Best of Boston

2003 Best Cocktail, Classic

Gibson Martin, The Bristol Lounge

You can almost taste the sun rising again on the British Empire in your first sip of this bracing, gin-loaded cocktail. By the second dry sip, you’re convinced you may actually have been an English general in a former life. By the third, after surveying the Bristol Lounge’s sprawling marble grandeur, giant palms, and elegant service, you’re convinced you’re an English general right now. And by the fourth potent sip, alas, you have no idea what the British Empire is. All this from a few ounces of gin, dry vermouth, and cocktail onions, served chilly and gracefully, old chap.

Four Seasons Hotel, 200 Boylston St., Boston, 617-338-4400,