#291 Cocktail: Valentino

     A cocktail created by Gaz Regan and his wife, Mardee in 1999, for the Valentine's Day issue of "Ardent Spirits e-letter"
     The recipe is a simple deviation from the classical Negroni by adjusting the ratios

2 ounces Gin

1/2 ounce Campari

1/2 ounce sweet vermouth

#267 Cocktail: Satan's Whiskers

     At a first look, the combination of all these drinks seem not to work thatwell, but I tell you it does, and it is very, very tasty.
      It seems apparent that the Satan’s Whiskers is a variation on a favorite cocktail of the early 20th Century, The Bronx. It is perhaps inevitable that some of the other boroughs of New York clamored for a cocktail of their own after the success of The Manhattan, with The Brooklyn - a very nice mix of Rye, Dry Vermouth, Maraschino and the nearly impossible to source Amer Picon - being far better and far more delicious than the Bronx, which is simply a Perfect Martini (equal parts sweet and dry vermouth), tarted up with some orange juice. While not offensive, the Bronx is lacking, but it was incredibly popular in its day; President Taft once scandalized the nation by having one with his breakfast and it was deemed one of the ten most popular cocktails of 1934 by Burke's Complete Cocktail & Drinking Recipes. On the flip side, Esquire put the Bronx on its list of the 10 Worst Drinks from 1924-1934.

(www.birthmoviesdeath.com)

1/2 ounce gin

1/2 ounce dry vermouth

1/2 ounce sweet vermouth

1/2 ounce fresh orange juice

1/4 ounce Grand Marnier

Orange bitters to taste

#251 Cocktail: Remember the Maine

    A classic cocktail adapted from a recipe but Charles H Baker Jr., which insisted that, when making the drink, you should only stir clockwise.
    Charles H Baker Jr, an American journalist who counted Ernest Hemingway and Errol Flynn among his many friends, wrote for magazines such as Gourmet, Esquire and Town and Country, and was described by Margaria Fichtner, a columnist for the Miami Herald, as having an ‘unquenchable enthusiasm for what he called “the gentle art of imbibation”’.
    Baker writes in his 1939 book, The Gentleman's Companion: An Exotic Drinking Book.

(scotchwhisky.com)

2 ounces bourbon

3/4 ounce sweet vermouth

1/4 ounce cherry liqueur

absinthe to taste

Angostura bitters to taste

#245 Cocktail: Rob Roy

    Created in 1894 by a bartender at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan, New York City. The drink was named in honor of the premiere of Rob Roy, an operetta by composer Reginald De Koven and lyricist Harry B. Smith loosely based upon Scottish folk hero Rob Roy MacGregor.
     A Rob Roy is similar to a Manhattan but is made exclusively with Scotch whisky, while the Manhattan is traditionally made with rye and today commonly made with bourbon or Canadian whisky.

(Wikipedia)

2 ounces Scotch

1 ounce Sweet vermouth

Peychaud's bitters to taste

#240 Cocktail: Oriental

      The cocktail was adapted from a recipe in "The Savoy Cocktail Book" 1930, which also notes that an American man desperately ill with fever in the Philippines in 1924, gave the doctor who saved his life the recipe for this drink by way of thanks.
       The original recipe was made with rye whiskey, but Gaz Regan offered a choice of whiskey styles and also changed the adding of curacao to triple sec to cut a little the sweetness of the drink

1 1/2 ounce rye whiskey or bourbon

3/4 ounce sweet vermouth

3/4 ounce triple sec

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

#221 Cocktail: Paddy

      As Gaz Regan says, "Paddy cocktail is the Irish Manhattan", and he is right when he says that. The only difference between the two is the fact that in this one you have to use Irish whiskey (of course you have to use this, because otherwise it would't be Paddy :) )
      The cocktail was made for he first time in 1930 and appeared in Harry Craddock's "The Savoy Cocktail Book" 1930. The 1930 recipe doesn't say anything about the lemon twist garnish, but the one in Gaz Regan's book adds this subtle aromatic dimension

2 ounces Irish whiskey

1 ounce sweet vermouth 

Angostura bitters to taste

     

#213 Cocktail: Negroni

      While the drink's origins are unknown, the most widely reported account is that it was first mixed in Florence, Italy, in 1919, at Caffè Casoni (formerly Caffè Giacosa), located on Via de' Tornabuoni and now called Caffè Roberto Cavalli. Count Camillo Negroni concocted it by asking the bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to strengthen his favorite cocktail, the Americano, by adding gin rather than the normal soda water. The bartender also added an orange garnish rather than the typical lemon garnish of the Americano to signify that it was a different drink. Since the drink was conceived before the invention of dry gin, the kind of gin used would have likely been barrel aged or Old Tom style.

(Wikipedia)

1 1/2 ounce Gin

1 1/2 ounce Campari

1 1/2 ounce Sweet Vermouth

#195 Cocktail: Maurice

    The cocktail was adapted from a recipe in Harry Craddock's "Savoy Cocktail Book. This is almost the same recipe as the one for the Bronx cocktail, the only new part added here is the 2 dashes of Absinthe, that really makes a difference in the taste of the cocktail. Careful not to use more than 2 dashes, because the taste of absinthe will really overpower the entire taste of the cocktail

2 ounces gin

1/4 ounce dry vermouth

1/4 ounce sweet vermouth

1 ounce fresh orange juice

1-2 dashes absinthe

#192 Cocktail: Martinez

      Thought to be the ‘Father’ of the Martini, or at least acknowledged to have had a huge amount of influence on it, the Martinez’s origins belong in a cloudy haze of uncertainty.
      It most likely started life sometime in the 1860’s or 70’s, but is first known to have been published in O.H. Byron’s The Modern Bartender, in 1884. Byron’s succinct summary of the Martinez states that it is the “same as Manhattan, only you substitute the gin for whisky.” The difficulty in this very simple statement is that he gives two versions of the Manhattan and no suggestion of which the Martinez is to follow; both a dry and sweet Manhattan were recorded. In the years since, this has added greatly to the confusion. ( www.ginfoundry.com )

       The most recognized version of the classic recipe, as printed in an 1887 revised (and posthumously published) edition of Jerry Thomas’ book How To Make Drinks or the Bon Vivant’s Companion, substitutes Old Tom Gin for whiskey to create something approximating a gin Manhattan

      2 ounces gin

1 ounce sweet vermouth

1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur

Angostura bitters to taste

#183 Cocktail: Manhattan

    This one is one of the 3 cocktails that are my all time favorite. The other 2 are Martini and Old-Fashioned.
     A popular history suggests that the drink originated at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the early 1870s, where it was invented by Dr. Iain Marshall for a banquet hosted by Jennie Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston) in honor of presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden. The success of the banquet made the drink fashionable, later prompting several people to request the drink by referring to the name of the club where it originated—"the Manhattan cocktail". However, Lady Randolph was in France at the time and pregnant, so the story is likely a fiction.
     However, there are prior references to various similar cocktail recipes called "Manhattan" and served in the Manhattan area. By one account it was invented in the 1860s by a bartender named Black at a bar on Broadway near Houston Street.
     The original "Manhattan cocktail" was a mix of "American Whiskey, Italian Vermouth and Angostura bitters". During Prohibition (1920–1933) Canadian whisky was primarily used because it was available.
      An early record of the cocktail can be found in William Schmidt's "The Flowing Bowl", published in 1891. In it, he details a drink containing 2 dashes of gum (gomme syrup), 2 dashes of bitters, 1 dash of absinthe, 2/3 portion of whiskey and 1/3 portion of vermouth.

2 ounces bourbon or straight rye whiskey

1 ounce sweet vermouth

2 dashes orange bitters

#177 Cocktail: Leap-Year

    "This cocktail is a classic, was created by Harry Craddock for the Leap Year celebrations at the Savoy Hotel, London, on 29th February 1928. It is said to have been responsible for more proposals than any other cocktail that has ever been mixed". (The savoy Cocktail Book, 1930)
     I don't think that there is more to say about this. We know the history, we know the creator and we know why was it called like this.
     So......have fun drinking it tomorrow.

      

2 ounces Gin

1/2 ounce Grand Marnier

1/2 ounce sweet vermouth

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

#163 Cocktail: James Joyce

    The cocktail is just a twist of the classic cocktail, the Oriental.
     This one was "invented" when Gary Regan asked a bartender for an Oriental cocktail, which has as a base spirit rye whiskey, and the bartender used irish whiskey instead. Gary told the bartender " The mistake is the portal of discovery" quoting James Joyce and so...this new cocktail was born

1 1/2 ounces Irish whiskey

3/4 ounce sweet vermouth

3/4 ounce triple sec

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

#159 Cocktail: Income Tax

   The cocktail is almost identical to another drink called "Bronx". Just by adding the Angostura bitters to the recipe, the "Bronx" was transformed into "Income Tax".
    The origin of the cocktail is unknown. Some people say that first appeared in the "Savoy Cocktail Book", others say that was first published in "Mr. Boston". Also the name history is also unknown. But when you think that the Angostura is bitter and also the taxes are bitter, then we might come to a conclusion about the name.

     1 1/2 ounce Gin

1/4 ounce Dry Vermouth

1/4 ounce Sweet Vermouth

1 ounce fresh orange juice

Angostura bitters to taste

#119 Cocktail: El Floridita No.2

    As you may already notice, this is just a twist of the original El Floridita, that is called .....No.1 (obviously).
" The "Floridita" Cocktail gets its name from the Floridita bar in Cuba. If you glance through various cocktail books, you will most likely find a variety of different drinks that go by this name, I'm not sure which one should be considered the original version, but this particular one I find to be quite delightful. You'll also learn about how to make homemade Grenadine in the process. (And as to the name of this drink using the masculine "El" instead of the feminine "La"... I've been told that while the establishment takes the feminine name of "Floridita", in Spanish the bar itself is masculine, and thus "El" should be used. At least that's what I've been told.)"

- Robert Hess, Cocktilian

1 1/2 ounce Light Rum

1/2 ounce sweet vermouth

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

grenadine to taste

creme de cacao to taste (go easy)

#103 Cocktail: Deadly Sin

  This cocktail is adapted from a recipe by Rafael Ballesteros of Spai, a member of DrinkBoy community board of cocktilians.
   The cocktail has a powerful hint of orange from the bitters and the orange twist dropped in the glass, which compliments the mellow taste of bourbon. I can say that the drink is a twist on classic cocktail, the Manhattan, by adding a tinny drop of maraschino liqueur and use less sweet vermouth.
    For the people who love the Manhattan, the Deadly Sin can be a nice alternative

2 ounces Bourbon

1/3 ounce sweet vermouth

1/2 maraschino liqueur

1 dash orange bitters

#94 Cocktail: Corpse Reviver No.1

     Corpse Revivers were a category of drinks that we might call eye-openers, or a hair of the dog. Craddock detailed two of these in The Savoy Cocktail Book, and underneath this one he instructed the reader that the drink should be "taken before 11a.m., or whenever steam and energy are needed".
     In 2001, Steve Gilberg, publisher of happyhours.com. made this drink using applejack as a base spirit, whereas Craddock put the emphasis on the brandy.

Gaz Reggan

This cocktail uses the latest recibe, the one with the applejack as the base spirit.

2 ounces applejack

3/4 ounces brandy

3/4 ounces sweet vermouth 

#84 Cocktail: Caricature

    When you see the recipe for this cocktail, you think "what the hell is this strange combination of so many liquors and with the grapefruit juice", but trust me, as weird as it looks, this drink is really good. Is not to bitter due to the sweet vermouth and the triple sec which compensate the bitterness of the Campari and the grapefruit juice.
      The cocktail was created by Gaz Regan in 2001 for the graphic artist Jill DeGroff, Dale Deroff's wife, the famous mixologist.

1 1/2 ounce Gin

1/2 ounce sweet vermouth

1/2 ounce fresh grapefruit juice

3/4 ounce triple sec

1\2 Campari

#60 Cocktail: Dubliner

  I jumped a couple of recipes to reach the letter D, because today is St. Patrick's Day and I wanted to make an Irish cocktail. But from tomorrow, I will be back to the normal order of the recipes.
   The cocktail was created by Gaz Regan in 1999 special for St. Patrick's Day. It's not a complicated recipe and if you look closely, you will see that is a sort of a twist on the Manhattan. The Grand Marnier gives this cocktail a supplement of orange flavor. And do not forget that you HAVE TO use Irish whiskey

2 ounces Irish whiskey

1/2 ounce sweet vermouth

1/2 ounce Grand Marnier

Orange bitters to taste

#53 Cocktail: Blackthorn

   There is no romantic or exciting story behind this cocktail even if it's a old classic one. Adapted from a recipe in Harry Craddock's "The Savoy Cocktail Book" (1930), this variation of the Manhattan is delightful, if it's made with caution.
     The trick is to be very careful when using the absinthe, because it tends to ooverpower the other flavors. Because, the Manhattan is one of my favorite cocktails, of course that any variation wold be on my list of really good cocktails.

2 ounces Irish whiskey

1 ounce sweet vermouth

Angostura bitters to taste

Absinthe to taste

#30 Cocktail: Bobby Burns

    Albert Stevens Crockett, author of "The Old Waldorf-Astoria bar book", noted that this drink, then called the Robert Burns, was created prior to Prohibition. He intimated the it was born at the Waldorf-Astoria: "It may have been named after the celebrated Scotsman. Chances are, however, that it was christened in honor of a cigar salesman, who bought the Old Bar"
     Fans of the Manhattan will no doubt enjoy the Bobby Burns Cocktail. Named after the Scottish poet, Robert Burns, it will certainly give you poetic inspiration. Grab your kilt and pipes or at least a pen and paper, mix up a Bobby Burns and get writing!

Robert Hess

2 ounces Scotch

1 ounce Sweet Vermouth

3 dashes Benedictine