The Top Three: Old Fashioneds

Best for language buffs

Oskar’s Bar

39 Whitfield Street, W1 (020 7323 1544; dabbous.co.uk)

This place should get a prize for the most pun-tastic cocktail menu — anyone for a Fizzy Rascal? Just as you’d expect from the bar beneath Dabbous restaurant, these are high-calibre drinks. The Old Fashioned is given a twist with the addition of birch sap (£16), bringing a new dimension to the historic bourbon-and-bitters drink.

Best for Louisiana lovers

NOLA

1st Floor, 68 Rivington Street, EC2 (nola-london.com)

Inspired by New Orleans and set up by some of the biggest names in the business, this is a bar with a serious drinks list and features some cocktails dating back to the 1850s. The Old Fashioned is made with excellent Four Roses Small Batch bourbon (£9). Alternatively, try the classic Sazerac or a Ramos Gin Fizz (£9.50 each).

Best for scientific drinks

White Lyan

153–155 Hoxton Street, N1 (020 3011 1153; whitelyan.com)

A new venue from bartenders Iain Griffiths and Ryan Chetiyawardana, this is properly experimental, with cocktails mostly prepared during the day before any guests arrive. Go for a wonderful Beeswax Old Fashioned, made with honey from a beeswax-lined bottle (£8) and served — controversially — without ice.