7 Old-School Cocktails Worth Another Round

Somewhere in a basement rec room, behind a cabinet full of novelty swizzle sticks, there is a dusty bottle of Galliano standing taller than every other bottle like it pays rent.

That, friends, is where this story begins.

Before cocktail menus came with smoked rosemary, clarified citrus, and ingredients that sound like spa treatments, people drank things with confidence. They had home bars with mirrored backs. They hosted cocktail parties where the ice bucket mattered. They went to supper clubs, ordered steaks, and knew the difference between a “highball” and “whatever was in the punch bowl.”

These old-school cocktails deserve another round because they still work. They are simple, social, sturdy, and full of good stories. No mixology snobbery required. Just a decent glass, a little ice, and maybe a shirt that says, “I own exactly one bar spoon and that feels like enough.”

A well-stocked home bar has always been a tiny stage for good stories.

Why old-school cocktails still feel modern

Classic drinks survived for a reason. They are balanced. They use ingredients you can actually find. They fit real life, including backyard dinners, Friday night burgers, holiday parties, and the sacred ritual of making one good drink while the grill heats up.

Drinking culture has changed, thankfully in some ways. The three-martini lunch is no longer considered a productivity tool. Cocktail menus are more diverse. Low-ABV and zero-proof drinks have earned their place. People also care more about fresh juice, better ice, and drinking responsibly.

Still, the spirit of the old home bar remains: make guests feel welcome, pour with care, and keep the snacks coming. A B&B rocks glass, a relaxed button-down, and a bowl of salty nuts can still do a lot of emotional labor.

Here are seven classics worth bringing back.

The seven old-school cocktails worth making tonight

1. Tom Collins

The Tom Collins has one foot in 19th-century bar history and the other in backyard-lawn-chair territory. It likely grew from the John Collins, a gin punch associated with London in the early 1800s. The name “Tom Collins” became famous in the United States after the 1874 Tom Collins hoax, where people were told a man named Tom Collins was insulting them at a nearby bar. Hilarious? Debatable. Effective marketing for gin? Absolutely.

By the late 1800s, the drink was documented in American bar guides. It stayed popular because it drinks like lemonade went to finishing school.

TOM COLLINS

Ingredients

• 2 oz gin

• 1 oz fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 oz simple syrup

• Club soda

• Lemon wheel and cherry

  
  

How to Make It

Shake gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup with ice. Strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with lemon and cherry.

B&B Take

Serve it in a tall glass and suddenly you look like the sort of person who remembered to mow the lawn and marinate the chicken. Try it with an Old Tom gin for a slightly richer, rounder throwback.

2. Harvey Wallbanger

The Harvey Wallbanger is the cocktail equivalent of a shag carpet that somehow still has charisma. It became wildly popular in the 1970s, thanks in large part to Galliano, the tall golden Italian liqueur flavored with vanilla, herbs, and spices.

The famous origin story says a California surfer named Harvey drank too many screwdrivers spiked with Galliano and banged into walls on his way out. That tale is more cocktail legend than documented fact. What is well documented is that clever Galliano advertising helped turn the drink into a disco-era hit.

HARVEY WALLBANGER

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz vodka

• 4 oz orange juice

• 1/2 oz Galliano

• Orange slice

  
  

How to Make It

Pour vodka and orange juice over ice in a highball glass. Stir gently. Float Galliano on top by pouring it slowly over the back of a spoon. Garnish with orange.

B&B Take

This drink tastes like brunch put on sunglasses. Use fresh orange juice and it goes from “basement party in 1976” to “sunny patio with acceptable adult decisions.”

3. Whiskey Sour

The Whiskey Sour is older than your granddad’s favorite recliner and considerably easier to move. Sour-style drinks, spirit plus citrus plus sugar, existed for centuries because citrus helped make rough spirits more pleasant. The Whiskey Sour appears in Jerry Thomas’s 1862 bar guide, which gives it serious historical credentials.

It became a standard order in American bars, supper clubs, and living rooms because it is easy to remember and hard to dislike. The egg white version gives it that silky foam top, but the drink works without it.

WHISKEY SOUR

Ingredients

• 2 oz bourbon or rye

• 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice

• 3/4 oz simple syrup

• Optional 1 egg white

• Angostura bitters

• Cherry or lemon wheel

  
  

How to Make It

If using egg white, shake all ingredients without ice first. Add ice and shake again. If skipping egg white, shake everything with ice once. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice or serve up. Add a few drops of bitters and garnish.

B&B Take

Bourbon makes it round and friendly. Rye makes it snappier. Pair it with fried chicken, sharp cheddar, or the smug joy of using fresh lemon juice instead of bottled sour mix.

4. Manhattan

The Manhattan is the dark suit of cocktails, even when you drink it in jeans. It emerged in New York in the late 1800s and was well established by the 1880s. A popular legend ties it to a party at the Manhattan Club hosted by Lady Randolph Churchill, but historians have cast serious doubt on that story. The drink’s true origin is murky, which feels appropriate for something this suave.

It became a steakhouse and supper club staple, the kind of drink ordered before prime rib, while someone at the table said, “We’ll figure out dessert later,” and absolutely meant baked Alaska.

MANHATTAN

Ingredients

• 2 oz rye whiskey or bourbon

• 1 oz sweet vermouth

• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

• Brandied cherry

  
  

How to Make It

Stir whiskey, vermouth, and bitters with ice until chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe or a rocks glass with one large cube. Garnish with a cherry.

B&B Take

Use rye if you like spice. Use bourbon if you like comfort. Either way, pour it into a proper glass and act like the supper club piano player knows your name.

The Manhattan still knows exactly what to do next to a good steak.

5. Gimlet

The Gimlet is a small drink with a very practical past. It is often linked to the British Royal Navy, where lime juice helped sailors avoid scurvy. Rose’s Lime Juice, a sweetened preserved lime cordial, dates to the 19th century and became closely associated with the drink.

As for the name, one legend connects it to Surgeon Admiral Sir Thomas Gimlette, who may have encouraged sailors to mix gin with lime. That story is often repeated, but it is not firmly documented. What we do know is that the Gimlet appeared in early 20th-century cocktail writing and became a crisp, tidy classic.

GIMLET

Ingredients

• 2 oz gin

• 3/4 oz fresh lime juice

• 3/4 oz simple syrup

• Lime wheel

  
  

How to Make It

Shake gin, lime juice, and simple syrup with ice. Strain into a chilled coupe or serve over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with lime.

B&B Take

For the old-school version, use Rose’s Lime Cordial. For the fresher modern version, use lime and syrup. Either one pairs beautifully with shrimp cocktail and pretending your home bar is on a boat.

6. Sidecar

The Sidecar rolled out of the World War I era and became a 1920s favorite in Paris and London. Several bars have claimed it, including Harry’s New York Bar in Paris and Buck’s Club in London. The name is usually tied to a motorcycle sidecar, but exact proof is thin. Cocktail history loves a confident story and a missing receipt.

Made with cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon juice, the Sidecar is bright, strong, and elegant without needing a lecture. It belongs to the same family as the Margarita, which should instantly make more people order it.

SIDECAR

Ingredients

• 2 oz cognac

• 3/4 oz orange liqueur

• 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice

• Optional sugar rim

• Lemon twist

  
  

How to Make It

If using a sugar rim, rub the glass with lemon and dip it in sugar. Shake cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon juice with ice. Strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with lemon.

B&B Take

This is the drink for when you want something classy but still want to eat fries. Try it with roast pork, duck, or a cheese board that got slightly out of hand.

7. Old Fashioned

The Old Fashioned is not just old-school. It is the school. In the early 1800s, a cocktail was commonly understood as spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. As drinks got fancier later in the century, some guests asked for the old-fashioned kind, and the name stuck.

The Old Fashioned became a standard in American bars and never really left. It survived Prohibition, mid-century hotel lounges, supper clubs, and its own modern revival. It is simple, but simple does not mean careless. A good Old Fashioned is about balance, not fruit salad.

OLD FASHIONED

Ingredients

• 2 oz bourbon or rye

• 1 sugar cube or 1/4 oz simple syrup

• 2 to 3 dashes Angostura bitters

• Orange twist

• Optional cherry

  
  

How to Make It

Add sugar and bitters to a rocks glass. Muddle with a small splash of water, or use simple syrup. Add whiskey and ice. Stir until chilled. Express orange peel over the drink and drop it in.

B&B Take

Skip the neon-red cherry pileup unless nostalgia demands it. A big cube, good whiskey, and a sturdy B&B rocks glass do the job. Pair with burgers, smoked ribs, or late-night stories that start with, “We probably shouldn’t have ordered another round.”

How to bring the cocktail party back without turning into a museum

Old-school entertaining had a few things right. People made drinks at home. They set out snacks. They dressed a little better than “laundry day, but public.” They invited neighbors, friends, cousins, coworkers, and that one person who always brought a cheese ball.

You do not need a wood-paneled basement or a hi-fi console to bring the feeling back. Try this:

• Pick two cocktails from the list, one citrusy and one spirit-forward.

• Batch citrus juice before guests arrive, but shake drinks fresh.

• Use good ice. It matters more than people think.

• Put out food with salt, crunch, and fat. Cocktails love all three.

• Keep a zero-proof option ready, because hospitality means everyone gets a good glass.

• Wear something relaxed but intentional. A sharp B&B shirt beats “I just wrestled the recycling bin” every time.

  
  

The goal is not to recreate the past perfectly. The goal is to borrow the best parts: a welcoming room, a full glass, a few good laughs, and no one pretending they can taste “notes of alpine fog” in a drink with orange juice.

Classic cocktails belong wherever good food and better stories show up.

One more round for the classics

The Tom Collins refreshes. The Harvey Wallbanger winks. The Whiskey Sour comforts. The Manhattan walks in like it owns the place. The Gimlet snaps to attention. The Sidecar brings old-world charm. The Old Fashioned reminds everyone that simple, done well, is hard to beat.

That is the Bourbon & Boxers sweet spot: classic drinks, good stories, food on the table, friends nearby, and absolutely no pressure to own tweezers for cocktail garnishes.

Pull a bottle from the cabinet, polish a glass, and give one of these old favorites another round. The drinks our parents ordered still have plenty to say.