September Morn Cocktail.
The Juice of 1/2 Lemon or 1 Lime. (Juice 1/2 Lemon)
1 Tablespoonful Grenadine. (1 Tablespoon Small Hand Foods Grenadine)
The White of 1 Egg. (1/2 oz Egg White)
1 Glass Bacardi Rum. (1 oz Havana Club Anejo Blanco)
(Dry shake liquid ingredients, add ice and…) Shake well and strain into medium size glass.
Not sure how you want to look at this. A Clover Club with Rum instead of Gin? A Bacardi Cocktail with Egg White? Either works, I guess.
The name of this drink probably comes from a “scandalous painting”.
From an article by Bonnie Bell: The September Morn Story.
On a September morning in 1912, French painter Paul Chabas finished the painting he had been working on for three consecutive summers. Thus completed, it was aptly titled “Matinee de Septembre” (September Morn). As was typical of his style, the painting was of young maiden posed nude in a natural setting. This time the icy morning waters of Lake Annecy in Upper Savoy formed the natural setting and the maiden was a local peasant girl. The head, however, had been painted from the sketch of a young American girl, Julie Phillips (later Mrs. Thompson), which he had made while she and her mother were sitting in a Paris cafe. Apparently, he had found her profile to be exactly what he was looking for. The completed painting was then sent off to the Paris Salon of 1912 to be exhibited. Although the painting won Mr. Chabas the Medal of Honor, it caused no flurry of attention. Hoping to find a buyer, the artist shipped the painting overseas to an American gallery.
It was here in America that the painting was destined to receive undreamed of publicity and popularity. One day in May of 1913, displayed in the window of a Manhattan art gallery, it caught the eye of Anthony Comstock, head of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. Horrified by what he saw, he stormed into the store, flashed his badge, and roared: “There’s too little morn and too much maid. Take her out!” The gallery manager, however, refused to do so. The ensuing controversy was given wide publicity by the press and the painting was simultaneously denounced and defended across the entire country. Meanwhile, curious crowds filled the street outside the shop straining to see the painting that caused such a stir.
More information here:
As for the cocktail, it is quite tasty, especially when made with a flavorful grenadine and rum. Chuckle, I suppose it is the pink, fleshy color of the drink and the painting, which whomever invented it was thinking of.
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.
St. Germain Cocktail.
The Juice of 1/2 Lemon.
The Juice of 1/4 Grapefruit.
The White or 1 Egg.
1 Liqueur Glass Green Chartreuse. (1 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
Woo! On to the “S” Cocktails! I may actually finish this damn Stomp Through the Savoy Cocktail Book, afterall!
The odd thing about the St. Germain cocktail, is the Green Chartreuse is so high proof that it really doesn’t get much foam. The egg white contributes body, but very little else.
If you like Green Chartreuse, this is a nice sour. If you don’t like Green Chartreuse, this may not be a cocktail for you. It’s no Last Word, not a cocktail to convert anyone.
Tasty, though.
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.
Rattle-Snake Cocktail.
(6 People)
4 Glasses Rye Whisky. (2 oz Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey)
The Whites of 2 Eggs. (1/2 oz Egg White)
1 Glass Sweetened Lemon Juice. (3/4 oz Lemon Juice, 1/2 oz Rich Simple Syrup)
A Few Dashes Absinthe. (Dash Verte de Fougerolles Absinthe)
(Dry shake ingredients in cocktail shaker for 15 seconds. Add ice and…) Shake very thoroughly and serve by straining it through a fine sieve.
It will either cure Rattlesnake bite, or kill Rattlesnakes, or make you see them.
This is a really good cocktail! The Absinthe really adds an interesting complexity to what is nothing more than a basic whiskey sour. I also find it interesting that the instructions specifically tell you to strain it through a fine sieve. Especially when double straining is seems so very au currant.
Interestingly, when I first worked at Flora Erik Adkins had a drink on the menu called the Fillibuster. Basically a Rye Whiskey sour with egg white, sweetened with Maple Syrup. Then when Thad Vogler opened Beretta, he put a similar drink on the menu there; changing the Whiskey and also the bitters called for. He called it the Rattlesnake.
So when I make Savoy Rattlesnakes for customers, I’m always afraid people are going to expect the Beretta version of the Rattlesnake. Especially with critics like Michael Bauer going around singing the praises of the Beretta Rattlesnake.
Maybe we should adopt the old (No. 1) and (No. 2) nomenclature to differentiate these species of Rattlesnake.
The pretty device above is a WMF Parisian shaker I got from Cocktail Kingdom. I’ve wanted a Parisian Shaker for some time, but the only way to get them was to order them from incredibly expensive restaurant suppliers in Europe.
Now that I’ve got one, I’m not sure. Definitely an egg white cocktail wasn’t the place to start. The reverse pressure created by dry shaking the egg white, resulted in a fair bit of leakage. Not pretty. This is a device I am going to have to adjust my shaking style to, before I am willing to use it in public. So the jury is still out. It is very shiny and fancy looking!
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.
Pinky Cocktail.
The White of 1 Egg.
1/2 Grenadine. (1 oz homemade)
1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz North Shore Distiller’s No. 11)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
Same again as the Pink Lady, with more Grenadine. Actually, despite being very sweet, I found the Pinky preferable to the Savoy Pink Lady. Still not something I’m going to be revisiting any time again soon!
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.
Pink Rose Cocktail.
The White of 1 Egg.
1 Teaspoonful Grenadine. (homemade)
1 Teaspoonful Lemon Juice.
1 Teaspoonful Sweet Cream.
2/3 Glass Dry Gin. (1 1/2 oz North Shore Distiller’s No. 11)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
Hmm… Not much egg white foam here. I think my eggs might be getting a bit old.
In any case, not sure exactly what to call this. It’s almost a peach blow fizz without the soda.
To be honest, it’s kind of good, albeit heavy on the gin. I’ll take it over most of the previous Lemon-free pink ladies any day.
All the same, it would be better as a fizz.
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.
Pink Lady Cocktail.
The White of 1 Egg.
1 Tablespoonful Grenadine. (1 Tablespoon homemade Grenadine)
1 Glass Plymouth Gin. (2 oz Plymouth Gin)
Shake well and strain into medium size glass.
Sorry for the horrible picture, but, oh my, is that not very good. Even with homemade grenadine, I couldn’t bring myself to make this again to get a better picture. Even the color isn’t that great. A journalist friend, who was over for the evening, described it as more of a “Grey Lady”!
Harry McElhone gives the cocktail as the following. 1 white of a fresh egg; 2 teaspoonfuls of Grenadine; 1/6 Brandy; 1/3 Gin.
Again, not much of an improvement, with no citrus in the mix.
Similar in an edition of Mr. Boston from 1969 with another puzzling addition, “White of 1 Egg; 1 Teaspoon of Grenadine; 1 Teaspoon Sweet Cream, 1 1/2 oz Dry Gin. Shake well with cracked ice and strain into a 4 oz Cocktail Glass.”
Greg Boehm sent me recipe he turned up in “The Bartender’s Guide and Song Book”: “One Tumbler of Gin; One-fourth tumbler Grenadine; Whites of Four Eggs; Juice of two Oranges; Juice of one Lemon; Dash of Sugar. Mix with ice in the shaker: Drink before it settles.”
That actually sounds pretty good, however, the recipe is accompanied by the following charming quote, “PINK LADIES should never be taken alone. They provide too much atmosphere–too much charm for their surroundings. And we personally recommend that you mix it for four, but remember that even three’s a crowd.”
I have no idea what that means, but most of what I can imagine is not particularly savory.
The last recipe I’ll include is from Jacques Straub’s 1914 book, “Drinks”.
Pink Lady Cocktail.
1/2 jigger Lime Juice. (3/4 oz lime juice)
1/2 jigger gin. (3/4 oz Plymouth Gin)
1/2 jigger apple jack. (3/4 oz Laird’s Bonded Apple Brandy)
5 dashes grenadine. (2 teaspoons Grenadine)
Shake well.
I thought this on the tart side, but Mrs. Flannestad definitely approved. Not usually one to partake of Savoy amenities, she quickly agreed to finish this drink.
Interestingly, there was a 1911 musical of the name “Pink Lady”.
“Pink Lady, The (1911), a musical comedy by C. M. S. McLellan (book, lyrics), Ivan Caryll (music). [ New Amsterdam Theatre, 312 perf.] Before his marriage to Angele (Alice Dovey), Lucien Garidel (William Elliot) decides to have one last fling with his old flame from the demimonde, Claudine (Hazel Dawn). The fling is complicated by the fact that someone has been stealing kisses from attractive girls in the Forest of Compiègne. The satyr is unmasked, Lucien and Claudine enjoy their time together, then Lucien returns to Angele. Notable songs: By the Saskatchewan; Donny Didn’t, Donny Did; The Kiss Waltz; Love Is Divine; My Beautiful Lady. Although Dawn was the lead in this Klaw and Erlanger musical, she did not keep the hero in the end, because the mores of the time would not allow a member of her class to win in musical comedy. The show was based on Le Satyre, a French farce by Georges Berr and Marcel Guillemand.”
Is there any conclusion that can be drawn? When I mentioned I was researching the Pink Lady, Greg Boehm had the sage advice, “You don’t want to go there,” and said that there were at least 4 different recipes which eventually all went into the drinks canon in some form or another. Plus, it seems like there was confusion between the various “Pink” drinks, as time went on, with people calling different drinks “Pink Lady”.
Greg did suggest that there was a basic Europe vs. America divide to the traditions of the recipes. I am unclear exactly what divides the European and American Pink Ladies, but if Straub’s recipe is any indication, the American’s are definitely a bit more sassy.
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.
Pink Pearl Cocktail.
(6 People)
Take 1 1/2 glasses of grapefruit juice (1 1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice), a dessertspoonful of lemon juice (dash lemon juice), 1/2 a dessertspoonful of grenadine syrup (dash grenadine) and the white of one egg. Add plenty of crushed ice and shake thoroughly.
Weird. If glasses equal 2 oz, this cocktail only has a little more than 3 oz for 6 people. Savoy Cocktails for 6 almost always amount to 12 oz. Seems like something is seriously missing.
I don’t know about you, but it seems to me like it is the booze.
I might recommend trying something like the following:
Pink Pearl Cocktail
1 1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1 1/2 oz Mild White Agricole Rhum (Barbancourt white, Batiste White, or 10 Cane Rum)
dash Lemon Juice
dash Grenadine
1/2 oz egg white
Dry shake ingredients, add ice and shake to chill. Garnish with dashes of peychaud’s bitters on top.
Ah, yes, quite nice. Hmmm… The Pink Baby may be given a run for its money!
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.
Pink Baby Cocktail.
1/2 Gin. (1 oz Plymouth Gin)
1/4 Grenadine. (1/2 oz homemade Grenadine)
1/4 Sirop-de-citron. (1/4 oz Monin Lemon Syrup, 1/4 oz Lemon Juice)
The White of 1 Egg.
Shake well and strain into medium size glass.
Sorry, I find I just can’t hang with these “Sirop-de-Citron” cocktails with no fresh citrus. Maybe if I made my own Sirop de Citron, it would have enough bitter lemon character from the peel that it would be tasty. But just using Monin Lemon Syrup, these cocktails just aren’t that good.
Anyway, the best looking recipe I’ve found for Sirop de Citron is here:
Essentially, you slice a bunch of lemons and then preserve them by completely covering them with sugar. The recipe on the above page calls for: 3 lemons sliced thin covered with 400 grams sugar and macerated at room temp for 3 or 4 days. Bring to a boil and strain out the solids.
I can see how that would be quite different from the lemon syrup we typically get from Monin or Torani.
Anyway, back to the Pink Baby. As written above, she’s not bad at all. In fact, quite delicious, perhaps the most promising of the various upcoming “pink” cocktails. We shall see!
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.
Pantomime Cocktail.
1 Dash Orgeat Syrup. (1/3 tsp. Homemade)
1 Dash Grenadine. (1/3 tsp. Homemade)
The White of 1 Egg.
1 Liqueur Glass French Vermouth. (1 1/2 oz Noilly Original Dry)
Shake (without ice for 10 seconds. Add ice, shake) well and strain into medium size glass. (Garnish with drops of angostura bitters and grated nutmeg.)
Kind of odd to have egg white in a cocktail without lemon, but there you go.
I found the Pantomime an interesting and fairly enjoyable light cocktail. Heck, you could even make this at a bar without a full liquor license! Of course it is an awful lot of work to go for very little “bang”, if you know what I mean.
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.
Mountain Cocktail
The White of 1 Egg.
1/6 Lemon Juice. (1/2 of 3/4 oz Lemon Juice)
1/6 French vermouth. (1/2 of 3/4 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth)
1/6 Italian Vermouth. (1/2 of 3/4 oz Punt e Mes)
1/2 Canadian Club Whisky. (Generous 1 oz Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey)
(Dry shake ingredients with spring or blender ball for a half minute or so. Add ice and…) Shake well and strain into medium-size glass.
In “Barflies and Cocktails”, Harry McElhone has a slightly different take on the Mountain Cocktail: 1 white of a fresh egg; 1/6 Lemon Syrup; 1/6 French Vermouth; 1/3 Rye Whisky; 3 dashes of orange bitters.
McElhone also notes that the recipe is “from Hoffman House, New York.”
I guess it is part of Craddock’s weird compulsion to make “perfect” cocktails that leads him to use sweet and dry vermouth in the Mountain. Or maybe he found the cocktail too tart with only dry vermouth and nothing to balance against the lemon juice?
Anyway, it is a very strange cocktail.
The first flavors are all whiskey, the second flavors are the lemon juice, then in the finish the sweet vermouth and whiskey seemed to combine into flavors similar to coffee.
I didn’t exactly like it, but I kept going back, tasting it, and puzzling over the flavors.
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.
