12 Forgotten Whiskey Cocktails You've Probably Never Heard Of

You've heard of an old-fashioned, Manhattan, and maybe even a rusty nail or sazerac. How many more whiskey cocktails can you name, though, really? The answer is very likely, "not many," but that's really not your fault. There just simply aren't many whiskey cocktails floating around in the world, especially compared with the massive lists of vodka and tequila based drinks. This wasn't always the case, though, as quite a few whiskey cocktails have been all but lost with time.

I was a bartender and server for over seven years, and I can count on one hand the amount of times I've made any one of these forgotten whiskey cocktails. In fact, if you are going to order one of these drinks out in the wild, maybe give your bartender some grace if they have to look up how to make them. From vintage cocktails to early 21st century concoctions, these forgotten whiskey drinks will test your bartender's cocktail history knowledge or put your whiskey reserves at home to great use.

A blood and sand is my all time favorite cocktail, but I'm always a bit too shy to actually order one. Typically, the bartender will look at me like I have five heads, and tell me they've never heard of it before. The exception to this rule is an older bartender who has been in the business for a few decades or a bartender at either a whiskey bar or a vintage style speakeasy. If you can find someone willing to make you one, though, this whiskey cocktail is the perfect blend of Ccotch's bitter, malty flavor, and a fruity sweetness.

Seeming to originate back in the 1920s or 1930s, a blood and sand cocktail has equal parts Scotch whisky, vermouth, cherry liqueur, and orange juice. Recipes may differ slightly, though, and if you can get your hands on blood orange juice, the cocktail is much elevated. Depending on the variations of juice and brands used, the result is a muted orange to bold red cocktail. This tasty classic mixed drink is served in a coupe glass, which is a stemmed glass with a goblet-like cup base. A blood and sand is topped off simply with an orange twist.

I wish this drink would make a comeback, because, in my opinion, it's one of the best ways to drink Scotch. Not only does it make for easy drinking in the evening, but a blood and sand at brunch can't be beat — watch out, mimosas!

While there are some classic cocktails whose origins have been lost in time and tradition, others can be attributed to well known bartenders who excel at their craft. The penicillin is one such cocktail, created by Sam Ross, an innovative Australian bartender who rose to fame in New York City's upscale bar scene. This whiskey drink is one of the modern classic cocktails that have somehow dropped in prominence in a relatively short period of time. The reason for this lack of popularity is likely due to Scotch not being a popular bar order, and this cocktail uses two different types of the whiskey variant.

To make a penicillin, you'll need to pour a strong shot of blended Scotch into a shaker with ice, fresh lemon juice, and honey-ginger syrup. After shaking the contents, pour the chilled mixture into a rocks glass over ice. The most important aspect of this cocktail, aside from the hint of ginger, is a Scotch floater. This is achieved by topping the drink off with a one second pour of Scotch. Finally, a speared candied ginger is added as a garnish.

This cocktail is perfect for the whiskey lover who wants to begin with a strong drink and work their way through flavors. The floater ensures a Scotch-bomb as a first sip, with later sips tasting of a sweet, spiced complex drink. A smokier Scotch would work best for this cocktail, complementing the spicy ginger flavor.

It should come as no surprise that a history steeped party city like New Orleans is the home of quite a few classic cocktails. The lively Southern city was just as hopping in the early 1900s as it is now, and the La Louisiane is just one cocktail that made its appearance around that time period. The cocktail is named after a restaurant that lived in three different centuries, opening in 1881 and finally closing its doors in the early 2000s. The classy mixed drink contains both rye whiskey and absinthe, which, paired with its blood red coloring, makes it the perfect Halloween cocktail.

A strong shot of rye whiskey is mixed with sweet vermouth, Benedictine, and a few dashes of absinthe and bitters. The mixture should be stirred to chill and poured into a coupe or rocks glass and topped with a spear of maraschino cherries. Now, don't top this complex drink with the bright red maraschino cherries you see accompanying ice cream sundaes. Instead, splurge for the darker, more authentic Luxardo cherries for this high class cocktail.

Taste wise, you can expect a powerful mix of fruity flavor with a bitter bite. This is thanks to the Benedictine, which is slightly counteracted by the bitters, whiskey, and black liquorice-like taste of the absinthe.

The paper plane is a more modern forgotten cocktail, with origins in the early 2000s, and is another Sam Ross concoction. Unlike the penicillin, though, the paper plane looks like a new age drink. This is due to its signature garnish: a tiny, neatly folded paper airplane.

As modern as the drink may look, it tastes like a classic spinoff of a whiskey sour. According to Sam Ross himself, Larceny makes a fine whiskey for this cocktail. Equal parts whiskey, lemon juice, Aperol, and Amaro Nonino Quintessentia shaken and strained over ice makes a fine paper plane. Besides the iconic paper plane garnish, feel free to use a twist of grapefruit to complement the bittersweet flavor of the Aperol.

While not a particularly strong drink, it is full of robust flavor and makes for easy drinking. The original paper plane recipe has a sweet bite to it, as the herbs, spices, and citrus from the Aperol and Amaro Nonino Quintessentia are prevalent. This is a great choice for someone who doesn't want to drink much, but does want to sip on a cocktail.

Out of all these forgotten whiskey cocktails, a ward eight is the one you would likely be most familiar with. The ward eight is said to have been first crafted in Boston by a bartender in the late 1800s in honor of a generous politician. As with anything that has been passed down for over 100 years, the story and recipe has morphed as people have reconstructed it. Today, a ward eight consists of rye whiskey, lemon juice, orange juice, and grenadine. Shake the ingredients over ice and strain into a rocks or martini glass, with a few Luxardo cherries to garnish.

Similar to most artists, a lot of good cocktails borrow from one another. Depending on which way you toss them, the ward eight is a stone's throw away from a blood and sand or a whiskey sour. The ward eight is simpler than the former, though, and a bit more complex than the latter. This cocktail uses ingredients found in any basic, barebones bar setup, so it should be simple enough to make anywhere. The addition of orange juice and grenadine sends the ward eight soaring above a whiskey sour in the flavor department, evening out the bitter and tart flavors from the whiskey and lemon juice.

An old-fashioned is one classic cocktail that everyone should know how to make, but the John Collins is a close cousin of this ever popular drink. A John Collins has a bit more complexity and a more mixed drink feel, as it is not nearly as strong of a drink. A shot of whiskey is its base and club soda makes up the bulk of the drink, with lemon juice and simple syrup adding depth and flavor. The cocktail is garnished with an orange wedge and a cherry.

The name and ingredients may remind you of another popular cocktail. The only difference between a John Collins and a Tom Collins, though, is the former swaps out gin for whiskey. The whiskey variation of the drink is much less popular than the gin, likely because whiskey drinkers tend to like their drinks to be more bourbon heavy than the Collins allows. Still, this low-key whiskey cocktail would be ideal for someone who likes the idea of an old-fashioned, but isn't quite ready to commit to a strong whiskey beverage. Let's call it an old-fashioned with training wheels.

Think of a whiskey cobbler as a sangria for whiskey drinkers. You don't typically associate whiskey with a fruity drink, even if fruit is involved in its making. This is because most whiskey drinks have a sophisticated air about them, and fruity drinks are often portrayed as more carefree and fun-loving. Whiskey can let down its metaphorical hair too, though, and it tastes good doing it. The flavor profiles of whiskey go well with strong, bold fruits, which is actually pretty perfect for a sangria-like cocktail.

To make this over a century old drink, you'll need to mix simple syrup with maraschino and whiskey and throw in an orange slice with ice. From here, you can garnish with any number of fruits. There are so many different types of whiskey, and the maker can experiment with pairing certain variations with different fruits. This could be as simple as adding a few cherries, or as bold as to add diced strawberries and pears. The whiskey cobbler is a fun cocktail that is simple to make your own, with whatever you may have at hand.

We're taking it down South to New Orleans once again for another high quality forgotten whiskey cocktail. Vieux Carré shares a lot of similarities with the La Louisiane, as well as many vintage whiskey cocktails. If there is one classic cocktail everyone should try while visiting New Orleans, though, it is the Vieux Carré, which is French for Old Square and the name once given to NOLA's French Quarter.

The Vieux Carré is one of the more complex drinks on this classic list, with five main ingredients all pulling their own weight in taste. The cocktail's bulk is made up of equal parts rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, and cognac. A few dashes of bitters, a splash of Benedictine, and a cherry or lemon twist later and you have yourself a real New Orleans Vieux Carré. This is a classy, upscale cocktail and should be served in a glass that is befitting of its station, so a coupe or more delicate cocktail glass would be great.

All good things come back around eventually, and the Boulevardier may not be as forgotten for long. This cocktail has recently seen some resurgence in certain circles, but there's still a good chance you haven't heard of it. This cocktail can be recognized by its striking red amber coloring, thanks to the combination of whiskey and Campari that makes up over two-thirds of the drink. The other ingredient is sweet vermouth, making this cocktail a whiskey version of a Negroni, a tasty gin based cocktail.

Despite its shared ingredients and French origins with the Negroni, the Boulevardier tastes quite different. Whiskey and gin have two completely different flavor profiles, and the Campari and sweet vermouth taste wildly different when complemented by the two alcohols. You can expect a Boulevardier to hold a deep flavor, changing slightly depending on which whiskey variant you choose as a base. Either a rye or a bourbon would work for this cocktail, but to different effect.

If you're a purist who typically enjoys a glass of straight whiskey, only paired with a chunk of ice or a splash of water, The Godfather is a good way to dip your toes into cocktails. This domineering mixed drink is only two ingredients, a whiskey of your choice and amaretto. While a lot of recipes call for equal parts whiskey and amaretto, some opt for merely a splash of amaretto. Whether you prefer a stronger whiskey drink or one more balanced, The Godfather offers one of the coolest ways to order a drink at the bar.

There is a reason two of the most popular ways to drink whiskey are with a splash of water and on the rocks. Water has a big role to play when it comes to whiskey, drawing out its hidden flavors. The Godfather cocktail is served on the rocks and is benefited from being sipped in a way that allows for the ice to melt slightly, bringing out more flavor over the course of the drink. This drink is strong, straightforward, and reaps rewards with the right timing.

It isn't just tequila and vodka that pair well with grapefruit, whiskey brings its bold flavor to the citrus fruit to great effect. The brown derby is one cocktail that has been kicked to the wayside since its creation in the 1930s, but the reason escapes this former bartender. It's a simple cocktail of just bourbon (Scotch whisky is an interesting alternative here), grapefruit juice, and honey. As such, all bars that can serve up a regular ol' paloma could make a brown derby just as well.

The honey perfectly pairs with the tartness of the grapefruit and bitterness of the whiskey, making for an all around refreshing beverage. Brunch would be best served for this drink, fitting right in with other citrus-infused cocktails. In fact, a brown derby pitcher would be simple to craft and make beautiful, with grapefruit wedge floaters infusing the bulk cocktail while diners share a meal. A brown derby would go well on a hot summer afternoon as well, right next to the more famous mint julep.

The brown derby as a single cocktail is perfected with a couple extra steps, a perfect chill resulting in shaking and straining the drink. Its final touch is a grapefruit twist, which should be peeled over the poured cocktail to ensure the extra oils and juices make their way into the drink.

The scofflaw dates back to the 1920s and is an authentic Prohibition era cocktail, though it is now so far removed from bar culture that most have never heard of it. Even though this period when drinking alcohol was outlawed was isolated to America, the scofflaw was actually created in Paris at a bar named Harry's New York Bar. Quite confusing, yes, but the drink was designed to poke fun at itself, its name being coined for a lawless drinker in the time of Prohibition. While the name is now out of its time, its flavor is not.

To make the drink, pour a shot of your preferred whiskey, an ounce of dry vermouth, a small splash of lemon juice, and a dash of grenadine, and orange bitters each in a shaker. Shake this mixture well with ice, then strain and pour the chilled result in a likewise chilled glass. The coupe or martini glass would be appropriate. This drink doesn't always have a garnish, but throwing on an orange twist isn't a bad idea. Either way, the resulting drink is one of balanced tastes, the sweet, tart, and bitter flavors playing together peacefully.

Originally, this cocktail was a weaker one with equal parts whiskey to vermouth. The measurements can be adjusted to taste without affecting the flavors too much, as it is overall a simple cocktail with standard ingredients.