Classic cocktails

Old school cocktails endure as great drinks. By old school, I mean pre-war. A memorable name helps, but the receipe is everything. Common features include a small number of simple ingredients, a balancing of the sweet by the sour or the bitter (or both), and a base spirit with character. There's no room for vodka here. 

Preparation matters, such as first chilling the glass with ice. I prefer the older style of cocktail glass - smaller with a short stem is easier to handle, not too much to drink, and less time to lose its chill. Any lemon or lime juice should be freshly-squeezed.

Below is a list of my favourites - my 'house' cocktails. Four are gin-based, two use whiskey, and one each in rum and brandy. They're all pre-war in orgin, with the exception of the Jasmine - created by Paul Harrington in the classic style, balancing the sour and the sweet on a spirit base with a hint of something bitter. 

• Aviation - gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur
• Daiquiri - rum, lime juice, simple syrup
• Jasmine - gin, lemon juice, Cointreau, Campari
• Manhattan - whiskey, sweet vermouth, bitters
• Martini - gin, dry vermouth
• Pegu - gin, lime juice, Cointreau, Angosturas bitters
• Sidecar - brandy, lemon juice, Cointreau
• Ward Eight - whiskey, lemon juice, orange, grenadine