Some of my fondest childhood memories are of my mom and dad hosting outdoor parties on warm summer evenings. The patio would be filled with friends, the bar fully stocked, and disco music piped through the built-in outdoor speakers.
After all, it was the 1970s.
I would sometimes sneak downstairs after bedtime to watch the grown-ups in their polyester finest dancing to disco, ordering cocktails at the bar, laughing, and generally having a wonderful time.
One evening, my dad caught sight of me. Instead of immediately sending me back upstairs, he grabbed my hand and took me for a spin around the patio while the Bee Gees sang You Should Be Dancing. Everyone smiled indulgently, and for those few minutes, I felt terribly grown up.
Now that I am grown up—and can order my own cocktails—I've found myself thinking about the drinks that filled those bars in the 1970s. Some are still familiar, while others have nearly disappeared from cocktail menus.
So I went looking through old cookbooks and found recipes for some of the classic cocktails of the 1970s. From the Harvey Wallbanger to the Gimlet, these are the kinds of retro cocktails that deserve another turn at the bar.
Whether you're planning a 1970s-themed party, hosting friends for cocktails, or simply feeling nostalgic, here are seven vintage drinks worth rediscovering.
Older cocktail recipes often call for a jigger, a traditional bartending measure. Today, a standard jigger generally holds about 1½ fluid ounces.
You'll also see sugar syrup in old recipes. Today we usually call it simple syrup. The vintage recipe I found uses one part water to two parts sugar, heated until the sugar dissolves. This creates a rich simple syrup.
And now, put on a little disco music and let's visit the bar . . .
Few cocktails are as timeless—or as instantly recognizable—as the Martini.
Ingredients
To make it: Combine gin and dry vermouth with plenty of ice and stir or shake until thoroughly chilled. Strain into a chilled Martini glass and garnish with either a twist of lemon peel or an olive.
The vintage recipe I found was quite generous with the vermouth compared with many modern Martinis, which tend to be considerably drier.
The Manhattan predates the 1970s by many decades, but it remained a cocktail-party standard throughout the era.
Ingredients
To make it: Stir the whiskey and vermouth with ice until well chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass, add a dash of Angostura bitters, and finish with a Maraschino cherry.
The combination of both sweet and dry vermouth makes this vintage version what is often called a Perfect Manhattan today.
Simple, cheerful, and unmistakably retro, the Screwdriver requires only two ingredients.
Ingredients
To make it: Shake the vodka and orange juice well with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a small orange slice.
It's easy to see why this became such a popular party drink: no exotic ingredients, no complicated technique, and almost everyone knew how to make one.
The Gimlet is one of those old-fashioned cocktails that feels surprisingly modern today.
Ingredients
To make it: Shake the gin, lime juice, and simple syrup vigorously with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Tart, crisp, and refreshing, the Gimlet is an excellent choice for a warm summer evening—and a cocktail that deserves a proper comeback.
The Tom Collins is essentially summer in a tall glass: gin, lemon, sweetness, bubbles, and plenty of ice.
Ingredients
To make it: Add the gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup to a tall Collins glass filled with ice. Top with club soda, stir gently, and serve immediately.
The original recipe simply calls for "carbonated water," which somehow makes it sound even more delightfully vintage.
The Highball proves that a good cocktail doesn't have to be complicated.
Ingredients
To make it: Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour in the whiskey and top with ginger ale.
That's it. No muddling, shaking, layering, smoking, foaming, or elaborate garnish required.
Sometimes simple really is best.
And finally, perhaps the most wonderfully 1970s cocktail of them all: the Harvey Wallbanger.
Even the name sounds as though it belongs beside an avocado-green refrigerator and a shag-carpeted conversation pit.
Ingredients
To make it: Fill a highball glass with ice and add the vodka and orange juice. Slowly float the Galliano over the top by pouring it over the back of a spoon. Garnish with an orange slice.
Galliano—with its distinctive tall bottle and sweet herbal-vanilla flavor—is what transforms what would otherwise be a Screwdriver into a Harvey Wallbanger.
There's something charming about these old cocktail recipes. They come from an era when entertaining at home meant putting on a record, stocking the bar, setting out the good glasses, and inviting people over simply to enjoy one another's company.
Perhaps that's the part of the 1970s cocktail party most worth bringing back.
So the next time you're entertaining, skip the trendy cocktail menu and serve a few classics instead. Mix a Martini, pour a Highball, or surprise everyone with a Harvey Wallbanger.
And if the Bee Gees happen to come on, you really should be dancing.