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?

You may get carded at a bar, and you need a card to check things out of a library. Combine an impressive curated spirit collection with knowledgeable people and a library theme, and you get the Brandy Library in New York City. Located in the Tribeca neighborhood down the block from the firehouse featured in Ghostbusters (really), Ms. Cocktail Den and I recently spent some time at the Brandy Library.

Just as a library can open a person's mind to new ideas, books, and authors, the Brandy Library gives you a great opportunity to expand your drinking horizons. Even though its name suggests it exclusively focuses on one spirit, the Brandy Library has an extensive selection of spirits not named brandy. For example, Ms. Cocktail Den tasted some mezcals. If you're into brandy or curious about it, whether it's cognac, armagnac (from the Armagnac region of France), torched Dutch grapes from countries around the world, or another fruit based spirit, odds are good you'll find something you like. As another example, with some friendly guidance from Ethan, I experimented with a tasting flight of calvados, a brandy hailing from the Normandy region of France (as in the Flower of Normandy) made from apples or pears. And don't forget the cocktails. I enjoyed the Musket, a concoction of armagnac, fig, honey, and lemon.

The selection list at the Brandy Library is an easy to read book, and you don't need to know the Dewey Decimal System (yes, I am that old) to understand it. Maybe you'll like something you try, maybe you won't. At least you tried. Experience the Brandy Library, and declare "I ain't afraid of no library!"

Operating from 1937 to 1966, the Hawaiian Room was a popular venue featuring Hawaiian entertainment alongside Hawaiian and Polynesian food. Located in the gorgeous art deco Lexington Hotel in New York City (Ms. Cocktail Den and I have stayed there), the Hawaiian Room was a "see and be seen" kind of place, like the Brown Derby in Hollywood. This was its eponymous cocktail.

1 ounce applejack
1 ounce clear rum
.25 ounces Cointreau
1 ounce pineapple juice
.25 ounces super simple syrup

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with some island rhythm, and strain into a chilled glass, preferably coupe. Orchid garnish optional.

The Hawaiian Room is a cocktail in which I suggest using the exact ingredients specified. Substitutions will throw it off. For example, applejack, a spirit from New Jersey (there's a reason it is the base of drinks such as the Jersey Girl), has a lighter taste and color than apple brandy. The same goes for Cointreau (used in drinks such as my Gintriguing) compared to other triple secs such as Grand Marnier (used in drinks such as the Burnt Fuselage). As with cocktails in the Den that use citrus juice, use fresh pineapple juice if you can.

Put it all together, and the Hawaiian Room evokes the relaxed vibe of Hawaii with an undertone of New York City dynamism. So when are you going to enter this room?

With its yellow and orange hues, amber can be a stunning gemstone. Ms. Cocktail Den and I saw a lot of amber jewelry when we traveled in Scandinavian countries. You know what else there's a lot of in Scandinavia? Aquavit. My original Amber Aquatini pays homage to the spirit and the stone.

2.5 ounces aged aquavit (I used Linie here)
.5 ounces dry vermouth
2 dashes bitters (see below)

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with the cool crispness of a Scandinavian summer breeze, and strain into a glass, preferably martini or coupe. Lemon peel garnish optional.

Think of the Amber Aquatini as an older cousin of my Danish Road Rage, a twist (pun intended) on a Martini. The Danish Road Rage uses clear, young aquavit. For the Amber Aquatini, you really need aged aquavit to give it the right color. The bitters are the real variable. First I used cardamom, then I found orange bitters also work well. Don't have either of those? No problem. Most botanical or citrus flavored bitters should complement the aquavit and vermouth.

It doesn't matter whether or not you're nuts about Norway, fond of Finland, delighted by Denmark, or swooning over Sweden -- the Amber Aquatini will satisfy your eyes and tongue.

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?

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!

Claude Monet painted the famous Water Lilies series at his garden in Giverny, France. I've never been there (Ms. Cocktail Den has), but she and I have had the good fortune to see some Water Lilies paintings in places such as the Musée de L'Orangerie and the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris. Richie Boccato created the Water Lily cocktail in New York in 2007.

.75 ounces gin
.75 ounces triple sec
.75 ounces crème de violette
.75 ounces lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake with a tempo evoking the placidly vivid colors of the paintings, and strain into a chilled glass.

Think of the Water Lily as combining the DNA of the Aviation with the format of the Last Word. The crème de violette gives the Water Lily its purplish hue. Keep in mind the purple color won't be as vibrant if you use a darker triple sec. Like other cocktails such as the Bijou or the Naked and Famous, the Water Lily is a bartender's dream because of its equal proportions.

Even though this Water Lily won't last nearly as long as Monet's, it gives you the opportunity to become a cocktail artist.

Can you devote a week to the Sazerac, a liquid national treasure from New Orleans? Of course (and you can drink them year round). Running from June 20 through June 26 this year, Sazerac Cocktail Week is the brainchild of the Sazerac House. Think of the Sazerac House as an approachable, interactive, and really interesting museum about all things Sazerac. How interesting is it? My mother-in-law enjoyed her experience there, and she doesn't drink.

So how am I celebrating Sazerac Cocktail Week (besides the obvious)? By speaking with Matt Ray, the Sazerac House cocktail expert and experience team leader. Displaying his Southern upbringing and his experience as a former teacher, Matt graciously spoke with me and Ms. Cocktail Den about Sazerac topics ranging from historical to technical to personal. Keep reading because I'll ask you the same question I asked Matt at the beginning of the interview.

First, the historical. The past affects the present, and it's no different with the Sazerac. Emphasizing why the Sazerac is important in the American cocktail pantheon (my phrasing), Matt pointed out the Sazerac is an "old, old cocktail," as newspapers mentioned it as far back as the 1830s.  As the Sazerac evolved from its roots of using a cognac base to using a rye base, it became what Matt characterized as the "most lovely expression of an elevated Old Fashioned." Similarly, the profile of a Sazerac drinker evolved over time, in my opinion for the better. Matt hilariously noted Sazerac drinkers used to be "old grumpy white men," then "younger grumpy bartenders." Now people of all ages, races, genders, and occupations are likely to kick back with a Sazerac.

Second, the technical. A Sazerac doesn't require many ingredients, but it "takes a small level of precision to make it." The key word is small. If I can do it, you can do it. Matt astutely compared making Sazeracs to baking cookies - few ingredients, tasty when done right, and many ways to screw them up. What are the most common mistakes according to Matt? Overdoing the absinthe or Herbsaint (a homegrown New Orleans spirit still used today and used when absinthe was illegal), and over-stirring. Surviving the former, Matt described it as "punishment for being drunk at 1:00 a.m. in the French Quarter." For the latter, Matt recommended a quick, soft stir so as not to water down the drink.

Third, the personal. Here's the compound question: where did you have your first Sazerac, and when did you have it? For me and Ms. Cocktail Den, it was the bar at the Dauphine Orleans Hotel in 1999. That began our ongoing love affair with the cocktail. For Matt, it most likely was at Loa, the first craft cocktail bar at which he worked, in an undetermined year (no judgment, as I'm well aware drinking in New Orleans can be antithetical to perfect recall).

In addition to appreciating and spreading the word about the Sazerac, there is another important aspect to the week. Sazerac Cocktail Week benefits Feed the Second Line, a non-profit organization focused on supporting the people who are the culture creators of New Orleans. Some bars and restaurants around the country are running promotions during Sazerac Cocktail Week. If you can't make it to one, this curated playlist provides a great musical background as you sip your Sazerac.

All of this talk about Sazeracs is making me thirsty. Care to have one with me?

Real New Orleans drinkers love a Sazerac, the city's official cocktail and Ms. Cocktail Den's favorite drink. Although the Sazerac's exact birth year is a bit hazy (as are many things if one properly experiences the city), Billy Wilkinson and Vincent Miret created it in the late 1890s at the Sazerac House. Its popularity endures and expands over time.

2 ounces rye
.25 ounces super simple syrup
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
Teaspoon of absinthe

Coat the inside of a chilled glass with absinthe, discard the remainder, add the other ingredients, and stir with some New Orleans style. Lemon twist garnish optional.

The Sazerac is many things. Weak is not one of them. Some early versions used cognac as the base, but most modern versions use rye. Think of the Sazerac as an absinthe enhanced twist on an Old Fashioned with special bitters. Both the Peychaud's bitters (another New Orleans creation) and absinthe, used in my When Ernest Met Mary, are indispensable parts of the cocktail. You can serve the Sazerac at room temperature. It's also quite good if you stir it with a couple of ice cubes and then remove the cubes before serving (this is how I do it). If you're still in a New Orleans cocktail mood, try my Len Bon Temps Roulé.

Want something assertive, alcohol forward, and utterly magnificent? Then make yourself a Sazerac.

Known as the "City of Light," Paris is one of the great cities of the world. Ms. Cocktail Den and I have been fortunate enough to explore iconic sites such as the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Élysées, as well as cocktail landmarks to know We'll Always Have Paris. In 1930 the Parisian cocktail appeared in The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock. I slightly adapted the recipe.

1.25 ounces gin
1.25 ounces dry vermouth
.75 ounces crème de cassis

Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with Parisian joie de vivre, and strain into a chilled glass.

Crème de cassis is a blackcurrant liqueur used in cocktails such as the classic Kir. It's pretty sweet, so you need something to counterbalance it. That's where the gin and dry vermouth, foundations of the classic Martini, come in.  Aside from a Burnt Fuselage or Scofflaw, normally I wouldn't use more than an ounce of dry vermouth in any cocktail, but it works well in a Parisian (the original has equal proportions of all ingredients, so if you prefer sweeter drinks make it that way). Its rich purple color reminds me of the liveliness of Paris and its people. 

Want your cocktail life to shine even brighter? Have a Parisian.