Dallas Drinks

Dallas Drinks is a co-creation with Dallas Decoder, honoring the characters of the TNT drama Dallas, which continues the Ewing family saga. Click on the names below to see recipes for each drink.

Dallas TNT

The John Ross. Bourbon was John Ross's Father J.R.'s drink of choice, which is the base spirit for this and several other Ewing characters' drinks. The drink also nods to John Ross having inherited his acumen for the oil business from his father, represented by smoky mezcal, as well as his occasional hotheadedness, represented by a spicy touch of homemade jalapeño syrup.

The Christopher. The highlight of The Christopher is the spicy ginger-peppercorn syrup, which gives the drink a fiery kick like John Ross's drink but from a different source, representing Christopher's interest in developing alternative energies. Why ginger? It's something the drink share's with The Bobby, Christopher's father. Gin, mint, cucumber, Yellow Chartreuse, lemon and club soda complete this bracing, refreshing cocktail.

The Elena. Since Elena has ties with both John Ross and Christopher, her drink shares ingredients with both of their drinks, while also acknowledging her Mexican heritage that she shares with her brother, Drew. The Elena is a refreshing blend of mezcal, tequila blanco, maraschino liqueur, cucumber, agave, grapefruit and lime.

The Pamela. It wasn't until the end of the first season that Pamela fully revealed herself, stepping out as a more confident and calculating character than the Rebecca we were first exposed to. The Pamela shares many of the flavors of The Rebecca (see below)--dry gin, orange (Cointreau) and grapefruit (St. Germain)--but a in stronger, more sophisticated package.

The Ann. As Bobby's wife, Ann is one of the first new characters we met on TNT's revival of Dallas. The Ann cocktail is a refreshing hybrid between a Tom Collins and a margarita made with tequila, Cointreau, Yellow Chartreuse, lemon, mint and club soda.

The Harris. A sophisticated, potent blend for the Ewings' cunning rival made with gin, Aperol, Galliano liqueur, walnut liqueur (for the nuts Harris chews so memorably in the second season) and grapefruit bitters.

The Emma.  The ties Emma shares with the Rylands (represented by gin) and the Ewings (represented by bourbon) pull Emma in multiple directions, testing her loyalty and character. Habanero shrub and grapefruit soda give The Emma a spicy, bitter edge.

The Nicolas. A smoky mezcal cocktail inspired by the spicy, complex mole sauce Nicolas prepares in a third season episode. The drink features amontillado sherry, amaretto liqueur, chocolate bitters and habanero shrub.

The Bobby. Bobby, now the head of the Ewing family and its Southfork ranch, is Dallas's dependable good guy, which is why his drink is inspired by all-American apple pie. It's a dessert cocktail made with bourbon, apple brandy, ginger liqueur, cream and homemade vanilla-cinnamon syrup.

The Sue Ellen. Sue Ellen's battle with alcoholism dates back to the early years of the original series and came back recently as Sue Ellen succumbed to the bottle, weakened by J.R.'s death and John Ross's underhandedness. Given that, The Sue Ellen is a sophisticated mocktail styled after a Cosmopolitan with the fresh flavors of cranberry, orange, lemon and lime.

The Judith. The eldest Ryland is the iciest, bitterest of all, represented by dry gin, grapefruit shrub and angostura bitters. Yellow Chartreuse adds herbal notes while nodding to Judith's fierce blonde locks.

The Drew. Like the cocktail for his sister Elena, The Drew is made with smoky mezcal, kicked up with fiery habanero shrub and garnished with a flamed orange peel in a nod to Drew's bad-boy ways.


The Rebecca. Before we knew her has Pamela, she was Rebecca, Christopher's seemingly sweet fiancee whose con game we later learned was the work of longtime Ewing rival (and Pamela's father) Cliff Barnes. Bénédictine liqueur, an herbal liqueur from France whose recipe is so secret supposedly only three people know it, plays up the character's mystery. Gin, Cointreau and grapefruit round out the drink's bitter-sweet flavors.

The J.R. Shot. Dallas will never be the same without J.R., and Larry Hagman who portrayed him, but J.R.'s influence is still felt in every episode. This drink commemorates J.R.'s best-known storyline from the classic series, "Who Shot J.R.?," a layered shot of bourbon, coffee liqueur and peppermint schnapps that represent, respectively, J.R.'s favorite drink, his prominence in the oil industry and his smooth ways with people.

Cynthia Cider. The only Dallas Drink (so far) based on a real person, we wanted to create something to honor the developer behind the TNT reboot of Dallas. Playing off Cynthia Cidre's lsat name, the drink is made with a bracing mix of Applejack, bourbon, Cointreau, lemon, agave and ginger beer. Cheers to Cidre for bringing back Dallas and letting us once again bask in the intrigues, scandals and romances of the Ewings and their adversaries.

Classic Dallas

The Miss Ellie. Dallas characters have a knack for getting in trouble. And who do they often turn to for help getting out of it? Miss Ellie, the wise matron of Southfork ranch, who more often than not know exactly what needs to be done. Thus, the vodka in the Miss Ellie cocktail is infused with sage and sweetened with the citrusy-fresh taste of St. Germain elderflower liqueur. 

The Jock. All of the drinks for Ewing men related by blood contain bourbon, so of course, The Jock does too, balanced with the herbal sweetness of Benedictine and the bitter sweetness of sweet vermouth. A float of Islay Scotch makes it smoky on the nose, a reminder of Jock's critical stature as the founder of Ewing Oil.

The Cliff. Despite Cliff's life-long feud with the Ewings, he wouldn't be who he is without them. Thus bourbon, the Ewing's drink of choice, courses through the Cliff cocktail. The other flavors nod to Cliff's love of Chinese food: amaretto, a principal ingredient in the Mai Tai, and ginger, a common East Asian flavor. The lemon is because Cliff is often such a sour guy.

The Pam. Pam's cocktail charts her time on Dallas beginning with her marriage to Bobby, represented by festive sparkling prosecco, through her battles with J.R., represented by bourbon, to her fiery car crash that led to her exit, represented by smoky Islay Scotch. 

The Lucy. Lucy Ewing, one of Southfork's youngest residents, could be a good girl, but she could also get herself into a lot of trouble. She excelled at getting kidnapped, for example. Although generally pleasant, she could be sharp-tongued, especially around J.R. This refreshing but tart cocktail nods to Lucy's duality.

The Julie. This drink, honoring J.R.'s first secretary on Dallas, recognizes Julie's ties to several of the show's main men: bourbon for J.R., ginger liqueur for Cliff (which also nods to actress Tina Louise's best-known role as ginger on Gilligan's Island), and sweet vermouth ties her to Jock, with whom she had a friendship. The Bitter Tears are a reminder of Julie's tragic end.

The Kristin. Kristin Shepard is the answer to Dallas' most important trivia question. In designing her drink, I wanted something relatively light that you could imagine Miss Shepard sipping at an outside Dallas cafe as she plots her next move. I also wanted to connect the drink to three characters: her sister, Sue Ellen; her lover/bullet-holder, J.R.; and her biological son, Christopher.