Entertaining guests can be a completely different ball game and when it comes to serving cocktails. However, retro and vintage recipes always seem to be a success. And, indeed, the old-school cocktail recipes can date back to 100 to 200 years, which brings a feeling of nostalgia to entertaining. Some of the classic cocktail recipes for entertaining are listed herein, and many of them will give you a taste of the yesteryears:

Gin Rickey
This is a very refreshing and popular one that hails back to the early periods of 1900. A very simple and easy recipe, Gin Rickey can be transformed into a mocktail by adding lime instead of gin. Coming to the recipe, you just have to mix 2 ounces of gin, a good amount of lime juice with 4 ounces of club soda and garnish with a lime wedge and serve chilled. Essentially, this is a very mild and nice drink best suited for all kinds of get-togethers.

Classic Tom Collins
This is a simple and easy lemon, soda water, and sugar recipe that date backs to the 1800s. Now that doesn’t fit into the category of a cocktail, yet this century-old drink has gin in it as per your choice. You just have to mix 1 ounce of lemon juice, ½ an ounce of sugar syrup, 3 ounces of soda, and 1½ ounces of a good gin and serve chilled with ice and cherry or a lemon wedge. To make an excellent one, you can try brands like Beefeater, Bombay Sapphire, and Tanqueray.

Sidecar
This date back to the 1920s and is said to be originated in Paris and is really one old-timer. This timeless drink has that oomph factor to it for its perfect ratios used. So to make a 1 serving you will need to combine and shake 1 ounce of cognac, 1 ounce of orange liquor, and ½ an ounce of lemon juice and sugar syrup, a splash of lemon juice and serve chilled.

Manhattan
This is always the benchmark drink of all and is a combination of bitters and sweets. To show off the importance of bourbon, you need to make this. To start with, you just stir 2 ounces of a good whiskey (bourbon), ½ ounce sweet vermouth and dry vermouth, 1 to 2 dashes of bitters and serve chilled with a cherry. You could use a good whiskey to perk it up such as the Knob Creek or Maker’s Mark.

Old-Fashioned
This is the very manly cocktail and is a combination of the typical ingredients including sugar, bitters, and whiskey. To start with just add some sugar in a very old fashioned glass with 2 dashes of bitters and a splash of club soda. Muddle these ingredients and add a huge ice cube and then add 1 ounce of whiskey and serve it with an orange slice or a twist.

Vesper
This the old-time James Bond classic drink that dates back to the 50s and is a simple combination of gin, vodka, and Kina Lillet. In today’s day and date, you can replace Kina Lillet with Lillet Blanc. So to start with, you just mix 3 ounces of a good gin, 1 ounce of vodka and ½ ounce of Lillet and give it a shake with ice for good 10 seconds and serve it with lemon zest. Note that this cocktail needs to be shaken and not stirred.

These classic cocktail recipes are great for entertaining older guests and bring life to the party.