Letters and Liquor illustrates the history of lettering associated with cocktails. From the 1690s to the 1990s, I’ve selected 52 of the most important drinks in the cocktail canon and rendered their names in period-inspired design. I post a new drink each week with history, photos and recipes. Don’t want to miss a single cocktail? Click here for email updates.

The Really Good Pickle Martini

2 oz Gordon’s London dry gin;
1/4 oz Martini & Rossi extra dry vermouth;
1/4 oz pickle juice;
Garnish: Skewered dill pickle slice;
Glass: Cocktail

Pour all the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice, and stir briskly with a bar spoon for about 1 minute.

Strain into a chilled Martini glass.

Garnish with a skewered dill pickle slice.

2 oz blanco tequila
12 to 15 blueberries, plus a few more for garnish
2 basil sprigs
1 oz agave nectar
Juice of 1 lime

Muddle the blueberries and basil with the tequila in a shaker.
Add the agave nectar and lime juice, and shake with ice.
Pour into a rocks glass over fresh ice, and top with filtered water if desired.
Garnish with a few blueberries.

This puckery drink is prepared with rum and fresh mint like a classic mojito, but New Orleans chef John Besh makes it holiday-worthy by topping it with a splash of Champagne.

"A Neapolitan-American friend of mine, who's in his mid-fifties, fondly remembers how his mother used to serve him an espresso with Fernet Branca and an egg yolk every morning before he went off to elementary school."

Circa 1800, the Cocktail was a “hair of the dog” morning drink that tamed spirits with water, sugar and bitters (patent medicine). The late 19th Century expanded the use of the word “cocktail” to encompass just about any mixed drink. Since then, the Old Fashioned—literally, the old-fashioned way of making a cocktail—has been our contemporary expression of the original drink.

During the 20th Century, various bad ideas encrusted the Old Fashioned. Here we will strip off those barnacles to expose the amazingly simple and sublime drink beneath.