As we’ve been informing you here, auto racing is all canceled or postponed. Ditto auto production, auto shows, classic concours, cars-n-coffee confabs, and pretty much everything else for the next several weeks, minimum.
If it all has you on edge*, perhaps there’s no better time to engage in a bit of social drinking via video chat—at least from a public-safety standpoint, what with no subsequent need to operate a motor vehicle.
So if you’re craving car-panionship and a social outlet, why not log into a platform like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, GoToMeeting, Skype, etc., to quaff and converse with your car-crazy pals from the safety of your quarantine.
To help you get the party started, the editors of MotorTrend have flung open their private stashes to test drive and review a few car-themed cocktail recipes.
And please remember to drink responsibly—even without the threat of a drunk-driving incident—and that, unlike in a bar or around the family table, in video chat rooms you’ll need to talk one at a time.
*Editor’s note: This piece is meant in fun, and we encourage readers facing serious depression in this time of isolation to seek assistance via Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, American Addiction Centers, and more.
Le Mans
1 oz orange liqueur (Cointreau)
½ oz vodka (Boyd and Blair Potato Vodka)
Club soda
1 slice lemon for garnish
Directions: Fill a highball glass with ice. Add orange liqueur and vodka, then fill with club soda. Garnish with a lemon slice.
There are couple of versions of this drink, including one with a shot of orange juice. This one does without, and maybe suffers for it. It tastes a lot like vodka soda, with just a hint of citrus from the Cointreau. If you handed this to me at a party, I would be surprised to learn it wasn’t a vodka soda. As such, it doesn’t quite live up to the thrilling legacy and spectacle of 24 hours at the Circuit de la Sarthe but does seem like a drink you can go hard at in 2- to 4-hour stints, all day and all night. Shot on the “tea tray” “whale’s tail” of the standard bearer of one of the winningest brands at Le Mans.—Ed Loh
Dodge Special
1 ½ oz gin (Bombay Sapphire)
1 ½ oz orange liqueur (Cointreau)
½ oz grape juice
Directions: Shake with ice. Strain into cocktail glass.
Any surprise this one is potent and in your face? Well, 3 ounces of 94 and 80 proof alcohol mean the fire in this baby is very much forward. To get the half ounce of grape juice, I smashed four grapes into the shaker, along with the ice. Like traction control on a Viper ACR, the grape flavor does little to mask intent—which is to get the party started, in a hurry. And that SRT Viper cover? That’s a proof (of a different kind) of our June 2012 supercar issue; the fifth color gold background has faded to a muddy brown but doesn’t take away from the fact that it was our best-selling issue that year. Special Dodge, indeed.—Ed Loh
Ferrari
1 ½ oz Fernet-Branca
1 ½ oz Campari
Directions: Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir for at least 20 seconds, and pour into a chilled glass.
Like an F40 on full boost, this cocktail is not for the faint-hearted. It’s an unlikely combination of two classic, full-throated Italian bitters. Campari was invented in 1860 and is widely known as one of the sacred trilogy required to create a classic negroni (the other two being gin and Italian vermouth, mixed in equal parts). Fernet-Branca, invented in 1845 and still made to the same secret recipe, is an altogether more exotic beast, a member of the amaro family that has the bracing presence of mouthwash. The spicy sweetness of the Campari dials back the sensory overload of the Fernet just enough, but like many of Enzo’s finest, this is a Ferrari you must treat with respect.—Angus MacKenzie
55 T-Bird
1 oz vodka (Reyka Small Batch)
¼ oz orange liqueur (Cointreau)
¼ oz Aperol
1 ½ oz orange juice
1 orange twist for garnish
Directions: Shake with ice, pour into chilled coup, garnish with orange twist.
Recipes going by the name Thunderbird are as widely varied as the 11 generations of the car itself. We originally tried one involving Southern Comfort, Amaretto, lime cordial, and Coke, but it seemed to be trying way too hard (and failing)—rather like a Silver Anniversary ninth-gen Fairmont ’Bird. This one hits your taste buds like a garden-variety screwdriver at first sip, but swirl it around your gob for a moment, and the rich sweetness of the Cointreau and the gentle amaro bitterness of the Aperol create just enough interest and suave sophistication to put you in mind of Dan Tanna’s first-gen original.—Frank Markus
The Rolls-Royce
2 oz gin
½ oz dry vermouth
Bénédictine (to rinse the chilled coupe)
Directions: Shake with ice, swirl chilled martini glass with Bénédictine, pour.
This classic dates to about 1930, when Rolls-Royces were being produced in Springfield, Mass. It first appeared in the Savoy Cocktail Book, by legendary mixologist Harry Craddock, who tended the American Bar in London’s famous Savoy hotel. Harry’s original called for an additional half-ounce of sweet vermouth, but I find that this recipe better allows the floral notes of the Bénédictine to shine through, making for a refreshing variation on the classic Friday afternoon martini. A true “first-world solution” if ever I’ve tasted one.—Frank Markus
Golden Cadillac
¾ oz Galliano
¾ oz crème de cacao
¾ oz cream
Directions: Shake with ice and strain (or blend with ice and pour) into martini glass, garnish with shaved dark chocolate.
This drink’s romantic origin story features a couple passing through El Dorado, California, in 1952 en route to celebrate their recent engagement in Lake Tahoe. When they stopped at Poor Red’s restaurant they cajoled bartender Frank Klein into inventing a drink for them. What he came up with was this beautiful after-dinner vanilla/chocolate confection, which was named for the couple’s brand-new car. Legend has it the drink became so popular that Poor Red’s became North America’s largest consumer of Galliano, causing its Italian manufacturer to gift the restaurant a Cadillac to park out front. Historians may fret that Cadillac didn’t offer a gold paint between 1946 and 1952, but Fiesta Ivory Cadillac (the paint chip the drink’s color most closely resembles) doesn’t have the same ring to it. It tastes delicious, though, so it’s no surprise that Poor Red’s is still open and pouring Golden Cadillacs.—Frank Markus
The Desmo
1 ½ oz high-quality cognac
4 drops well-aged balsamic vinegar
1 orange twist for garnish
Directions: Swirl both of the ingredients in a brandy snifter (I used a rocks glass), garnish with a flamed orange twist.
For those folks of the Italian two-wheeled persuasion, may I present The Desmo (h/t to saucyrecipes.com). For those unfamiliar, “desmo” refers to desmodromic valve actuation—an invention from the 1890s that serves to prevent catastrophic engine failure due to unreliable valve springs snapping (or merely losing tolerance) at high rpm, by instead using a second cam and actuator to close the valves. It’s a pricey technology, and as the steel used in valve springs is of higher quality now, the only production engines still made with desmos are Ducati motorcycles. As for the drink itself, you would think the redundancy of the balsamic vinegar would make two sugary liquids too sweet. But proper Modenese balsamic (and burnt orange) combine to turn cognac into something much more than a digestif imbibed by a certain former NSFW Saturday Night Live Ladies’ Man.—Mark Rechtin
Manhattan
2 ½ oz rye whiskey (Old Forester 100-proof rye)
1 oz sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Luxardo cherry for garnish
Directions: Stir with ice, strain into a coupe or over ice in a rocks glass.
OK, there’s no strict automotive inspiration for this cocktail, which was born about the time that Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler were banging about in their sheds building the first practical automobiles. Its exact origin, like many drinks, is hazy and in dispute, but by the 1880s it had become a thing—one of the great cocktails. Along with the old fashioned, it helps form the foundation for all the liquid creativity to come. And the romance of Manhattan (the borough, although perhaps the cocktail, too) itself appealed to Kaiser-Frazer Corporation, an ancestor of American Motors Corporation. The Manhattan was a luxury trim on Frazer and later Kaiser vehicles. The early to mid-1950s models were cosmopolitan, unconventional, and occasionally supercharged. The Manhattan cocktail is likewise classy but strong—improved significantly if a bold rye whiskey is propped up with a high-quality sweet vermouth. Likewise, if you must garnish it with a cherry, make it a tasty Luxardo (or homemade) cocktail cherry rather than a garish, common maraschino. I don’t do stemware in the garage, so I poured mine into a sturdy Libby lowball.—Alex Kierstein
The Cortina
1 ½ oz silver tequila (Maestro Tequilero Blanco)
¾ oz orange liqueur (Classica triple sec)
¾ oz lime juice
Lime slice for garnish
Directions: Shake with ice and serve in a short glass. Salt on the rim is optional.
My eponymous cocktail (named conveniently for a now-extinct Ford sedan sold in international markets), is a riff on the margarita that has become widely famous in the automotive industry. I’ve had the honor of serving and sharing the Cortina with top executives in the industry, which naturally lubricates subsequent conversations. Like the Ford Cortina, this drink is bitter and potent, but you won’t notice its effect until you’ve finished the first one. Notice that there isn’t any kind of sweet and sour mix or agave syrup, greatly reducing the potential for a hangover the next morning. A longtime favorite at our Of the Year events, the Cortina is the soul of the party during our evening conversations.—Miguel Cortina
Boulevardier
2 oz rye whiskey or bourbon
1 oz sweet vermouth (preferably Carpano Antica)
1 oz Campari
Directions: Shake with ice, strain into glass. Finish with a lemon or orange twist, or a cherry.
A vintage recipe that’s ridden the craft-cocktail wave to a modern comeback, the Boulevardier is simple and classy, as you might expect given its name, which is synonymous with wealth, high society, and fabulously opulent cars. If you like an old fashioned—another bourbon-bomb of a drink—or a negroni—the Boulevardier is basically a negroni with the gin swapped out—you’ll probably enjoy this cocktail, which nicely splits the difference between those two in terms of richness. From the first sip to the last, the Boulevardier drinks smooth, wafting across your tongue like an air-suspended Maybach on, well, a boulevard. I do prefer my drinks to be more whiskey-forward, but I’ll definitely give this one another go down the line, perhaps next time with a different bourbon (I used Michter’s) or one or two Luxardo cherries added to the mix.—Erik Johnson
Pink Cadillac
1 ¼ oz Tequila (Gold)
¾ oz orange liqueur (Grand Marnier)
½ oz cranberry juice
½ lime, cut into wedges
Salt, to rim glass
Directions: Rub a lime wedge over the rim of an old-fashioned glass, dip into sea salt to coat the rim, then fill with ice. Muddle all lime wedges but one in cocktail shaker, add ice, ingredients, shake and strain. Garnish with a lime wedge.
The first sip takes you back to the ’50s and the feeling of being in a Cadillac Eldorado convertible, designed by Harley Earl and assembled in Detroit—the Motor City and center of the auto industry. The drink is strong but breezy, like a top-down drive on the wide avenues of a wealthy Detroit with a big block V-8 rumbling under the hood. This drink is not sweet, but also not too tart. It does taste like a summer day of cruising.—Alisa Priddle
Hurricane (English for Huracán)
2 oz light rum
2 oz dark rum
1 oz lime juice
1 oz orange juice
½ oz passion fruit puree
1 teaspoon Grenadine
Citrus peel for garnish
Directions: Shake with ice, strain into glass with fresh ice. Add orange peel garnish.
Whether Pat O’Brien’s of New Orleans invented the Hurricane or not is a matter of debate. What’s indisputable, though, is the fact the Hurricane is both a delicious and easy-to-make elixir. A good thing, too, given that panic buyers have all but cleared the shelves of my local liquor store. Thanks to the low-cost rum I ultimately settled on, my finished drink lacked the extravagance of the Lamborghini Huracán (Spanish for hurricane) sports car I hoped it would emulate. Instead, it shared the more industrious attitude of the four-cylinder “Hurricane” engine that Willys introduced in 1950. Regardless of the quality of booze you use, the Hurricane’s combination of lime juice, orange juice, passion fruit puree, and Grenadine makes it an easy beverage to sip.—Greg Fink
The Lincoln
3 oz Jacob’s Ghost White Whiskey
2 oz Cointreau
2 oz fresh lime juice
Ice
Lime wedges
Coarse salt for rimming the glass
Directions: In a shaker, combine whiskey, Cointreau, lime juice, and ice. Shake until cold. Run a lime wedge around the lip of the glass and dip the lip in coarse salt to coat. Add ice to the glass and strain the shaker over the ice.
Effectively a white whiskey margarita, the Lincoln substitutes white whiskey for tequila, giving the drink a smokier flavor similar to a spicy margarita but without the bite of the chili salt. White whiskey is not moonshine, even if it looks like it. Rather, the whiskey is aged in uncharred white oak barrels so it takes on the flavors of the wood but not the color. I chose to feature a local distillery from MotorTrend’s home town, El Segundo, California, and substituted R6 Distillery’s white whiskey for Jacob’s Ghost. The cocktail doesn’t have a documented history, but it’s said to be a nod to Lincoln’s home state of Kentucky rather than the man himself, who rarely drank despite the fact he grew up on Knob Creek and his father worked part time in a distillery. Lincoln claimed alcohol left him feeling “flabby and undone,” and with the amount of booze in this cocktail, you might, too, after a few too many.—Scott Evans
The GTO
1 measure gin
3 measures tonic water
Dash of Angostura Orange Bitters
Channels of orange, lime, lemon
Ice
Given its vehicular provenance, you’d think the GTO would be some fire-breathing beast, but this interpretation of the initials is more subtle.
G for gin
T for tonic
O for orange bitters
But wait, you say, the initials for “orange bitters” is “OB.” Fine, it’s a Gran Turismo Omologato Berlinetta. Wait again, you say, isn’t this just a Pink G&T? Well, sort of, except that using a channeling tool to throw in some skinny orange, lemon, and lime peels brings a bit more zest to this cocktail. Tips: The drink should be served really chilled. Also, the essence of Fever-Tree tonic water will give a more herbaceous quality than simply using supermarket-brand tonic. —Mark Rechtin
The Mercedes
1 ounce Broker’s Gin
¾ ounce St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur
¼ ounce St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur
1 ounce grapefruit juice
¾ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce Saigon cinnamon syrup
Soda water
Grapefruit peel, for garnish
Directions: Pretty much just pour all of the liquid ingredients in, squeeze in some lemon, and stab it with a grapefruit peel.
I have no idea when or where this drink came from, but surely some denizen of Stuttgart created it. The Mercedes is complex and overengineered, two adjectives I’d also associate with Mercedes-Benz vehicles—including my own, which is an overcomplicated mess that’s constantly costing me too much time and money to keep on the road. I’ve learned to ignore certain issues with it in order to save money, and applied those lessons to The Mercedes. Why? Well, after spending too much money on the St. Germain, St. George, and gin required, I had to skimp somewhere. Soda water and cinnamon syrup were thus cheaply substituted for with a half-empty Sprite Zero and cinnamon powder found in my fridge and pantry. Did it taste of luxury? Not exactly—the cocktail drinks like grapefruit-tinged seltzer water—but it put forth a remarkably cohesive flavor profile given its myriad ingredients. Hey, just like real Benzes!
The Sidecar
1 1/2 oz Cognac (or Armagnac or Brandy)
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz orange liqueur (Cointreau or triple sec)
Directions: Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon (or orange wedge).
The Sidecar has been around the for the better part of a century with its roots in post-WWI France (not surprising given the main ingredient). It’s a recipe that’s listed on the International Bartenders Association register of drinks and was also one of six seminal drinks featured in the 1948 book The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. And as you may have guessed, the Sidecar isn’t named after a car, but rather after a motorcycle sidecar, which was all the rage back when the drink was invented. How does it taste? Cognac itself is a brandy offshoot that comes on strong and has a significant bite to it. The lemon and Cointreau help blunt that and turn what is traditionally a sipping liquor into a full blown cocktail. If you don’t like cognac though, the added ingredients won’t change your mind. It’s certainly not en vogue anymore, but the Sidecar is a drink that has stood the test of time.—Mike Floyd
Car-Themed Shots for Non-Diluters
Old Scout
Remember International Harvester’s venerable Jeep competitor? Find a nice bottle of Smooth Ambler Old Scout. Smooth Ambler is a distillery located in West Virginia, and the juice it makes on premise is pretty good. However, the stuff made in Indiana by MGP that Smooth Ambler uses by the barrel and then bottles at barrel proof is top shelf, world class, basically as great as bourbon or rye gets. That’s where the name Old Scout comes in, as these whiskeys are “scouted” from elsewhere and are typically pretty old. For our virtual cocktail party, I’m going with barrel number 3063 bottled by Sarah on May 25, 2016. This is an 11-year-old straight bourbon that comes in at a relatively mild 48.2 percent abv. Yum.—Jonny Lieberman
Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style Whisky
No one particularly pines for a first generation Subaru Forester—especially here in the United States because we never got the hopped-up 255-horsepower EJ20 turbo-powered JDM version—but we can pretend 23 years ago qualifies as “old” and celebrate with one of the best value-priced bourbons there is, Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style Whisky. First off, I have no clue why Old Forester drops the “E” in whiskey, something that’s done in Scotland presumably to save on printing costs. Maybe they’re of Scottish descent? Second, there’s nothing “prohibition style” about this straight bourbon, as it’s bottled at a wonderful 115 proof. There’s some marketing nonsense on Old Forester’s website explaining that since the hateful Volstead Act required all medicinal whiskey sold during prohibition to be bottled at 100 proof, the “angel’s share” would have been higher, yadda-yadda—nonsense. Quick bourbon lesson: Legally, all bourbon goes into the barrel at 125 proof or less, typically comes out higher, and then is watered down to bottling proof. Whiskey consumed during Prohibition would have been watered down to criminal levels. Don’t worry about the technicalities. Instead, enjoy the fact that for just over $50, you can enjoy one of the best-tasting bourbons around—one that rivals bottles costing three or four times as much.—Jonny Lieberman
Old Overholt smobile
Given my inability to extricate myself from my pajamas, I couldn’t be bothered to sneak out of the house to go pick up ingredients to make a car-themed cocktail. I still wanted to catch up with co-workers, though. So between a half-bottle of Old Overholt rye that I had on hand and some random beers, I figured Old Overholt, with the help of a Sharpie, could be made most carlike. It’s not my favorite rye whiskey, but sometimes the best drink is the one you have on hand.—Christian Seabaugh
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