Your Favorite Trashy Cocktail Is Now Incredibly Highbrow

I have no issue with so-called lowbrow drinks. They’re nostalgic and, no surprise, oftentimes tasty. But a little effort to elevate these cocktails can go a long way — swap in better liquors/liqueurs, fresh juices and find some balance among the ingredients, and you can still enjoy a 7&7 or Long Island Iced Tea. 

“I’ve always been fascinated with those cocktails of the ‘80s and ‘90s that people still request,” says Marshall Minaya, the beverage director at New York’s Madame George, which offers several variations on trashy staples, including the Miami Vice, Nutcrackers, Lychee Martinis and more. “But the ingredients for those aren’t stocked too much at bars, especially at my own places. So spinning these cocktails of a different era on their heads is always a fun challenge for me.”

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The new drinks still have to offer some semblance of what made the original iconic. “I think the appeal of our take on the 7&7 lies in the simplicity of keeping the structure the same while increasing the quality of the individual components,” says Porchlight Beverage Director Ben Brown. “The experience of elevating a dive bar call to this level creates a new appreciation for our guests.”

One of the most interesting takes on the new good wave of old bad drinks? The elevated Jello shot, as best realized by Julie Reiner, co-owner of NYC dive bar turned cocktail den Milady’s. “I had Jello shots that were made with 151-proof spirits, so they were more of a nostalgic thing for me than something enjoyable,” she says. “The trend of nostalgia is making the rounds — I think people want to drink familiar flavors that play to their youth. Plus, they’re fun!” 

While that Jello shot recipe is a bit difficult to make at home — Milady’s works with Solid Wiggles for their version — we can share Reiner’s apple Martini riff (one of two Appletini takes), along with recipes for a 7&7, Pickleback, Greyhound and more, below. Drink up without shame.

Created by Dante’s Beverage Training Director Renato Tonnelli, Dante’s Appletini is a crisp and delicate blend of clarified Granny Smith apple juice, beeswax Belvedere and different vermouths and sherries. “The Classic Appletini is great in theory, but it’s usually unbalanced in practice,” Tonelli says. “Almost everyone loves the flavor of apples, so it’s normal that the Appletini draws people in. It’s a flavor that is approachable to many different types of palates. But they can be overly sweet with artificial liqueurs and sweeteners that overpower the drink.”

The new Brooklyn bar Mr. Melo decided to remake the infamous Long Island Iced Tea by combining multiple Italian amari and aperitivi, homemade cola and lemon. It’s also offered on draft. “The original seemed like a recipe for a hangover,” says co-owner Nikolas Vagenas. “It’s inconsistent, with an unbalanced flavor profile and an overindulgence of high ABV alcohols.” Noting that the original seemed only designed to get people “drunk quickly,” Vagenas and his team created more depth with their variation — and modestly lowered the booze content.

“The Midori Sour was at its peak in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and I wasn’t quite drinking at the time,” Minaya admits. “You’d always see Midori on the back bar, though the craft cocktail renaissance moved it out.” For his variation, Minaya based the drink more around brandy and balanced it out with a melon liqueur made with vodka, honeydew and cantaloupe (“omitting Midori’s rare source of muskmelons and also food coloring.”). This drink also utilizes fresh lime and lemon instead of sour mix, while the egg white puts it closer to a traditional fizz.

“Early on in my drinking career, I can remember enjoying a 7 & 7,” says Porchlight Beverage Director Ben Brown. “I remember playing in cover bands in bars during summer break, and this was a quick, easy and relatively cheap call for me to memorize.” The appeal of the original drink lies in its highball simplicity (Seven-Up and Seagram’s Seven Crown), but for Porchlight’s version, they did add a more complex citrus syrup to the mix. “We developed a recipe with fresh citrus juice, citrus zest, salt, ginger and sugar,” Brown adds. “Combining this with our secret blend of seven whiskies, we then force carbonate it and serve on draft.” 

“We’ve got a spin on the old Greyhound cocktail,” says Brandon Ristaino, co-founder and Beverage Director of Good Lion Hospitality. “The original version is pretty one-dimensional and flabby and usually doesn’t feature fresh juice. Our riff adds some complexity and bitterness to the equation with the fortified wines, some spice with the ginger syrup and some backbone with the addition of fresh lemon juice.”

“I was late to the party, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Picklebacks,” says Beau du Bois, Vice President of Bar and Spirits at California’s Puesto Mexican Artisan Kitchen & Bar. “We live in a time of brine, and it’s also ritualistic — an interactive shot, basically. Always fun to share!” This doesn’t mean the shot couldn’t use a little upscaling. This one utilizes tequila instead of whiskey, which involved altering the usual brine flavor with fresh-cut pineapple, poblano peppers, distilled vinegar, salt and sugar.

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