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.