Here’s delicious proof that you don’t need a stacked bar cart to make a great drink.
A capsule wardrobe, a consolidated utensil draw, a Marie-Kondo-ed garage – if the minimalist movement has taught us anything, it’s that sometimes just a few great things produce the best results. This is true of people, decor and cocktails. While an elaborate cocktail recipe with 15 steps and a laundry-list of ingredients has its time and place, it’s not in your kitchen on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
For the most part, you want a few favourite classic cocktails – a Martinez or Classic Martini, perhaps? – that require very few (specifically, three) ingredients. These are the drinks you can make time and time again – making them more perfect with each creation. Ahead, we have five of the best three-ingredient cocktails to make at home.
The three ingredients: gin, Campari and sweet vermouth
The Negroni is a classic aperitif (or cocktail to drink before dinner, for those who don’t speak Italian or foodie). The Campari component gives the drink its colour and bitterness, but the sweet vermouth balances the overall flavour. Three layers of alcohol means it’s strong – in fact, legend has it that the Negroni was born to fill the order of an Italian Count who ordered an extra strong Americano. The count’s surname was, of course, Negroni.
The three ingredients: non-alcoholic gin, sparkling grapefruit soda and lime juice
One of the great drinks to come out of the zero-alc golden age, the Salty Dog is fresh, dry and bitter – a far cry from the sugar-rich, super-sweet mocktails of old. The game-changing element is the arrival of non-alcoholic spirits. These are crafted with all the attention and detail of the alcoholic versions – distilled, tended and perfected – so they bring the same flavour and taste, with less than 0.5% of the alcohol. The Salty Dog is ideal for a warm day, and while it’s just the three pour-over elements, it is pretty important that you lightly rim your glass with quality salt – it takes the bite out of the grapefruit, and, well, it’s in the name.
The three ingredients: rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters
Invented in 1870s NYC, this cocktail is old-school and super simple. It sounds like it could be a strong, acquired taste, but in reality it’s a bit of a crowd-pleaser because it’s just so balanced. A bit smoky and spicy from the rye whiskey, sweet from the vermouth and just bitter enough (from the bitters, duh). It always comes out with such a pretty hue, too, particularly if you plop a maraschino cherry in the glass.
The 3 ingredients: tequila, agave syrup and lime juice
You don’t have to wait for Margarita Day to make a Marg – but there is an official date, if you’d like to pay tribute. Tommy’s spin on the classic summertime sip leans into its origins. Tequila comes from the agave plant, so a Tommy’s Margarita uses agave syrup instead of triple sec. It was created almost by accident in the 1990s at Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco when the owner’s son Julio Bermejo was trying to perfect the house Margarita recipe with more economical ingredients. What a happy accident.
