Surveying the current state of the world of cocktails is a perplexing business. The average bar's list reads like an advertisement for a middle-of-the-road vodka company, as if recipes were pulled off of a corporate Web site, and a martini is just an alcoholic beverage served in a distinctive glass.

Fortunately, there's a small but vocal and growing number of cocktail aficionados who firmly believe that a martini is a drink made with gin and a whisper of vermouth, served "up" -- chilled and strained into a glass -- in a cocktail glass. OK, some of these people might also enjoy martinis made with vodka, but none of them are confused about what the name "martini" is supposed to evoke.

In this world, bartenders achieve celebrity status, drinks are made with specific brands of liquor in mind (you can't just substitute Beefeater for Hendricks), and cocktails are meant to inspire conversation, relaxation and appreciation of the finer things in life. These cocktails are more than just a drink, they're a state of mind.

Stumble across or seek out the right restaurant, bar or private club, and you'll want to read the drinks list like a novel, marveling at precise, informative descriptions of evocative drinks made from small-batch liquors, with seasonal flavors and house-made garnishes. These bars are likely to emphasize that all of their juices are freshly squeezed, their garnishes are made in-house and their ice is shaped to maximize chilling and minimize diluting. They believe that details matter, and it won't be long before you fall under their spell. It may also be a little more expensive and a little bit smaller than what you're used to, but you'll taste the quality in every drop.

There are two major sources of inspiration for the best cocktails today -- history books and the marketplace. Although some see an East Coast-West Coast divide, mixologists, bar-chefs or whatever you choose to call them on both coasts are drawing on some combination of these influences. Of course, it's no coincidence that the cities with the most exciting developments in cocktails are also known for their food. The San Francisco Bay area, Las Vegas and New York are a few hot spots for the most exciting developments in cocktails.

At the Slanted Door, a modern Vietnamese restaurant in the San Francisco Ferry Building, the drinks are so historically inspired that the list cites the origin of each recipe. For its Sidecar, it chose the Paris Ritz's recipe, made with fresh lemon, Lustau solera brandy and Cointreau, served up. The spicy fruit flavors in its Singapore Sling come from Benedictine, a cognac-based liqueur infused with various roots and spices. Made with a base of Beefeater gin, this recipe -- Cherry Heering, a Danish cherry liqueur; Cointreau, an orange liqueur; and freshly squeezed lime juice -- is from the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. It's not surprising that only one of the 13 drinks on its list is made with vodka. Almost no one in the United States drank vodka until the 1960s, well after the age of classic cocktails.

In Boston, I first fell in love with the food at No. 9 Park, only to fall in love all over again with its cocktails. It was hard to resist the Widow's Touch, made from Laird's Applejack, St. Germain and Benedictine ($13). It didn't matter that there was always at least one ingredient whose identity was a mystery. (In this case, it would have been the St. Germaine, an elder-flower liqueur, a flavor that has recently become immensely popular in cutting-edge cocktail lists.)

The new generation of private and semi-private clubs may be the most exciting places to drink of all -- if you can get in. These clubs and bars conjure up a time when the cocktail hour was a sacred space between the workday and dinner. Milk and Honey is a private club with branches in New York and London. The New York club is swathed in even greater levels of secrecy than its sibling, but a quick look at the London branch's cocktail lists suggests that entry into either of these temples of drink is coveted for good reason. The slightly less intimidating Pegu Club in New York has received deserved praise for its role in bringing back classic cocktails.

The Doheny in Los Angeles, the most recent addition to the list of increasingly exclusive bars, requires members to undergo a biometric scan before they get in. No sharing a membership among friends here.

Cyrus, in Healdsburg, in the heart of California Sonoma-Napa wine country, not only has two Michelin stars, but also has a reputation for having some of the best cocktails in the country. Its list is 43 pages long, although it contains only nine cocktails. The rest of the pages are filled with meditations on liquors and lovingly annotated lists of its inventory. The vodka list is a refreshing reminder that a new generation of vodka allows one to enjoy both classic and flavored versions of this liquor without giving up cocktail principles. Domaine Chorbay vodka, for example, comes in such flavors as blood orange and Oregon red raspberry, with the flavor and color coming directly from the fruit used to produce them.

Although seasonality is certainly key, these types of cocktails are deeply rooted in an overall appreciation, even obsession, with ingredients. Cocktails are the most recent logical extension of this school of thought, but a few restaurants have taken the idea one step further. The French Laundry, Thomas Keller's Michelin three-star restaurant in Yountville in California's Napa County, was the first restaurant to create non-alcoholic drink pairings to accompany tasting menus, and the same service is offered at the newer Per Se in New York.

"If creating a special drink without alcohol can enhance the experience of a guest in our restaurant, it makes sense to do it and to do it well," Jimmy Hayes, head sommelier at Per Se, explained in an e-mail. For example, "a fish or seafood preparation with citrus or herbs might be [matched with] a dry Valencia orange soda muddled with basil or tarragon."

Recently, more and more bars seem to be upgrading their drinks lists, throwing in a few classics along with the multitude of martinis, and using fresh juices when possible. Tylor Field III, vice president of wine and spirits at Morton's, Downtown, describes these developments as "very closely following the celebrity chef and the phenomenon of fresh, organic products." Although the current Morton's list contains a few drinks made with sour mix and "puckers," even more of the drinks include fresh lemon or lime juice, fresh mint or pineapple. Field says that bars will have to adapt to having all-fresh ingredients whenever possible, because that's what customers are starting to want.

Another trend he's following closely is the size of drinks. "The martini used to be this small, four-ounce aperitif size. ... Now we have these glasses that are like drinks at 7-Eleven," Field said. Drinks this large don't stay cold while you drink them, and they make it more difficult for customers to try more than one cocktail, especially if they're planning on drinking wine with dinner. Because the restaurant doesn't want to turn off customers who are happy with things as they are, he's playing with the idea of offering cocktails in two sizes.

So where does that leave the local cocktail lovers among us? Surfing the Internet, drooling over cocktail lists and wistfully waiting for that weekend trip to New York? Not anymore. Pittsburgh's cocktail culture has grown and improved along with its restaurants, and the popularity of many of Pittsburgh's best bars suggest there is lots of room for new business growth as well.

Maybe it's because Pittsburgh is a little old-fashioned, but classic cocktails have more of a presence here than ingredient-inspired drinks. This partiality also may be due to the positive influence of the Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails. The Pittsburgh group started in 2001 as a private club that combined feminism with a love of the historical cocktails drunk by inspiring women. As soon as the groups were discovered by bars and clubs, their consulting career began.

Now, club members commonly plan events for various organizations and venues around the city. Their reach is getting wider as well; LUPEC organizations have been started in other cities including New York, Denver, Philadelphia, Boston and Phoenix.

In recent years, the ladies are pleased to see that "cocktail lists seem to be getting shorter," a definite sign that bars are thinking more about their drinks, said Jennie "Black Monday" Benford, one of the Pittsburgh club's founding members.

Dish Osteria on the South Side has a fantastic by-the-book Sazerac, but now that summer's just around the corner, it's hard to resist the lure of the Pimm's Cup. This classic drink is as refreshing as it is lovely. Made from Pimm's No. 1 (a 50-proof liquor made from gin and a secret recipe of botanicals and citrus), it's topped off with ginger ale, lemon and orange, served in a tall glass and garnished with cucumber and mint ($7).

Palate Bistro in Downtown (to be reviewed April 17) has a lovely list written with the help of LUPEC member Jen "Whiskey Daisy" Gottschalk. It includes lots of classics such as the Negroni, the Sidecar and, my personal favorite, the French 75.

In the mood for something a little more modern? If you like the idea of drinking a seasonally inspired cocktail, head over to the bar at Eleven, Strip District, where bar manager Michael Mincin cites what's going on in the kitchen as the bar's biggest source of inspiration. Consequently, the pickled onions that garnish Eleven's Gibsons and the port-soaked cherries that adorn its Manhattans are house-made. Sink into one of those lovely armchairs and enjoy the top-notch service and lovely tavern menu along with your drink.

Mincin's current favorite drink is the Vespa -- Prosecco, Campari and blood orange juice served up ($10). The sweetness of the blood oranges tempers the bitterness of Campari, and Prosecco gives it just a touch of effervescence. Sadly, it won't stay on the list for long -- blood orange season is about to end. But something exciting is certain to replace it. Mincin nods to several current trends as well with drinks such as the Monongahela Mule, which features the popular flavor trio of ginger, cucumber and lime ($9). Try a similar version of this drink at Bar Nine, Dowtown. Its Ginger Mint is made with Grey Goose vodka, ginger beer, fresh ginger and a mint leaf.

Although restaurants certainly play an important role, more traditional bars are taking up the cocktail cause, too. LUPEC designed and debuted the current list at Kelly's Bar in East Liberty at a recent event celebrating the life of Isabella Blow, a British magazine editor and style icon. This fabulous list included such stunners as Silk Stockings, made with tequila, creme de cacao, grenadine, cream and cinnamon, served up, which proves that a drink can be sweet, balanced and complex all at the same time. The South Side is made with bourbon, lemon juice, sugar, mint and soda, a twist on the classic Southside, which is usually made with gin.

Kelly's drinks are smaller than you might be used to, but they're also less expensive ($6). Even better, stop by during Happy Hour on Monday for a $4 Mojito, and on Wednesday for a $4 Manhattan.

The Ladies of LUPEC were enthusiastic about The Firehouse Lounge as well. Since its opening in 2004, this Strip District lounge has become so popular that owner Spencer Warren has had to rethink some of his plans for the drink list. In order to satisfy crowds of customers who want their drinks made quickly, he's had to streamline and simplify his list.

But he's come up with a recent solution to satisfy his desire for "nice, small cocktails." He's adding a dessert bar downstairs where he'll feature classic cocktails with a twist, such as an Uglifruit Gin Fizz and a Blueberry Manhattan. He hopes the speakeasy-inspired atmosphere will encourage customers to appreciate more refined, higher quality drinks and is looking forward to the beginning of the farm season, when he'll feature special drinks made with fruit from the Saturday market in the lot next to his building, Farmers at the Firehouse.

The Slanted Door, 1-415-861-8032, www.slanteddoor.com; Cyrus, 1-707-433-3311, www.cyrusrestaurant.com; No. 9 Park, 1-617-742-9991, www.no9park.com; Milk and Honey, www.mlkhny.com; The Pegu Club, 1-212-473-7348, www.peguclub.com; The Doheny, it will contact you; French Laundry, 1-707-944-2380, www.frenchlaundry.com; Per Se, 1-212-823-9335, www.perseny.com; Charlie Trotter's, 1-773-248-6228, www.charlietrotters.com; L'Espalier, 1-617-262-3023, www.lespalier.com.

Morton's, 412-261-7141, www.mortons.com; Dish Osteria, 412-390-2012, www.dishosteria.com; Eleven, 412-201-5656, www.bigburrito.com/eleven; Bar Nine, 412-338-6463, www.nineonnine.com; Palate Bistro, 412-434-1422, www.palatebistro.com; Kelly's Bar, 412-363-6012; The Firehouse Lounge, 412-434-1230, www.firehouse-lounge.com.