—head bartender Greg

1½ ounces Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey

½ ounce lime juice

½ ounce orange juice

Ginger ale

Lime wedge for garnish

Combine whiskey and juices in mixing glass. Add ice, shake, and pour with ice into glass. Top with ginger ale to taste and garnish.

Named for a customer who likes it tart

2 ounces rye whiskey

½ ounce sweet vermouth

1 ounce cranberry juice

2 drops lemon juice

Orange slice for garnish

Pour liquid ingredients into ice-filled rocks glass. Stir and garnish.

Potent and olivey

2½ ounces whiskey of choice

½ ounce olive juice

3 olives for garnish

Pour whiskey and olive juice into ice-filled rocks glass. Stir and garnish.

Why the name? See A Bar Regular: The Creative Muse.

2 ounces whiskey of choice

½ ounce Drambuie

¼ ounce sloe gin

Combine ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Strain into ice-filled glass and stir.

Beneath the awning at No. 99: our front door

2½ ounces whiskey of choice

½ ounce Southern Comfort

Maraschino cherry for garnish

Pour whiskey and Southern Comfort into ice-filled rocks glass. Stir and garnish.

Our version of the classic vodka cocktail— a toast to the weekend that was

2 ounces whiskey of choice

½ ounce blue curaçao

½ ounce fresh sour mix

Maraschino cherry for garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Strain into glass and garnish.

Erin go bragh

2 ounces Irish whiskey

1 ounce dry vermouth

1 teaspoon green crème de menthe

Combine ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice, stir to chill, and strain into glass.

Our take on a classic

2½ ounces Crown Royal whiskey

1½ ounces fresh sour mix

Crushed ice

Orange slice for garnish

Maraschino cherry for garnish

Combine whiskey and sour mix in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Strain into glass filled with crushed ice and garnish.

With peach schnapps and a bittersweet Italian vermouth

2 ounces whiskey of choice

1 ounce peach schnapps

1 ounce Punt è Mes

Club soda

Combine whiskey, schnapps, and vermouth in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Pour with ice into glass and top with club soda to taste.

Savored by New Yorkers on both banks

2 ounces whiskey of choice

½ ounce dry vermouth

½ ounce orange juice

Combine ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice, shake, and strain into glass.

A soft drink well spiked

2½ ounces Irish whiskey

12 ounces Sprite or 7UP

Lemon slice for garnish

Pour whiskey and soft drink into ice-filled highball glass. Stir and garnish.

Tonic for the morning after. Irish Mist, based on an ancient formula, is flavored with honey and herbs.

2 ounces Irish whiskey

½ ounce Irish Mist

¼ ounce orange juice

¼ ounce lemon juice

Crushed ice

Combine liquid ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice, shake, and strain into glass filled with crushed ice.

Whiskey with a touch of licoracy anisette

2½ ounces Canadian whiskey

½ ounce anisette

1 dash Fee Brothers orange bitters

Lemon twist for garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice and stir to chill. Pour with ice into glass and garnish.

From Jack Daniels’s hometown in Middle Tennessee

2 ounces Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey

½ ounce triple sec

1 ounce fresh sour mix

1½ ounces Sprite or 7UP

Lemon peel spiral for garnish

Maraschino cherry for garnish

Combine whiskey, triple sec, and sour mix in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Pour with ice into glass, add soft drink, and garnish. Serve with a straw.

Limoncello with mint

2 ounces whiskey of choice

1 ounce limoncello

1 ounce white crème de menthe

Club soda

Mint sprig for garnish

Combine whiskey and liqueurs in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Pour with ice into glass, top with club soda to taste, and garnish.

Foot-stompin’ good

2 ounces Irish whiskey

1 ounce Drambuie

1 ounce B & B

Crushed ice

Club soda

Orange slice for garnish

Combine whiskey and liqueurs in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Pour into glass filled with crushed ice, top with club soda to taste, and garnish.

In honor of New York’s finest and their steeds

2 ounces whiskey of choice

½ ounce white crème de cacao

½ ounce heavy cream

Nutmeg for sprinkling

Combine liquid ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Strain into glass and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Curtain up, light the lights!

2 ounces whiskey of choice

1 ounce Cointreau

Lemon twist for garnish

Pour whiskey and liqueur into ice-filled rocks glass. Stir and garnish.

An homage to the high-powered boulevard where our famous building stands

2 ounces whiskey of choice

1 ounce fresh sour mix

Maraschino cherry for garnish

Orange slice for garnish

Combine whiskey and sour mix in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Strain into glass and garnish.

Ticking with flavor

2½ ounces whiskey of choice

½ ounce lemon juice

1 dash Tabasco

Combine ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice, shake, and pour with ice into glass.

The Rusty Nail meets the Screwdriver.

1½ ounces whiskey of choice

1 ounce Drambuie

½ ounce orange juice

Orange slice for garnish

Pour liquid ingredients into ice-filled rocks glass. Stir and garnish.

Bubbly and sweet. Pungent Angostura bitters was formulated in Venezuela by an immigrant German surgeon.

2½ ounces rye whiskey

½ teaspoon superfine sugar

1 dash Angostura bitters

Club soda

Lemon twist for garnish

Combine whiskey, sugar, and bitters in mixing glass. Add ice, shake, and strain into ice-filled glass. Top with club soda to taste and garnish.

Whiskey with a touch of gin

1½ ounces whiskey of choice

½ ounce gin

½ ounce fresh sour mix

Crushed ice

3 sprigs fresh mint for garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Strain into glass filled with crushed ice and garnish.