The successful search for another odd ingredient resulted in The Filmograph Cocktail:

  • 2.00 ounces brandy
  • 0.75 ounce lemon syrup (substitute fresh lemon juice unless you like to drink maple syrup out of the can.)
  • 0.50 ounce kola tonic

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

The odd ingredient here is the kola tonic, a staple of South African drinking. The resource guide in the book recommends Rose’s Kola Tonic, which is apparently very common in Canada. I didn’t think it would be that hard to get, since Rose’s Lime Juice is readily available even in my small town, but I was wrong.

When a Canadian friend of mine was heading home for a visit, I asked him to get me a bottle. He looked but couldn’t find it, but he promised to get it on the next trip. When that trip came and went without kola tonic, it dawned on my that we might have had a failure in communication.

It turns out that he was looking for Clayton’s Kola Tonic, which happens to be the first hit when you search for “kola tonic” on the web. This is a much rarer item, I assume, than Rose’s Kola Tonic, which is why he was having trouble finding it. It’s made in the West Indies and appears to be the original kola tonic.

Now my usual “booze mules” bring me stuff when they visit from Orlando, Florida, and there is a Clayton’s retailer there. They were able to score me some Clayton’s Kola Tonic and thus I was able to make this drink.

It’s good. The kola tonic is a little unusual as it is bright orange and has a spicy taste that is reminiscent of Tiki drinks. There are hints of the flavors of sodas like Coca-Cola, but it is much different. Andrea even liked this one. I did use some simple syrup along with fresh lemon juice to make the drink slightly sweeter.

Rating: 4/5

Notes: I used Martell Cognac for the brandy.

The Filmograph Cocktail