Aviation

Wow, hard to believe it's been so long since I've been able to post regularly. A big thanks to all my readers! I hope to be "taking off" again soon. Here's a look at the Aviation to get us well off!

While I did get an early copy of the PDT cocktail book, I didn't get a chance to read it until recently. Section One, "Setting Up the Bar" should be required reading for every bartender. The advice is spot on and there is an an amazing amount of craft bar know-how being shared in these pages.

Getting into the cocktails, I quickly came across the Aviation and realized I had yet to write a post on this cult favorite.

The Aviation was born along with the dawn of aviation history in the early twentieth century.

1916 Cessna

Airplane flying over Dearborn, MI in 1916

The original recipe from Hugo Ensslin's 1916 book Recipes for Mixed Drinks, was not commonly known until recently. David Wondrich was paging through a copy of Hugo's book that he had just scored on ebay back in 2004 when he came across a recipe for the Aviation and "almost dropped the book into his soup".

Up until David's discovery it was commonly thought that the Aviation originated in the 1930 classic Savoy Cocktail Book, in fact - it was a "cornerstone" drink from the Savoy book.

This discovery lead to a larger understanding of Harry Craddock's book, which for at least three generations of discerning barkeeps, served as treasured reference to the art of American mixed drinks - an art that was mostly lost after prohibition. Since Craddock did not attribute any drinks origins in the book, drinks that did not appear in earlier books haven been authored to him.

Wondrich found that Craddock had either used one of Ensslin's adoptions for a standard drink, or directly copied one of Ensslin's original drinks a staggering 146 times! The Affinity, the Alice Mine, Brandy Blazer, the Castle Dip, the Deshler, Fair & Warmer, Fluffy Ruffles, Raymond Hitchcocktail, and many more - all appearing in Ensslin's book first making Recipes for Mixed Drinks one of the more important and useful books to have in your collection. (Mud Puddle makes an excellent reproduction!).

There was one more surprise though, Ensslin called for the addition of a fairly rare ingredient, "Creme de Violette", an unctuous, deep-purple liqueur made from macerated violets. (Austrian maker "Rothman & Winter" make a very good and readily available "Creme de Violette").

The Creme de Violette turns the mixture a nice color, reminiscent of a late evening sky, which does go a long way to explaining the drinks name in the first place.

Hugo Ensslin Recipe from Recipes for Mixed Drinks 1916

Jim Meehan Recipe from The PDT Cocktail Book 2011

Ensslin calls for equal parts maraschino and creme de violette. I prefer the adaptation in the PDT book calling for more maraschino, as this drink can be a little tart without the extra sweetness the maraschino provides. Go easy on the Creme de Violette though, a little goes a long way here.

THE AVIATION


2 ounces (60 ml) Good (& strong) London Dry Gin
3/4 ounce (22ml) Lemon Juice
1/2 ounce (15 ml) Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
1/4 ounce (7ml...even 5-6ml) Rothman & Winter Creme de Violette


Shake and Strain into a chilled coupe.

No Garnish

I prefer Gordon's Export Strength Gin (47.3% A.B.V.) when I can get it, otherwise Beefeater is a great choice.

This one is tart and gin forward to be sure. It really shows off the Maraschino nicely. If you don't use too much Creme de Violette then you have a nice subtle complexity that's hard to pin down. Too much and you will know it!

Sitting Bull Fizz

Here's an interesting fizz variation from 1892. From The Flowing Bowl, by The Only William (William Schmidt).

Sitting Bull died on December 15, 1890, around the time William would have been working on his book. This is a good drink, so I'm of a mind that this recipe was meant to be a respectful tribute.

From The Flowing Bowl by William Schmidt, 1892

Juice of large lemon, in 1892, would have been about an ounce. Fine sugar would be a (non-bleached, organic) granulated sugar, but a barspoon of simple syrup will allow for better mixing of the drink.

Santa Cruz rum of the day was a generic term for light, golden rums that came from the Virgin Islands. Cruzan is certainly a geographically correct rum choice. For my drink I wanted something golden, with good character - so why not Havana 7?

William worked in the New York area, and since the recipe does not call for bourbon, or "Kentucky whiskey" by name, rye whiskey is a safe choice. My choice,  Rittenhouse Bonded!

Sitting Bull Fizz


1 ounce (30 ml) rye whiskey
1 ounce (30 ml) lemon juice
1/2 ounce (15 ml) golden rum
1 teaspoon (5ml) simple syrup


Shake well with cracked ice, strain into a collins glass and top with soda water. Stir with spoon and serve.

This is fantastically good, especially on a hot day. A dash of angostura bitters really brings the flavors of the drink together nicely.

The Rittenhouse Bonded 100 proof base lends a nice backbone, but at only an ounce it is not overwhelming. The Havana 7 lends a wonderful exotic sweetness to help the simple syrup balance the lemon juice.

All in all, a very nice fizz! Wait, I better have one more quick just to make sure....

Picador

The "Picador", from W.J. Tarling's 1937 Cafe Royal Cocktail Book (Coronation Edition). Another of Tarling's darling early Tequila recipes. 

The Picador


1.5 ounces (45 ml) Tequila
3/4 ounce (22 ml) Cointreau
3/4 ounce (22 ml) fresh Lime or Lemon Juice


Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass. 

As simple and tasty as this is, you may want to make two. A Picador is one of a pair after-all, (a "Picador" is one of the two horsemen that spear the bull in a Spanish bullfight with a lance.).

Can't decide between lemon or lime? Try one of each!

Little King

Gin, apricot brandy, applejack and lemon juice. That got my attention. Created by a cartoonist, sounded even more interesting. I came across this in the Big Bartender's Book and was surprised it had not caught my eye before. 

Otto Soglow (December 23, 1900 -April 3, 1975)

From Ted Saucier's 1951 title Bottoms Up, and accredited to cartoonist Otto Soglow, this drink was named after a popular comic strip that Otto created for the New Yorker in 1931.

A 32 year old Otto is on the far left, celebrating the end of prohibition in 1933 with some of his fellow cartoonists.

An article in LIFE from 1951 suggested that Soglow and a number of other cartoonists (one is partially visible in the photo above at the right) were brought together to test the properties of waterproof ink; as after being drawn on, the models were doused in water. 

This is also the year Ted Saucier published the Little King recipe in his book Bottoms Up....coincidence? Most likely, but what a great one to document here!

Ted's recipe from 1951 was listed as:

Little King

Juice 1/4 Lemon

1/4 jigger Apricot Brandy

1/4 jigger Applejack

1/2 jigger Gin

Let's assume a 2 ounce jigger so we can get closer to a 3 ounce drink. The 1/4 lemon is trickier - after some experimenting I've found that 1/3 of an ounce makes for a nicely balanced drink.

Little King

1 ounce Plymouth gin

1/2 ounce Apry

1/2 ounce Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy

1/3 ounce fresh lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Delicate and dry, the drink is well balanced by the slightly sweet apricot and apple notes. With the lemon juice just right, it walks the line between sweet and sour well, trending on the dry side, but only a bit.

I've also noticed that this drink opens up very well, that is, when I've allowed it to sit that long - which hasn't been often!

The Bramble

The Bramble was created in the mid 1980's by London's legendary bar master, Dick Bradsell, during his tenure at Fred's Club in London's Soho.

It is a simplified Singapore Sling as Dick made at the Zanzabar club, built to be a truly "British" cocktail, but you should really hear it from the man himself. You can do just that in this excellent video interview from DRÉ Masso's website: www.ginandtales.com

Since its creation, it has seemed to work its way onto nearly every cocktail menu in London at some point or another, and it remains on of the city's favorite warm weather coolers. A modern classic from London's "godfather" of cocktails.


THE BRAMBLE


2 ounces (60 ml) Plymouth gin
1 ounce (30 ml) lemon juice
2 teaspoons (10 ml) simple syrup
1/2 ounce (15 ml) (nice quality) cremé de mûre


Combine the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup and shake well with ice, then strain into an old fashioned glass filled with crushed ice. Add the cremé de mûre and stir.  Garnish with a blackberry and a slice of lemon.

For the crushed ice in your serving glass, break out the swing-away ice crusher (worth picking up on ebay if you do not have one). You can also crush your ice in a lewis bag with great results.

What we have here is a gin sour, sans the optional egg, wonderfully laced with the cremé de mûre.

The drink is very gin forward, which is why I think that Dick recommends the smooth and subtle Plymouth gin. For you gin lovers out there though, don't be afraid to use a nice bold gin as they work very well here too. (Not that I need to tell you).

It's also worth noting that for non-gin drinkers this is a very approachable drink and a great way to introduce yourself to the spirit, especially if you go with a mild and smooth gin like Plymouth.

The Massenez cremé de mûre is a very nice liqueur, and one of the better brands available here in the states. The blackberry flavor is somehow bold and subtle at the same time.

This drink really develops well as it sits, becoming more and more enjoyable as you get on with it. That is, if you can get it to last that long.

Maiden's Blush

Here's a drink I found in Charlie Paul's Recipes of American and other Iced Drinks. As is often the case, when I started digging into the history on this one I found it to be a bit of a sticky wicket.

Harry Craddock's 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, (from the Savoy Hotel Bar in London) is often given credit for this drink. Modern references, such as found in the current Mr. Boston, do seem to reflect this recipe more than the original late nineteenth century versions.

Maiden’s Blush Cocktail No. 1 (Savoy 1930)

1 Dash Lemon Juice.

4 Dashes Orange Curacao.

4 Dashes Grenadine.

1 Glass Dry Gin.

The true original recipe was in the ultra rare 1886 French title Bariana, by Louis Fouquet. (Which is thought to be the earliest French book dedicated to cocktails.) 

from Bariana, Louis Fouquet, 1886

Translation: "Take a silver cup (mixing tins), ice chunks, half teaspoon of powdered sugar, a spoonful of raspberry syrup, juice of half a lemon, a glass of absinthe liqueur white, 1 half glass of old tom gin, finish with a little water, knock (shake), pass (strain), pour, lemon slice and serve."

The drink must have had its followers, as though it is not in every book, it pops up here and there in many titles throughout the early twentieth century, and even continues to makes appearances to this day. 

In Harry McElhone's 1927 title Barflies and Cocktails the recipe is present mainly in name only, maybe slightly more in the spirit of the original than the Savoy, but I can see why the Savoy is allowed more credit for this one. (This sounds like a very stiff drink!)

from Barflies and Cocktails, Harry McElhone, 1927

Recipes published in 1936 and 1937 though seem to match much more closely with earlier recipes.

In 1937, also from London, you have Billy Tarling's recipe in the Cafe Royale Cocktail Book. The only difference here is the calling for Dry Gin. (By the late 1930's Old Tom gin had been uncommon for some time.) 

from Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, W.J. Tarling, 1937

In 1936, Frank Meier of the Ritz Bar in Paris published this version:

from Artistry of Mixing Drinks, Frank Meier, 1936

"Maiden's Blush" was also the name of a style of colored glass common around the turn of the twentieth century. (This goblet was made by US Glass around 1901.)

We have the Savoy from 1930 London most commonly given credit, and which is the recipe most commonly quoted today. Six to seven years after the Savoy was printed though, we have other recipes popping up that seem much closer to this recipe, from Charlie Paul's 1902 publication (but originally published around 1885-1887!) Recipes of American and other Iced Drinks, which was also printed in London...

So, after all the digging...how does Charlie Paul's recipe hold up? 

from Recipes of American and other Iced Drinks, Charlie Paul, circa 1885

Maiden's Blush

1 1/2 ounces (45 ml) Old Tom Gin (Hayman's)

3/4 (22 ml) fresh lemon juice

1 tsp (5 ml) raspberry syrup

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) absinthe (Kubler)

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) powdered sugar

Shake with cracked ice, strain into "Maiden's Blush" colored goblet (if you have one of course) - garnish with slice of lemon on top.

Usually when a recipe is spot on, it stays fairly true to form over the years. The fact that this one has varied so much gave me pause. I've even heard this described as a "large glass of gin". I tried it with a 2 oz measure of gin, as well as with a 1 1/2 ounce measure and the difference was extreme. The 2 ounce measure was hugely gin forward, and indeed, "large glass of gin" seemed an appropriate description.

The 1 1/2 ounce measure was a completely different drink though. It was light, sweet and tart, with just a touch of the herbals from the absinthe and a "blush"of raspberry syrup...it was all in balance.

A delicate libation much more worthy of its namesake, an insidious drink that could possibly lead to a maiden's blush...

Culross

If we are to attribute this drink to the town in Scotland by the same name, it would be pronounced "Coo-ros".

There's not much out there with this rather strange name, so its not a bad bet that this drink was named after the town, or possibly after a patron from Culross that the Harry Craddock era Savoy Hotel Bar honored in the naming of this one.

It does not seem very Scottish in nature, but Culross is a coastal town, and the maritime influenced Scots have been known to enjoy their fair share of rum.

At any rate, this appears first in the Savoy Cocktail book in 1930 with the following instructions:

The Culross Cocktail

The Juice of 1/4 Lemon.

1/3 Kina Lillet.

1/3 Bacardi Rum.

1/3 Apricot Brandy.

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Adopted for modern use you have:

The Culross Cocktail

3/4 oz (22 ml) Havana Club Anejo Blanco rum

3/4 oz (22 ml) Apry

3/4 oz (22 ml) Cocchi Americano

3/4 oz (22 ml) Lemon Juice

Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.

Since Havana Club is still made in much of the old Bacardi factory, in much the same way, and aged in the exact same spots as the old Cuban Bacardi, it is always your best bet when an old recipe calls out for Bacardi specifically.

If you are unable to use Havana Club, go for Flor de Caña Extra Dry 4 year, a rum that is much closer in character to the original Cuban Bacardi than the modern Barcardi Dry made in Puerto Rico.

The closest thing that we have on the market today to Kina Lillet, is Cocchi Americano (rather than Lillet Blanc.) It is bolder and more spice forward than Lillet Blanc. They are both traditional white aperitif wines, Lillet coming from France and the Cocchi from Italy, and their histories are intertwined.

For some recipes they can be used interchangeably. For other recipes, one works well where the other can be glaringly off. Since this one called for Kina Lillet by name, Cocchi Americano seemed the obvious choice.

This is an interesting mix, you have the Cocchi and lemon juice on side, providing dry and sour flavors. On the other side you have the light, sweet rum and the big flavored Apy.

If you have been able to secure a bottle of Marie Brizard Apry (it can be a challenge to locate) - this is a nice way to use it as it works very well here. It is just sweet enough to make up for the lack of sugar or simple syrup, and its apricot fruit flavor works great with the other flavors here making for a sweet, yet oddly dry mix.

Greenfly Cocktail

Here's another gem from the classic British titles, Approved Cocktails Authorized by the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild (1934) and Cafe Royal Cocktail Book (1937). 

(Somewhat) interestingly, there seems to be a popular "shooter" recipe with the "Greenfly" name that includes vodka, white creme de menthe, and green creme de menthe.

This "Greenfly" however is no frat-boy sideshow, but rather a shaken beauty calling for London dry gin, lemon juice and green Chartreuse.

The original printed versions looked like this:

from  Approved Cocktails Authorized by the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild (1934)

from Cafe Royal Cocktail Book (1937)

My adaptation:

THE GREENFLY

2 ounces (60 ml) London Dry Gin

1/2 ounce (15 ml) Lemon Juice (always fresh of course)

1/2 ounce (15 ml) green Chartreuse

1 dash Gum syrup (such as from "Small Hands Foods")

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

This is very dry cocktail, my first reaction was that possibly upping from a "dash" to a "dollop" of gum syrup may be in order for my own preferences, but then again, as I get ready to record my tasting notes, I find the drink almost gone!

If you like drinks with gin and chartreuse, this mix is a nice spin on the usual suspects. It's much lighter and drier than any of the "word" cocktails (i.e. Last Word, Final Word, Pete's Word etc.). While this cocktail allows the gin to be heard, it's mostly about the green Chartreuse, which is very well presented in the balance.

If you are a fan of the "sour" family of drinks, enjoy gin, and are at the very least acquainted with Chartreuse, then this should be one to try. 

I can imagine this to be quite the refresher on a hot day. Even in the middle of a Colorado blizzard, which we are having here in Boulder right now, it's very nice.

Rum Hound

I found this one in the "Big Bartender's Bible" from Mud Puddle books. It was created by Jim Schwenck and published in 1930 in the rather oddly named release, The Home Bartender's Guide & Song Book.

Rum Hound

1 1/2 ounces (45 ml) Jamaica dark rum

1 1/2 ounces (45 ml) Cointreau

3/4 ounce (22 ml) lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

The rum hound is a nice rum "sidecar" variation. I thought that there might be too much Cointreau in this recipe, but it was just right. This is a recipe that someone obviously took some time in balancing out.

Some drinks are good because you can still get sense of all the individual players and no one flavor is stomping over another - a perfect balance.

Other drinks are great because the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts, something new and wondrous born from the perfect blending of ingredients.

The rum hound seems to fit into the latter category. The Smith & Cross is fantastic here and would be hard to beat as a match for the Cointreau...and who knew there was this kind of orange flavor to be brought out from Cointreau?

The Home Bartender's Guide and Song Book (1930) By Charlie Roe & Jim Schwenck

White Lion Cocktail

The White Lion cocktail could be described as a rum daisy, with powdered sugar, bitters, curacao, raspberry syrup and decorated with fruit of the season. I noticed that it kept coming up in the old books, but I'd never heard of it outside of historical references. I did not know it was such an old recipe, and was surprised to find it "on the list" in this interesting account from 1855, of life in the then still-young city of San Francisco, California.

Published in 1855 in Hinton Rowan Helper’s “The Land of Gold: Reality versus fiction”

"The grog-shops or tippling-houses constitute the last but not the least prominent feature of Montgomery street that we will notice at the present time. The devil has certainly met with more than usual success in establishing so many of these, his recruiting officers, in this region; for we cannot visit any part of the state or city without finding them always at our elbow. San Francisco might allot one to every street corner in the city, or in other words, four to every intersection of the streets, and still her number would not be exhausted. It is astonishing what an amount of time, labor and money is misspent in this nefarious traffic. Out of the two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants in California, from twelve to fifteen thousand are exclusively engaged in this diabolical, but lucrative business ; and, what is worse than all, nearly one-fourth of the bars are attended by young females, of the most dissolute and abandoned character, who use every device to entice and mislead the youthful and unsuspecting, "Women being somewhat of a novelty here, their saloons are always thronged with customers, many being induced to patronize them merely for the sake of looking at them. What a base prostitution of their destiny and mission ! Woman has come here, not only to pander to man's vitiated appetites, but also to create and foster in him unholier desires, and, if possible, to lead him further astray than he would have gone without her.

Lest we should fall in love with one of these sirens, we will not go near them, but will enter one of the saloons kept by a biped of our own sex.

Across the street is a large and fashionable one, called the Blue Wing,

" Where politicians most do congregate,
To let their tongues tang arguments of State."

Adding ourselves to the number of its inmates, we find the governor of the State seated by a table, surrounded by judges of the supreme and superior courts, sipping sherry cobblers, smoking segars, and reveling in all the delights of an anticipated debauch. Another group of less distinction in public affairs, but better known , to the proprietor because of their more frequent and protracted visits, occupy a second table in the back part of the room, where they are playing cards and carousing over a general assortment of distilled, fermented and malt liquors. The proprietor himself is a red-nosed, jolly fellow, of burgomaster proportions, generally in a good humor, who treats his victim-patrons with the utmost courtesy and politeness. He is every man's man, and always has a smile and a smart saying prepared for the entertainment of the bystanders. His two clerks, for he is unable to wait upon all his customers himself, are equally urbane in their deportment, and may be found at their posts from six o'clock in the morning till twelve o'clock at night, ready to flavor and tincture mixed drinks, to prepare hot punches, and to deal out low anecdote to vulgar idlers. On the shelves and counters are dozens of labeled decanters and bottles, filled with the choicest liquors and artificial beverages that the world produces; other articles of similar use and value are also kept for sale, and stored away in their appropriate places. As a minute survey of the bill of fare may not be uninteresting, I herewith present it:—


BILL OF FARE OF A CALIFORNIA GROGGERY.
                Bowie Knives and Pistols.

The annual consumption of beer, wines and liquors in this State exceeds five millions of gallons, a vast deal of which is retailed at extraordinarily remunerative rates. All of the first class establishments, I mean those that deal in good qualities, charge twenty-five cents for every drink or dram they sell; but an adulterated article, of which there is always an abundant supply in market, can be procured at about one half that price. In some of the most popular and respectable saloons, genuine articles are always kept on hand for the benefit and accommodation of those who are willing to pay for a delicious (?) draught. I may not be a competent judge, but this much I will say, that I have seen purer liquors, better segars, finer tobacco, truer guns and pistols, larger dirks and bowie knives, and prettier courtezans here, than in any other place I have ever visited; and it is my unbiased opinion that California can and does furnish the best bad things that are obtainable in America."

_______________________________________________

The drink was known well enough in 1862 to make Jerry Thomas's first edition.

"Cool with shaved ice". What else would you cool with? The same verbage was lifted in 1878 for Leo Engel's "American and other drinks" which was published in England.

In 1882, Harry Johnson also saw fit to add the White Lion to his book, adding a bit on it's origins.

It appears in 1884 in O.H. Byron's book calling for you to "squeeze juice from half a lemon, putting the rind in the glass" and for "fine" ice rather than shaved. In 1895, George Kappeler listed these instructions in his book "Modern American Drinks":

White Lion. (Kappeler, 1895)

Cut the peel of half a lemon from it in one long thin piece, place it in a mixing-glass, add the juice of half a lemon, one tablespoonful fine sugar, one tablespoonful raspberry syrup, one jigger St. Croix rum, one pony curacoa ; mix well, put all in a long thin glass, ornament with fruit. Serve straws.

By 1914 in Jacques Straub's "Drinks", the recipe changed from a mixed drink to a shaken one, and the addition of Angostura bitters appears (which makes more sense, given the ingredients).

White Lion Cocktail (Straub 1914)

1 barspoon sugar

1/2 jigger lemon juice

3 dashes Angostura Bitters

3 dashes raspberry Syrup

1 jigger St. Croix Rum. Shake Well.

(This is starting to sound good!)

In 1922, it shows up again in Robert Vermeire's "Cocktails How to Mix Them"

White Lion (Vermeire, 1922)

Juice of half a lemon.

1/4 gill of raspberry syrup.

1/4 gill of Curacao.

3/4 gill of Rum.

Well Shaken and strained into a tumbler filled with chopped ice, and tastily decorated with fruits of the season.

Fast forward to 1948, David Embury calls the drink simply a "White Lady without the egg white and with lime juice in place of lemon." Not necessarily so, as we've seen through the recipe's history both lemon and lime have been called for. He's also changed the raspberry syrup to grenadine. Here's Embury's White Lion:

White Lion (Embury 1948)

1 part Grenadine

2 parts Lime Juice (put in shell of 1/2 lime)

1 part Curacao

7 parts White Label Rum

Shake

Then it just sort of disappears, popping up here and there in the oddest places. It seems to have remained a Mr. Boston's staple. It appears in a remarkably intact form in my 2006 edition:

White Lion Cocktail (Mr. Boston's 2006)

1 oz. Lemon Juice

1 tsp Superfine sugar (or simple syrup)

2 dashes bitters

1/2 tsp Grenadine

1 1/2 oz. Light Rum

Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

I found no mention of the While Lion from DeGroff, Regan, Calabrese, Haigh or Hess in their books.

Wondrich, in "Imbibe", says "The only difference between (Jerry) Thomas's Knickerbocker and his White Lion is that the latter replaces three-quarters of the raspberry syrup with pulverized sugar. I'll take the knee pants". 

Not to differ with the great cocktail sage, but I think there's a larger story here revealed by viewing the White Lion outside of Thomas's book, and that there's a great drink to be resurrected from these ashes.

I often quote Mud Puddle's "Big Bartender's Guide" and their adaptation of Johnson's recipe is fairly close to where my adaptation ended up.

White Lion (Masson and Boehm 2009 - adopted from H. Johnson's 1882 recipe)

2 ounces (60 ml) gold rum

1 ounce (30 ml) lime juice

1/2 ounce (15 ml) raspberry syrup

1/4 ounce (7 ml) orange curacao

Build over crushed ice in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with two raspberries and a mint sprig.

So where do I see this drink ending up for the 21st century? Looking through it's history, and carefully considering the best elements, I've come up with my version of the White Lion...Enjoy!

White Lion (The Lab, 2011)

Step 1) Into a shaker, place 1 (to 3) barspoon(s) powdered sugar depending on preference for sweetness. (I think 1 is enough though)

Step 2) Add 1 barspoon Angostura bitters, mix with the sugar to make a syrup.

Step 3) Add 1/4 ounce Monin raspberry syrup, 1/2 ounce Cointreau, 1 ounce fresh lemon juice, 2 ounces light rum, the long peel of half of a lemon.

Step 4) Fill with cracked ice. Shake, but not too long or too hard. Stop after 15-20 seconds of "gentle" shaking.

Step 5) Strain into an "Old Fashioned" or "Double Rocks" glass filled with crushed ice, arrange lemon peel as garnish and add optional garnishes (sprig of mint and/or berries in season). Serve with straws.

Add float of high proof demerara rum, like lemon Hart 151, for an extra treat!

The reduced sugar makes the mix a tart and tangy treat, kind of like a raspberry sweet tart. The orange and raspberry are there, but in the background. The sugar and lemon juice add a nice lemonade flavor. The Angostura bitters are just right here and for the super treat, add a float of high proof dark rum.

A few notes on the ingredients. To sugar or not to sugar? I think it's in enough of the early recipes, along with curacao and raspberry syrup that it has to be part of the recipe. But let's not go crazy shall we? It's a sweet drink already with all these flavors, so we're going with a barspoon, basically a little less than 1/4 ounce. You could double or triple that amount depending on taste, but I would not recommend a full tablespoon, as some of the early recipes did. 

On the subject of citrus, I'm in favor of using fresh squeezed lemon (over lime) and for straining the juice over squeezing straight into the glass and dropping in the rind. I also love Kappeler's instruction to "Cut the peel of half a lemon from it in one long thin piece"and serve it in the drink after mixing in a mixing glass. It's a bit of a mix between the "crusta" treatment and a "horse's head" garnish. Keep the lemon rind in as large a piece as possible, so as to stand up to the rigors of shaking.

The raspberry syrup and curacao are still here, but as with the sugar they are dialed back to allow our quality, modern spirits more room to shine in the mix. 

I think the Angostura bitters a brilliant addition, and would have probably added them myself if Straub had not already done so in 1914.

On the St. Croix rum, you could actually go with a Puerto Rican light rum like Don Q crystal, which is an excellent choice for the money. 

A better choice would be the Flor de Cana "Extra Dry" 4 year old from Nicaragua. Better still would be the El Dorado 3 year old, and best of all is the Havana Club blanco. Having the best in stock, that's what I decided to photograph, but my point is that there are many good choices for this drink.

The fruit and mint, charming as they may be, are optional as the lemon peel makes a sufficient garnish on it's own. 

For sure, this is another great drink to pull out that julep cup for on a hot day. In the daisy tradition, adding soda water and making this a tall drink would also work very well, especially as a summer refresher.