Plaza Cocktail

The Plaza Cocktail is named for New York’s Plaza Hotel, the grand Fifth Avenue landmark, and it drinks like the kind of thing you would order there: equal parts gin, dry vermouth and sweet vermouth, served up in a cocktail glass with a stick of pineapple. If that formula sounds familiar, it is essentially a Perfect Martini with the gin dialed back to an equal share.

A version of it appears in Harry Craddock’s 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, from an era when vermouth-heavy drinks were the norm rather than the exception. With only a third of the glass given to gin, the vermouths take the lead. The dry brings crisp, herbal and slightly bitter notes, the sweet adds dark fruit and spice, and the gin keeps a clean line of juniper running through the middle. The pineapple is more than decoration, too. As the drink sits, the fruit lends a faint tropical sweetness, and it makes a pretty good snack once the glass is empty.

Glass: Cocktail glass | Strength: Medium | Serves: 1 | Prep Time: 3 minutes

Bartenders tip: Old recipes call for shaking, but an all-spirit drink like this is better stirred with ice for about 30 seconds, which keeps it silky and crystal clear. Since vermouth makes up two thirds of the glass, it has to be fresh, so keep opened bottles in the fridge and replace them within a month or so. A London dry gin works well, and a fresh pineapple spear beats canned every time.