Mai Tai
Two rums, lime, orgeat and curaçao. No pineapple juice, no grenadine, no umbrella required.
Negroni
Equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. Three ingredients, no measuring gymnastics, and nowhere to hide.
Whiskey Sour
The sour template in its most familiar form — and the easiest place to learn what egg white actually does.
Old Fashioned
Whiskey, sugar and bitters — the drink that defined the word cocktail, and still the best argument for it.