Cocktail Hacker

This week I’m going old school again and pulling a recipe from the pages of the The Savoy Cocktail Book, the Chrysanthemum cocktail. In addition to the recipe the ingredients for this cocktail are old school as well. Benedictine, for example, has been around for 500 years this year. More on that later this week.

The Savoy notes that the Chrysanthemum is “well-known and very popular in the American Bar of the S.S. Europa.” The SS Europa also has an interesting history that’s worth noting. The Europa was initially built as an ocean liner to make the transatlantic crossing. Shortly after being put in to service it took the Blue Riband, becoming the fastest passenger liner making the crossing at the time, a title it would keep for over three years. With the liner’s speed the Norddeutsche Lloyd company was able to offer a weekly transatlantic trip with only a pair of ships. There are some other cool bits that you can read about at the Wikipedia link above. My favorite is that the Europa had a sea plane that launched by catapult from the upper deck. Okay, cocktail time!

Chrysanthemum (Savoy)

2 oz Dry Vermouth

1 oz Benedictine

3 Dashes Absinthe

1) Combine ingredients in a shaker over ice

2) Shake until well chilled *

3) Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

4) Garnish with an orange twist

*For reasons unknown to me, most of the Savoy recipes call for shaking. However, since this recipe includes no cloudy ingredients I’ll be stirring it instead.

This week has been jam packed and I haven’t had nearly enough time to explore this cocktail to the depth I’d like. So, rather than cutting my explorations short, I’m going to extend in to a second week and do this right. One of the angles I have yet to explore is the original recipe for the Blackthorn from The Savoy Cocktail Book.

Blackthorn (Savoy)

1 1/2 oz Irish Whiskey

1 1/2 oz French (Dry) Vermouth

3 Dashes Angostura Bitters

3 Dashes Absinthe

1) Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice

2) Shake until well chilled

3) Strain into a cocktail glass

There are a couple interesting points to note about the recipe itself before I even get a chance to mix it up. First, note that this original recipe calls for dry vermouth rather than the sweet called for in Regan’s recipe. While this change will certainly alter the flavor of the cocktail quite significantly it shows a good example of how one can tweak a recipe by changing only one ingredient. Second, note that this recipe calls for the drink to be shaken despite all the ingredients being clear. As we’ve seen from previous experiments this will likely result in a colder, more diluted finished cocktail. Whether this was the intent of the original recipe’s author is hard to say as nearly every cocktail recipe in the Savoy calls for shaking.

So, with that, I’m again off on the cocktail journey. Check back next week for my findings on the differences in recipes and techniques. Should be a tasty week.

I’m sticking with the whiskey theme this week and mixing up the Blackthorn. Although, in looking for recipes for this drink I noticed that there are two completely different versions to choose from. The first, and the one I’m going to mix this week, is a riff on the Manhattan combining whiskey and vermouth. The second, which I may very well need to explore at a later date, is a combo of gin, Dubonnet Rouge and kirschwasser. Intriguing.

The whiskey version comes from The Savoy Cocktail Book by way of my perennial favorite The Joy of Mixology. I’m going to start with the Joy of Mixology version, but I’ll be coming back to the Savoy version as well.

Blackthorne (Joy of Mixology)

2 oz Irish Whiskey

1 oz Sweet Vermouth

Angostura Bitters to Taste

Absinthe to Taste

Lemon Twist

1) Combine ingredients in a mixing glass

2) Add ice and stir until well chilled

3) Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

4) Garnish with a lemon twist

No, that’s not a spelling mistake. Gary Regan’s recipe adds an ‘e’ as it’s enough of a twist on the original to be a different cocktail.

The holidays are over and I’m back to my regular cocktail posting schedule. I’m going to kick off the new year with The Blinker, a cocktail based on rye. Because, well, I love the stuff. My inspiration for choosing this particular came from Anvil’s list of 100 drinks to try in your lifetime. Reading the ingredients (rye, raspberry syrup and grapefruit juice) I was intrigued. This mix of ingredients is not one that I would have thought to try together. However, given that this drink was originally printed in 1934 and still survives today it must be a pretty tasty combo. So, with that, let’s get mixing.

The Blinker (Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails)

2 oz Rye

1 oz Grapefruit Juice

1 tsp Raspberry Syrup

1) Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice

2) Shake until well chilled

3) Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

4) Garnish with a lemon twist

Well folks, the eve of the new year is upon us. For some it’s already here. For everyone I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. Though, before we get too carried away with the revelry I think there’s still time for one last cocktail. I’m going to take a quick look at the Violet Fizz from The Bubbly Bar as I promised earlier in the week.

Violet Fizz (The Bubbly Bar)

4 oz Brut Sekt or Prosecco

1/2 oz Monin Violet Syrup

1 oz Delicate Gin

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

1/2 oz Pasteurized Egg White

2 Pieces of Candied Violet for Garnish

1) Pour the prosecco into a cocktail glass

2) Combine other ingredients in a shaker

3) Shake with ice until well chilled

4) Strain into cocktail glass

5) Garnish with Candied Violet

Reading the recipe for this drink in the book it sounded really good. Plus it’s a twist on the Ramos Gin Fizz, one of my favorites. Mixing up the drink I ran into a few problems, but nothing that some recipe tweaking can’t handle. First, I don’t have Monin violet syrup. I do, however, have a bottle of Creme de Violette that would be delightful here. Second, I don’t have any prosecco on hand and I’m comfortable enough to admit I’ve never heard of sekt. After a bit of googling it seems that sekt is the German word for sparkling wine. Now you know. (I’ll let you insert the G.I. Joe reference) Not to worry, I’m sure the Gruet Brut I’ve been mixing with this week will work fine.

Third, I don’t think the Creme de Violette adds as much sweetness as the Monin syrup would. In my subsequent attempts I added a bit of simple syrup which sorted that problem out nicely. Finally, my drink didn’t come together nearly as well as the one pictured. When I poured the shaken components into the Champagne, I ended up with about six ounces of foam. Not optimal. I switched up the method and mixed it like you would a Ramos Gin Fizz. I mixed the ingredients, poured them into a collins glass and topped it with the Champagne. Same result, way too much foam. I tried reducing the amount of egg white I added to no avail. Simple enough, I just dropped the egg white all together and moved on.

Now that you’ve patiently read this rambling story I’d like to make a point as to why I wrote it all down. When you’re looking at cocktail recipes and you don’t have the exact ingredients needed or don’t like the results, improvise! Whatever you’re mixing should make you happy first and foremost and only after that adhear to classic recipes. Cocktail recipes, as with those for cooking, are just guidelines after all.

Violet Fizz (Cocktail Hacker)

4 oz Brut Champagne

1 oz Gin (Hendricks)

1/2 oz Creme de Violette

1/4 oz Simple Syrup

3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Lemon Twist for Garnish

1) Add the Champagne to a cocktail glass

2) Combine other ingredients in a shaker

3) Shake with ice until well chilled

4) Pour gin mixture into the cocktail glass

5) Garnish with a lemon twist

So there you have my recipe. I have to say, I really enjoy this drink. It’s reminiscent of an Aviation, another favorite, which is definitely not a bad thing. The color is a light sea green and the Creme de Violette gives the aroma a very delicate floral note. The flavor is really well balanced and harmonious, with each ingredient coming through. Note that I opted for a delicate gin as the original recipe suggested. Good call. Too much punch from the gin would overwhelm the Creme de Violette and Champagne. Finally the effervescence from the Champagne is really refreshing.

Happy New Year all. Enjoy your drinks tonight.