The Japalac Cocktail

Tarus Brandy/Vermouth/Wine, Rye, Stars - 4

Just because it looked pretty in the picture, I decided to make the Japalac Cocktail:

  • Juice of 1/4 orange
  • 0.75 ounce dry vermouth
  • 0.75 ounce rye whiskey
  • 1 teaspoon raspberry syrup

Combine in an iced cocktail shaker, and shake and strain into a small cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

I liked this drink. It is slightly sweet due to the syrup but it complements the rye well.

In the tradition of pre-Prohibition-style cocktails, it is small, but as it was getting ready to snow half a foot (unusual for North Carolina) I didn’t want a huge drink like the Vesper and so it was the perfect nightcap.

It is named after a tinted varnish produced by Glidden. It was first published in Albert Stevens Crockett’s Old Waldorf Bar Days in 1931.

Rating: 4/5

Notes: I used Templeton Rye and my go-to dry vermouth, Dolin Blanc. The syrup is the Smuckers one recommended by Dr. Cocktail.

Picon Punch

Tarus Brandy/Vermouth/Wine, Liqueurs, Stars - 2

After three long months, I was finally able to make an authentic Picon Punch:

  • 1.0 teaspoon real pomegranate grenadine
  • 2.5 ounces Amer Picon
  • Soda Water
  • 1.0 ounce brandy

Fill a collins glass with crushed ice. Add the real pomegranate grenadine and Amer Picon. Fill with soda water. Float brandy on top.

I had a lot of issues with this drink.

The first was getting Amer Picon. The French word “Amer” is similar to the Italian “Amaro” and it is used to describe a strong, herbal flavored liqueur. Amer Picon is supposed to have a stronger orange flavor than most Amaro, and while it is called for in a number of vintage cocktails, it is very hard to get “authentic” Amer Picon. Always hard to obtain in the States, The House of Picon radically changed the recipe in the 1970s, halving the proof, and thus modern Amer Picon can’t be used for that authentic experience.

Dr. Cocktail suggests using Torani Amer. Torani is probably best known for their coffee flavoring syrups, but their Amer is a different beast. Many say that it makes a good substitute for Amer Picon, but since I can’t get either I decided to make my own using a recipe created by Jamie Boudreau.

The problem is that I really didn’t care for the drink.

First, I don’t like bitter. I like sweet and I like sour but I’m not a fan of strong bitter flavors. I like what bitters can do to a drink, like the Campari in a Boulevardier, but since the main spirit in this drink is Amer Picon, it was too bitter for me (sort of like a Campari and soda, which I can’t stomach).

Second, I wasn’t sure how to drink it. I followed the directions and then tried to just sip it, but all I got was the brandy. I stirred it briefly, and that helped. It really brought out the orange in the Amer but then I was hit with a strong, bitter aftertaste. In the book Imbibe! I learned that a lot of classic cocktails that were served with ice were also served with a straw, and that might have made the experience more enjoyable since you would first get the taste of the Amer and the grenadine, but I didn’t have one handy so I didn’t try it.

The other thing I learned is that this drink is closely associated with the Basque people, who are originally from an area between France and Spain but also have a huge presence in Bakersfield, California. If I am ever there I’d like to try one of their Picon Punch cocktails, but at the moment I am not a fan.

Rating: 2/5

Notes: Not much to this drink. I used the Amer Picon that I made, and I used Martell brandy on top. I use Stirrings grenadine at the recommendation of the author.

Honeymoon Cocktail

Tarus Brandy/Vermouth/Wine, Liqueurs, Stars - 2

I was looking for some sort of drink for Valentine’s Day when I found the Honeymoon Cocktail:

  • 2.0 ounces Calvados
  • 0.5 ounce Bénédictine
  • 0.5 ounce orange curaçao
  • 0.5 ounce lemon juice

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed lemon twist.

The book states that this cocktail was made famous at the Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles.

I have a great memory of the Brown Derby. My friend Howard’s graduation party was held in a private room there. Being a country boy now in the big city, I was eager to try out all sorts of new things. I can remember ordering the escargot, and for my main course I had sweetbreads. The salad course was Caesar salad, which I had never had before.

You can’t imagine how posh this shindig was. We had our own bar (I was too young to imbibe legally), our own set of restrooms and our own wait staff.

One thing I had heard about Caesar salad was that it was usually served with anchovies. I didn’t see any, so I asked one of the waiters about it. Something similar to the following came out in a rush “Oh, I’m so sorry. They are in the dressing and usually served on top but the lady asked that they be omitted. I’m so sorry I’ll be right back with some” and I had to act fast to tell him it was okay before he was in the kitchen.

And amazing and unforgettable night.

Unlike this very forgettable drink. I’m not sure if we’re just overdosed on Calvados but the Honeymoon was just “meh”. I did have to read up on how to flame a lemon peel and I may not have done it well, but I don’t think any amount of lemon would have changed the drink much. I way prefer the Golden Dawn or even the Calvados Cocktail.

Rating: 2/5

Notes: I used the Christian Drouin Calvados and the Senior Curaçao. Bénédictine is always Bénédictine.

The Millionaire

Tarus Brandy/Vermouth/Wine, Liqueurs, Rum, Stars - 4

The one time this phrase may actually work, “Bartender, make me a Millionaire”:

  • 1.50 ounces Myers’s Original Dark Rum
  • 0.75 ounce sloe gin
  • 0.75 ounce apricot brandy
  • juice of one fresh lime (1 to 1.5 ounces)

Shake vigorously in an iced cocktail shaker. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Okay, so I stole that line from Dr. Cocktail, and while he ended his recipe with it, I decided to use it at the beginning, so they are as different as a Martini and a Gibson.

I just kind of stumbled upon this recipe by flipping to a random page, finding this cocktail and going “Hey, don’t I have some sloe gin?”

When my friend Ben’s house was being built, he brought some bottles of booze into the office as they didn’t have a place for them in their temporary apartment. I took some of them home, and one of those was a bottle of sloe gin. According to Wikipedia, “Sloe gin is a red liqueur made with gin and sloe (blackthorn) drupes, which are a small fruit relative of the plum.”

It is bright red and sweet.

In the book, Dr. Cocktail references this recipe as “The Millionaire #4” from a book published in 1937. This, however, is his take on it and not an exact replica of the original. He made it less sweet and improved the presence of the lime.

I liked this drink a lot, and I knew immediately that Andrea would as well. You can definitely taste the lime, and I thought she might not like the extra tartness, so I backed of just a bit on the juice for hers. Turns out that was a mistake, as she ended up squeezing the lime garnish into the drink and then proclaiming it better.

Rating: 4/5

Notes: The recipe specifies Myers’s Original Dark Rum, which I used, as well as Maria Brizard’s Apry for the apricot brandy. The sloe gin was by Arrow, a discount brand that is the only sloe gin we can get in North Carolina.

Golden Dawn

Tarus Gin, Liqueurs, Stars - 4

After the Calvados Cocktail it seemed logical to explore the cocktail it was compared to, the Golden Dawn:

  • 0.75 ounce (or 1.0 ounces) Calvados
  • 0.75 ounce (or 1.0 ounces) dry gin
  • 0.75 ounce (or 0.5 ounce) apricot brandy (Marie Brizard Apry)
  • 0.75 ounce (or 0.5 ounce) orange juice
  • Pomegranate grenadine

Combine all ingredients except the pomegranate grenadine and shake like crazy in an iced cocktail shaker; strain into a cocktail glass. Drop a stemless cherry with no pick into the drink as a garnish. Dribble a little real pomegranate grenadine through the drink. Do not stir.

Dr. Cocktail tells us that this drink was named for the 1927 Rogers and Hammerstein operetta, but my first thought was that it was the signature drink of the magical order. In any case there is some disagreement as to the proper proportions. In the interest of science, I made it both ways (how I suffer for this blog).

The United Kingdom Bartenders’ Guild (UKBG) judged it “The World’s Final Cocktail” in 1930, and their preferred recipe is equal parts of the four main ingredients. The second recipe brings out the flavor of the gin a little more, and while I liked both I had a preference for the UKBG version.

This is also the first recipe I’ve made featuring the Apry apricot brandy. A lot of classic cocktails call for apricot brandy and almost all current cocktail chefs agree the only option is Marie Brizard. Of course, you can’t get it in NC, but thanks to the kindness of friends I was able to obtain a bottle.

I liked this cocktail a lot, even more than the Calvados Cocktail. I think it is a little more balanced and tastes more like a cocktail to me. Andrea disagreed, and asked me to make her another Calvados. The gin balances the inherent sweetness of the rest of the ingredients without adding the extra bitterness of the bitters in the other drink.

Rating: 4/5

Notes: most vintage cocktails used Holland (sometimes called Old Tom) or a sweet gin. This specifically called for a dry gin so I went with Brokers. I used the Christian Drouin Calvados and the aforementioned Marie Brizard Apry. I use Stirrings Pomegranate Grenadine whenever grenadine is used as an ingredient.

The Calvados Cocktail

Tarus Liqueurs, Stars - 4

Usually cocktails call for a dash or two of bitters, and not the large amount as in the Calvados Cocktail:

  • 1.50 ounces Calvados
  • 1.50 ounce orange juice
  • 0.75 ounce Cointreau
  • 0.75 ounce orange bitters

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Add an orange wheel to garnish.

I was introduced to Calvados through this book, as I had never heard of it before. It’s a “revered apple brandy from France” and a number of vintage cocktails call for it. Dr. Cocktail states that this cocktail was forgotten was due to the disappearance of orange bitters, but now that they have been rediscovered I have a couple of types in my collection. I bought a bottle of Stirrings Blood Orange Bitters to make Amer Picon and so I had plenty on hand for the 3/4 of a ounce this drink requires.

This is a fruity drink with all of the apple and orange flavors. It’s sweet but not too sweet, and Andrea enjoyed it. My usual routine for doing these posts is to obtain ingredients, make the drink per the book’s recipe, photograph and then taste. If Andrea is around, she gets the next taste and if she likes it I make another for myself.

I made two of these.

Rating: 4/5

Notes: As I live in North Carolina, I am limited as to what spirits are available to me, but our local ABC store carries Christian Drouin Calvados from Normandy, which is quite nice. I used the called-for Cointreau and the aforementioned Stirrings bitters as well.

The Vesper

Tarus Gin, Liqueurs, Stars - 4, Vodka

When Bond, James Bond, walks into a bar, he is known to order The Vesper:

  • 3.0 ounces gin
  • 1.0 ounce vodka
  • 0.5 ounce Lillet Blanc

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker. Strain into a stemmed cocktail glass. Twist a large swathe of lemon peel over the surface of the drink and drop it in.

For a long time I did not like gin. But then there was the time I was at Vong’s in Chicago (sadly, now closed) with my friends Demetri and Cat. My usual go-to drink at that time was a highball of bourbon and ginger ale, but Vong’s didn’t have any ginger ale. The place was packed and Demetri ordered a martini with Bombay Sapphire gin, so rather than hold up the line I just decided to order the same to make it easy. I liked it so much I had two.

Although Bombay Sapphire is hardly vintage (it was first made in 1987), I really like the flavor the extra botanicals add. I think they can detract a bit when mixed in other classic cocktails, however, so I tend to choose another gin for them, but since this is basically a vodka martini I figured that Sapphire would work well.

It did.

This cocktail is odd for a number of reasons, but it is an oddness that results in genius. Most martinis are tempered with dry vermouth. The Vesper uses Lillet Blanc, a aromatic aperitif wine that really complements the vodka and the gin. The bit of oil from the lemon peel adds an extra depth to the drink, much like the orange peel in the Hanky Panky.

The other oddness is that built drinks like this one tend to be stirred and not shaken. You want to shake cocktails that contain fruit juice or eggs, but you tend to stir drinks that just contain spirits since shaking them adds a lot of air bubbles. You can see in the picture that I didn’t really want to wait for the bubbles to settle out so I took the picture soon after it was poured.

I used Lillet Blanc (I had it out to make Andrea a Corpse Reviver) although the original recipe called for Kina Lillet. It isn’t made anymore and Lillet Blanc is the best substitute.

This drink was made popular via the first James Bond book, Casino Royale, in which Bond’s love interest is named Vesper Lynd. Bond claims the drink is his own invention, but it was probably made before the novel was published, although Dr. Cocktail states there is some dispute as to who actually invented it. I did like the line from the 2006 remake starring Daniel Craig:

James Bond: [after Bond has just lost his 10 million in the game, to the bartender] Vodka Martini.

Bartender: Shaken or stirred?

James Bond: Do I look like I give a damn?

Rating: 4/5

Notes: I used Bombay Sapphire for the gin, although Bond called for Gordon’s. According to Dr. Cocktail the Gordon’s sold in the US is not the same as that in Britain. I just happen to like Bombay Sapphire so I used it. For the vodka I used regular Stolichnaya because I happen to have a large bottle of it for some reason.

Before you wonder why I can’t remember where a lot of my spirits come from, it isn’t due to memory loss from too much drinking but instead from the fact that people know I have a bar in my living room so they give me bottles as gifts. Sometimes it is hard to keep track.

The Delicious Sour

Tarus Liqueurs, Stars - 3

I had heard that a lot of old cocktail recipes included eggs, and this is the first I’ve ever made, The Delicious Sour:

  • 2.0 ounces applejack
  • 2.0 ounces peach flavored brandy
  • juice of one fresh lime (1 to 1.5 ounces)
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • soda water

Shake all but the soda in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a goblet or large cocktail glass. Add a splash of soda water.

I really expected to dislike this drink. The only other cocktail I’ve made with applejack, the Jack Rose, was horrible. Also, this drink almost didn’t happen. My bar has gotten so full and dispersed since I started this experiment that I couldn’t find the brandy. I knew I had some, but the picture in the book shows De Kuyper brandy and for some reason I thought I had the same. De Kuyper spirits come in a bottle with a particular shape, and it took me awhile to find the Jacquin’s Peach Brandy that I did have on hand. I had prepared everything but the spirits and was a bit frustrated but I’m glad I was able to bring it all together.

When the Jack Rose was such a failure I thought it might have been my choice of applejack, but Dr. Cocktail suggests it several times in the book so my conclusion is that isn’t the case.

And this drink has redeemed it somewhat. I liked it, although I went from liking it, to “meh” and back to liking it during the process of drinking it. The egg white makes it real creamy, and I liked that aspect of it. It is slightly sour but not overpowering, and the fruitiness of the peach and apple flavors work well.

The Delicious Sour was invented by William “The Only William” Schmidt and published in his 1892 book The Flowing Bowl (click on the link to see some Google magic). Dr. Cocktail doesn’t seem to be a huge fan of Schmidt but he does like this drink.

Rating: 3/5

Notes: As mentioned, I used Jacquin’s Peach Brandy and Captain AppleJack.

Knickerbocker á la Monsieur

Tarus Liqueurs, Rum, Stars - 3

While the majority of cocktails I’ve made so far are based on rye or gin, in the early “archaic” age of cocktails the default spirit was rum, as in the Knickerbocker á la Monsieur:

  • 2.0 ounces Virgin Islands rum
  • 0.5 ounces orange curaçao
  • 0.5 ounce raspberry syrup
  • 1.0 ounce lemon juice
  • 1 slice orange
  • 1 slice pineapple

Add all to crushed ice in a goblet, collins glass or tumbler, stir and serve. Garnish with more fruits in season.

In the book Imbibe! the author describes three “ages” of cocktails: the Archaic, the Baroque and the Classic. This drink was introduced in 1862 by the famous bartender Jerry Thomas (the focus of much of that book) which places it in the Baroque age, but it does feature rum which was a staple in the early days of cocktails.

I was surprised (and my wallet lightened) by the fact that many vintage cocktails call for rum from a specific place: Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cuba and the Virgin Islands. I haven’t had the time to have a rum tasting to compare the differences, but in my research most of the Virgin Islands rum originates in St. Croix, and the best known brand is Cruzan.

One might think with all of the fruit that this cocktail would be overly sweet, but it isn’t. Andrea tends to like sweet drinks and she thought this one was just “okay” since you can definitely taste the alcohol. I thought it was good but not spectacular. It is fruity if not sweet, and I liked the taste of the rum, but it isn’t a drink I would seek out.

Rating: 3/5

Notes: For some reason I had it in my head that this drink called for light rum, so I used the lighter of the two bottles of Cruzan that I had (both are aged). This drink might squeak out a 4 if I used a rum with a deeper body. For the curaçao I went with Senior Curaçao as usual, but some recipes I found on-line use Cointreau.

Amer Picon

Tarus Ingredients

Several of the recipes in the book require a spirit called Amer Picon. They don’t make it anymore so I had to locate a recipe online:

  • 3.00 bottles Amaro Ramazzotti
  • 7.50 cups orange tincture
  • 0.75 bottle Stirrings Blood Orange bitters
  • 0.75 liter Evian

    • Place all ingredients into a container and stir. Allow ingredients to get to know each other for at least one week. Keep excess refrigerated.

I cut this recipe drastically. My first attempt at making orange tincture only resulted in a cup, but this should make more than enough Amer Picon for me to use in these recipes. If I like it I’ll make more.