Drinks From the Past for the Future
This syrup is a brown color instead of the usual clear you get with standard white sugar.
- 2 parts organic cane sugar
- 1 part water
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and without bringing to a boil, until the sugar is dissolved.
I kept expecting this to clear as a usual simple syrup will do, but it didn’t. Once I couldn’t see any granules of sugar I figured it was done.
Note that organic cane sugar is sometimes called “evaporated cane juice”.
Named after a private club in Kentucky, here is the Pendennis Cocktail:
- 2 ounces gin
- 1 ounce apricot (some say peach) brandy
- 2-3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
- 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass.
This drink caught my eye because I recent received a postcard from my friend Jonathan in England:
The word “Pendennis” seems slightly naughty to me, but in addition to the castle, it is also the title of a 19th century novel from which the club got its name. Dr. Cocktail states that the club is often erroneously credited with creating the Old Fashioned and while I trust his judgment on these things I am not sure who did actually call it the “Old Fashioned” first. I think it was just that it was one of the first whiskey cocktails so as time when on people just referred to it as an “old-fashioned whiskey cocktail” and then shortened it.
This drink, however, definitely has its provenance at the Pendennis Club and it is very, very tasty. I was surprised at how nice this drink was, since you wouldn’t expect it from just the ingredients. I am eager to try the Death & Co. version which is much more elaborate. It uses the “Pendennis Mix” instead of straight apricot brandy, which adds in both simple syrup and peach brandy. I didn’t have any peach brandy at the time so I didn’t try it. I found the drink sweet enough without added sugar.
Rating: 5/5. This is a 5 by the slimmest of margins but, yes, I could easily have had two.
Notes: My go-to apricot brandy is Marie Brizard Apry and I used Plymouth Gin ’cause that is what Death and Co. recommends.
Record high temperatures in December call for the Mamie Taylor:
- 2 ounces Scotch
- 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
- Spicy ginger ale or ginger beer (Blenheim’s #3 ginger ale recommended)
Pour the Scotch and lime juice into an ice-filled 8-ounce highball glass and fill with ginger ale. Stir and garnish with a lime wedge.
Ginger ale, lime and a spirit is known by many names. If you use vodka, it’s a Moscow Mule. With rum it’s a Dark and Stormy. Use tequila and it’s a Mexican Mule.
But the Mamie Taylor was first, named after a Broadway singer. Using Scotch as the spirit and invented circa 1899, it became insanely popular for a couple of years before passing from memory around 1902. Thirty or so years later we get the Moscow Mule which remains popular to this day, but few remember this drink.
It’s was okay. I didn’t care that much for the Moscow Mule and replacing the flavorless vodka with Scotch improves it a bit, but it wasn’t a favorite. Still, on a hot enough day I think it would hit the spot.
Rating: 3/5.
Notes: I used some White Horse Scotch I had sitting around, and the same for the Q Ginger Ale (I got it as a set with some Q Tonic). Any spicy ginger ale should work – just avoid the milder stuff like Schweppes or Canada Dry.
Shaken, not stirred, it’s the Vieux Carré Cocktail:
- 1.00 ounce rye whiskey
- 1.00 ounce cognac
- 1.00 ounce sweet vermouth
- 1/2 teaspoon Benedictine
- 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
- 2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain onto fresh ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Normally, drinks that just contain spirits are stirred, drink that contain fruit juice are shaken, and drinks that contain egg are ♬ shaken like you just don’t care ♬.
Thus one would think that the Vieux Carré would be stirred, and in fact many recipes say to do that, so I went directly to the source:
I should note another notable exception is the Vesper, home of the original “shaken, not stirred”.
The Vieux Carré is a cocktail you may actually find at a bar, and it was one I was exposed to before I started reading this book. A drink that’s associated with New Orleans, I thought it was cool that as I was making this an ad on the television in the next room used Patti LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade” as its music.
I first saw it on the blog of David Lebovitz as an example of a cocktail that would work aged in a barrel. I decided to try it, since Chad Lobner, one of the people responsible for my interest in classic cocktails, is known for his barrel aged Manhattans.
I bought a barrel from Thousand Oaks Barrel Company and proceeded to make David’s recipe. I wasn’t too impressed with the quality of the barrel and it only lasted the one time (even though I kept it full of water and put in those little pills they give you, it developed a leak), but it did lend an interesting vanilla flavor to the drink. Still, it wasn’t may favorite so I still have some of it around.
This recipe, on the other hand, is wonderful. I’m not always in the mood for a Vieux Carré but when I am, little else will do. I have found during this experiment that I lean toward drinks along the lines of the Brooklyn, such as Life is Beautiful, and this is in that class.
One problem I have with Dr. Cocktail’s book is that he rarely recommends a particular brand of spirit. Contrast that to Death & Co., who are very specific about brands and often use hard to find varieties (Lemonhart 151 anybody?) Here is their Vieux Carré:
- 1.00 ounce Rittenhouse 100 Rye
- 1.00 ounce Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac
- 1.00 ounce Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth
- 1 teaspoon Benedictine
- 1 dash Angostura Bitters
- 1 dash Peychaud’s Bitters
Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain onto a double rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
They up the Benedictine and drop the bitters. I made it the first way, except I like mine neat so I just strained it into the glass. I also wiped the lemon peel around the rim of the glass to express a little of the oils. I sawer that on the Internets somewhere.
Rating: 5/5, 3/5 for the barrel-aged version, although it might work better with different brands of spirits.
Notes: It looks like Rittenhouse 100 Rye is a go-to rye for classic cocktails, so that is what I used here. I didn’t have any Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac but I did have the 1840, so that it what I used. My go-to sweet vermouth is always Carpano Antica.
Another Dubonnet drink, the Blackthorn Cocktail:
- 2.00 ounces gin
- 0.75 ounce Dubonnet Rouge
- 0.75 ounce kirschwasser
Stir in a mixing glass with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cocktail cherry and a lemon twist.
This is the third and last cocktail in the book to use Dubonnet Rouge, the first being Arnaud’s Special Cocktail and the second being the Blue Paradise.
This is probably my favorite of the three, but then again how can you go wrong when gin and Dubonnet seems to be a favorite of the Queen. It’s refreshing and not very sweet. The author notes that it is very similar to the Amarosa Cocktail with Dubonnet instead of amaro.
The name comes from a shrub called a “blackthorn” which produces plum-like fruit called “sloes” – most notably used to make “sloe gin”. Although there is no sloe gin in this drink and I don’t think it tastes like plum, it does have a reddish tint to the drink that could be reminiscent of sloe gin.
Rating: 4/5
Notes: I used my old standby Broker’s gin and my artisanal Clear Creek kirschwasser.
Featuring two obscure ingredients, here is the Blue Paradise:
- 2 ounces cognac
- 1 ounce Dubonnet Rouge
- 4 dashes Parfait Amour
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
This cocktail features both Dubonnet Rouge, which I was introduced to in Arnaud’s Special Cocktail and Parfait Amour, which was used in the Jupiter Cocktail. While this drink was invented in the late 1940s in Brussels, which is kind of modern, the use of these ingredients qualifies it as a vintage cocktail, and it is definitely forgotten.
I liked this drink, although I didn’t really love it. It’s a strong 3 or a weak 4, and since I don’t give half marks it gets a 4. You can see where Dubonnet Rouge could replace sweet vermouth, and I might try it in some of my favorite drinks that call for it. The Parfait Amour adds a nice floral note to the whole thing. Note that there is nothing blue about it, so not sure why it’s named Blue Paradise.
Rating: 4/5
Notes: I went with Martell cognac and Marie Brizard Parfait Amour.
From Arnaud’s Restaurant in New Orleans comes Arnaud’s Special Cocktail:
- 2 ounces Scotch
- 1 ounce Dubonnet Rouge
- 3 dashes oranges bitters
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
This cocktail features an obscure apéritif called Dubonnet Rouge. I’ve been waiting to make cocktails with it since I’ve been running low on room in the refrigerator, and like vermouth I assume it should be kept chilled.
I found the history of Dubonnet to be fascinating. For a long time the only way to combat malaria was with quinine. Since quinine is very bitter, people went to lengths to find some way to make drinking it better. The British went with gin and tonic that contained quinine, and as might be expected, the French went with a wine based solution. Dubonnet was created in 1848 in response to a competition sponsored by the French government.
There are two varieties: Rouge and Blanc. I’ve been told to avoid the Blanc at all costs (the kindest thing I’ve read about it is that is it reminiscent of cat urine) but that the Rouge was considerably better. With that introduction I was pretty hesitant to try it, but I found that it has a pleasant taste, similar to a sweet dessert wine.
Speaking of the overly saccharine, check out this over the top Dubonnet ad from the 1980s featuring Pia Zadora:
Getting back to this drink, I found it to be just okay. I used my go-to mixing Scotch Famous Grouse and I really should have turned the page and seen that a stronger, peatier Scotch was recommended. Still, I enjoyed the Dubonnet and look forward to the other drinks that use it.
Rating: 3/5
Notes: As mentioned above, I used Famous Grouse for the Scotch. I took the opportunity to use my newly acquired Fee Brothers barrel aged orange bitters as they are most excellent. I acquired them from their shop in Rochester, NY, when I was there recently.
Not to be confused with the author, here is the Doctor Cocktail:
- 2 ounces Jamaican rum
- 1 ounce Swedish Punsch
- 1 ounce fresh lime juice
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime twist.
Salt and pepper, peanut butter and jelly, rum and lime – some things just go together. Such is the case with the Doctor Cocktail.
This is a tribute to rum and lime. The drink has only three ingredients – those two with the addition of the rum-like Swedish Punsch.
I used fresh lime juice and I found the drink to be too sour. Then I remembered I had made up some simple syrup, so I added just a small amount (about 1/4 ounce) and that made all the difference. It offset the lime and resulted in a nice drink that kind of reminded me of a margarita.
Rating: 4/5, with the simple syrup added.
Notes: I used Appleton rum, a distillery closely associated with Jamaica, and Kronan Swedish Punsch.
A drink with a Tiki name, the Diki-Diki Cocktail:
- 1.50 ounces Calvados
- 0.50 ounce Swedish Punsch
- 0.75 ounce grapefruit juice
Shake well with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.
While this drink sounds like it would be part of the Tiki tradition, it isn’t. Those drinks tend to be sweet and rather strong, while this is a nice, simple cocktail.
The main spirit, Calvados, is an apple brandy which is offset by the spicy rum-like flavor of the Swedish Punsch. I used fresh grapefruit juice which lessens the sweetness of the Calvados just a bit.
This was a good cocktail but not one I’d seek out.
Rating: 3/5
The Secret Cocktail, also known at The Pink Lady:
- 1.5 ounces dry gin
- 0.5 ounce applejack
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 egg white
- 2 dashes real pomegranate grenadine
Shake it up with all due vigor in an iced cocktail shaker, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve with a cherry
Okay, so as I get close to the end of this experiement – my plan to make every recipe in Ted Haigh’s classic Vintage Spirit’s and Forgotten Cocktails book – I’ve been thinking about the next challenge. I do plan to make the drinks in the “Extra Credit” section, but as I’ve learned more about cocktails in the last year or so I’ve also branched out. I’ve read Wondrich’s Imbibe!, Wilson’s Boozehound, and the amazing Death & Co. recipe book. (Just for completeness, I do own a copy of Liquid Intelligence and I have The Dead Rabbit on my wish list.)
So now I find myself cross referencing the recipe’s in Dr. Cocktail’s book with those in Death & Co.. I’ve learned a few things, namely that Haigh doesn’t care for overly sweet (or as some would say, sweet) drinks. And when he says “dash” he means a goodly dash – a haul back and fling with all one’s might kind of dash. Finally, he rarely specifies a particular brand of spirit. This can be difficult for a novice like myself to know what to use for a particular cocktail. For example, I probably have over ten different gins in my collection at the moment, from some so “juniper forward” that you feel like you are drinking pure pine rosin to one that a friend of mine described as “tastes like bacon”. So which one should I use?
Death & Co., on the other hand, is very specific, often calling for obscure ingredients and brands that I can’t even find on Google. Since I decided to tackle their corpus of 500+ recipes as my next project, I thought I’d see what they had to say about the Pink Lady.
- 1.50 ounces Plymouth gin
- 0.50 ounce Laird’s Bonded Apple Brandy
- 0.75 ounce lemon juice
- 0.75 ounce simple syrup
- 1 egg white
- 0.25 ounce grenadine
Dry shake all the ingredients, then shake again with ice. Double strain into a rocks glass over 1 large ice cube. Garnish with three brandied cherries on a cocktail pick.
I decided to make it both ways, and both drinks were really nice. Andrea preferred the Death & Co. because it was sweeter, and I have to admit I liked better as well. I stole the garnish from the Death & Co. recipe since I make my own brandied cherries, but I think a drink this pretty deserves a coupe versus a rocks glass.
It’s hard to describe the taste of the drink. You get the gin, of course, and the egg white makes everything really smooth and creamy. The applejack adds a nice depth to it, and the drink is stronger than the name would suggest.
Rating: 5/5 for the Death & Co. version with the syrup, 4/5 for the original.
Notes: I used the Death & Co. recommended Plymouth gin, and the amazing local (to me) Fairgame Apple Brandy (and I have been begging them to make a true, aged peach brandy). I bought a bunch of Stirrings Authentic Grenadine before I learned I should make my own, so I’m trying to use it up (and it is quite good for bottled).