In ancient beliefs, the best place to end up is the Seventh Heaven:
- 1.75 ounces gin
- 0.50 ounce maraschino liqueur
- 0.25 ounce grapefruit juice
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
Short and sweet, this is a nice little cocktail. It is similar to several others, such as the La Floridita Daiquiri (switch the gin for rum) and the Aviation (switch the grapefruit for lemon).
Continue readingNamed after a train, it’s the Twentieth Century Cocktail:
- 1.50 ounces gin
- 0.75 ounce Lillet Blanc
- 0.50 ounce light créme de cacao (or a scant splash, to taste)
- 0.75 ounce fresh lemon juice
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
This cocktail appeared in the 1930s, so it is post-Prohibition, and the train it was named after has been called the Most Famous Train in the World.
Continue readingGot some high proof gin? Make the Three to One Cocktail:
- 1.50 ounces 100-proof gin
- 0.75 ounce Marie Brizard Apry
- Juice of 1/2 lime
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge
I’m a firm believer in the concept of karma and of serendipity. So when my friends gave me spirits as birthday presents, I have not been surprised to see how easily they fit into my cocktail menu.
Continue readingNamed funny and made with honey, it’s The Bebbo Cocktail:
- 1.5 ounces gin
- 1.0 ounce fresh lemon juice
- 0.5 ounce honey
- 2.0 teaspoons orange juice
Stir all the ingredients (except ice) together in a cocktail shaker until the honey dissolves. Add ice, shake, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.
This drink is supposedly similar to the Bee’s Knees cocktail, but instead of the Bebbo they should have called it the Cat’s Pajamas – it’s that good.
Continue readingHaving scored some real Creme de Violette, I made The Blue Moon:
- 2.0 ounces gin
- 0.5 ounce Crème Yvette or crème de violette
- 0.5 ounce lemon juice
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
I managed to find some Crème Yvette earlier in this experiment, and I used it in the Aviation. While the taste was fine, I didn’t care for the color. It’s “purple” as in “has a lot of red in it”, versus violet. So when my friend Justin managed to find a source for crème de violette, I was in.
Continue readingWant a sherry-based martini? Try the Barbara West Cocktail:
- 2.0 ounces gin
- 1.0 ounce sherry
- 0.5 ounce lemon juice
- 1 small dash Angostura bitters
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass.
I have no idea why this drink is named what it is. There was a famous Titanic survivor named Barbara West as well as a TV news anchor, but I think the latter Babs would be too young to have inspired a vintage cocktail.
Continue readingThe first cocktail recipe in the book is the Alamagoozlum Cocktail:
- 0.5 egg white
- 2.0 ounces genever gin
- 2.0 ounces water
- 1.5 ounces Jamaican rum
- 1.5 ounces yellow or green Chartreuse
- 1.5 ounces gomme syrup
- 0.5 ounce orange curaçao
- 0.5 ounce Angostura bitters
Shake very, very hard and long in a large iced cocktail shaker and serve tremulously into several previously chilled cocktail glasses.
This is an odd one, and I find it ironic that this cocktail managed to come first in the book, as it perfectly illustrates what a vintage and forgotten cocktail should be. It contains a number of obscure ingredients, which took me some time to assemble. Then I had to wait until I had two other friends around who wanted to try it, ’cause the recipe makes enough for three glasses.
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