A Thirsty Spirit

On Tuesday afternoons, I’ll often go down to the bar and mix cocktails with Gene.  Today, I taped him making a Barbara West cocktail. 

I realize now that I should have given more commentary as he’s making the drink.  It seemed very loud in the restaurant at the time, but I come through loud and clear.

We sourced the recipe from Ted Haigh’s book:

2 oz. gin (we used Seneca Drums)
1 oz. Sherry (we used Lustau Amontillado)
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 dash Angostura bitters

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

I can’t seem to find much on the etymology of this cocktail, though Ted notes you could order a “Creole with bitters” and end up with a Barbara West.  On the CocktailDB, I found a recipe for a Barbara East.

Gene’s comments at the end of the video about the drink being tart are because we had just finished making a Bebbo Cocktail before taping (more on this later).  An easy way to play around with this drink would be to change the Sherry.  Amotillado is dry and nutty and worked well, but I could see substituting an East India or an Oloroso style if you were looking for a touch more sweetness.

In preparation for Saturday’s Martini Bowl at Union Square Wines, I’ve been doing some experimenting.

Which garnish will come out on top - the peel of an orange, lime or lemon or something else all together?

Which vermouth will come out on top? Notice there's no Italian representation.

It’s odd that no one can agree on the origins of the most popular cocktail.  In his latest book, David Wondrich presents four different theories, ranging from The Jerry Thomas Theory (that Jerry, while working in San Francisco, made the drink for someone headed east to Martinez who had asked for something new), dubbed “exremely unlikely” to The Judge Martine Theory (that Judge Martine invented it at New York’s Manhattan Club), which he called “possible, but not proven”.

The style of the martini has changed over the years, becoming drier over time.  Pre-Prohibition recipes were usually equal parts gin and vermouth or a 2 parts gin to 1 part vermouth ratio.  Pre-World War II recipes often called for a 4 to 1 gin to vermouth ratio, while post-World War II ratios crept up to 15 to 1. 

My Grossman’s Guide to Wines, Beers, and Spirits says that the Martinez Cocktail is the earliest martini-esque recipe they could find.

1 dash bitters
2 dashes (1 tsp) maraschino liqueur
1 pony (1 oz.) Old Tom gin
1 wineglass (2 oz.) vermouth
2 small lumps of ice

Shake thoroughly and strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a quarter slice of lemon and if the guest prefers it sweet, add 2 dashes of gum syrup.

Is it better to shake or stir? Serve it up or on the rocks? Shaved ice while shaking?

You’ll have to stop by on Saturday to see what we decided to go with, but in the meantime, we can all agree on the beautiful relationship between gin and vermouth.

Blood and Sand was a silent film released in 1922, starring Rudolph Valentino, Lila Lee and Nita Naldi.  The hero is a matador and there’s a love triangle.  Olé! 

It was based on the 1909 Spanish novel Sangre y arena by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez.  Ibáñez shot a version himself in 1916 and others were made in 1941 and 1991.

Xena: The Warrior Princess’s new series “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” is not related. 

What I’m excited about is the cocktail that was inspired by the 1922 version. 

This is yet another goodie I found in my Ted Haigh book.  Coincidentally, I recieved sample bottles of the Finger Lakes Distilling cherry liqueur today.  For all of you bartenders out there using Cherry Heering, you gotta try this!

Scotch cocktails should be more popular.  Sure, everyone knows the Rusty Nail (Scotch, Drambuie) and the Rob Roy (a Manhattan using Scotch instead of rye or bourbon), but people assume if they’re not Scotch drinkers, they won’t like Scotch cocktails.

You could use this one to prove them wrong.

1 oz. Scotch (I used Dewar's), 1 oz. orange juice, 3/4 oz. cherry liqueur (I used Finger Lakes Distilling), 3/4 oz. sweet vermouth (I used Dolin). Combine all ingredients over ice, shake and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a cherry.

I poured it for two regulars sitting at the bar.  One commented, “it’s nice and tart”.  The other said, “I don’t usually drink cocktails, but I could drink this.  I’m picturing myself in a Hawaiian shirt, with no shoes on, sitting on the beach.”

My work here is done.