The Blackthorn Cocktail

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.

Blue Paradise

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.

Arnaud’s Special Cocktail

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.

Diki-Diki Cocktail

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.

The Secret Cocktail

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.)

The Filmograph Cocktail

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.

The Ford Cocktail

Famous before Henry was, here is The Ford Cocktail:

• 1 ounce Old Tom Gin (Hayman’s Old Tom Gin recommended)
• 1 ounce dry vermouth
• 3 dashes Bénédictine
• 3 dashes orange bitters

Stir well with finely cracked ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Okay, to be honest, I wasn’t in the mood for a gin drink when I made this, but I have a small amount of OCD and I wanted to remove the last place in the index where I had three untried recipes in a row.