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CLASSIC COCKTAILS HAVE an undeniable allure: imagine nursing a whisky sour at a mellow gathering, a dry martini at an art opening, or a cold margarita on a sweltering afternoon. With a classic, you know exactly what you're getting. The recipes have been tested over decades, in some cases centuries, to earn their place. Some are deceptively simple; others wear their complexity like a badge of honour. Either way, mixing one takes real competence, because the spirit and every ingredient must be honoured. The classics have endured for a reason.
And yet a classic can sometimes feel a tad, well, sedate. Sometimes you crave something new: a drink you can flirt with, one that teases the palate without handing you a map of where it's going. That's where contemporary cocktails come in. There's so much happening in mixology right now that it would be a shame not to bring some of it to the table.
WHY WE NEVER CHOOSE
At Painkiller, we don't think you should have to pick. Our menu runs on the new: tequila curd-washed with pimento chilli, coriander and rocket where you'd least expect them, smoked lapsang tea folded into an old party favourite. But we judge ourselves on the classics, because they're where you learn to listen to a spirit. If I'm judging a bartender, I ask for a Daiquiri: lime, sugar and rum. Three ingredients, and if any one of them is off, you taste it.
That range is what we now take into people's homes through The Bartenders, which Slurrp launched to bring the country's leading cocktail bars into private celebrations. A festive crowd is never one kind of drinker. There's the uncle who wants his whisky sour exactly as it's always been, and the cousin who'll try anything once. A good bar looks after both of them, often in the same round.
HEAD TO HEAD: THE NEGRONI
The best way to show the difference is to put two drinks side by side, and the Negroni is the perfect test: three ingredients, equal parts, nowhere to hide.
THE CLASSIC
Equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and a bitter red aperitif, stirred over ice and finished with orange. It's bitter, sweet and botanical all at once, and it has been a bartender's benchmark for about a century.
● 30 ml gin
● 30 ml sweet vermouth
● 30 ml bitter red aperitif
● Orange peel, to garnish
Stir everything with plenty of ice for 20–30 seconds, until well chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over one large cube. Twist the orange peel over the drink to release its oils, then drop it in.
THE PAINKILLER NEGRONI
Our version keeps the equal parts, adds pickled tomato brine and takes the drink long, built in a highball and topped with pineapple and orange. The salt and acidity of the brine round off the bitterness, the fruit lifts it, and the savoury edge makes you reach for the next sip.
● 20 ml gin
● 20 ml bitter red aperitif
● 20 ml sweet vermouth
● A dash of pickled tomato brine
● Pineapple and orange, to top up (at the bar, we serve it as a foam)
Build the gin, aperitif, vermouth and brine over ice in a highball glass, then top up with pineapple and orange.
The brine and the foam are house recipes we keep to ourselves, so for the full version, come to Painkiller, or book us for your party.
Taste them one after the other and you'll see the point. The classic tells you what a Negroni is. Ours shows you what else it could be.
DOING BOTH JUSTICE
The classics are where we learned our craft; the new drinks are where we get to answer back. A festive table needs both: the drink that tastes like every good party you remember, and the one your guests will still be describing next year!
This article is intended only for readers aged 25 and above. Please drink responsibly and exercise moderation. Never drink and drive.
