Savoy Hotel Cocktail
1/3 Crème de Cacao. (1/2 oz Mozart Black Chocolate Liqueur)
1/3 Benedictine. (1/2 oz Benedictine)
1/3 Brandy. (1/2 oz Chateau Pellehaut Reserve Armagnac)
Use liqueur glass and pour ingredients carefully so that they do not mix.
My goodness, it has been a while since I have had to make a layered cocktail!
This one was a symphony in brown and not all that unpleasant, as these sorts of things go.
In fact, I could see it complementing a cup of coffee quite nicely.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
Rolls Royce Cocktail.
1 Dash Benedictine.
1/4 French Vermouth. (1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth)
1/4 Italian Vermouth. (1/2 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth)
1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz Beefeater Gin)
Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass. (Orange Peel.)
Oh sweet, delicious Carpano, how happy I am to have you back! Ahem.
Another “perfect” Martini variation, and another delicious cocktail. An Orange Peel just seemed like an interesting idea, as a counterpoint to the herbal richness of the Benedictine.
Certainly a cocktail worth playing around with. Might even be good with Genever.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
Rainbow Cocktail.
1/7 Crème de Cacao. (1/4 oz Mozart Black Chocolate Liqueur)
1/7 Crème de Violette. (1/4 oz Rothman & Winter Violette)
1/7 Yellow Chartreuse. (1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse)
1/7 Maraschino. (1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino)
1/7 Benedictine. (1/4 oz Benedictine)
1/7 Green Chartreuse. (1/4 oz Green Chartreuse)
1/7 Brandy. (1/4 oz Chateau de Pellehaut Reserve Armagnac)
Use liqueur glass and pour ingredients carefully so that they do not mix.
For those of you keeping track, the ingredients arranged themselves in the following order, bottom to top: Mozart Black, Luxardo Maraschino, Benedictine/YellowChartreuse, R&W Violette, Green Chartreuse, Brandy.
Every once in a while someone orders this during Savoy Cocktail Nights at Alembic Bar and we all groan. Why, oh why?
It’s true these are all perfectly palatable liqueurs, but this is just such a pain in the ass to concoct. And the whole thing together, while not entirely unpleasant, is a bit of a shock to the system, if you are sensitive to sugar.
I finished it, it is true, more out of curiosity than anything else.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
Oh Henry! Cocktail
1/3 Benedictine. (1 oz Benedictine)
1/3 Whisky. (3/4 oz Famous Grouse, 1/4 oz Jon Mark and Robbo Smokey Peaty One)
1/3 Ginger Ale. (1 oz Bundaberg Ginger Beer)
Stir well and serve.
This cocktail comes from Judge Jr.’s Prohibition era tome, “Here’s How.” In that book the recipe is given as: “1 jigger of Benedictine; 1 jigger of Scotch; 2 jiggers of ginger ale,” which seems a bit more sensible. Judge Jr. also notes this cocktail was, “Originated by Henry Oretel and believe us Henry knows his liquids!” I can dig up no information on Mr. Oretel.
While tasty, this is way too sweet for me. I think even with 2 parts ginger beer to 1 part Scotch and Benedictine. If I had to do it over, I would go with: 1/2 oz Benedictine, 1 1/2 oz Scotch. Build over ice and top up with Ginger Beer.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
The Mule’s Hind Leg
1/5 Gin. (1/2 oz North Shore Distiller’s No. 11)
1/5 Benedictine. (scant 1/2 oz Benedictine)
1/5 Applejack. (1/2 oz Clear Creek 2 year Apple Brandy)
1/5 Maple Syrup. (scant 1/2 oz Maple Syrup)
1/5 Apricot Brandy. (1/2 oz Zwack Barack Palinka)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
Another lovely prohibition era libation from the oeuvre of Judge Jr.
The only possible way I could see drinking this was to use apricot eau-de-vie instead of apricot liqueur. Even then, this is pretty much a waste of perfectly good alcohol.
Reduce the Benedictine and the Maple Syrup to a bar spoon or so. Add some bitters.
There might be a drink worth salvaging here.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
Honolulu Cocktail (No. 2)
1/3 Maraschino. (3/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino)
1/3 Gin. (3/4 oz Tanqueray)
1/3 Benedictine. (3/4 oz Benedictine)
Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass.
I suppose that is what it should be.
I just couldn’t quite face that cocktail. Thinking about the Maraschino and Benedictine, Oude Genever occurred to me.
Yes, indeed that seems like a good idea!
Honolulu Cocktail (No. 2)
1/3 Maraschino. (1/2 oz Luxardo Maraschino)
1/3 Gin. (1 oz Van Wees Oude Genever)
1/3 Benedictine. (1/2 oz Benedictine)
Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass. (Lemon Peel.)
Tweaked the proportions slightly, but didn’t want to just turn it into an Improved Holland Gin Cocktail. Still quite sweet, but really, really tasty. 1 1/2 oz Oude Genever, 1/4 oz Luxardo, 1/4 oz Benedictine, maybe some bitters, and this would rock. Probably have to think up a different name… Kailua Cocktail? Diamond Head Cocktail? Why is this a Hawaii themed Cocktail name anyway? I could see No. 1 being Hawaii-esque, since it had Pineapple juice. But Gin, Maraschino, and Benedictine?
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
Froupe Cocktail
l Teaspoonful Benedictine.
1/2 Italian vermouth. (generous 1 oz Martini & Rossi Rosso)
1/2 Brandy. (Generous 1 oz Cerbois VSOP Armangac)
Stir well and strain into cocktail glass.
Another Savoy typo, it appears. Robert Vermeire calls this the “Fioupe Cocktail” and states, “Monsieur Fioupe is a familiar figure known all along the Riviera, by everybody, from prince to cabman.”
Sadly, I can’t find any more information than that regarding Monsieur Fioupe.
The cocktail, though, being basically a Brandy version of the Bobby Burns, is right in my comfort zone. Yum.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
Creole Cocktail
1/2 Rye or Canadian Club Whisky. (1 oz Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey)
1/2 Italian Vermouth. (1 oz Carpano Antica)
2 Dashes Benedictine. (2/3 tsp. Benedictine)
2 Dashes Amer Picon. (2/3 tsp. homemade)
Stir well and strain into cocktail glass. Twist lemon peel on top.
A very good cocktail, that, like the Brooklyn, has a real problem in the lack of a key ingredient: Amer Picon.
Amer Picon is a french bitter orange aperitif brand that is owned by Diageo. For some inexplicable reason Diageo refuses to import it into the United States. I dunno why. We’re not worthy, they don’t think there’s enough of a market, they just don’t like America. Something like that.
So if you want to try a Creole, or a Brooklyn, you’ve got a couple choices.
You can travel to France and buy Amer Picon. Unfortunately, even this is fraught with danger, as a few years ago Diageo changed the recipe for the product, reducing its proof. Maybe they aren’t hating on America at all. Perhaps they are just sparing us from a mediocre modern version of the product!?
You can try to make it yourself using Jamie Boudreau’s recipe, Amer Picon.
Last, you can try for a replacement.
Your first choice for a replacement, as I did previously with the Brooklyn, is to use Torani Amer. Torani Amer is a nice product, but unfortunately, as far as I can tell, doesn’t taste all that much like Amer Picon. It’s a bit too vegetal and not orangey enough. It makes a good Brooklyn or Creole, but not a great one.
A second choice of replacement is an obscure Italian Amaro called CioCiaro. It is more common in some US markets than others. It’s good, but not quite as bitter or orangey as Amer Picon. If you can find it, add a dash of Regan’s or Angostura orange bitters to your cocktail and you should be in business.
Another option is to make Jamie Boudreau’s recipe. Jamie’s recipe isn’t too hard. He is, after all, very lazy. Basically you modify a less obscure Italian Amaro called Ramzotti by pumping up the oranginess. The only annoying part is that it takes two months to make the orange tincture. Oh, and you have to find a source for bitter orange peels.
Being nearly as lazy as Jamie, but slightly less patient, I worked out this adaption of his recipe:
7 oz vodka
1 orange
10 oz Ramzzotti Amaro
2 oz Stirring’s Blood Orange Bitters
1 drop orange oilMicroplane the zest of 1 orange into the vodka. Let stand a few minutes. Filter through 4 layers of cheese cloth into a clean bottle, squeezing out as much liquid as possible.
Pour Ramzotti Amaro through cheese cloth and orange zest, again squeezing out as much liquid as possible.
Add Blood Orange bitters and orange oil.
Shake to mix. It’s probably best to let it sit for a day or so.
I’m not totally sold, I think it might slightly overdo the fresh orange flavor. But it isn’t bad and doesn’t take 2 months to make. Definitely prefer it to Torani Amer.
Anyway, so you’ve done all that, and you’ve got some form of Amer Picon replacement. What’s up with the cocktail? It’s kind of hilarious. To be honest, the Creole is one of the most inexplicably fruity and, dare I say it, silly whiskey cocktails going. The intersection between the orange of the Amer Picon, the vermouth (I think especially if you use Carpano Antico), the whiskey and the lemon peel is almost comical. Comical and delicious.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
The Cornell Special Cocktail
1/4 Part Gin. (3/4 oz Tanqueray)
1/4 Part Benedictine. (3/4 oz Benedictine)
1/4 Part Lemon. (3/4 oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice)
1/4 Part Lithia Water. (3/4 oz Gerolsteiner Heavy Mineral Content Mineral Water)
Stir well and serve in cocktail glass.
Well, this one gave me a lot of trouble. I found some online sources that purported to sell “Lithia Water” but none of them would return my phone calls or emails. Driving all the way to Ashland, Oregon seemed pretty crazy.
Did some more research, trying to find mineral waters with a high mineral content and taste. Gerolsteiner was one, and according to some web sites, actually contains some Lithium (Not to mention 8% of your daily allowance of Calcium! Now that is heavy mineral content!)
A lot of chasing around for a drink that ends up tasting like slightly herbaceous, sparkling lemonade. Difficult or not, it certainly is easy drinking.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
Chrysanthemum Cocktail
3 Dashes Absinthe (1 tsp. Lucid Absinthe)
1/3 Benedictine (1 oz Benedictine)
2/3 French Vermouth (2 oz Noilly Prat Dry)
Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass. Squeeze orange peel on top.
Well-known and very popular in the American Bar of the S.S. “Europa.”
The Chrysanthemum cocktail really surprised me. I expected it to be far too sweet and/or vermouth-ey.
It really isn’t.
The sweetness is about on level with that of a not too sweet gewurtztraminer or glass of apple juice.
Deliciously complex, yet every ingredient is there to be savored.
It’s true I am a sucker for pretty much any cocktail with Bendictine; but this is one of my new favorites. Definitely something I will make again.
By, the way, the S.S. Europa had its own interesting history:
Launched on March 19, 1930, she served peace time passengers for Germany, participated in war time activities for the Third Reich, was confiscated by the US in 1945, took part in troop movement for the US soldiers, then back to passengers for France after WWII as the S.S. Liberté. Finally the scrap yards of Italy in 1962.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
