It's no surprise that New York City, with five boroughs and a population over 1,000,000 since the late 1800s, would be home to more than a few taverns, pubs, and signature drinks. One NYC cocktail, the Stinger, fell out of favor for many years, but is now enjoying a bit of a renaissance that calls back to its uber-fancy roots.

At its most basic, a Stinger consists of Cognac and creme de menthe shaken and strained into a cocktail glass with a twist of lemon peel. Earlier versions of drink morphed as they bounced around the bars and clubs of New York, and at the tony townhouse of Reginald Vanderbilt, a dash of absinthe rounded out the "sting."

Possibly because of the connection with the wealthy Vanderbilts, Stingers were once reserved for high society. The drink even landed on the silver screen in movies like "Kiss Them for Me" and the aptly named "High Society," and other fancy places linked to the Stinger include the Waldorf-Astoria hotel and Holland House Hotel.