I almost wanted to call this drink “The Amazon” since I had to order most of the ingredients on-line.
- 1 ounce bourbon
- 1 ounce Calvados
- 1 ounce passion fruit juice or nectar
- 1 dash real pomegranate grenadine
- 1 dash orange flower water
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into a glass. Garnish with a carnation boutonnière
The author found this recipe in a book called the Café Royal Cocktail Book (1937). Times were different 70 years ago, and I hope that it is okay that I left off the boutonnière garnish.
Another thing they didn’t have back then was high fructose corn syrup. Vintage cocktails depend heavily on the ingredients used. For example, proper grenadine is made with pomegranate juice, but if you go to the store you are most likely to find the Rose’s brand:
Note that there there is no juice is that mess, so pour it down the drain. I ordered Stirrings authentic grenadine:
Much better, especially considering that grenadine is an ingredient in many of these drinks.
The passion fruit nectar and orange flower water I found on Amazon.
Calvados is an apple brandy, and I was pleasantly surprised that the local ABC store carried it. As for the bourbon I went with Angel’s Envy, which was introduced to me by my friends Nick and Nora.
You would think that with the brandy and the nectar that this drink would be sweet. It isn’t. If anything it reminded me of the flavor of honey, although Andrea thought it tasted like bubble gum. It wasn’t a bad drink nor was it overly good, although it got better the more I had of it. I’m not sure why, as the drink was shaken and thus thoroughly mixed.
Overall, it was not one of my favorites.
Rating: 3/5