The Vesper

When Bond, James Bond, walks into a bar, he is known to order The Vesper:

• 3.0 ounces gin
• 1.0 ounce vodka
• 0.5 ounce Lillet Blanc

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker. Strain into a stemmed cocktail glass. Twist a large swathe of lemon peel over the surface of the drink and drop it in.

For a long time I did not like gin. But then there was the time I was at Vong’s in Chicago (sadly, now closed) with my friends Demetri and Cat. My usual go-to drink at that time was a highball of bourbon and ginger ale, but Vong’s didn’t have any ginger ale. The place was packed and Demetri ordered a martini with Bombay Sapphire gin, so rather than hold up the line I just decided to order the same to make it easy. I liked it so much I had two.

The Monkey Gland

No classic cocktail book (or blog) would be complete without The Monkey Gland:

• 1.5 ounces dry gin
• 1.5 ounces orange juice
• 1 teaspoon pomegranate grenadine
• 1 teaspoon absinthe or pastis

Shake vigorously in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a small cocktail glass.

It’s funny in that Dr. Cocktail basically devoted a single sentence to The Blinker but this cocktail rates pages of description. There is a good reason for it – the story behind the name of this drink is pretty unbelievable.

The Blinker

Continuing with my use of raspberry syrup, I present The Blinker:

• 2.0 ounces rye (Old Overholt specified by Dr. Cocktail)
• 1.0 ounce grapefruit juice
• 2 bar spoons (1 teaspoon) raspberry syrup

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

This is a very simple drink, and Dr. Cocktail only dedicates three sentences to it. The drink was first published in Patrick Gavin Duffy’s The Official Mixer’s Manual in 1934 and the name refers to a synonym for “blinders”, those little eye shade thingies which you might use to keep a horse focused on the road.

East India Cocktail

This one caught my eye because I was looking at the index and saw kind of a large area where I had not chosen a drink. The one in the middle of the empty section was the East India Cocktail:

• 3.0 ounces brandy
• 0.5 ounces raspberry syrup
• one dash Angostura bitters
• one teaspoon orange curaçao
• one teaspoon maraschino liqueur

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

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The Seelbach Cocktail

Champagne is tightly associated with New Year’s, and it also happens to be an ingredient in classic drinks such as the Seelbach Cocktail:

• 1.0 ounce bourbon (venerable Old Forester was specified)
• 0.5 ounce Cointreau
• 7 dashes Angostura bitters
• 7 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
• 5.0 ounces champagne

Pour the bourbon, Cointreau and bitters into a champagne flute and stir. Add the champagne. Stir again, and garnish with an orange twist.

This drink was named for the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky and was created in 1917. The recipe was lost during Prohibition but rediscovered in 1995, so I am certain this qualifies as vintage.

Satan’s Whiskers

Over the holiday I managed to get my hands on some authentic curaçao, so I decided to try Satan’s Whiskers:

• 0.5 ounce gin
• 0.5 ounce dry vermouth
• 0.5 ounce sweet vermouth
• 0.5 ounce orange juice
• 2 teaspoons orange curaçao
• 1 teaspoon orange bitters

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Back when I made the Park Avenue Cocktail I discovered that there is a difference between orange liqueurs such as curaçao, triple sec and Grand Marnier. Unfortunately, it is apparently impossible to get good curaçao in North Carolina due to its antiquated spirituous liquor laws. The brand Dr. Cocktail recommends, Gabriel Boudier, is even harder to find, as it isn’t available at either Binny’s or Total Wine, but Senior Curaçao (another of his choices) can be had, just not in North Carolina. It’s also cool to note that Senior Curaçao is made on the island of Curaçao, so let’s hope it is authentic.

Hanky Panky

I wanted to get back to exploring real vintage cocktails, so I made one from the beginning of the 20th century, the Hanky Panky:

• 1.5 ounces gin
• 1.5 ounces sweet vermouth
• 2 dashes Fernet Branca

Stir well with ice in a mixing glass. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist a small swathe of orange peel over the surface of the drink.

When this cocktail was named, “hanky panky” wasn’t yet a term for sexual mischief. Instead it referred to black magic. When you read the ingredients for this cocktail you might think “bah, it’s just a sweet martini” but, oh, it is so much more. The magic comes from how superb this drink is compared to its simplicity.