A Thirsty Spirit

Today I present another oldie-but-goodie from Ted Haigh’s book.  Though it’s called the Ford Cockail, it’s been around since 1895.

1 ounce Old Tom Gin (I used Hayman's), 1 ounce dry vermouth (I used Dolin), 3 dashes Benedictine, 3 dashes orange bitters (I used Regan's). Combine over ice and stir. Strain into cocktail glass and garnish with an orange twist.

It may have been named after Malcom Webster Ford, a famed athlete who in 1885 and 1886 was the winner at the National Championships of the long jump, 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash, otherwise known as a triple.  This feat was not accomplished again until Carl Lewis did it in 1983.  Maybe he was looking forward to consuming this delightfully simple tipple after the event.

The Statler Hotel at Cornell is going to support Finger Lakes Distilling and someone on their team recently inquired about a “Big Red Martini” featuring Vinter’s Wildberry vodka.

I began brainstorming “red” items: muddled berries (out of season), cranberry juice (boring), cinnamon schnapps (yes, Goldschlager is still in production) and then I remembered a drink I had made awhile back featuring gin and ruby red grapefruit juice, called the Ruby Blossom.

I shared my challenge with bartender Gene Jacobs and he quickly whipped up 2 cocktails.

Tuesday afternoon fun at the L'Ecole bar

In the foreground is the Ruby Blossom, all proportions the same, sub Wildberry for gin.  In the background is an as yet unnamed Wildberry special:

2 oz. Wildberry vodka
1 oz. Cointreau
2 oz. blood orange juice
splash simple syrup
splash fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients over ice and shake.  Strain into chilled up glass and garnish with an orange peel. 

Granted, neither of these drinks are red, but they taste good.  Big Red Blossom?  Maybe we’ll leave the naming up to the Statler.

…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.