Satan’s Whiskers Cocktail (Straight)
Of Italian Vermouth (1/2 oz Carpano Antica), French Vermouth (1/2 oz Dolin Blanc), Gin (1/2 oz Plymouth Navy Strength Gin) and Orange Juice (1/4 oz Valencia Orange Juice, 1/4 oz Sour Lemon Orange Juice), two parts each; of Grand Marnier one part (1/4 oz Grand Marnier); Orange Bitters (Regan’s Orange Bitters), a dash. Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
Satan’s Whiskers Cocktail (Curled)
For the Grand Marnier in the foregoing Cocktail, substitute the same quantity of Orange Curacao (1/2 oz Bols Dry Orange Curacao). Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
To be honest, I’ve never really been all that thrilled with the Satan’s Whiskers cocktail. It’s a great name, but all too often it isn’t a well balanced or interesting cocktail. Kind of like the Bronx, the quality of orange juice is almost a little too important.
The Saturday before, I headed down to the Farmers’ Market with the idle goal of finding some sort of interesting orange related fruit for the drink. Anything. Clementines, Satsumas, whatever. In my heart of hearts, I really hoped for some seville oranges, as one of the suppliers often carries them during their brief season. No seville oranges, but there was an odd box of small citrus marked, “Sour Lemon Oranges”. When I picked them up to look at them, the farmer woman said something like, good for salads and cooking! Give them a try!
The picture above shows them with a quarter of a navel orange behind. You can see they are quite small and quite seedy. The meat is off yellow and the inner fruit peel greenish. They are really sour. I think possibly even more sour than lemons. They made a pretty fantastic honey mustard marinade for a pork tenderloin.
Anyway, back to drinks.
The recipe is a bit odd, I can’t think of another in the book written in this “parts” style. I decided to base it on 1/4 oz “parts”, as that would get me near the usual 2 1/4 oz cocktails.
A fresh-ish bottle of Carpano gives this a nice spice to go along with the sweetness.
As far as the difference between 1/4 oz of Bols Orange Curacao and 1/4 oz of Grand Marnier, I’ll be darned if I could tell the difference with all the other ingredients in this cocktail. And since the gin is such a small proportion, I figured Navy Strength Plymouth wouldn’t be a bad idea. It definitely wasn’t.
Maybe Satan’s Whiskers aren’t so bad after all!
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.
Royal Clover Club Cocktail.
The Juice of 1/2 Lemon.
1 Tablespoonful Grenadine. (Generous Tablespoon homemade Grenadine)
The Yolk of 1 Egg.
1 Glass Gin. (2 oz Beefeater’s Gin)
Shake well and strain into medium size glass.
An enjoyable cocktail. Sadly the last of the Clover Club family, including the Clover Club, Clover Leaf, and Grand Royal Clover Club.
Though, I suppose I could go through and re-do them all with Small Hand Foods Raspberry Gum instead of Grenadine…
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.
Royal Cocktail (No. 3)
1/3 Gin. (3/4 oz Plymouth Gin)
1/3 French Vermouth. (3/4 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth)
1/3 Cherry Brandy. (3/4 oz Cherry Heering)
1 Dash Maraschino. (1 dash Luxardo Maraschino)
Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass, with cherry.
In “Barflies and Cocktails”, Harry McElhone notes this is a “Recipe by Otis Mackinney, from the Hotel Royal, Nice, 1908.”
I liked this a lot more than the previous Royal Cocktail, but it is still not quite there for me.
A dash of Peychaud’s Bitters, or maybe even Absinthe, would go a long way towards making this a truly exciting 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.
As these Rose Cocktail (French Style) are all pretty much variations on the same thing, it seemed sensible to tackle them all in the same post.
The components seem to be booze (gin and/or kirsch), red sweet fluid (Cherry Heering, Grenadine, or Syrup Groseille) and French Vermouth.
Rose Cocktail (French Style No. 1)
1/4 Cherry Brandy. (1/2 oz Cherry Heering)
1/4 French Vermouth. (1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth)
1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz Plymouth Gin)
Stir well and strain into cocktail glass.
The first of the French Rose Cocktails is the most “Martini-like”. Not bad, but a bit plain, along the lines of a slightly fruity Dry Gin Martini.
Rose Cocktail (French Style No. 2)
1/4 Cherry Brandy. (1/2 oz Cherry Heering)
1/4 Kirsch. (1/2 oz Clear Creek Kirsch)
1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz Plymouth Gin)
Stir well and strain into cocktail glass.
French Rose Cocktail No. 2 is the booziest, being 3/4 booze and 1/4 liqueur. If you make this, give it a good long stir. Even then, I didn’t find it all that appealing.
Rose Cocktail (French Style No. 3)
1 Teaspoonful Grenadine.
1/2 French Vermouth.
1/2 Kirsch.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
That sounds OK, but looking through Harry McElhone’s “Barflies and Cocktails”, I found the following receipt:
Rose Cocktail
2/3 French Vermouth (1 1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth)
1/6 Kirschwasser (1/2 of 3/4 oz Clear Creek Kirsch)
1/6 Syrup Groseille (1/2 oz 3/4 oz Homemade Grenadine).
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass, with cherry. Original Recipe by Johnny, of the Chatham Bar, Paris.
Now to me that is something interesting, along the lines of the Rose Cocktail (English Style) or the Chrysanthemum Cocktail. A nice, light, vermouth heavy cocktail, not overly sweet. With a good quality vermouth, this makes quite a pleasant appetizer, and it is more than worthwhile messing around with the proportions to find the exact ratio which is exactly to your taste.
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.
Re-Vigorator Cocktail.
1/2 Gin. (1 oz Plymouth Gin)
1/4 Kola Tonic. (Scant 1/2 oz Rose’s Cola Tonic)
1/4 Sirop-de-citron. (1/4 oz Lemon Juice, 1/4 oz Monin Lemon Syrup)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
Cheating slightly, as I just can’t face these Kola Tonic and Sirop-de-Citron cocktails without a little bit of citrus juice.
This isn’t, strictly speaking, awful. On the other hand, it isn’t that great, either. Definitely on the Saccharine side, like a vaguely medicinal lemon flavored hard candy.
Good name, 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.
Raspberry Cocktail.
(6 People)
Slightly bruise a cupful (4 Raspberries) of fresh raspberries and add 2 glasses of Gin (1 oz Plymouth Gin). Soak for two hours and strain. Complete the mixture by adding a liqueur glass of Kirsch (3/4 oz Clear Creek Kirsch) and 2 glasses of any White Wine (1 oz Bex 2007 Riesling) which is not too sweet. Such as Moselle, Graves or Chablis. Ice. Shake. Put a raspberry in each glass, and serve. This is a very refreshing summer cocktail.
This is, in fact, a very refreshing and quite tasty summer cocktail, arriving just in time for our usual fall Indian Summer. Unfortunately, with a very unimaginative name.
Personally, I struggled with not putting any sugar at all in this. If I were to make it again, I might add just a dash or so of simple.
If you don’t have time for the long steep of the raspberries, I can say from personal experience, muddling them in the gin works almost as well for an a la minute preparation.
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.
Queen’s Cocktail.
1/2 Slice of Crushed Pineapple.
1/4 French Vermouth. (3/4 oz Dolin French Vermouth)
1/4 Italian Vermouth. (3/4 oz Martini and Rossi Sweet Vermouth)
1/2 Gin. (1 1/2 oz Sarticious Gin)
(Muddle pineapple in shaker. Add ingredients and ice…) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
According to Robert Vermeire, this recipe was, “by Harry Craddock, New York.” Nice to get an actual verified Craddock cocktail. But wait, isn’t The Queen’s Cocktail just a slightly dried out version of The Plaza Cocktail?
In the case of the Queen’s I actually splurged and bought a fresh pineapple and muddled half a slice in the drink. Can’t say that the substitution made that much difference between them. I think possibly the fresh pineapple was slightly more flavorful and gave a bit better foam. Both the Plaza and The Queen’s are fairly tasty, in a vaguely tropical, punch-like way. Amazing how a couple pieces of fruit can take a cocktail a long way from being a perfect Martini!
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.
Pruneaux Cocktail
(6 People)
2 Glasses of Gin (1 oz Junipero Gin), 2 of Sherry (1 oz Bodega Dios Baco Amontillado), 1 of Syrup of Prunes (1/2 oz Prune Syrup) and 1 of strained Orange Juice (1/2 oz orange juice). Shake thoroughly in cracked ice, and serve.
Right, well, sure “Syrup of Prunes” isn’t exactly a SEXY ingredient, with its promises of regularity and high fiber content.
All the same, it’s a darn tasty sweetener! Kinda raisin-ey and complex, especially following the procedure below, this isn’t something to be laughed at.
It is a bit of an odd bird of a cocktail. Gin, Sherry, Orange Juice, and prune syrup. Actually, this cocktail, the Blues Cocktail, and the Ship Cocktail are the only three in the book that call for Prune Syrup.
Not exactly a Martinez. Complex and sorta fruity. It would be really interesting to put this in front of someone blind.
I really enjoyed it. And the prunes cooked in the syrup are delicious to eat!
*From Eddie Clarke’s Shaking in the Sixties, “Prune Syrup. Put one lb of prunes (which have been soaked in cold water for 24 hours) into a saucepan with two heaped teaspoonfuls of brown sugar, a piece of vanilla, and enough cold water to cover them. Boil until half the liquid has disappeared, then add a tumblerful of claret and simmer until the prunes are cooked. You may add a port glass of brandy to the prunes about ten minutes before removing them. Strain the contents of the saucepan and then pass the juice through muslin. When it is cool put it in a bottle and cork tightly. This syrup will keep for two to three weeks. The prunes, of course, are delicious to eat.”
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.
Princess Mary Cocktail.
1/3 Crème de Cacao. (3/4 oz Mozart Black Chocolate Liqueur)
1/3 Sweet Cream. (3/4 oz Cream)
1/3 Dry Gin. (3/4 oz North Shore Distiller’s No. 6)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
In his book, “Barflies and Cocktails,” Harry McElhone tells us, “This cocktail was introduced by myself in honour of Princess Mary’s wedding to Lord Lascelles, February, 1922.”
Not quite sure how to break it to him that this is pretty much just an Alexander (No. 1).
The Mozart Black Chocolate is their only non-cream based chocolate liqueur. However, it is made with dark chocolate and fairly flavorful. At least compared to many Creme de Cacao. I suppose it is cheating slightly to use the Mozart in this drink.
However, with the Mozart Black Chocolate, this is not all bad. I mean, if a slightly ginny glass of chocolate milk doesn’t sound “all bad” to you, this will likely appeal. Surely better than the preceding Poppy 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.
Poppy Cocktail.
1/3 Crème de Cacao. (3/4 oz Mozart Black Chocolate Liqueur)
2/3 Dry Gin. (1 1/2 oz Death’s Door Gin)
Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass.
A cream-less Alexander Cocktail?
As much as I don’t really like the Alexander, the Poppy is even less appealing.
Not at all advised.
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.
