Photo by Lizzie Munro
It’s impossible to say for certain what the precise elements are that make for a great cocktail. You never really know what mix of ingredients, name and backstory will resonate with people to elevate a drink from just another assemblage of ingredients to something enduringly memorable. Take the Bocce Ball, for instance. It’s just one among thousands of recipes in the 1970s cocktail tome Jones’ Complete Barguide that have been passed over for decades. But, perhaps due to its alliterative, sporty name, or its unassuming, ubiquitous ingredients—simply amaretto liqueur, orange juice and soda water—the drink stood out to Max Green.