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!

Red Hook Cocktail

Created by Enzo Errico while bartending at Milk & Honey in New York. The Red Hook, named for a South Brooklyn neighborhood, is a newer variation on the venerable Manhattan.




The Red Hook

2 ounces (60 ml) rye

1/2 ounce (15 ml) Punt y Mes sweet vermouth
1/4 ounce (7ml) maraschino liqueur

Stir well with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

I love a good Manhattan, and I often find myself going for Punt y Mes for my mix anyway. With only 1/2 ounce of vermouth to stand up to the rye, there is a possibility of the drink being too dry for many tasters. The addition of a generous 1/4 ounce of maraschino provides just enough added sweetness, and prevents the drink from becoming to dry and alcohol forward.

Enzo left bitters out of this one, perhaps counting on the Punt y Mes's strong herbals and slightly Campari-like bitter profile to do all the work. While it is a very nice drink as-is, I've found that I do like the addition of bitters. Ango is fine, but wormwood bitters work especially well in this one.

Brooklyn

The Brooklyn cocktail comes from a very rare 1908 title by Jacob Abraham Grohusko entitled Jack's Manual.

Jack's Manual, J.A. Grohusko, 1908

The drink's merit is obviously endorsed by how quickly the recipe spread, and it's continued popularity to this day...well...maybe I shouldn't be that hard on it. In fact, this drink, though it has had its followers, was never that popular of a Manhattan variation and it shows up only here and there over the years.

Since this recipe is a personal favorite, I'm going to go into a little more depth with this one. I'll feature the  Jack's Manual recipe later as the base for my recommended recipe, so let's start with Jacques Straub's 1914 recipe in Drinks (once thought to be the earliest recipe) and work up from there, checking in on the recipe here and there as it has aged.

Drinks, Jacques Straub, 1914

Next we'll check in on Harry & Wynn's Barflies & Cocktails version from 1927:

Barflies & Cocktails, Harry & Wynn, 1927

In 1930 it makes an appearance in The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock:

Brooklyn Cocktail (Savoy 1930)

1 dash Amer Picon

1 dash Maraschino

2/3 Canadian Club whiskey

1/3 French vermouth.

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

(I guess Straub lifted this one from Jack's Manual as it does not appear in 1931's Old Waldorf Bar Days...the Brooklyn apparently not having been popular enough with that crowd for its inclusion.)

It was included in the original UKBG from 1934:

Approved Drinks United Kingdom Bartender's Guide, 1934

Frank Meier took a stab at it in 1936 in The Artistry of Mixing Drinks, interesting for a Paris bartender to leave out the Amer Picon!

 Artistry of Mixing Drinks, Frank Meier, 1936

Billy Tarling made sure to include in his 1937 update of the UKBG:

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

By 1948, Embury's take indicates that the Brooklyn's popularity had obviously begun to fade.

The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, Embury, 1948

It appears in a few modern books, though not many. Robert Hess changed the dry vermouth to sweet in his 2008 title Essential Bartender's Guide. Though I'm sure it would work, I think it would technically be a "Sweet Brooklyn". Mr. Boston's also lists their recipe with sweet vermouth.

Most of the recipes though time call for a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio of rye to vermouth. Ted Haigh in "Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails" includes a recipe with dry vermouth, but his adaptation calls for using 2 oz of rye and only 3/4 oz of dry vermouth, using enough vermouth I suppose to make it a Brooklyn - but we're getting further away from this drink's roots.

Rye and dry vermouth...apparently not the most popular mix! That's really what this drink is all about though. If you are not into the base spirits, then this drink is likely going to fall flat for you.

If you are lucky enough to have a bottle of real Amer Picon, then you can make a real Brooklyn. At only 1 dash though, its flavor is really in the background.

A century ago when these recipes were written, Amer Picon was made stronger than it is now. So you can add more of it if you like, and remain true to the original creations, which is why the amount of Amer Picon in my recommended recipe below is larger than the amount of maraschino liqueur.

So, ready to try one? Let's see where it all began and look at the Jack's Manual recipe from 1908:

Jack's Manual, J.A. Grohusko, 1908

Brooklyn Cocktail

1.5 ounces (45 ml) Wild Turkey 101 Rye Whiskey
1.5 ounces (45 ml) Cocchi Americano
3/4 tsp (3.75 ml) Amer Picon
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur


Stir and strain into cocktail glass, garnish with an orange twist.


I'm going to follow suit here with previous authors through time by making a few slight adjustments to make this drink more to my liking - while trying to stay as true to the 1908 original version as possible.

I'm not sure what the flavor profile of "Ballor" was, but I did some experimenting to help me dial in my own preferred ingredients.

I've enjoyed this drink many times on its own, but here was a chance to make a batch for side-by-side comparisons.

I started by making this recipe with Noilly Pratt, Lillet Blanc and Cocchi Americano against Rittenhouse bonded.

The Noilly was of course the driest of the bunch.  Though I had a better sense of the Rittenhouse with this combo than the others, and liked how it allowed the rye's flavors to shine through the mix. The Noilly's flavors managed to hold up well to my "generous" dashes of the Maraschino and Amer Picon. This combo is perfectly enjoyable. Especially if you have developed a taste for dry vermouth, as its flavor comes through well in this variation.

I would recommend Lillet blanc for the wine lovers out there, as the sauvignon blanc and semillon grapes in Lillet's base show up nicely here. It was a a mid-point between the Noilly Prat & Cocchi in terms of dryness.

The Cocchi was like a big wet kiss after trying the first two. Round & luscious with even more of a silky mouth feel than the Lillet, here was a very drinkable variation. Cocchi is not always my favorite choice, it is a little "off" in many combos for my palate. As with many bottles worth having though, when it works, it works really well!

(Cocchi Americano is blend of Moscato d'Asti, the roots of gentian flowers, cinchona bark and a secret blend of botanicals. It's known to be the truest recipe to the original Kina Lillet available on the market today.)

The fourth in the lineup was made with Wild Turkey 101 rye and Cocchi Americano.

Here was the mix I was after. It was the most "Manhattan-ish" of the lot. The Wild Turkey rye's bigger oak profile worked well to tame the Cocchi down for a nice balance. In turn, the Cocchi smoothed out the rough edges of the whiskey, while retaining its bitter, citrusy profile without overpowering the whiskey to the point that it had with the Rittenhouse. The flavors of the Maraschino and Amer Picon come through as well, but are not overpowering. There was something new here as well, the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, which is always the hallmark of a great cocktail.

The Wild Turkey/Chocchi on a 1:1 ratio was how my palate found the Brooklyn best to its liking, but these were all enjoyable combinations. I guess that's why the Brooklyn is a favorite of mine and many others - it's a flexible drink that offers many different experiences. Including hopefully, a favorite combination for you as well.

The Tropical Cocktail

Here's one I've adopted from a rare title from 1932, The Art of Mixing, by Helene M. Griffith and James A. Wiley:

 TROPICAL COCKTAIL


1 ounce (30 ml) Mozart Dry 
1 ounce (30 ml) Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
1 ounce (30 ml) Cocchi Americano
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash Angostura orange bitters


Stir well with ice and strain into rocks glass over 1 large cube. Add bitters, stir and garnish with flamed orange peel.


Tropical is a good name for this recipe. I was worried about putting a whole ounce each of Maraschino and Mozart dry in a drink with only one ounce of vermouth to balance them both out. Normally 1/4 ounce of either of the first two spirits would be more than enough to overpower a drink.

This is a properly good drink though. Yes, there are strong chocolate and cherry flavors, along with good orange flavor from the flamed peel and bitters. Angostura works wonders too here, but I have to think that the Cocchi is the real star here, as it seems to tie all of these flavors together without making itself assertively known.

I will also give it credit for the drinks clean finish, as it lacks the sticky, syrupy sweet aftertaste I fully expected to encounter here. I think I shall go now, and spend some time with my keyboard on the concertina setting.

Enjoy!

Blue Collar Cocktail

Lots of fancy egg drinks this month. Time to roll up the sleeves and get back to work with something a little more appropriate for a "Monday".

The blue collar was one of my first "new" favorites, and still a favorite "modern" recipe of mine. It is dark and stirred, but the orange flavors from the bitters and Amaro Cio Ciaro, along with the cherry from the Maraschino and subtle florals from the moderate amount of carpano, really lighten this drink up to something more in the "medium and stirred" range. It seems to me almost more like a sweet martini than a rye based cocktail.

The "Blue Collar" was created by Michael Madrusan, when he was working at "Milk and Honey" in New York City. Michael was also a well known bartender at "Little Branch", before moving to Australia a little over a year ago. (Michael will soon be opening a new bar called "Everleigh" in Melbourne...if you find yourself in Melbourne, look it up!)

THE BLUE COLLAR


2 ounces (60 ml) Sazarac Rye
1/2 ounce (15 ml) Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
3/8 ounce (11ml) Maraschino Liqueur
3/8 ounce (11 ml) Amaro Cio Ciaro
1 dash Orange Bitters


Stir and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.