Classic cocktails are back in styleClassic cocktails are back in style

Astronomer Carl Sagan once said, “You have to know the past to understand the present,” and it appears that modern bartenders have become obsessed with that sentiment.

The bottle-flipping, soda-gun-spraying antics of 1980s cocktail-making have all but disappeared as bartenders have become passionate students of their historic craft, researching pre-Prohibition cocktail recipes to bring back potent potables enjoyed a century ago.

What’s old is new again as bartenders rely less on bottled mixers and more on fresh fruit juices, house-made syrups, bitters, tinctures and shrubs to produce authentic drinks. A correct old fashioned, negroni, French 75 or Sazerac requires correct ingredients and techniques, and educated drinkers aren’t fooled by i...