Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails

Drinks From the Past for the Future

Picon Punch

After three long months, I was finally able to make an authentic Picon Punch:

cocktail

  • 1.0 teaspoon real pomegranate grenadine
  • 2.5 ounces Amer Picon
  • Soda Water
  • 1.0 ounce brandy

Fill a collins glass with crushed ice. Add the real pomegranate grenadine and Amer Picon. Fill with soda water. Float brandy on top.

I had a lot of issues with this drink.

The first was getting Amer Picon. The French word “Amer” is similar to the Italian “Amaro” and it is used to describe a strong, herbal flavored liqueur. Amer Picon is supposed to have a stronger orange flavor than most Amaro, and while it is called for in a number of vintage cocktails, it is very hard to get “authentic” Amer Picon. Always hard to obtain in the States, The House of Picon radically changed the recipe in the 1970s, halving the proof, and thus modern Amer Picon can’t be used for that authentic experience.

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Honeymoon Cocktail

I was looking for some sort of drink for Valentine’s Day when I found the Honeymoon Cocktail:

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.

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Soyer au Champagne

While dairy is not an ingredient I associate with cocktails, there are a number of cocktails in the book that feature it, include the Soyer au Champagne:

cocktail

  • 2 dashes maraschino liqueur
  • 2 dashes pineapple juice
  • 2 dashes orange curaçao (or Grand Marnier)
  • 2 dashes brandy
  • champagne
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla ice cream

In a parfait glass, combine the maraschino liqueur, pineapple juice, orange curaçao and brandy. Fill with champagne. Add the vanilla ice cream on top. Serve with a spoon and a straw.

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