Drinks

Honestly, there simply aren't too many classic drinks for the gentleman. I am inclined to agree with Paul Fussel, in his book "CLASS: A Guide Through the American Status System" (review to follow) that the sweeter the drink, the lower its status. In short, shy away from from the bourbon and ginger ale (and just bourbon in general).
One of the tragic things about Americans, (the most tragic thing actually, aside from Prohibition)is that the great majority were not properly trained to drink. Not too many of us are fortunate enough to have mothers that trained us how to pair wines with our dinners or daddy's that taught us to mix their martinis for them.
Here is my list of acceptable drinks to be had before dinner. Gentle reader, if you disagree, I beg you to add further suggestions.
1. The Martini (preferably gin because this is the classic, though I have to admit I prefer vodka): Though its origins remain, shall we say, contended (we will probably never know for certain if it was invented in New York or in San Francisco, by an American or a Frenchman) it is the peerless pre dinner drink, the greatest of all cocktails. Any drink, as the old adage goes, will only be as good as the alcohol you put in it and for the Martini, since it has very few ingredients, this is especially true.
Kettle One happens to be my vodka of choice, though I long ago discovered a little advertised potato vodka from Poland called Luksusowa which is superb. My gin of choice is of course, Bombay Dry. I think it's the picture of the Queen that always wins me over.
Needless to say, you MUST use a martini glass; any attempt to serve the Martini in another sort of glassware will only serve to make your friends mock you for years to come. When a guest, you will be served Martinis in ceramic coffee cups from that moment forward. The Martini glass can be chilled in the freezer before you begin shaking up the cocktail.
The original recipe calls for two and one half ounces of gin. Pour the gin into a martini shaker with ice. Be extremely gentle with the dry vermouth. For the record, it is NOT a martini if it does not have at least some vermouth in it. You might opt to place a drop or two into the glass, or, like myself, put some into the shaker with the gin so it is well mixed. Do not be liberal with the vermouth. If you can taste it more than the gin or vodka you have included too much.
Shake your martini up. Try to make only one at a time of optimal flavor. Whatever you do, DO NOT shake too long and too rapidly as you will bruise the drink. If you see too many ice crystals floating in your martini, you've gone too far. Do not let your friends on the rowing team do the shaking. I've found that most girlfriends are perfectly made to mix martinis- just right without the vulgar aggression we lads possess (great on the battlefield, not always advantageous behind the bar).
Strain your martinis into your chilled cocktail glass and add the olives on a sterling silver or (shudder) stainless steel martini pick. You may use blue cheese stuffed olives if you must. Be certain the olives are of good quality and not those nasty little shriveled things you all too often encounter in stores.
Some people are under the erroneous assumption that keeping your bottle of spirits in the freezer precludes the need to shake the two and one half ounces over ice. The flavors do not come out if this is done, nor does the liquid become as chilled. The only reason you keep the gin in the freezer is so that you can take clandestine pulls straight out of the bottle when you have particularly irritating guests over.  
Some people, furthermore, make atrocious concoctions, such as the "chocolatini" or the "cosmopolitain" or other similar dreadful things. These are not martinis. When you order these sweeties you are only proving to the world that you learned to drink in you sorority house and still haven't quite figured things out. We suspected you were a child and now all of us know for certain. If you don't like that taste of alcohol then you ought not be drinking.