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?

Recorded for the first time in 1934, numerous artists have covered the song "Stompin' at the Savoy" over the years (I prefer the version from Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong). The song's subject was the Savoy Ballroom in New York City. Just as the Savoy Ballroom has a rich dance and music history, the similarly named Savoy Hotel in London has a rich cocktail history. For many years the legendary Ada Coleman, creator of the Hanky Panky, ruled the hotel's famous American Bar. Combining Coleman's sense of cocktail style with an easygoing, comfortable atmosphere and friendly, knowledgeable people, the Savoy Society in Savannah is a place where you want to have a round or two.

A gracious and calm small city, Savannah is a great town for cocktailians. Our recent trip to Savannah wasn't our first. In 1995 Ms. Cocktail Den and I first experienced the deceptively powerful Chatham Artillery Punch, a local libation, and in 2018 we discovered the Alley Cat Lounge.

But let's go back to the Savoy Society. Jane Fishel, the self-anointed Queen of Fernet (a bracing amaro used in cocktails such as the Newark), and Matt Garoppolo are the driving forces behind Savoy Society. Their brainchild has a wide range of creative and approachable cocktails.

For example, the Eyes Without A Face (pictured above; as I'm a Billy Idol fan, I had to try this) is a clever tequila based cocktail incorporating curaçao, carrot, ginger, and tamarind. No trip to the Savoy Society is complete without an Ada Coleman, a delicious sour cherry gin based twist on Coleman's famous creation. If tantalizing your taste buds isn't enough, just listen. The music? All vinyl. All the time. You gotta respect that.

So when are you going to go stompin' at the Savoy Society in Savannah?

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?

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.

Greenpoint is a neighborhood in Brooklyn. In 2006 Michael McIlroy created the Greenpoint, a variation on the Brooklyn.  I wasn't in Greenpoint when I was introduced to its namesake cocktail. That happened in the Lower East Side in Manhattan, specifically at Attaboy, where McIlroy and Sam Ross (who created the Paper Plane and the Penicillin) operate.

2 ounces rye
.5 ounces yellow Chartreuse
.5 ounces sweet vermouth
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash orange bitters

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with a bit of Brooklyn hustle, and strain into a chilled glass. Lemon peel garnish optional.

Spirits and bitters converge to make the Greenpoint a balanced and spirit forward cocktail. The rye stiffens the drink's spine. To me the Chartreuse is the key element separating the Greenpoint from other variations on the Manhattan or the Brooklyn. Joining rye and yellow Chartreuse works well here, just as it does in the Diamondback. If combining rye and green Chartreuse intrigues you (it should if you like strong drinks), try the Final Rye or the Purgatory.

To paraphrase the Beastie Boys song, no sleep 'til Greenpoint!

Coming up with a brilliant idea is the purpose of a brainstorm. First appearing in 1930 in Harry Craddock's The Savoy Cocktail Book (the source of other drinks such as the Champs Élysées), the Brainstorm is the liquid realization of a brilliant cocktail idea. I discovered it in Difford's Guide.

2 ounces Irish whiskey
.5 ounces Benedictine DOM
.5 ounces dry vermouth

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir as you contemplate something mind blowing, and strain into a chilled glass, preferably a coupe. Orange peel garnish optional.

Interestingly, Craddock specifically called for Irish whiskey in the Brainstorm, but other whiskey based cocktails in his book are silent about the whiskey's provenance. I'm certainly not complaining. I love Irish whiskey on its own, or in a drink such as a Tipperary or a Good Cork. The Benedictine DOM, a key part of cocktails such as the Honeymoon, adds a bit of sweetness to the equation, and the dry vermouth keeps the Brainstorm from being too sweet. Whiskey and dry vermouth make a nice combination in the Algonquin and the Scofflaw, and it's the same here.

To quote a line from Madonna's song Vogue, strike a pose (imagine Rodin's The Thinker) as you sip the Brainstorm. So what's your brilliant idea?

Leaving a lasting impact in fields such as art, science, and literature, the Renaissance was an important era in Western history. The cocktail renaissance (French for "rebirth") began in the early 2000s. The genesis of the Renaissance cocktail is unclear, but I discovered this version in Difford's Guide.

1.5 ounces cognac or brandy
.5 ounces sweet vermouth
.25 ounces Lupo limoncello
2 dashes peach bitters

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with the joy of being revived or reborn, and strain into a chilled glass, preferably a coupe. Orange twist garnish optional.

Courtesy of the cognac, a key part of the Burnt Fuselage, the Renaissance has a spirited start. You can use brandy instead, as it's also derived from torched Dutch grapes. The sweet vermouth and limoncello soften the cognac's punch. Peach bitters are unusual, but as with the Whiskey Queen, they give the Renaissance a nice finishing flourish. If you need a quick substitute, try orange bitters. The drink has no connection to my Bourbon Renaissance, which is a little bit sweeter. Want to pair the Renaissance with modern music?  Try anything by the Rebirth Brass Band or Revival by the Allman Brothers.

I like to think I'm a modern Renaissance man (I'm not). Are you a Renaissance man or woman? Regardless of the answer, having a Renaissance will leave you enlightened ... and maybe reborn.

Everyone has a soul. Some of us have rhythm, some don't (my sense of rhythm is questionable). Describing it as the love child of a Manhattan and a Sazerac, Greg Best in Atlanta created the Rhythm and Soul approximately ten years ago. My fellow cocktailian Michael Bounds, who created the Ides of March, introduced me to the Rhythm and Soul.

2 ounces bourbon or rye
.5 ounces sweet vermouth
.5 ounces Averna
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Teaspoon of absinthe

Coat the inside of a chilled glass with absinthe, combine the other ingredients in a mixing glass with ice, stir with soulful rhythm, and strain into the chilled glass. Lemon peel garnish optional.

Best uses bourbon as the base spirit, but Bounds and I agree that to have the true soul of a Sazerac, rye should be the base of a Rhythm and Soul. Use the whiskey you prefer. Best calls for Carpano Antica as the sweet vermouth, and I wholeheartedly agree. It is pricey, but it is worth every penny. Averna, the Sicilian amaro used in the Pura Vida or my Scales of Justice, works really well here. If you even remotely like either the Manhattan or Sazerac, you'll definitely like the Rhythm and Soul.

Move to your own beat, and get yourself some more Rhythm and Soul.

Signifying "and," the ampersand is a common symbol in the English language (& it makes me think of the late great musical genius Prince). The ampersand symbol dates back a couple of centuries, when children were taught it was the 27th letter of the alphabet. The Ampersand cocktail dates to 1934, when it appeared in Albert Stevens Crockett's The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book. The story is the Ampersand was named for the "&" in Martini & Rossi vermouth.

1 ounce brandy
1 ounce Old Tom gin
1 ounce sweet vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters
.25 ounces curaçao (optional)

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir & stir & stir, then strain into a chilled glass.

The Ampersand is a boozy cocktail. The base of three spirits in equal proportions is reminiscent of other underrated classic drinks such as the Bijou. Brandy and Old Tom style gin together? Yes, it looks weird, but it works. Combining Old Tom style gin and sweet vermouth is part of the classic Martinez, so if you like that drink you'll like this one (& vice versa). You could use the more prevalent London Dry style gin in an Ampersand, but then the drink won't be quite as complex (this is one of those times when complexity is a good thing). Curaçao is a type of triple sec (orange liqueur), and if you don't have curacao, Grand Marnier is a good substitute.

Now have some fun & go make yourself an Ampersand!