The French 75 Cocktail is a tribute to the 75mm artillery piece that the French and Americans fielded in World War I. Its story is a reminder that cocktails evolve; sometimes good things are lost, sometimes good things are gained. In the case of the French 75 cocktail, both things happened.
Continue reading “The French 75 Cocktail — Tom Collins in a Tuxedo”
I never paid much attention to Tiki drinks because of all the hokey trappings—you know: the faux South Seas ambience, the silly mugs, fake idols, umbrellas and overwrought garnishes, the ingredient lists as long as your arm… Continue reading “Making Zombie Punch”
Remember the Maine is built on the Manhattan model, with a delightful, surprising substitution for the bitters: absinthe and Cherry Heering.
Remember the Maine has been around since before Prohibition, and probably since before the 20th Century, Continue reading “Remember the Maine”
We have Gary Regan to thank for the modern Blackthorne Cocktail. The basic model of the drink has been around for something like a hundred years, Continue reading “The Blackthorne Cocktail”
The Atty Cocktail is a Martini with embellishments; if you get the proportions right, those embellishments are surprising, flavorful and entertaining.
Continue reading “A Martini with something in it — the astonishing Atty Cocktail”
The Sazerac has been one of my favorite cocktails for years, and its status as a “go-to” drink has become more entrenched as a wider selection of rye whiskies has come into my market, and especially as proper absinthe became available again.
But there is much more to the Sazerac than good whiskey and an absinthe wash. For starters, there’s cognac. And who knew that genever makes a great Sazerac? Continue reading “Why is there cognac in my Sazerac?”
The Sazerac is a love-it or hate-it kind of cocktail, with no middle ground. It’s a whiskey cocktail embellished with Peychaud’s bitters and an absinthe wash. If you’re put off by the anise and wormwood of absinthe, then the Sazarac will not be your cocktail; otherwise, keep reading—you owe yourself this New Orleans delight. Continue reading “Rye and Absinthe: The Sazarac Cocktail”
The Bombay Cocktail is an obscure bit of greatness from Harry Craddock’s 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. If anise or absinthe is part of your palate, if the Sazerac or the Corpse Reviver are on your regular list of suspects, then spend some time with the Bombay. Continue reading “Absinthe and Brandy—The Bombay Cocktail”
As I noted in my previous entry, my 1887 edition of Jerry Thomas’s Bartenders Guide lists the original “Whiskey Cocktail”—that’s the one we now think of as the “Old-Fashioned.” That same publication provides evidence that the hard-line definition of the “cocktail” was fraying at the edges. Continue reading “Building on the Old-Fashioned—The Improved Whiskey Cocktail”
