Monahan Special

Appearing in the Old Waldorf Bar Days book (1931) and attributed to Mike Monahan, this is basically a Manhattan with Amer Picon substituted for Angostura bitters.

An Old Waldorf Bar Days Recipe

MONAHAN SPECIAL


2 ounces (60 ml) Rye Whiskey
1 ounce (30 ml) Italian Vermouth
1 tsp Amer Picon Bitters


Stir with ice and strain over a fresh cube in a whiskey glass.

Just as with the Manhattan, rye is the whiskey to use here, as rye whiskey was the most prevalent and readily available in the New York Region at the time these drinks were brought about.

The Amer Picon of the day was much stronger, so upping from a few dashes to a tsp to allow the flavor to come through is not a stretch.

Wild Turkey and Punt e Mes always work well together in my opinion, and the addition the Amer Picon, gives an extra herbal hint along with the obvious orange flavor the Picon imparts. (If you cannot get Amer Picon in your market, try Amaro Cio Ciaro as a reasonable substitute - maybe add an orange twist as well). A very nice drink Mr. Monahan.

Fluffy Ruffles - Updated

(Still) A nice gem from Hugo Ensslin's Recipes for Mixed Drinks (1916-1917)

I had originally thought it a fairly safe assumption that "Rin of I lime" was a mistake in the printing, and that the intent was "juice of 1 lime" - Thanks to Frederic over at Cocktail virgin slut, I did some extra digging and found that Ensslin does indeed instruct in the use of the rind of a lime, specifically in his recipe for the Jack Rose:

I have revised this entry accordingly.

Fluffy Ruffles


1 1/2 ounces (45 ml) Havana Anejo Reserva
1 1/2 ounces (45 ml) Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
Rind of 1 lime (2 pre-juiced lime halves)


Shake well with cracked ice and strain into a cocktail glass. 

You'll want a good aged rum with lots of character, but nothing as thick and dark as say an El Dorado 15 or as full hogo as a Smith & Cross. What you will want is a "Planter's Best"( for those of you familiar with Wondrich's rum descriptions in his book "Punch".)

In the absence of a good aged Havana Club rum, go with one of the aged Flor de Cana rums like the Grand Reserva 7 or the Centenario 12.

I'm really enjoying my new bottle of Cocchi Vermouth di Torino which is why I'm using it here. Carpano Antica should do nicely here too.

So...revised drink, revised tasting notes. Shaking this drink nice and hard to really infuse the mix with the lime, and double straining, I ended up with (not surprisingly) a very different drink. Much more of a "limey Palmetto".

Lime then rum taking front seat on the nose, followed by very subtle hints of the vermouth. The drink is light and fresh on the palate. Now the rum and vermouth play better together providing a very enjoyable "Manhattan" like experience.

The essence of lime provided by shaking with the rind gives a very nice, fresh citrus profile, and without the full sour of my earlier drink (where I used the juice of 1 lime). It is spot on actually, and now I have something to do with some of those used lime rinds! I'll be playing with this technique for sure.

Thanks again Frederic for the comments!

Gaslight

The Gaslight


1 1/2 ounce (45 ml) Scotch Whisky
1/2 ounce (15ml) sweet vermouth
1/4 ounce (7ml) orange curacao
1 dash Drambuie

Stir with ice (except Drambuie) and strain into a cocktail glass. Float Drambuie and garnish with an orange twist.

Nice. Especially with Talisker 10 and Drambuie 15, and the Cointreau/Antica combo holds its own well against the heavily peated and wonderfully smokey Talisker. 

Warming too on these cool, rainy spring days we've been having lately. A lighter, fruitier Scotch drink that should appeal to those that enjoy a "Rusty Nail" now and again, and are open to trying something new. 

FANCIULLI

An Old Waldorf Bar Days Recipe

FANCIULLI

1 1/2 ounces (45 ml) Whiskey

3/4 ounce (22 ml) Sweet (Italian!) Vermouth

3/4 ounce (22 ml) Fernet Branca

Build in glass over large ice cube, stir. Garnish with lemon twist.

Fernet all the way! If you are already familiar with Fernet Branca...and enjoy it - then you should like this one. If not, it is probably best that you get acquainted with Fernet on its own first.

To my tastes, the Fernet overly dominated the drink when I used a mild and sweet bourbon like "Four Roses Small Batch" along with the very sweet and aromatic Carpano Antica vermouth. It wasn't like a straight shot of Fernet, (not that there's anything wrong with that), the vermouth and bourbon certainly tempered it - but the mix was extremely Fernet forward. 

I found that when I switched to the more robust flavors of "Punt e Mes" vermouth along with a big flavored bourbon like "Kentucky Pure XO", that the Fernet was more in balance. It struck me more as a "Fernet Manhattan", which I must say I've found to be very enjoyable. Frankly speaking, Fernet Branca usually lasts me quite a while, but this combination could be a "bottle drainer" for me!

Whatever your preferences, this recipe is a great way to enjoy Fernet Branca.

The Jimmie Lee

An Old Waldorf Bar Days Recipe

For some reason, March is always madness for me. I know posts have been slow in the coming this month, but the day job has to come first!

I'm sure my great-grandpba Parker, an Irish-American from county Cork, would not approve of my failing to post a good drink in honor of the day though...so to him I raise this Gaelic inspired riff on a classic perfect martini, because a great gin and vermouth drink is always good in my book!

The recipe appears in the 1931 title, Old Wardorf Bar Days, as follows:

A good story, though hard to say if there is any truth to it. Johnnie Solon was apparently prone to embellishment in his fact giving. 

If nothing else, it's a great drink...and what can be more appropriate for St. Patty's day, and to honor my own ancestor, than a (good) drink named in honor of a Irish-American immigrant from the early 20th century.

Jimmie Lee

1 ounce (30 ml) Noilly Prat dry French vermouth

1 ounce (30 ml) Punt e Mes sweet Italian vermouth

1 ounce (30 ml) Plymouth Gin

1 dash Peychaid's Bitters

Stir the gin and vermouth well with ice, pour into a double rocks glass mostly filled with crushed ice. Add some more crushed ice to the top and add dash of bitters to the fresh ice. Twist a slice of orange peel over top, rub the rim of the glass and drop in as a garnish.

As you could expect with 2/3 the volume being made of vermouth, the drink has strong herbal and wine characteristics, but the gin gives the drink a backbone. 

It reminded me a lot of a good a sherry cobbler (yes, they are growing on me). The Peychaud's bitters on top allows its aromatic qualities to really shine, especially with the added orange zest.

It is quite refreshing, and seemed to give a hint of the warm weather around the corner, when crushed ice season will return in full force!

Since the hint of spring is what this holiday has always really been about to me anyway, I chose this recipe to celebrate it. Happy St. Patty's everyone, I raise this one to you as well!

(By the way, if you happen to have Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal, a few dashes on the top in addition to the Peychaud's sends this one to a whole 'nother level - Cheers!)

Easy

An Old Waldorf Bar Days Recipe

Easy


1 3/4 ounces (52.5 ml) Bombay Dry Gin
1/4 oz (7.5 ml) Carpano Antica Vermouth
1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters


Shake and Strain into a cocktail glass.

I'll admit that I was in the mood for something easy and gin forward when I came across this one. It's very much both of those things. A great choice for gin lovers.

I have made and enjoyed a lot of shaken gin martinis in my day prior to discovering the wonders of the mixing glass.

While common wisdom today would call for this to be stirred, and I would certainly agree looking at the list, I decided to follow the instructions on this one.

This is very gin forward and does take me back to my early days with the martini, though this is much better than any I tried back then.

Do be careful adding the orange bitters, it is easy to overdo them, 3-5 drops and your good. A healthy "dash" right from the standard sized bottle is likely to be too much.

The drink is almost all gin, and that's what you end up tasting the most, but the touch of sweet vermouth adds just enough character to the drink to make it interesting. The orange bitters, when not overdone, makes up for the lack of zested citrus peel garnish and gives the drink some nice clean citrus notes.

If you do stir this, give it a good long stir with lots of ice to reach maximum chill (2-3 minutes). This drink should be served ice cold - and since shaking is the most efficient way to reach that temperature it is not a bad way to go, especially when you are in the mood for something easy.

The Lone Tree Cocktail

I was recently blessed with a rare first edition of Albert Stevens Crockett's 1931 classic, Old Waldorf Bar Days, from an extremely generous friend as a birthday gift.

There will be more posts to come from this treasured volume. The Lone Tree may not be the sexiest drink to start with, but I've always had an interest in trying it as I've come across the recipe in different books. So when I found it again here, it sounded like a great place to start.

As it is explained in David Wondrich's introduction to the Mud Puddle reprint of Jacques Straub's 1914 book Drinks, many of the recipes from Straub's books were likely "borrowed" from the famous hand-written books of the Waldorf bar with some limited help from his friend Oscar.

Jacques and Oscar Tschirky (who was one of the Waldorf's most famous bartenders) came over to America from Switzerland together on the same boat, and Oscar even contributed a blurb to the beginning of Straub's book.

The beauty of Old Waldorf Bar Days, which was not written until at least 17-18 years after Drinks, is that Crockett had the full cooperation of many of the "veteran employees" of the old Waldorf, among other collaborators that had "been regular patrons of the Bar who knew its habitués and what went on there."

Both titles are great resources. Drinks contains over 700 recipes in a pocket sized format. The instructions are usually wrong, and the drinks do take a fair amount of general knowledge to be successful with, but it's been a favored book for nearly 100 years for it's inspirational and practical nature.

The Old Waldorf Bar Days advertises "Four Hundred and Ninety-one Appealing Appetizers and Salutary Potations" in a handsome 6x9 perfect bound volume and its recipes are rich in detail, explanation and refinement (not to mention the many wonderful illustrations by Leighton Budd).

(Early history: The Lone Tree appeared first in 1900 in The Cocktail Book, A Sideboard Manual for Gentleman, as well as in the 1913 edition of Applegreen's Bar Book.) 

Straub in 1914 lists the Lone Tree Cocktail as:

When it appears in Old Waldorf Days in 1931, there is an accompanying story.

Tom gin has become Plymouth, a big change! Orange bitters have been added, and the ratio has been taken from 2:1 gin to vermouth, to a 1:1 ratio.

It appears to have been a very popular cocktail, and I'm thinking that word must have spread quickly - and likely by mouth - as the recipes lack consistency.

Four years before the Old Waldorf Bar Days was published, in Barflies and Cocktails by Harry McElhone (1927), you have this recipe:

Five years after it was published, Frank Mier (working in Paris) provided this recipe in the 1936 classic The Artistry of Mixing Drinks.

So what's a person to do? To me, these similarities point to a sweet martini with a bitter orange influence.

Based on the back-story provided in the Old Waldorf Bar Days book, I feel a bit better prepared to give it a try, so here's my version of the "that-time" drink for your refreshment.

The Lone Tree Cocktail

1.5 ounces (45 ml) Plymouth Gin
1.5 ounces (45 ml) Sweet Vermouth (Punt e Mes)
1 dash orange bitters


Stir well with ice, strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.


(Since this post is also introducing the Crockett book, it's only fitting to use his recipe.)

The 1:1 ratio of the clean-crisp Plymouth gin to the spicy-bitter, "grapefruity" Punt e Mes, along with the nice citrus hit from the bitters and orange peel oils, provide a very rich "sweet martini" experience...fitting for a recipe from the Old Waldof.

Enjoy!

Waxen Cocktail

From Jacques Straub's Drinks (1914), this is the "Waxen".

a.k.a.

WAXEN COCKTAIL


3/4 ounce (22 ml) Italian vermouth
3/4 ounce (22 ml) apple brandy
1/2 ounce (15 ml) yellow Chartreuse
3/4 ounce (22 ml) Tom gin


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




It's hard for me to believe that this recipe has escaped further attention.

These are all popular ingredients in today's craft bars, and the ratios even look great on paper.

It's sweet and dry, sharp and smooth, spicy and mild. It's a drink of contradictions. Even the name is a contradiction, belying the stupendous drink with it's tepid name. Why I could wax eloquent for many an hour on it's many...wait, OK, now the name may make more sense...

I went with Carpano Antica for the vermouth, Laird's 100 proof "Bottled in Bond" Apple Brandy, and Hayman's Old Tom gin for my drink.

Mixed on their own they would be good, but the addition of yellow Chartreuse is a game-changer. It adds a "honeyed-herbal-complexity" to the already "sweet-and-spicily-herbaceous" Carpano Antica, that really makes this recipe a standout.

Enjoy!

The Crescent Cocktail

This appears to be a recipe from an anonymous member of the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild (UKBG).

[Update February 1, 2011 - This appears first in Straub's 1914 classic "Drinks", explaining it's anonymous appearance in the UKBG's "Approved Drinks"]

In 1934, the book "Approved Cocktails Authorized by the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild" enjoyed a single printing. It's authors were listed as the senior members of the guild, including one "Harry Craddock" (author of Savoy Cocktail book), who appears listed as the guild president. Harry helped form (and also left) the guild in 1934.

Listed in the "council" was one "B. Tarling", and from the introduction to his update of the book, he appears to have done much of the work in creating it.

"Billy" Tarling changed his moniker to "W.J. Tarling" between 1934 and the publication of "Cafe Royal" in 1937, when he re-released the content of "Approved Cocktails Authorized by the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild" under the name "Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, Coronation Edition".

In this second release, the book sees the addition of a lengthy preface and numerous illustrations as well as additional recipes. The proceeds are stated to benefit the "United Kingdom Bartenders Guild Sickness Fund" and the "Café Royal Sports Club Fund".

Where the guild publication was mainly aimed at the trade, this new book was aimed at the consumer. The content was also made more user friendly by changing the recipe ratio descriptions from clunky percentages like "33 1/3 %" to fractions like "1/3".

Many cocktail recipes appear in this content that were years ahead of their time. The use of tropical fruits, bright colors, tequila, fernet branca, and many other ingredients that would become the calling cards of late twentieth century mixology, is remarkable.

Here's a hidden gem that seems to appear only in these books, enjoy.

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

From Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, Coronation Edition (1937)

And of course, my adaptation:




The Crescent


1 ounce (30 ml) Amer Picon
1 ounce (30 ml) Pent e Mes sweet vermouth
1 ounce (30 ml) Bourbon 
1 tsp.  (5 ml) Raspberry Syrup


Stir well with ice, strain into a cocktail glass. 


For the bourbon, go with something in the "Rick and Oaky" flavor camp like "Eagle Rare 10".

I wanted to crisper, drier flavor of the "Punt e Mes" over the "Carpano Antica" sweet vermouth to balance out the sweet flavors from the Aper Picon and raspberry syrup.

The raspberry syrup and Amer Picon together made for some very "jammy" flavors, which the blend of Punt e Mes and Eagle Rare 10 balanced out well.

This is a sweet "Manhattan" style drink, and which would make a nice substitute for port wine when paring with foods.

Tipperary

...these are a few of my favorite things...

Tipperary Cocktail


1 ounce (30 ml) Irish whiskey
3/4 ounce (22 ml) Chartreuse green
3/4 ounce (22 ml) sweet vermouth

Stir well with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.


Red Breast Irish Whisky, Chartreuse green and Carpano Antica. Enough said. 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.

Cooperstown Cocktail

Here's another from Mr. Bullock's (never mind his name) book "The Ideal Bartender" (1917), the Cooperstown. Using "Old Tom" gin, which is sweeter than "London Dry", and Italian (sweet) Vermouth and shaken with mint, this is basically a mint flavored sweet martini.

COOPERSTOWN COCKTAIL

Use a large Bar glass.
Fill with Lump Ice.
One jigger of Sir Robert Burnette's Old Tom Gin.
1/2 pony of Italian Vermouth.
Six leaves of fresh Mint.
Shake Ingredients well together.
Strain and serve in a Cocktail glass.


So, the modern adoptation is:

Cooperstown Cocktail


2 ounces (60 ml) Old Tom Gin (I used Hayman's)
1 ounce (30 ml) Italian Vermouth (I used Punt e Mes)
Six leaves of fresh mint


Shake and double strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with lemon twist.

I must say, "like at first sip" but less than half way through this drink I was in love with it. A nice, clean, slightly-sweet-but-still-dry drink with the deep dark notes from the Punt e Mes countering the sweet gin nicely.

The fresh mint is amazing, there, but only in the background. Punt e Mes is a fantastic vermouth in the right drink, but can be a bit cloying or heavy in the wrong mix. The mint with the Punt e Mes was a perfect match, and I'm sure to use this trick in a future "Lab" drink of my own.

Note on the double straining; a good hard shake will pulverize the fresh mint, which is great, but double strain with a fine-mesh strainer if you want a nice, clean drink.


Footnote:

A few more "Cooperstown" recipes that were brought to my attention:

1916-17 Hugo R. Ennslin

1/3 El Bart Gin
1/3 French Vermouth
1/3 Italian Vermouth
Sprig Fresh Mint

Shake well in a mixing glass with cracked ice, strain and serve.


1922 Robert Vermeire's "Cocktails how to mix them"

Cooperstown Cocktail.

   The Cooperstown is a Martini Cocktail shaken up with 2 sprigs of fresh mint.
   This drink is very popular amongst the cowboys in America. The recipe was given to me by a well-known member of the Peerage who lived amongst them for some time.

Twilight Cocktail

I found this gem in Thomas Bullock's 1917 book, "The ideal bartender". Tom worked at the St. Louis Country Club for 25 years as was very highly regarded in the area. 

His book was dedicated "To those who enjoy snug club rooms, that they may learn the art of preparing for themselves what is good."

Here's the "Twilight Cocktail".

TWILIGHT COCKTAIL (Thomas Bullock, 1917)

Use a large Mixing glass with Lump Ice.
1 jigger Bourbon.
½ pony Italian Vermouth.
Juice of whole Lime.

Shake well; strain into a Champagne glass; fill with Seltzer and serve.

My adaptation:

TWILIGHT COCKTAIL

2 ounces (60 ml) bourbon

1 ounce (30 ml) Italian (sweet) vermouth

1 ounce (30 ml) lime juice

sparkling water

Shake well and strain into a flute champagne glass, fill with sparkling mineral water, garnish with orange twist.

This one certainly tastes much better than it looks! It's basically a Manhattan sour, and not exactly what I would call a beginner drink. If you enjoy your Manhattans and the sour family on their own, this should be worth a try.

I went with a bold 107 proof bourbon in the "Old Rip Van Winkle 107" to go with the sweet Carpano Antica vermouth and sour lime juice. This is a dry drink to be sure, but somehow refreshing. At twilight, after a hot day on the links this would indeed be a welcome libation.

This drink was in honor of the spectacular twilight in Boulder this evening.

Blackstone Cocktail(s)

In 1908, Jacques Straub, (author of "Drinks"- 1914), set up the wine program for and stocked the cellars of Chicago's exclusive Blackstone Hotel. He remained there until 1920 when Prohibition put an end to this career.

Blackstone Hotel, Chicago 1914

Jacques was at the Blackstone from the very beginning, signing on in 1908 when the earliest parts of the hotel were completing. (Construction would continue through 1910.)

In the 5 or so years he was at the Blackstone before his book was published, he managed to create four turn-of-the-(last)-century "martini" variations. I'm not sure if these were offered all at the same time, seasonally, or sequentially. They do make a nice list though, and if one were pressed to create a vintage "Martini Menu", this would fit the bill nicely.

Mr. Straub was never a bartender, but he obviously had great taste and was a decent record keeper. This perhaps explains his penchant for shaking drinks that should be stirred, and vice-versa. His great collection of recipes aside, he's wrong in his instructions to shake, and without exception, the list below should be stirred.

Adapted we have:

Blackstone Cocktail


1.5 ounces (45 ml) London Dry Gin (I used Bombay Dry Gin)
.75 ounce (22 ml) Italian vermouth (Carpano Antica)
.75 ounce (22 ml) French vermouth (Cocchi Americano, for fun)
1 piece orange peel


Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with cracked ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Flame the oils from an orange peel over the top of the drink, rub rim of glass with peel, and drop peel into glass. 

His intent in the cryptic recipe was probably to include the orange peel in the shaker and to strain it out of the mix before serving. I went with the flamed peel to add a little extra depth, considering the lack of bitters.

The drink was plush and elegant, just as you would expect from such a newly-minted high class establishment. Basically a "perfect" martini with orange peel.

Blackstone No.1


2 1/4 ounces (67 ml) Old Tom gin. (I used Hayman's Old Tom)
.75 ounce (22 ml) Italian Vermouth (I used Punt E Mes)
Lemon twist for garnish

Stir in mixing glass, strain into a cocktail glass. Twist lemon peel over top and drop into glass.

I used a Meyer lemon for the twist here and it's sharp, acrid, pine-like nose made the Old Tom more "gin-like" in my opinion. The sour/quinine profile of the Punt e Mes also offset the sweet Old Tom nicely. I liked this one more than I thought I would. It's simple ingredients provided a surprising amount of depth.

Blackstone No. 2
(Special Blackstone)


2 ounces (60 ml) dry gin (I used Plymouth Dry here)
1 ounce (30 ml) French vermouth. (I used Lillet Blanc)
orange twist for garnish


Stir in mixing glass, strain into cocktail glass. Add orange twist, zesting over top of the glass, and use as garnish.

A "wet" martini if ever there was one. If you like martinis, this one is delightfully easy to drink. The lillet is sweet and silky smooth on the mouth. The Plymouth comes through, but since Plymouth is a very light, smooth gin it's not overpowering. The orange zest provides the right balance on the nose making this a very drinkable, very enjoyable martini.

Blackstone No. 3 Special


1 dash absenthe (I used Kubler)
1 ounce (30 ml) French vermouth (I used Noilly Prat)
1 ounce (30 ml) dry gin (I used Bombay dry)
lemon twist for garnish

Stir in mixing glass, strain into cocktail glass. Add lemon twist, zesting over top of the glass, and use as garnish.

What can I say about this one? It's a gin martini, made in the old style (2:1 ratio), with dash absinthe. I took a little more liberty on this one and substituted a grapefruit twist for the lemon. After tasting it on it's own, I added one dash each of Scrappy's "celery" and "grapefruit" bitters. Then it was very, very nice. 

A menu worth of Chicago's "A" list, it's an excellent range of early martini variations. For me, the best experience was the gentle complexity of the No. 1 with the Meyer lemon twist. What is your favorite?