Category Archives: Cocktails

…a man about town… a person who frequents the most fashionable Paris locales…and a delectable cocktail…The Boulevardier.

1 1/2 ounces bourbon (I used Maker's), 1 ounce Campari, 1 ounce sweet vermouth (I used Dolin). Stir, strain and garnish with a cherry

Another selection from the aforementioned Ted Haigh book – this one is spicy, sweet and herbaceous.  This drink was first listed in Harry’s 1927 bar guide, Barflies and Cocktails.  The Harry in question is Harry McElhone, who once was the face of the Plaza Hotel bar in New York, before opening his own joint, Harry’s New York Bar, in Paris.  He, like many other thirsty spirits of his time, decided to skip out of town when things dried up thanks to the Volstead Act. 

This was the drink of choice for Erskine Gwynne, writer, socialite and nephew of railroad tycoon, Alfred Vanderbilt.  Gwynne was an expat living in Paris who published a monthly magazine called The Paris Boulevardier.

You may recognize the formula of this cocktail – sub gin for the bourbon and you’ve got yourself a Negroni.  I must say that this beats any Negroni I’ve ever had.

At the turn of the 20th century Ada Coleman was the face of the Savoy in London.  This is her drink.

The Hanky Panky: 1 1/2 ounces gin (I used Seneca Drums), 1 1/2 ounces sweet vermouth (I used Dolin), 2 dashes Fernet Branca; stir, strain and garnish with orange peel.

The Savoy sounds like my kind of place – it was ahead of its time in many ways.  The hotel opened in 1889 and launched its American Bar in 1893.  Even back then, according to Ted Haigh, author of the old-time cocktail book I’ve mentioned earlier, you could use one of the speaking tubes in each room to “command everything from a cup of tea to a cocktail.”  And what good sense to have a female bartender in a time when the profession was dominated by males.  The hotel closed for a £100 million restoration in 2007 and is scheduled to reopen in 2010.

Ada created this drink for Sir Charles Hawtrey, a celebrated stage actor.  Haigh learned a few years ago on his visit to the bar that Hawtrey, upon sampling her concoction, exclaimed, “By Jove!  That is the real hanky-panky!”, giving the drink its name.  Oddly, the drink didn’t sell very well.  It may have had something to do with the fact that in prudish Victorian England the term hanky panky was used to describe black magic or a sleight of hand.

I can tell you that folks were missing out.  This cocktail is smokin’ good and could not be simpler.  The orange peel is key.  Give it a nice squeeze over the top of the glass before dropping it in and give a little toast to any hanky panky that might ensue.

I recently picked up Ted Haigh’s (Dr. Cocktail) book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails: From the Alamagoozlum to the Zombie 100 Rediscovered Recipes and the Stories Behind Them.  Get ready over the next few months as I highlight/re-create/possibly update some oldies-but-goodies.

Many of you may have sampled an Aviation – gin, lemon, maraschino liqueur.  The focus of this post, the Blue Moon, is similar, sub crème de violette for the maraschino liqueur.  Haigh didn’t include this cocktail in his first edition of this book because crème de violette was not available to the American public at that time.  Thanks, Haus Alpens!

2 ounces gin (I used Seneca Drums), 1/2 ounce creme de violette, 1/2 ounce lemon juice; shake and strain.

You can also use Crème Yvette, which is compounded from violet petals and other secret ingredients and named after an early 20th century French actress.  Iterations of this cocktail date back to 1917. 

At the outset, it’s light and floral, but it finishes with a bite.  Haigh suggests adding an egg white and a lemon twist.  I added 1/2 ounce ruby red grapefruit juice and 1/4 ounce simple syrup.  I hope someone names a liqueur after me someday.

I managed to lose my voice over the last few days.  My colleagues assumed I was too rowdy over New Year’s.  I should stop correcting them.

Like any good husband with a sick wife, Noah brought home a lemon, assuming I would make a hot toddy. 

I put water on to boil, sliced 4 pieces of lemon peel and stuck whole cloves in them, dubbing them "clove soldiers".

When the water was ready, I steeped the lemon peel, one cinnamon stick, the juice of one lemon and 3 teaspoons of honey (with the idea of making 2 drinks).

After a few minutes, I put 1 1/2 ounces of McKenzie Rye and 1/2 ounce of Maplejack in each mug and strained the spiced, lemon-honey water over the top.

There’s plenty of hot toddy recipes out there, with the booze ranging from brandy to scotch to Irish whisky, but all modesty aside, this one currently tops my list.

How can you resist "the finest orange bitters for man or beast"?

I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post that for take 2 of the Jalapeño Old Fashioned, I subbed Regan’s orange bitters. 

45% abv, these bitters were designed by cocktail guru Gary Regan and are produced through the Sazerac/Buffalo Trace company.  The bitter orange comes through first and leads to a spicy mid-palate (think cinnamon and clove).  These bitters are complex with a lingering, herbaceous finish.  It only takes a few drops to make your cocktails more exciting.  I love these in Manhattans.

You can purchase them through Amazon or the Buffalo Trace online gift shop.  If you’re in NYC, you can pick them up at Union Square Wines.  If you’re a last minute shopper like me, you can use them as an inexpensive, yet thoughtful stocking stuffer.

The Old Fashioned might have been the first drink to be called a cocktail.  I just purchased David Wondrich’s book Imbibe!…, so when it arrives I’ll fill you in.  People can be oddly particular about cocktails, especially when the cocktail in question dates back to the 1880s.  Most recipes look something like this:

*1 1/2 to 2 oz. whisky (some prefer bourbon or rye over scotch and in the Midwest, they dig it with brandy)
*1 sugar cube with enough water to dissolve it (you can skip this step with simple syrup)
*2-3 dashes of bitters (most call for Angostura)
*an old-fashioned glass (also known as a lowball or rocks glass; essentially a short tumbler – gazing into the future, I can picture myself sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch, demanding that someone fill up “grandma’s tumbler”)
*oranges, lemon twists and cherries are common garnishes and some modern recipes call for the drink to be topped off with club soda (why dilute it?)

For the procedure, dissolve the sugar (or add simple syrup) in an old-fashioned glass, add bitters, add ice, add whisky and garnish.

I was recently experimenting with a twist on this drink.  When I have people taste Glen Thunder, I often hear “cornbread”.  I happen to like jalapeños in my cornbread and that’s what got this whole thing rolling.  You see jalapeños in tequila drinks all the time – why not corn whiskey?  I mentioned the idea to Seider at the Summit Bar and he made me an Old Fashioned with McKenzie Rye and Glen Thunder, spiked with jalapeños.

I didn’t see exactly what he did, nor did I ask him proportions, but I attempted to recreate it a few days later.

In a pint glass, I muddled 2 slices of jalapeños in simple syrup, added ice, 3 dashes Angostura bitters, 1 oz. McKenzie Rye, 1 oz. Glen Thunder, dash of salt and I stirred it and strained it into a rocks glass.

I was happy with the result, though I was jealous of Seider’s perfectly square and gynormous ice cube.  I gave it another try, thinking a little citrus might be nice.

Same as above, with the addition of 1/4 oz. oj. Would be great to make this a completely clear drink. Nils? Dave?

Like any good woman who had a day off from work, I handed my man a martini the moment he walked through the door.  When I asked how it was, he responded, “boozy”. 

a chilly grapefruit vesper

There’s good reason for that – I had made him a Vesper.  I’ve mentioned this cocktail before in a post focused on Vermouth and Manhattans, but the inspiration this time was grapefruit bitters from Fee Brothers.   I purchased the bitters a few weeks ago and hadn’t had a chance to make anything with them yet.  I knew gin would be a good match and after that, I based it on what was in the house. 

Grapefruit Vesper
3 parts gin, 1 part vodka, 1/2 part Lillet, shaken over ice.  I chilled the martini glass and put 3 dashes of the bitters in and then strained my boozy mixture into the glass.