Brandy | Underhill-Lounge

Thunderclap Cocktail

Aug 292010

First, just a reminder that tonight, Sunday, August 29, 2010, we are holding our monthly exercise in folly, Savoy Cocktail Book Night at Alembic Bar. If any of the cocktails on this blog have captured your fancy, stop by after 6 and allow the skilled bartenders (and me) to make them for you. It is always a fun time.

Thunderclap Cocktail

Thoroughly shake up 2 Glasses of Brandy (3/4 oz Marolo Grappa Moscato), 2 of Gin (3/4 oz Bols Genever), and 2 of Whisky (3/4 oz DD White Whiskey). –Serve!

To the six people. Then run for your life.

Well, another fun one from Judge Jr’s prohibition era recipe book, “Here’s How”. Equal parts Brandy, Gin, and Whisky… I set myself the challenge of somehow making the damn thing tasty.

The following facebook exchange was helpful:

Erik Ellestad: Wondering if the Thunderclap Cocktail, equal parts Gin, Whiskey, and Brandy, can be salvaged. Thinking not.
July 30 at 9:54am
Genie Gratto: Whoa. That’s a fairly frightening combination.
July 30 at 9:55am
Brian Mac Gregor: I think it could. Use an extremely mild gin, a bourbon or rye that is over 10 years old, and a really rich brandy such as armagnac… I will be working on this at the Jardiniere tonight.
July 30 at 10:02am
Erik Ellestad: I was thinking unaged whiskey, unaged grape spirit, and geneve. And maybe a dash of gum syrup. Might be cheating.
July 30 at 10:05am
Louis Anderman: Doubtful. But at least it sounds better than the Earthquake.
July 30 at 10:06am
Erik Ellestad: Brian, I do have to stop by HD on my way home… Hm, not too far from Jardiniere!
July 30 at 10:19am
Jenny Adams: shudder ….
July 30 at 10:36am
Neyah White: add 1/2 oz of a honey liqueur or benedictine, it will smooth right out for ya.
July 30 at 10:46am
Brian Mac Gregor: would love to have ya sitting at my bar tonight…
July 30 at 11:13am
Erik Ellestad: Damn, change of plans, won’t be downtown tonight after all. We shall have to work separately and compare notes later. I look forward to hearing what you come up with!
July 30 at 12:44pm
Jason Randell: sounds wasteful
July 30 at 2:01pm
Erik Ellestad: 3/4 oz DD White, 3/4 oz Bols Genever, 3/4 oz Grappa Marolo Moscato… If you like super dry martinis you can stop there, however I found it significantly improved with a half teaspoon small hand foods gum and a dash of some old fashioned cardamom heavy bitters.
July 30 at 5:50pm

Going from the Previous “New Car” Cocktail, I knew there was some hope with a bit of re-imagining. First, I pretty much decided on Unaged Whiskey and Genever, which left only one variable, the Grape Spirit.

Having used Pisco in the New Car, I knew that was an option which would work OK, but wasn’t over sold. Casting about a bit for other grape based spirits, I came across a box I had received from a firm promoting various Marolo Grappas. I sniffed through them and found the floral nature of the Moscato Grappa the most appealing.

I mixed it without sweetener and gave it a try. Tasty, but whew, that certainly is a Thunderclap of booze. Tossed it back in with the ice and a barspoon of Small Hand Foods Gum. Better. A dash of Bitter Truth Repeal Day Bitters, and we were cooking with gas. Actually, quite nice.

Nice to get some input, and even better to be able to salvage this very unpromising cocktail.

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.

Thunder and Lightning Cocktail

Savoy Cocktail Book No Responses »

Aug 272010

First, just a reminder that this Sunday, August 29, 2010, is our monthly exercise in folly, Savoy Cocktail Book Night at Alembic Bar. If any of the cocktails on this blog have captured your fancy, stop by after 6 and allow the skilled bartenders (and me) to make them for you. It is always a fun time.

Thunder and Lightning Cocktail
The Yolk of 1 Egg. (1 Egg Yolk)
1 Teaspoonful Powdered Sugar. (1 teaspoon Caster Sugar)
1 Glass Brandy. (2 oz Chateau Pellehaut Armagnac)
Shake well and strain into medium size glass. Dash of Cayenne Pepper on top.

Well, aside from the use of Gum Syrup instead of powdered sugar in the Thunder and the instruction to put the Cayenne Pepper on top of this one, there’s really no difference between the Thunder and Thunder and Lightning Cocktails.

The use of a Medium size glass for a Savoy recipe, however, usually means that the cocktail has a dash of selzer on top. So I added one. Kind of lightened things up a bit, so there you go! If you really wanted to add some zip to this, you might add some Champagne. You’ll be seeing stars!

…

In light of the recent Salmonella in eggs news, I suppose I should say something about eggs in cocktails.

Some people maintain that Salmonella only comes from contamination on the outside of the egg. This is not true, if the egg laying chickens are sufficiently infected, the whole egg will contain Salmonella bacteria.

Other people maintain there is some “disinfecting” property in alcohol that kills the bad bacteria in eggs. While high proof alcohol is an effective topical disinfectant, the odds of contaminated egg material being exposed to high enough proof alcohol for sufficient time to kill all bacteria in a contaminated egg are slim, as far as I can tell.

I buy my eggs from a chicken farmer at the Alemany Farmers’ Market. Organic, Free Range, Cage Free, Pot Smoking, Happy, Hoppy, Hippy Chickens. Blah, blah, blah, do I live in California or what?

I guess I would say, if the thought of a minor bout with Salmonella puts you off, unless you know where your eggs come from, it’s best to go with Pasteurized in the shell eggs for cocktails.

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.

Thunder Cocktail

Savoy Cocktail Book 2 Responses »

Aug 252010

Thunder Cocktail
1 Teaspoonful Gomme Syrup. (1 Teaspoon Small Hands Food Gum Syrup)
The Yolk of 1 Egg. (The Yolk of 1 Egg)
1 Glass Brandy. (2 oz Chateau Pellehaut Armagnac Reserve)
1 Sprinkle of Cayenne Pepper (1 Sprinkle S&B Nanami Togarashi)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Well, that’s a bit odd, a Brandy Flip with Cayenne? I guess this would have been some sort of morning Pick-Me-Up.

Chuckle, well, why not use this interesting Japanese Pepper blend? Sure, it has Seaweed and Black Sesame Seeds, but what the heck? A little Umami never killed anyone.

It’s not a drink I will likely make again soon, but neither is it bad. Other than heat, the spice blend doesn’t contribute a lot to the cocktail, but it is enough to be noticeable.

A spicy flip? Why not?

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.

Three Miller Cocktail

Savoy Cocktail Book No Responses »

Aug 212010

Three Miller Cocktail

1 Teaspoonful Grenadine. (1 Teaspoon Small Hand Foods Grenadine)
1 Dash Lemon Juice. (1 Dash Lemon Juice)
2/3 Brandy. (1 1/2 oz Cognac Park V.S.O.P.)
1/3 Bacardi Rum. (3/4 oz Rene Alambic Rum)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

In Harry McElhone’s book “Barflies and Cocktails”, a drink with these ingredients is called “The Three Mile Limit”, referring to the distance a ship had to be from shore to evade the long arm of the law. McElhone also notes, “This cocktail was invented at Harry’s New York Bar, Paris, by “Chips,” Brighton, the popular Bartender. One of the effects of the Volstead Act, people get busy when outside of the three miles.”

While, “The Three Mile Limit” is a fine, if somewhat literal, name for a cocktail, it doesn’t really roll off the tongue. You can certainly imagine that name being shortened rather quickly to, “The Three Miler”. What happened for Craddock to rename it “The Three Miller”, we will never know, but it is a rather better name than either Three Miler or Three Mile Limit.

The cocktail itself is of the mostly booze sort, which, aside from the Super Extra Dry Martini, has largely gone out of fashion with modern drinkers. Probably, if someone were to ask me for this in a bar, I would make something like: 1 1/2 oz Brandy, 1/2 oz Rum, 1/2 oz Lemon, 1/2 oz Grenadine. Or if they were young, maybe even, 1 oz Brandy, 1/2 oz Rum, 3/4 oz Lemon, 1/2 oz Grenadine, 1/2 oz Simple Syrup. But either way, we’re getting pretty far from the almost all booze of the original formulation, which I even found a bit hard going, basically a glass of cold Brandy.

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.

Third Rail Cocktail (No. 2)

Savoy Cocktail Book 1 Response »

Aug 152010

Third Rail Cocktail (No. 2)
1 Dash Absinthe. (1 dash Lucid Absinthe)
1/3 Bacardi Rum. (3/4 oz Montecristo White Rum)
1/3 Calvados or Apple Brandy. (3/4 oz Clear Creek Apple Brandy)
1/3 Brandy. (3/4 oz Pellehaut Armagnac)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Simply splendid. Better than 11,000 volts.

Splendid?! There are words which come to mind when trying this all booze concoction, but splendid isn’t really one of them.

However, for me, it mostly reminds me of a band called The Rain Parade who released an album called, “Emergency Third Rail Power Trip,” in the early 1980s.

At the time I was living in Madison, Wisconsin, and listening to a lot of the listener sponsored station WORT. One of my favorite DJs was a woman who called herself Michele K-Tel and claimed to work at a Buddy Nut Squirrel Nut Shoppe. She hosted a show called Earwax and was extremely fond of bands in the so-called “Paisley Underground“. Initially, it took me a while to grasp her fondness for the neo-psychedelic music of bands like Rain Parade, The Three O’Clock, Plasticland, Green on Red, and The Long Ryders, but sooner or later, she had me singing along to the radio on songs like, “This Can’t Be Today” and “Jetfighter”.

Little did I know, a few years later, when I worked up the courage to volunteer at WORT as a Jazz DJ, that I would meet Michele K-Tel, we would hit it off, date, and run off to California with our giant piles of Albums, Tapes, and those new fangled Compact Discs.

Some times touching the Third Rail can be worth it.

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.

Tantalus Cocktail

Savoy Cocktail Book 1 Response »

Aug 052010

Tantalus Cocktail
1/3 Lemon Juice. (3/4 oz Lemon Juice)
1/3 Brandy. (3/4 oz Pellehaut Armagnac)
1/3 Forbidden Fruit Liqueur. (3/4 oz Homemade Forbidden Fruit)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Harry McElhone, in his book, “Barflies and Cocktails,” notes this is a “Recipe by Jack Bushby, Cecil Bar, Paris.”

Such a great name, this is one of those cocktails I keep hoping will be exceptional, yet I have not quite got it there yet, mostly, I believe, due to my lack of proper Forbidden Fruit Liqueur.

Long defunct, like their Creme Yvette, Forbidden Fruit was a proprietary liqueur made by Jaquin et Cie, a Philadelphia company. Allegedly the primary flavor elements of Forbidden Fruit were Pomelo, (aka Chinese grapefruit, jabong, lusho fruit, pompelmous, papanas, or shaddock,) an ancestor of the modern Grapefruit and honey.

Like Grapefruit, Pomelo come into season in the Winter, usually December or January and sticks around through March or April. Ripe Pomelo are incredibly fragrant, almost musky. My personal suspicion is that a truly great Pomelo liqueur would have to be distilled to capture that fragrance and leave behind the bitterness.

Sadly, I don’t have the option to distill, so I have to make do with infusion.

Doubly sadly, I missed Pomelo season this year by a week or two. They were all gone from the Alemany Farmers’ Market by the time I realized the Tantalus was coming up.

So, instead I used a couple different kinds of Grapefruit, one of which was a Pomelo cross, and sweetened it with Orange Blossom Honey. It’s OK, but I believe my weird compulsion to add ginger and spices may have been a mistake. Came out kind of weird and spicy hot. There is also a rather strong bitter aftertaste, which I am not entirely sure is inappropriate, though I think unavoidable in an infused liqueur.

Anyway, my choices and circumstances end up making this cocktail not entirely appealing, just kind of weird. I keep hoping the liqueur will settle down, I know the heat of the ginger will oxidize out, but am not sure what will happen with the Cardamom.

Well, until I get the whole Forbidden Fruit thing sorted out, you may want to instead make this luscious, (and also amusingly named,) creation of Audrey Saunders’, The Tantris Sidecar (recipe via Chuck Taggart’s Gumbopages):

The Tantris Sidecar

1 ounce V.S. Cognac (e.g. Hennessey or Courvoisier).
1/2 ounce Busnel Calvados.
1/2 ounce Cointreau.
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice.
1/2 ounce simple syrup.
1/4 ounce green Chartreuse.
1/4 ounce pineapple juice.
Granulated sugar.

Rub a little lemon around the outside of a chilled cocktail glass and dredge it in the sugar, leaving a nice even stripe of sugar around the rim of the glass.

Combine all liquid ingredients with cracked ice in a cocktail shaker and shake for 10-12 seconds. Strain into the sugar-rimmed glass.

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 Violet Hour

Savoy Cocktail Book 7 Responses »

Jul 262010

Well, you might have noticed that there were a few “S” cocktails missing from the Savoy Stomp…

Chicago’s a funny city. One of the largest cities in the country, it is also one of the hardest drinking party towns in the Midwest. Gangsters and Speakeasies played a big part during prohibition, but after prohibition, like elsewhere, there was a bit of a lull in cocktail culture.

Even after new classic cocktail bars started opening in New York, San Francisco, and Seattle, the Midwest has lagged behind, caught in the culture of bigger is better.

Chicago, though, seemed like it could do better. A fabulous culinary destination, arguably one of the best in the whole of the United States. How long until a bar in Chicago took cocktails as seriously as restaurants like Alinea, avec, or blackbird?

With thoughts along those lines, Toby Maloney and his partners opened The Violet Hour in late June of 2007.

Toby,

I’ll be in Chicago for a dinner at Alinea on Thurs. We’re staying
through the weekend to relax.

Hoping to stop by The Violet Hour (finally!)

Do you still have anything to do with that venue?

I do need to photograph at least this week’s 5 Savoy Cocktails (Star
through Stinger) somewhere in Chicago.

Seemed like The Violet Hour might be a fun place to do it.

Think anyone there would be interested?

Best,

Erik E.

Hey Erik,

I am happy to say I am an owner of The Violet Hour so I will always have my fingers in it. It would be my pleasure to get you a rezo at TVH anytime you want. Many people find a cocktail after Alinea is the perfect thing to decompress and settle the stomach. YAY Cynar.

I am checking with one of my people to see when they can make time for your photo shoot. Do you want the place to be open?

As soon as I hear back I will shoot you an other email.

Cheers,
Toby

Hey Toby,

Alinea is on Pernod-Ricard’s dime and there are quite a few bartenders
in tow, so perhaps we’ll make it over afterwards. I’ll suggest it,
unless they have already been in contact. Those Amaro based cocktails
were looking pretty darn appealing to me, and it is only 11:00AM here.

Usually before open or during a bit of a slow time is best for
photography. If such a thing exists at TVH. Is Saturday jammed from
open? I hate to get in the way of opening chores. Sunday at 5 or 6?
Whatever works.

Would be nice to do a bit of an interview and such, if they don’t
mind, and get some pictures of the atmosphere. Always curious about
the cocktail scene in other locales.

Erik E.

Toby,

Simon Ford appears somewhat taken with the idea of visiting TVH for a
post-prandial nightcap.

Our Alinea reservation is on Thurs at 7, I guess that means some time
around 11 or 12?

I will text closer to the time, if the idea gains traction.

Erik E.

I might need a little more notice than hours. Lynette is in I know, You, your wife and Simon make enough for me to make you a rezo in the back room. Any new info should be txted to me to insure prompt action to this fluid situation.

Cheers,
Toby

Well, nothing like rolling in with a bunch of high profile bartenders who have already been drinking, to put a place on edge. I know I always get nervous. Will they break anything? What will my hangover be like tomorrow morning?

Fortunately, we did not break anything, and all went well. Delicious post-prandial libations, perfect to sate our stuffed stomachs.

The next night Mrs. Flannestad and I traveled back to The Violet Hour in Wicker Park, this time to try a few Savoy Cocktails. Unfortunately, among the next 12, or so, cocktails, there wasn’t a lot of greatness. Michael Rubel did his best to maintain his cool and make the cocktails work. But some were just not that great.

Star Cocktail (No. 1)
1 Teaspoonful Grape Fruit Juice.
1 Dash Italian Vermouth.
1 Dash French Vermouth.
1/2 Calvados or Apple Brandy.
1/2 Dry Gin.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
Harry McElhone notes this was, “A very popular cocktail at the Plaza, New York.”

Tastes, I guess, change. We first tried it with Carpano Antica, Noilly Prat Dry, Busnel V.S.O.P. Calvados, and Anchor Junipero Gin. Pretty close to undrinkable. Michael, not being one to admit defeat, had to mix it again, this time massaging the amounts a bit and using Bombay Gin instead of the Junipero. As he said, “it isn’t going to rock your world,” but it was at least drinkable.

Messing around later, I found a version made with 1 teaspoon M&R Bianco, 1 teaspoon Carpano Antica, 1 teaspoon Grapefruit, 1 oz Laird’s Apple Brandy, and 1 oz Krogstad Aquavit to be actually enjoyable. Your mileage may vary, but, made literally, this classic cocktail is definitely one of questionable merit.

Star Cocktail (No. 2)
1/2 Italian Vermouth.
1/2 Applejack or Calvados.
(dash House “Aromatic Elixir”)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Michael went with 1/2 Carpano Antica, 1/2 Laird’s Bottled in Bond, and, after a brief query, “I’d put bitters in this, wouldn’t you?” he suggested we add Violet Hour House Aromatic Elixir to the cocktail. Maybe it was the previous Star Cocktails, but what a relief to be drinking an Apple Brandy Manhattan! Whew!

Stomach Reviver Cocktail
5 Dashes Angostura Bitters.
1/6 Fernet Branca.
2/3 Brandy.
2/3 Kummel.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

This cocktail just seemed so appropriate for a bar which has a section of its cocktail menu based on Amaros! Plus, it’s just odd to find a bar with Kummel on the back bar! We used Maison Surrene Petit Champagne Cognac, Kaiser Kummel, Fernet and around an eighth of an ounce of Angostura!

And nice it was, a fine example of extreme Fernet Mixology. About our only criticism would be, it was almost nicer before it was chilled and diluted. Maybe I’m just used to drinking Fernet at room temp, but the flavors seemed a bit muted after the cocktail was cold.

Stinger Cocktail
1/4 White Crème de Menthe.
3/4 Brandy.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to drink a Stinger, but as we were talking, Michael had a funny story. He mentioned that it was one of Dale DeGroff’s favorite cocktails, and when he was working in New York, he got an order from the great man. For some reason, which I fail to exactly recall, he decided to make it, instead of with Cognac, but with a (very nice) Spanish Brandy.

The next Saturday night Michael was working, in the height of the evening’s rush, Mr. DeGroff came back to talk to him, and explain in no uncertain terms, without concern for how busy Mr. Rubel was, precisely why it was wrong to use Spanish Brandy and exactly the way he preferred his Stingers, thank you very much.

Well, after that story, how could I not finish the evening with a Stinger prepared by Mr. Rubel?

This evening we made the stinger with Brizard White Creme de Menthe and Maison Surenne Petit Champagne Cognac. You can’t say Michael did not learn his lesson. We did serve it up, per the Savoy Cocktail Book, and I believe Mr. DeGroff prefers his over cracked ice. FYI, just in case you get an order for one from him one busy Saturday night.

I can’t say I entirely see the appeal of the Stinger, I did think it could use a bit less Creme de Menthe. I also believe I agree with Mr. DeGroff and prefer it over cracked ice.

This is the violet hour, the hour of hush and wonder, when the affections glow again and valor is reborn, when the shadows deepen magically along the edge of the forest and we believe that, if we watch carefully, at any moment we may see the unicorn.
- Bernard DeVoto “The Hour”

I have to thank Toby and especially Michael and Maura of The Violet Hour staff for making me welcome and putting up with a couple pretty awful Savoy Cocktails. The most inspiring thing, as a bartender and customer, that I took away from our evenings at The Violet Hour, was that the staff were great hosts. I loved watching the truly professional way they interacted with each other, the customers, and kept their bar top in order. Amazing. Although I didn’t see the unicorn this time, I certainly hope it won’t be another 3 years before I get a chance to return and look for it again!

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.

Mr. Eric Sutton's Gin Blind Cocktail

Savoy Cocktail Book No Responses »

Jul 182010

Mr. Eric Sutton’s Gin Blind Cocktail
6 Parts Gin. (1 1/2 oz Hayman’s Old Tom Gin)
3 Parts Curacao. (3/4 oz Clement Creole Shrubb)
2 Parts Brandy. (1/2 oz Germain-Robin Fine Alambic Brandy)
1 Dash Orange Bitters. (1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters, 1 Dash Fee’s)

Invented by THE Mr. Sutton. Chelsea Papers please copy. This is a very troublesome form of refreshment.

I went with a quarter ounce per “part”.

Well, if there was ever a cocktail that needed a “hard shake”, it’s this one, simply based on the proof of the ingredients involved. Though, aside from the measurements and strength, I’m don’t know what is so very “troublesome” about this “refreshment”. A tad sweet, but nothing particularly evil or insidious…

Looking up Eric Sutton, I’m not sure who this might be named after. Google is not particularly helpful.

There was a gentleman of that name who worked translating many books, notably Sartre and de Maupassant, into English in the 1920s through the 1950s. Though now that I look closer, it seems he translated books for Constable & Co, the publishers of the original version of the Savoy Cocktail Book! Oh ho!

One friend suggested that Carl Sutton, of Sutton Cellars fame, and myself should get together, drink a bunch of these, and get into some trouble. Knowing Carl, I believe that would be the outcome, no matter what we might be 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.

Sunset Cocktail

Savoy Cocktail Book 4 Responses »

Jul 032010

Sunset Cocktail
(6 People)
Place in a large glass the thinly-cut rind of an orange, or of a tangerine if an orange cannot be obtained. Add a teaspoonful of peach preserve, a large apricot and its crushed kernel. Pour upon the whole a full glass of Brandy and a small spoonful of Kirsch. Let this soak for two hours. Then transfer the mixture into the shaker and add half a glass of White Wine, a glass and half of Gin, and a glass of French Vermouth. Add plenty of ice. Shake and Serve.

The next thing you know about is Sunrise.

Oh for cripes sake, talk about an annoying recipe!

Let’s fix it:

Sunset Cocktail
1 apricot, Quartered
1 apricot pit, crushed
2 oz Germain-Robin Fine Alambic Brandy
1 tsp. Clear Creek Kirsch
2 tsp. We Love Jam Blenheim Apricot Jam
Whole Zest of 1 Orange
2 oz Noilly Prat Dry
3 oz Right Gin*
Sparkling Wine (Blanquette de Limoux, Cuvee Berlene 2005)

Method: Combine Apricot, Apricot Pit, Brandy, Kirsch, Jam, and Orange Peel. Let stand for a couple hours. Transfer to a large mixing tin, add the dry vermouth and gin. Ice and shake gently. Double strain into medium size glasses and top up with Sparkling Wine.

Well, at least the recipe, if not the technique, is slightly less annoying.

I increased the jam quotient since I decided to include the sparkling wine. It has a tendency to dry out cocktails more than regular wine would. Suggest shaking gently or even rolling to prevent pulverizing the apricot. You will want to double strain to catch those apricot and fruit pieces. You may need a spoon to encourage the liquid’s passage through the strainer.

With all that work, you would hope that it was at least tasty, and indeed, it is pretty darn tasty.

In fact, the warning, “The next thing you know about is Sunrise,” seemed a bit apt, far more easy drinking than it’s alcohol content would suggest. I would not suggest drinking all “6″ Sunset Cocktails yourself, even if your wife is out of town and you aren’t driving anywhere. You will probably regret it.

*Right Gin was sent to me by a firm promoting the brand.

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.

Special Rough Cocktail

Savoy Cocktail Book No Responses »

Jun 012010

Special Rough Cocktail

1 Dash Absinthe. (1 dash Lucid Absinthe)
1/2 Applejack (known in America as “Jersey Lightning”). (1 oz Laird’s Bonded Apple Brandy)
1/2 Brandy. (1 oz Germain-Robin Fine Alambic Brandy)

Serve very cold.

Cough, yes, that is a little rough!

And people claim that drinking all booze drinks is a modern phenomenon…

The Special Rough Cocktail is not awful, strictly speaking, but it’s also not, well, a subtle or delightful, sophisticated beverage. A short, sharp, shot of cold high proof booze is what it is.

Whether that is appealing to you, may depend on your philosophy of drinking, but as the bard says, “There are more things in heaven and earth,” Robert, “Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

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.

Older Entries

Thunderclap Cocktail

Thunder and Lightning Cocktail

Thunder Cocktail

Three Miller Cocktail

Third Rail Cocktail (No. 2)

Tantalus Cocktail

The Violet Hour

Mr. Eric Sutton's Gin Blind Cocktail

Sunset Cocktail

Special Rough Cocktail

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