French for this evening or tonight, most Americans who don't speak French probably know the phrase "ce soir" from the refrain in the 1974 song "Lady Marmalade" by Patti Labelle: voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? Nicole Lebedevitch created the Ce Soir in Boston in 2017. I discovered it in Punch magazine, which accurately described the Ce Soir as simple, potent, and elegant.

2 ounces cognac or brandy
.75 ounces Cynar
.5 ounces yellow Chartreuse
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash orange bitters

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with sultry evening elegance, and strain into a chilled glass. Lemon peel or amarena cherry garnish optional.

Cognac (or grape based brandy; it's all torched Dutch grapes) provides a solid base for the Ce Soir. Combining it with Cynar, an artichoke based amaro used in the Larceny and Old Lace, gives the Ce Soir a hint of bittersweet flavor. Combining those spirits with yellow Chartreuse, used in the Cloister, adds some French sweetness. Lebedevitch calls for a lemon peel garnish. I used an amarena cherry to be a little different. Regardless of the garnish, when you make the Ce Soir I suggest playing "Lady Marmalade" (either the original or the Christina Aguilera remake) or similarly themed songs, e.g. "In The Air Tonight," "Some Enchanted Evening," "Strangers In The Night" ...

Voulez-vous boire avec moi ce soir?

First recorded in 1931, Cab Calloway made "Minnie the Moocher" a classic song of the Jazz Age. Almost fifty years later, Calloway introduced the song to a new generation (including me) in the musical comedy film The Blues Brothers. The song includes a legendary call and response of scat singing (look it up) with phrases such as "hidee hidee hi." The Minnie the Moocher cocktail appeared in Charlie Conolly's book The World Famous Cotton Club: 1939 Book of Mixed Drinks, and Difford's Guide introduced me to it.

1 ounce gin
1 ounce dry vermouth
1 ounce Benedictine DOM
2-3 drops absinthe
2-3 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir as if you're the roughest toughest frail with a heart as big as a whale, and strain into a chilled glass, preferably a Nick and Nora.

With its combination of gin, dry vermouth, and Angostura bitters, the Minnie the Moocher starts as a juxtaposition of a Martini and Martinez. Add the Benedictine DOM, part of the Brainstorm, and a tiny amount of absinthe, a component of my When Ernest Met Mary and the Sazerac, and the Minnie the Moocher becomes an intriguing cocktail lady. If it's too sweet for you, follow the lead of Difford's Guide and have slightly more gin and vermouth, or follow my lead and go slightly heavier on the bitters.

So if you want the cocktail version of kicking the gong around, hail Cab's spirit and have a Minnie the Moocher.

Call it a merry go round, call it a carousel, it has delighted kids around the world for years. Adult versions such as the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans have delighted adults (including me and Ms. Cocktail Den) for years. Douglas Miller created the Merry Go Round as an homage to revolving bars, and Artist with a Cocktail on Instagram introduced me to it.

1.5 ounces rye
.75 ounces dry vermouth
.75 ounces yellow Chartreuse
.75 ounces lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake in a circular motion again and again, and strain into a chilled glass. Lemon wheel garnish optional.

Rye provides a sturdy base for the Merry Go Round. As we've seen in drinks such as the Old Pal or Scofflaw, rye pairs well with dry vermouth, and as we've seen with drinks such as the Greenpoint or Diamondback, it also pairs well with yellow Chartreuse. Considering Chartreuse's relative scarcity, I understand if you want to cut back on it, but you may want to add a touch of super simple syrup to keep the Merry Go Round from becoming too spicy or tart. If you want some non-syrupy background music as you savor a Merry Go Round, in no particular order I suggest"Round and Round" by Ratt, "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive, or "Right Round" by Flo Rida (basically the theme song to the first The Hangover movie).

So are you ready to go on this Merry Go Round?

Is someone really excited? Is someone seriously muscled? Is someone or something really FU as in the old military acronyms SNAFU or FUBAR? Depending on context, the phrase "all jacked up" refers to any, some, or all of those things. In 2016 Jordan Brower at Mayahuel in New York City created the All Jacked Up, and the great Artist With A Cocktail on Instagram introduced me to it.

1 ounce mezcal
1 ounce sweet vermouth
.75 ounces apple brandy
.25 ounces Fernet Branca
.25 ounces maraschino liqueur

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with overly strong and energetic rhythm, and strain into a chilled glass. Apple fan garnish optional.

Subtle is not a word I'd use to describe the All Jacked Up. Complex is. Mezcal (tequila's smokier cousin used in drinks such as the Pura Vida), sweet vermouth (a key component of classics such as the Boulevardier), and apple brandy (a mainstay of drinks such as the Pan Am Clipper), combine better than you might think to give the All Jacked Up a robust foundation. Comparing apples to apples, apple brandy and applejack are similar but not the same, and either works well here. A touch of Fernet Branca and maraschino liqueur add a little bracing bitterness and sweetness.

One (at most two) All Jacked Up will get you jacked up in a positive way. More than that, you might be looking at the negative way. Be positive and enjoy!

Who says you need a holiday to get in the holiday spirit (pun intended)? Although a winter holiday cocktail competition sponsored by Difford's Guide and Heering cherry liqueur provided the inspiration for my original Cheerful Cherry, this cocktail is one you can drink year round.

2 ounces cognac or brandy
1 ounce cherry Heering
.25 ounces lemon juice
.25 ounces super simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura or aromatic bitters

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake festively (or if you celebrate Festivus, shake as if it is a Feat of Strength), and strain into a chilled glass. Amarena or Luxardo cherry garnish optional.

If pairing cognac and Chartreuse works in a Champs Élysées, I figured why not try pairing cognac with cherry Heering? Here this Danish liqueur is more prominent than it is in other cocktails such as the Royal Blood, the Wildest Redhead, and the Blackjack. Like cocktails with a Danish theme? Try my Danish Road Rage or Scandinavian Suntan. You can have a Cheerful Cherry in any atmosphere, whether you're watching Die Hard (which in my opinion is a Christmas movie) or listening to a song such as "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang.

Now it's time to say cheers with a Cheerful Cherry!

If you took the late comedian and actor Rodney Dangerfield at his word, he never got any respect. No respect I tell ya. When you "throw shade" at someone, you casually, and often hilariously, disrespect and dismiss them (I learned the modern term originated in the drag culture in 1980s New York City). In comparison, the Shade Thrower cocktail is worthy of your respect. Freddy Schwenk in Nashville created the Shade Thrower, and my cocktailian friends David and Kirk introduced me to it.

2 ounces bourbon
.5 ounces Averna
.5 ounces sweet vermouth
.25 ounces Aperol
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with an air of casual disdain, and strain into a chilled glass, preferably rocks. Orange twist garnish optional.

Think of the Shade Thrower as an amaro enhanced Manhattan (sort of like how my Flattening Curve is an amaro enhanced Old Fashioned, or the Dubliner is an orange enhanced Manhattan). If you like the Rhythm & Soul, you'll like the Shade Thrower.

The drink pairs well with movies such as Caddyshack. When you have a Shade Thrower, you can respect the cocktail as you throw shade.

I like to say Ms. Cocktail Den has the face of an angel and the mouth of a Teamster. Inspired by the Angel Face cocktail featured in The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock, the Angelic Martini isn't technically a Martini, but like a Martini it is very tasty. My fellow cocktailian Michael Bounds introduced me to the Angelic Martini.

1.5 ounces gin
1 ounce apple brandy
1 ounce apricot liqueur

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with elysian bliss, and strain into a chilled glass, preferably a Nick and Nora. Apple wedge or lemon peel garnish optional.

Fusing gin with apple brandy seems odd, yet the way they blend together gives the Angelic Martini a crisp, sturdy, base. If you use applejack instead of apple brandy, just remember to compare apples to apples. The apricot liqueur might be tough to find, but there's really no substitute. It brings a little sweetness to the Angelic Martini without making it cloying. The end result evokes a liquid paradise. Interested in trying the original Angel Face? Just like other gin based drinks such as the Bijou and the Negroni, use one ounce each of the three ingredients (Craddock specifically called for Calvados as the apple brandy).

Whether your nature is angelic, devilish, or something in between, have an Angelic Martini, and you'll feel like you're in ... you know where.

Starring the late great Robin Williams (and featuring soon to be well known actors such as Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles), Dead Poets Society is one of my favorite movies from the 1980s. Keenan McGregor in Halifax created the Dead Poet, and I learned about it from Tonight's Cocktail on Instagram.

1 ounce blanco tequila
1 ounce dry vermouth
.5 ounces mezcal
.5 ounces Benedictine DOM
Barspoon of yellow Chartreuse
2 dashes orange bitters

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir as if you're trying to suck the marrow out of life (if you don't get it, watch the movie), and strain into a chilled glass, preferably a coupe. Lemon or lime twist garnish optional.

Like agave spirits? Then you'll like the Dead Poet. Truth be told, you'll probably like this well balanced gem even if neither tequila nor mezcal is your go to spirit. The mezcal gives the Dead Poet a hint of smoke, and the Benedictine DOM and yellow Chartreuse (both used in the Monte Cassino) keep it from overwhelming you. Poetry can be powerful. I'm not a fan of written poetry, but I am a fan of musical poetry (after all, what is a song?). The Dead Poet is liquid poetry in motion.

So raise a glass to your favorite poet(s), whether dead or alive, and enjoy a Dead Poet.

Salmon in a cocktail?! Not really. There's no salmon or fish of any kind in the Salmoncito, which roughly translates as "little salmon" in Spanish. A 2013 creation from Khristian de la Torre in Mexico City, the easy to make Salmoncito gets its name from its color. Remember: pink is powerful.

1.5 ounces gin
.33 ounces Campari
.33 ounces grapefruit juice
4-5 ounces tonic water

Combine the first three ingredients in a glass, preferably a highball, with ice then top with the tonic water. Grapefruit wedge and/or peel garnish optional.

The colorful Salmoncito is balanced and a little bittersweet. Cocktails such as the Negroni show pairing gin and Campari is an honorable cocktail tradition. The lack of shaking the Salmoncito violates the Hamlet Cocktail Conundrum, but building it in a glass certainly makes it easier to prepare. Depending on your point of view, the Salmoncito is reminiscent of pink drinks with grapefruit, e.g. my Scandinavian Suntan, pink drinks without grapefruit, e.g. my Venetian Kiss, gin drinks with grapefruit, e.g. the Navigator, or drinks with grapefruit that aren't pink, e.g. the Brown Derby. So does the Salmoncito go well with fish (here I must make a shameless plug for my late grandfather's business, Wulf's Fish)? Yes. Even with fish that isn't pink when cooked.

Want a refreshing drink? Catch a Salmoncito.

Located roughly midway between Rome and Naples, Monte Cassino is the site of the first monastery of the Benedictine Order. Over the centuries the structures on the mountain were destroyed (most recently in World War II) and rebuilt many times. Hailing from New York City instead of Italy, the Monte Cassino is a 2010 creation from Damon Dyer.

.75 ounces rye
.75 ounces Benedictine DOM
.75 ounces yellow Chartreuse
.75 ounces lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake with spiritual emphasis, and strain into a chilled glass. Lemon twist garnish optional.

The Monte Cassino's combination of rye and Benedictine evokes the Monte Carlo, and its equal proportions of four ingredients format evokes the Last Word. Paying homage to the Benedictine Order naturally calls for using Benedictine DOM, a part of drinks such as the Honeymoon. Add the yellow Chartreuse, used in drinks such as the Diamondback, and now you have two liqueurs intimately tied to monastic orders. Instead of mixing beats and drinks and ending up with my Les Bon Temps Roulé, you're mixing with monks and ending up with another tasty cocktail.

So listen to some Thelonious (I know, bad joke, Google if you don't get it) or Gregorian chants, and have a spiritual (pun intended) experience with the Monte Cassino.