Many of the bars that opened in the past few years could have been spit out of a time capsule. Glam Italian discotecas, LED dance floors and mashed-up concepts, like a ’70s basement tucked behind a retro bowling alley or a neon-bathed wig shop–turned–cocktail lounge, descended upon every corner of the country, Los Angeles to Cleveland to Boston. What do you find on the menu at these theme bars? Martinis, mostly. While it seems like everyone is eager to return to that frenetic, nostalgic decade, few are ready to return to its drinks.
The 1970s marked the nadir of the cocktail dark ages, an era defined by sugar rims, sour mixes, canned juices and glasses bearing a whole host of colors that you’d be hard-pressed to find in nature. It was a time that said, Sure, pour 7UP on your whiskey, and Why yes, a coupe of heavy cream sounds ideal for the dance floor.
But bartenders are a referential group, whether they’re poring over the pages of a centuries-old drink guide or making over a maligned cocktail. Thanks to them, we can have a taste of the decade du jour, now with fresh citrus and balanced ratios. Here are eight 1970s drinks, updated for the modern day.
Nick Bennett, formerly of New York’s Porchlight, updates the classic call drink with layers of flavor. Instead of using the eponymous Seagram’s 7 Crown, he blends five whiskeys, which he says “all bring something really interesting to the table,” like smokiness or florality. Instead of 7UP, Bennett calls on a 7UP-inspired citrus syrup, made with the zest and juice of lemons and limes plus chopped ginger, sugar and powdered acids. It’s a much more considered take on the typically two-part drink.
First featured in Jones’ Complete Barguide, the original Bocce Ball simply combined amaretto, orange juice and soda water. At The Bronze Owl in New York, former head bartender Max Green brought the drink into the 21st century by making the orange juice “fluffy,” adding Peychaud’s and orange bitters and garnishing the cocktail with a piece of fennel- and orange-flavored biscotti.
A product of Chartreuse’s marketing team, the Swampwater (green Chartreuse, lime and pineapple) was originally targeted to college students in the 1970s; it was intended to be batched by the gallon for parties. Manolito, in New Orleans, tweaks the recipe by upping the ratio of Chartreuse to pineapple juice and adding fresh aromatics like basil and mint. The blended version also gets an optional—but highly recommended—rum float.
The original Golden Cadillac—a sweet mix of Galliano liqueur, white crème de cacao and heavy cream—was created in 1952, but grew to popularity as a disco drink in the decades that followed. At Bottle Club Pub, a midcentury-themed San Francisco bar, however, saffron-accented Strega is the star. In place of ice cream, as it was originally designed, or heavy cream, as it’s more commonly made with, the Solid Gold Cadillac uses a hybrid, flash-blended mix of vanilla ice cream and cream. “It gives an eggnog-y feel,” says Bottle Club’s Jayson Wilde.
Though the Rusty Nail’s origins are in the 1930s, it rose to prominence at Club 21 in New York in the 1970s. It’s typically a two-part drink of equal parts Scotch and the Scotch-based liqueur Drambuie, but some riffs, like Bobby Heugel’s recipe, dial back the liqueur for a drier drink. Bar Goto’s take, meanwhile, splits the base between Scotch and Calvados for a modern update.
This recipe is a revised, “elegant version” of the 1970s drink once served at the historic Gage & Tollner restaurant, among other venues across the country. Gin replaces vodka, and a spritz of aromatic orange oils within the glass lends extra dimension. Instead of the requisite float of Galliano on top, a half-ounce of the liqueur is shaken directly into the drink, and the tartness of fresh juice gets balanced by rich cane sugar syrup.
Like the Rusty Nail, the Godfather is a simple Scotch drink. Consisting of whisky sweetened with amaretto, the recipe is characteristic of many cocktails of the era: both overly sweet and hard-hitting at the same time. After the drink’s recent revival, however, has come a wave of modernized versions, including those that split the base spirit for extra depth, add an accenting few dashes of bitters to the mix or bolster the recipe with sherry. Thanks to a leaner, modern amaretto, our house recipe for the drink dials back the sweetness of the original with a salty twist.
More a category of drink than a cocktail—and barely a recipe—the “Mists” section of Playboy’s Host & Bar Book from 1971 outlined how to make one: Pour a spirit over crushed ice, with an optional lemon twist. For William Elliott, the amusing category inspired several drinks on the menu at his bar Tigre, in New York. Tigre’s Mists pair less-common spirits, like bacanora or pastis, with fruits like prickly pear or watermelon. The Guanabana Mist is a showcase for sotol and soursop. They’re “more two-dimensional, rather than layered, almost like agua fresca,” explains Elliott.
