Not many bartenders can say they invented a modern classic cocktail. Sam Ross, the brains behind some of the best bars in America—first Milk & Honey and then Attaboy—has created two.
In the early 2000s, Ross concocted both the Paper Plane and the Penicillin. The first, a sibling of The Last Word that shed new light on the blending capabilities of amaro. The second, a drink that reexamined the way we look at Scotch. These are dialed-in recipes that will likely live on for generations to come.
On creating modern classics
Ross is the first to admit these were ultimately career-changing drinks. The recipes took off and opened doors. They earned him press and were riffed-on all over the globe.
“These cocktails have been around for 17 and 19 years already so they do have a decent following out there in the cocktail consumer category,” he says. “I was hoping they were going to sell well but I think we were all pretty surprised at how quickly the first batch got blown through!”
You know your drinks have made it when not only they show up on bar menus from coast to coast, but the RTD sector comes knocking. Recently, Ross collaborated with Tip Top (one of our favorite RTD cocktail brands) to create canned versions of his two most famous creations.
“Tip Top chased me down for a long time to collaborate on these cocktails but I was being very elusive,” Ross says. “I would guess that the reason behind this was I didn’t think you could translate the brightness and freshness of a citrus cocktail into canned form and for it to be any good. When I finally tasted through some of Tip Top’s other creations, I quickly realized that these guys had figured out how to do it and do it well!”
The challenges in transitioning a drink from the bar to the can presents its challenges, from that zap of freshness to presentation. “I was only going to work with the team on these drinks if they were to allow me to be involved in every step of the process,” he says. “Obviously tasting through the many rounds of samples, but also the packaging and launch. Tip Top was 100 percent on board with this. They are absolute professionals and were so easy to work with.”
The results dropped in can form not too long ago. The Paper Plane blends bourbon, lemon, aperitivo bitters, and amaro liqueur. As for the Penicillin, it’s a relatively simple but oh-so-satisfying mix of Scotch, lemon, ginger, and honey. Ross worked with James Beard Award-nominated mixologist Miles Macquarrie to create these takes.
The state of mixology
The experience at Attaboy is at once bespoke and timeless. All the details add up and while RTD drinks clearly keep improving, the best of bar experiences is still a special thing.
“We place a firm emphasis on classic cocktails and modern variations using the highest quality ingredients,” Ross says of Attaboy. “We are a menu-less bar which allows our bartenders to talk you through your options and allows for a unique and tailored experience. It also allows you to get back to conversing with your company instead of trying to decipher a long and complicated menu in a dark bar!”
What’s next? Ross suggests we’re seeing a lot of creativity around the globe right now and that it’s an exciting time indeed to be a cocktail drinker. “It seems bars are dividing up between reimagining classics and more modern lab/kitchen type technique driven cocktails.” he says. “And let me tell you, both are great.”
But we cannot overlook the hospitality angle. “I think the ultimate goal at all the spots should be, ‘are you having a good time?’ We should always be having a good time when we are out spending our hard-earned money on fancy drinks,” he says.
Additional tips
The bar wizard was nice enough to offer a brief bulleted list of lessons he’s learned over the years:
- Stop putting big ice in delicate coupes.
- Smoked cocktails are never good.
- Drink your drink how you want to drink it. You’re the one paying for it.
- Drink the good stuff, life is too short for bad cocktails.
Cheers to that, good sir. And what’s he drinking? A few good things. “As the weather turns colder, I just adore American whiskey,” he says. “It’s also Martini season all the way up until Christmas, so take advantage. Oh, and Spritzes: Spritz-ify anything on your back bar, I dare you.”
And you can always do some armchair travel to some more a bit closer to the equator “Lastly, if you can get your hands on a Tip Top Mai Tai, you can live out those summer beach vibes all winter long.”
Don’t stop there, check out our recent features on everything from the best Italian cocktails to the best Campari cocktails. Cin cin!
