Mad Men Season 5: Where Will We Go From Here?

The much-anticipated Season 5 premier of AMC’s Mad Men will air Sunday, March 25. Matthew Weiner has been manic about keeping the details under wraps – no spoilers have managed to trickle out so far. But critics and fans have been anxiously speculating about where the show will go this season. In what year will this season be set? What will come of Don’s hasty proposal to his secretary, Megan? How will Joan manage to keep her love-child with Roger a secret from him and her husband? How much like Don will Peggy become in her quest to succeed in the business? How long can Sterling Cooper Draper Price manage to stay afloat? And, most importantly, how spectacularly will Betty’s marriage to Henry fail?

It’s been 17 months since the Season 4 finale, and you should probably get up to speed before Sunday. You should also make a booze run so you can stock your bar in time for the premier. AMC has a great round-up of Mad Men-era cocktails for you to try while catching up with the SCDP gang. Here are a few to try:

The Pete Campbell (a/k/a the Stinger)
1 oz Cognac
1 oz Crème de Menthe
Mix all ingredients and pour into a brandy snifter. Enjoy while sexually harassing your neighbor’s nanny.

The Roger Stirling (a/k/a the Classic Martini)
2 1/2 oz Gin
1 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
3 green olives
Rinse martini glass in dry vermouth and pour out. Shake gin with ice until chilled. Pour into martini glass. Add olives. Sip while making devilish comments to the secretary pool.

The Don Draper (a/k/a the Old Fashioned)
2 dashes aromatic bitters
1/2 tsp sugar dissolved with water and bitters
1 1/2 oz Bourbon
1 cherry
1 orange slice
1 lemon wedge
Fill glass with ice. Add cherry, orange slice, and lemon wedge. Pour in bourbon and bitters. Serve in a lowball over ice. Sip slowly while silently self-destructing.

The Joan Holloway (a/k/a the Manhattan)
1 3/4 oz Bourbon
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth
1 dash of aromatic bitters
1 Maraschino cherry
Pour bitters and liquors over ice in mixing glass. Stir and strain into martini glass. Garnish with a Maraschino cherry. Swirl drink in hand while sashaying coquettishly down the hallway.

The Peggy Olsen (a/k/a the Sidecar)
3/4 oz Cointreau
3/4 oz lemon juice
1 1/2 oz Cognac
Shake well with cracked ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass that has had its outside rim rubbed with lemon juice and dipped in sugar. Drink after hours in your office while trying to figure out how to prove yourself to your boss.

Ladies, time to pull out those pointy bras. Fellas, put on your skinny ties. Pour a drink and settle in for the 2-hour premiere.