Skip to main content

Army & Navy

An Army  Navy cocktail in a Nick  Nora glass.
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Tiffany Schleigh

We get the Army & Navy cocktail from David Embury’s 1948 cocktail book, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. Though it includes orgeat, a rich almond-flavored syrup that you might recognize from the mai tai, this fragrant gin sour is not a tiki drink. The citrus and botanical dimensions play nicely with the luscious toasted almond here. Classic Army & Navy recipes are made without bitters, but the additional seasoning of orange and Angostura bitters rounds off the edges of the lemon juice and gives the nutty orgeat a slightly more earthy touch.

Note: Our quick Easy Orgeat starts with almond milk as a base and is a bit less sweet than what you’d find commercially. If you’d like to use store-bought orgeat instead, we recommend starting with just ½ oz. per drink.

What you’ll need

Read More
This light and drinkable cocktail pairs the bittersweet flavor of grapefruit with botanical gin and sparkling sake for a bubbly finish.
A riff on the Bicycle Thief cocktail, a citrusy, low ABV riff on a Negroni, this three-ingredient, party-ready twist features grapefruit soda.
The beergarita perfectly encapsulates laid-back summer sipping in a single pitcher, combining the familiarity of a margarita with the effervescence of beer.
A short list of ingredients comes together in this elegant sake martini.
Named for a Scottish revolutionary, a New York City operetta—or both—this effortless scotch cocktail is built to last.
Gourmet’s version of this perfect summer drink mixes the ideal ratio of vodka with cranberry and grapefruit juices, right in the glass.
This simple honey-grapefruit cocktail dates to Prohibition, though its origin is a matter of some debate.
With elderflower liqueur, mint, and prosecco, the effervescent Hugo spritz cocktail is a hit year round, but particularly on warm nights.