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.

Pan American World Airways was one of the major players in commercial aviation, and its Clipper flying boats were known around the world. In 1939 Charles Baker mentioned the cocktail in his book The Gentleman’s Companion, or Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Flask. Unlike the Clippers (which stopped being used shortly after World War II) and Pan Am (which went out of business in 1991), the Pan Am Clipper continues to soar thanks to articles such as this one in Punch. Here's my adaptation:

2 ounces apple brandy
.75 ounces lime juice
.75 ounces glorious grenadine
Absinthe

Coat the inside of a chilled coupe glass with absinthe, discard the excess, put the other ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake as if you're hitting some turbulence on the way to a fascinating new destination, and strain into the glass.

Fundamentally the Pan Am Clipper is a Jack Rose with a little absinthe. Absinthe presents one of the many variables in the Pan Am Clipper, as you can either coat the inside of a glass (as you would with a Sazerac) or put a very small amount directly in the mix (as you would with a When Ernest Met Mary). Similarly, you could use applejack instead of apple brandy; if you compare apples to apples you'll know they are similar but not the same. Regardless of your attack angle (pilots know what I'm talking about), the Pan Am Clipper belongs on the aviation cocktail itinerary along with drinks such as the Paper Plane, the Burnt Fuselage, and of course, the Aviation.

So are you ready to take cocktail flight on the Pan Am Clipper?

Cape Cod is a peninsula in southeastern Massachusetts popular with the moneyed class and tourists. Originally known as the Red Devil, the Cape Cod (also known as the Cape Codder) cocktail was the brainchild of the Massachusetts based Ocean Spray company designed to move its prime product: cranberries. Ocean Spray created the cocktail in 1945, and it went mainstream by the end of the following decade.

2 ounces vodka
3 ounces cranberry juice
Juice from 1/4 lime

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake with the rhythm of ocean waves gently rolling onto shore, and strain into a glass over ice. Lime wedge garnish optional.

Think of the Cape Codder as the less boozy, older relative of the Cosmopolitan. Most versions of the Cape Codder call for squeezing the lime juice into the vodka-cranberry juice mixture. To me that goes against the Hamlet Cocktail Conundrum, so I shake everything instead of mixing in the glass. If the vodka-cranberrry juice-lime garnish combination seems familiar, it's because the Cape Codder is the basis of other popular drinks. You can substitute grapefruit juice (the Sea Breeze), orange juice (the Madras), pineapple juice (the Bay Breeze), or soda water (the Rose Kennedy).

If you want a refreshingly light cocktail, a Cape Codder is your cocktailian destination.

You may have made and thrown one as a kid. As an adult, you can drink one. The Paper Plane flew onto the scene in 2008 when Sam Ross, the New York City bartender who created the Penicillin, created it for the opening of The Violet Hour bar in Chicago. Named for the M.I.A. song Paper Planes, it took off in Chicago and New York and made its way onto cocktail menus around the world.

.75 ounces bourbon
.75 ounces Amaro Nonino
.75 ounces Aperol
Juice from 1/2 lemon (.75 ounces)

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake to the theme from Rocky (the tune's title is "Gonna Fly Now"), and strain into a chilled glass, preferably a coupe. Lemon peel garnish optional.

Following the equal proportions of four ingredients format of the Last Word, the Paper Plane is easy to make (the same goes for the Naked and Famous). Bourbon and Aperol, used in cocktails such as the Venetian Kiss, are easy to acquire. Amaro Nonino, a bittersweet grappa based amaro from northern Italy, can be tougher to find, but thankfully we have the Internet. Originally the Paper Plane used Campari, but within days of unveiling it Ross changed his mind and used Aperol instead. The result is a really well balanced cocktail. In terms of balance and format, the Paper Plane more resembles the thematically similar Burnt Fuselage than the Aviation.

Looking to rack up some cocktail frequent flier miles? Then it's time to board the Paper Plane.

Hailing from France, Lucien Gaudin was an Olympic champion fencer in the 1920s.  Fencing as in trying to stab someone with one of three blade types.  Gaudin won medals in three Olympics, including the ones in 1924 (I'm a huge fan of the movie Chariots of Fire, part of which takes place at the 1924 Olympics). In 1929 the Lucien Gaudin appeared in the book Cocktails de Paris Présentes, which identified a bartender named Charlie at Le Cheval Pie restaurant as the drink’s creator.

1 ounce gin
.5 ounces Cointreau
.5 ounces Campari
.5 ounces dry vermouth

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with the strategic precision of a fencer, and strain into a chilled glass. Orange peel garnish optional.

Some people describe the Lucien Gaudin as a variation on the classic Negroni. To me it's more Negroni adjacent. A true variation would have equal proportions of three spirits and some crossover. The Bijou and the Luck of the Irish are good examples. I know this is a fine point (pun intended). Cocktail technicalities aside, the Lucien Gaudin is lighter than a Negroni and is very pink. Do you like French themed cocktails? Try a Champs Élysées or a Burnt Fuselage.  Want something more on point (sorry, I can't help myself)?  Try an Ides of March.

Have a Lucien Gaudin, cue the Chariots of Fire theme, and be victorious!

Many people have had a one night stand at some point.  Are you thinking about one right now? Put aside your X-rated memories and focus on this cocktail creation from Brian Ireland and Demetri Karnessis. I discovered it in Chilled magazine.

2 ounces gin
.5 ounces Aperol
.5 ounces triple sec
Juice from 1/4 grapefruit

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake like (do you really need an analogy here?), and strain into a chilled glass.  Orange peel garnish optional.

Ireland and Karnessis use a particular brand of gin in the One Night Stand, but they don't call for a specific triple sec (a generic term for an orange liqueur). I like Cointreau, which I use in my Cancer Killer #1 and the Margarita. If you prefer a different triple sec, go for it.  Aperol, a part of the Naked and Famous and my Venetian Kiss, is a lighter amaro. Combine all of these spirits with the grapefruit juice, and you'll get an undeniably pink drink. If you like the One Night Stand, you might like similarly themed drinks such as the Intense Ginger Sutra and the Hanky Panky.

Enjoy the One Night Stand, but recognize too many could lead to something bad -- a hangover or something a Penicillin won't cure. Cheers!

"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." This memorable call to action in President John Fitzgerald Kennedy's inaugural address inspired and challenged Americans in 1961. Roughly 40 years later legendary bartender and author Dale DeGroff created the Fitzgerald at the Rainbow Room in New York. Compared to its original name (Gin Thing), the name Fitzgerald evokes more class.

2 ounces gin
1 ounce super simple syrup
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake as if you're excited to have a drink with a certain President (JFK) or author (F. Scott Fitzgerald), and strain into a chilled glass. Lemon wedge garnish optional.

The Fitzgerald is easy to make, tasty, and refreshing.  It is more or less the gin equivalent of a Whiskey Sour or a Lemon Drop with bitters. DeGroff uses an ounce and a half of gin to an ounce of simple syrup, but I like the Fitzgerald better with a 2:1 ratio. The bitters make it vaguely pink. Reputedly President Kennedy preferred a Daiquiri or a Bloody Mary, but my guess is he would have had a Fitzgerald or three while going toe to toe with the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis (read a book about it or see the movie Thirteen Days). Feeling Presidential? Think about having a Roosevelt, a Fireside Chat, or an El Presidente.

And so my fellow cocktailians -- ask not what a Fitzgerald can make for you, ask when you can make a Fitzgerald.

Taste the glory of Venice in this cocktail.

Venice is a unique city. Nicknamed "La Serenissima" ("the most serene" in Italian), there are many reasons it is on many people's travel bucket lists. Having returned from a recent trip where Ms. Cocktail Den and I got caught in historic acqua alta (high water) and flooding, Venice is the inspiration for this original creation for the new year.

1.5 ounces Aperol
1 ounce vodka
.5 ounces Campari

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with the serenity of watching life go by on the Grand Canal, and strain into a chilled glass.

Ms. Cocktail Den in Venice. The photo is real, and there's no filter.

Aperol and Campari are Italian amari (bitter liqueurs), and bottles of them are in bars everywhere in Venice. Campari, an indispensable part of cocktails such as the classic Negroni and my original Cancer Killer #1, has a stronger taste and is more bitter than Aperol, featured in drinks such as the Naked and Famous. That's why the Venetian Kiss has more Aperol than Campari. So why does it have vodka?  There's nothing inherently Italian or Venetian about vodka.  I included vodka because the Russian word literally means "little water," and it is a tribute to the water that surrounds Venice and frequently floods the city.  In addition, it brings balance and subtle potency to the Venetian Kiss. 

The 3:2:1 ratio of the ingredients gives the Venetian Kiss elegance in its simplicity. Its color may remind you of pink drinks such as the Cosmopolitan. Have a Venetian Kiss, and savor liquid serenissima!

What could these things have in common? They're the various origin stories surrounding the Jack Rose cocktail. None of them have anything to do with Jack Rose Dining Saloon, the fantastic bar in Washington. The metaphorically colorful story is the drink was named for Bald Jack Rose. Rose, who had alopecia universalis (no hair anywhere), was an early 20th century New York City gambler with links to organized crime and corrupt cops. The literally colorful story is the cocktail is named for the Jacqueminot rose, which is pink. Last but not least, a New Jersey bartender named Frank May, who for no apparent reason also went by the name Jack Rose, created the drink no later than 1905. Which story probably is the right one?  Keep reading.

2 ounces apple brandy or applejack (see below)
Juice from 1/4 lemon or 1/2 lime
.5 ounces glorious grenadine

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake with the energy of telling a colorful story, and strain into a chilled glass.  Lemon or lime twist optional.

You can get an excellent Jack Rose at Jack Rose Dining Saloon, but you'll stay because of the fun people and impressive spirits collection.

If you compare apples to apples, apple brandy and applejack are very similar but not the same. Modern applejack is a blend of apple brandy and grain neutral spirits. You can use either one in the Jack Rose, as well as other tasty cocktails such as the Diamondback, the Newark, and the American Apple. Some people in the cocktail community insist a Jack Rose must have lemon juice, while others insist it must have lime juice.  My suggestion?  Use whichever one you prefer or have on hand. The glorious grenadine is the common denominator of a Jack Rose. It pulls everything together as it injects a hint of sweetness.

So which origin story do I think is correct? The one that isn't colorful -- the bartender Frank May.  Why? First, the newspaper reference to him creating it (1905) is a few years before Bald Jack Rose became infamous for his involvement in an underworld murder that exposed corruption in the New York City Police Department (1912).  Second, May plied his craft in New Jersey, where applejack has a strong history. Third, even though the gambler Jack Rose reputedly enjoyed this cocktail, I'd take odds (pun intended) a bartender created it.

It doesn't matter which story you like.  What matters is you try a delicious Jack Rose. Cheers!

Some people think pink drinks are weak. Wrong. This misguided notion happens with cocktails such as the Cosmopolitan. Its history is a bit unclear, as a few people take credit for it. It may date to the 1970s, and it clearly was around in the mid 1980s when it became an insider's drink in New York City (the location of the "Sex and the City" television series, whose characters consumed many Cosmopolitans). The Cosmopolitan became ubiquitous on cocktail menus, and unfortunately too often it was a sickly sweet hot mess. A good cocktail should give you a pleasant drinking experience, not diabetes. When executed well, the Cosmopolitan is sexy and powerful.

2 ounces vodka
.75 ounces clear triple sec (I suggest Cointreau)
.5 ounces lime juice (1/2 lime)
.25 ounces cranberry juice
.25 ounces super simple syrup (optional, see below)

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake with the intensity of (look at the second word of this post's title and use your imagination), and strain into a chilled glass. Lime twist garnish optional.

Many versions of the Cosmopolitan call for citrus flavored vodka, but I think that's unnecessary. The Cointreau and lime juice give you all the citrus flavors you need. Cointreau is a brand of triple sec, a general term for orange liqueurs. Some people understandably think glorious grenadine makes the Cosmopolitan sweet and pink. The color comes from the tiny splash of cranberry juice. If you use unsweetened cranberry juice, I suggest adding super simple syrup unless you want a tart drink.  If you want a sweeter drink, rim the edge of the glass with sugar, add the super simple syrup, or both. For the cranberry juice, less is more. Ideally the Cosmopolitan should be a lighter pink like the El Presidente.

Don't let the color fool you and have a Cosmopolitan or two. Carrie and the ladies would approve.