If there’s anything I want cocktail lovers to know it is that plenty of the classic drinks you love sipping on at the bar are not made with a laundry-list of ingredients or a bunch of impossible techniques. This isn’t to say that making an excellent drink isn’t a craft, and there’s plenty of ground-breaking things happening in the cocktail world (looking at you, MSG martini).
But, if your goal is to get confident making cocktails for your friends at the next dinner party (or for you at the end of the next work day) then there is no better place to start than three-ingredient cocktails. By keeping it simple, you can focus on the technique and on exploring the ingredients — be it the gin you like best in your vesper or which ginger beer you think sends your dark ‘n stormy to the next level. These fifteen cocktails are just a fraction of the cocktails you can make with just three ingredients, but they represent a great range in both spirits and proof.