Few bartenders set out to create a drink thinking “This will be the classic cocktail for future generations’’ — least of all Tom Mastricola, who, in 1998, managed the bar at a brand new white-tablecloth Italian restaurant run by a little-known local chef named Barbara Lynch. Today, No. 9 Park has won widespread acclaim, and the Palmyra — a vodka/lime/mint simple syrup drink that Mastricola designed for the restaurant’s first days of operation — endures on the menu, even as drinking trends change. The refreshing sipper sits halfway between a dignified mint julep and a snappy vodka tonic. Mastricola, who’s back as general manager after a 15-year hiatus, credits the drink’s long-lived appeal to its minimalism. After all, like many infallible classics — negroni, daiquiri, Manhattan — it’s a simple formula. And simplicity never goes out of fashion.

Liza weisstuch

THE PALMYRA

Makes 1 drink

2 ounces Aylesbury Duck Vodka (or another vodka)

¾ ounces fresh lime juice

¾ ounces mint simple syrup (Add ¼ cup sugar to ¼ cup water. Stir until integrated. Steep with a handful of mint leaves in a closed, refrigerated container overnight.)

1 mint sprig with 2 leaves

1 lime wedge

1. In a shaker over ice, pour vodka, lime juice, and mint simple syrup. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds.

2. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.

3. Tuck double-leaf mint sprig into the lime so it spans the wedge like wings. Garnish with the wedge. Adapted from No. 9 Park

Liza Weisstuch can be reached at liza.weisstuch@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @livingtheproof.