Today is the 10th anniversary of Attila Ambrus’s escape from prison. A folk hero around the world, Ambrus is a former professional hockey goalie (maybe the worst ever to play the game) who was finally arrested in 1999 after robbing more than two dozen Hungarian banks (often with great panache).

Known as the Whiskey Robber because he was frequently spotted drinking the stuff before a robbery, Ambrus escaped from prison on July 10, 1999, and the subsequent manhunt was one of the largest in modern European history. He’s currently serving a 17-year sentence in Hungary, but he might be released in 2011 for good behavior.

For the whole story on Ambrus, read Julian Rubinstein’s fantastic book Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts. (Or download the collectors’ item audio book, performed cabaret-style by a cast that includes Eric Bogosian, Gary Shteyngart and—oddest of all—Samantha Power.)

In the meantime, pour a Whiskey Robber cocktail, named in honor of Ambrus, by mulling an orange slice in the bottom of an Old Fashioned glass filled with ice. Then, in a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine 1 1/2 ounces of Johnnie Walker Red, 1 ounce of sour mix and 3 dashes of bitters. Shake well and strain into the glass, then top with a spritz of ginger ale.

Hair of the Dog is Cookthink’s Monday morning cocktail column by Rob Chirico, the author of the Field Guide to Cocktails. Read more about Rob here.

These days when I sit back with a gin and tonic, I make certain to use only a quality tonic, one that is not made with that beast of beasts, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Since most commercial brands of tonic have been defiled with this sludge since the 1980s, a premium, bightingly assertive tonic, like Q or Fever Tree, is a thing of beauty. But what if you have no recourse to fine tonic? Enter the Rickey.

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Hair of the Dog is Cookthink’s Monday morning cocktail column by Rob Chirico, the author of the Field Guide to Cocktails. Read more about Rob here.

On a recent night behind the bar, four customers came in and three immediately ordered drinks. As I waited for the last, a woman, to order, her husband said that he would ask for her because she was too shy. The request was for Sex on the Beach. Attempting to break the ice, so to speak, I alluded to the various recipes for the drink and unwittingly replied, “There are many ways of doing it.”

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Hair of the Dog is Cookthink’s Monday morning cocktail column by Rob Chirico, the author of the Field Guide to Cocktails. Read more about Rob here.

According to Harry Johnson in his Bartenders’ Manual, “[The Sherry Cobbler] is without doubt the most popular beverage in this country … It is a very refreshing drink for old and young.” Don’t be too distraught if you have never heard of Cobbler, let alone tasted one, since the venerable barman wrote that back in 1888.

The earliest mention of a Cobbler was in the 1809 edition of Washington Irving’s History of New York, and the drink was already immensely popular by the middle of the century. In their earliest versions, Cobblers were wine or spirit-based drinks made with sugar, garnished with fruit or mint and served in a tall goblet with plenty of ice. If this is beginning to sound like the basis for a julep or any number of iced drinks, that is because a Cobbler is essentially a long, cool drink simply meant to stave off the heat of summer.

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Hair of the Dog is Cookthink’s Monday morning cocktail column by Rob Chirico, the author of the Field Guide to Cocktails. Read more about Rob here.

This threadbare cocktail made from brandy or cognac and white crème de menthe clearly belongs to another era, and those of us who abhor sickly sweet cocktails would unanimously agree that this is a darned good thing.

The original Stingers that were popular in New York in the early 1900s were made exclusively with brandy, while cognac is often substituted nowadays. Over the first half of the last century, the Stinger developed a reputation as a sophisticate’s drink, and it eventually attained an international appeal. Like Grasshoppers, Spiders and other beastly beasties intended to give you a buzz, the Stinger is built around white crème de menthe — and there’s the rub.

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Hair of the Dog is Cookthink’s Monday morning cocktail column by Rob Chirico, the author of the Field Guide to Cocktails. Read more about Rob here.

Two years ago when I was asked to create a recipe for the yearly New Orleans Tales of the Cocktail, I decided to risk tar and feathering from the approximately 300 or so people, mostly Southerners, who were going to sample my twist on that Derby Day classic, the Mint Julep. With some guests coming back for seconds and thirds, I knew that the only feathers I would encounter would be those in my pillow.

The key difference is not so much the use of bourbon and rye as it is the use of mint simple syrup. There is also a slash of soda, which actually makes it possible to have several drinks without falling off your horse.

What I learned while researching the venerable Julep is an eye-opener. If Freud is more talked about than read, the Mint Julep is more read about than drunk. One survey revealed that while 70% of non-Southern Americans had never tasted a Mint Julep, 73% of Southerners had never had one, either. And champions of the Julep protest that the drink stirred up by the vat-full on Kentucky Derby Day, which is on May 2nd this year, is a pale horse compared to the spirited classic.

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Hair of the Dog is Cookthink’s Monday morning cocktail column by Rob Chirico, the author of the Field Guide to Cocktails. Read more about Rob here.

Yet another product of the odious age of Prohibition, the Pink Lady was created more out of necessity than a dedication to the art of mixology. While most bartenders will have heard of a Pink Lady, few will know how to make it.

As I have mentioned elsewhere, prohibition gin could be very nasty. To tame a flavor that could be likened to a glass of live hornets, drinkers experimented with just about anything on hand. It’s the grenadine that adds the pink to a Pink Lady, and gin does the rest.

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Find out what this very stingy British bishop has to do with a glass of port.

Hair of the Dog is Cookthink’s Monday morning cocktail column by Rob Chirico, the author of the Field Guide to Cocktails. Read more about Rob here.

The cocktail as we have come to know it is essentially an American creation, which would be borne out by David Embury, William Grimes, Bernard DeVoto, and many others, including myself (and if you want to fight about, step outside). There are times, however, when the cocktail takes on an international flair. The Negroni, with its dependence on Campari, is among the most notable. One lesser known drink is the Dubonnet (due-bun-NAY) Cocktail.

Created in the 1850s, Dubonnet is a French apéritif made with white or red wine and flavored with quinine and other herbs and spices, but we will concentrate on the more popular red. Like Campari, Amer Picon, Fernet-Branca, and a host of others, Dubonnet is considered an aromatic wine, and while usually drunk straight on the rocks, it makes for one heck of a drink when mixed with gin.

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Hair of the Dog is Cookthink’s Monday morning cocktail column by Rob Chirico, the author of the Field Guide to Cocktails. Read more about Rob here.

A basic Gin Fizz is made from gin (no surprise there), lemon juice, sugar or simple syrup, all poured over ice and topped by a hearty portion of “fizzy water,” meaning your choice of seltzer or club soda. The Ramos Gin Fizz has all of that, and a whole lot more.

It was formulated by the Ramos brothers in New Orleans in the late 1880s, and if anything can be said about it, the Ramos Gin Fizz is a labor of love — and quite a labor at that. Other ingredients called for include an egg white and milk or cream, and for anyone who has ever tried to blend an egg white and cream, getting them to emulsify is rather like getting Republicans and Democrats to agree on tax-cut bill for the rich.

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