ThinkingBartender

Do I take it that you mean that Shrub was originally non-alcoholic syrup? The only Shrubs that I have seen are Whisky Shrub, Brandy Shrub and Rum Shrub, with the flavours mainly being orange, lemon, lime and raspberry. Would anyone be able to say what the difference is between Shrub and Ratafia? Cheers! George

Does anyone know why Rum Shrub is called Rum Shrub (in particular the "shrub" part of the equation)? Who drank it? What were the prodominent recipes over time? I see that some Rum Shrub is made with rum, lime juice, and sugar, which is kind of Daiquiri-like, while some Rum Shrub is made with orange juice instead of lime juice, and then of course there are some recipes with both. The people who advocate orange juice only Rum Shrub usually do so as the lime juice doesn't keep as long as the orange juice version, when stored up in bottles. Is a Lime-only Rum Shrub the fore-runner of the Daiquiri? Did they drink lime-only Shrub alot in the Caribbean? I have tried Clement Creole Shrub, which is orange based, but what about other brands? Can you make Shrub with other fruit juices? Pineapple? etc Was Rum Shrub (or Brandy Shrub) made a la minute or was it always mixed up for bottling? What type of Rum would have been used in 1815? Dark or Light? What books to people recommend on Shrub? Old, Ancient or new. Cheers! George

Okay so now I have found a 1826 Victualler's (Inn-keeper's) Guide: "The vintner's, brewer's, spirit merchant's, and licensed victualler's guide; by a practical man", By Vintner, 1826. 1826 Victualler's Guide You can download the 1826 book and the 1830 book as PDFs. And they are free!!! Cheers! George S. g.sinclair[at]yahoo.co.uk Wiki Webtender

Admin: threads merged. Hi All, I am doing some research into the Mojito and the Mojito Criollo, does anyone have any old recipes or stories or anything. The three earliest recipes for the Mojito that I have are as follows: "Cuban Cookery, including Cuban Drinks", by De Baralt (Blanche Z.), 1931 RUM COCKTAIL (Cuban mojo) In medium size glass put : * One teaspoonful sugar * Juice and rind of a green lime * Sprig of mint * One jigger Bacardi Rum * Several pieces of ice * Fill glass with soda water. * Serve with a long spoon. "Sloppy Joe's" (Bar Menu), 1934 MOJITO * 1 Teaspoonful of sugar * One half of lime * 1 Part of Rum * Seltzer water * Leaves of Mint * Shell of lime * Serve in a High Ball glass, with cracked ice. "Bartender's Guide", by Trader Vic, 1947 * 1/2 lime * 3 sprigs mint * 1 tsp. bar sugar * 2 oz. Puerto Rico rum Squeeze lime and drop shell in 10 oz. glass; add sugar to juice and mint leaves and muddle. Fill glass with shaved ice; pour rum over ice; stir or swizzle until glass frosts. Add dash of charged water; garnish with mint and serve with straws. As for the Mojito Criollo I have very little except for what I have been told over the years, and a few web searches which don't really prove anything. I am waiting for some people to get back to me, but at the moment all I have is a small snippet from a 1934 La Floridita Booklet. La Floridita Booklet (1934) * MOJITO CRIOLLO N°1, made with Rum * MOJITO CRIOLLO N°2, made with Gin * MOJITO CRIOLLO N°3, made with Brandy To go with this I have the recipe from Cocktaildb.com, which must originally have been from a book: * Build * 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice * 1/2 tsp sugar, muddle with several mint leaves & lemon juice * 1 1/2 oz light rum * Add lime shell in glass * Fill 2/3 with shaved ice * Fill with soda * Add mint leaf * Serve in a tall glass Is lemon juice a mis-translation? should it be limon verde, and therefore lime juice? Any thoughts? Cheers! George S. g.sinclair@yahoo.co.uk http://www.wiki.webtender.com/wiki/

Hi All, Can anyone verify the authenticity of Copper Mugs as part of the Moscow Mule Legend? My suspicion has been raised by seeing an advert in a Reno, Nevada Newspaper from 1947. The Piccadilly Bar. What a kick --- The Moscow Mule The "Moscow Mule" is now in Reno! Originating at the Cock 'N Bull, Hollywood's most famous English type tavern, this unusual refreshment has become so popular it has even been featured in LIFE. To do justice to its unusual and tantalizing taste a special 12 ounce copper mug was created. An exclusive feature with THE PICCADILLY. (photograph of copper mug) Exclusive feature means unique feature right? And the wording of the "To do justice..." part is interesting. I know that Oscar Heimo (1945) stated that the Moscow Mule was served in a mug, but did anyone actually state a copper mug before? Does anyone have access to this LIFE magazine? circa. 1947. Cheers! George

I was perusing http://books.google.com/ when I found the following: "Clarke's Complete Cellarman: The Publican and Innkeeper's Practical Guide", by William Clarke. Published: 1830. It contains recipes for Shrub, Punch, Milk Punch, Bitters, Cordials and how to remove the blackness from hollands gin should you happen to drop an iron nail into it!-) And best of all it was a British publication!!! Look for it on http://books.google.com/ or use this link. http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC1923...itters&as_brr=1 Cheers! George S. g.sinclair@yahoo.co.uk http://www.wiki.webtender.com/wiki/

<copy & paste> "Ha. The information contained in them old newspapers are just as plausible as anything contained in them old books!-) In a few cases these newspaper articles are written by the same people who wrote the books, and in most cases they are at least written by their contemporaries. Most of the stuff in Teds Singapore Sling is from 2002(?) when he first drafted his Singapore Sling Thesis. It was a bit loose them, and is mostly his opinion. No other contemporary sources were cited other than the 3 recipes. The Cherry Brandy/ Cherry Eau de Vie argument was also first proposed in 2002. > From Trader Vic 1948: > > Raffles Hotel Sling: > 1 oz Dry Gin > 1 oz Cherry Brandy > 1 oz Benedictine > Shake with cracked ice; strain into 10 oz glass containing several > lumps of ice; fill with chilled club soda and garnish with a spiral > peeling of 1 green lime This is the recipe I was after, I will assume that this is what Trader Vic was selling in Oakland in 1939. And lo, it is exactly the same as the 1966 Newspaper article and Baker's recipe. But why is no sour in any of them? If the Cherry Brandy was the dry Eau de Vie, then that would explain the 1 oz of benedictine, gotta have something sweet to smooth the gin and eau de vie. I wonder what the Sinaporeans did with the limes once they peeled them into "horse's necks" for the Sling? They must have added lime juice to it, or not? Cheers! George S." </copy & paste>

Erik, I must say that I am certainly enjoying reading this thread. It is good to see the recipes from the Savoy Cocktail Book being made. Not really a book I reach for personally. Is Linie Akevitt really that similar to Kummel? I have never tried them side by side, but I don't recollect them tasting that similar. George

Dear All, Does the following newspaper extract confirm Charles Bakers recipe of the Singapore Sling? or have they just paraphrased the entry from his book? Eureka Humboldt Standard", 11th May 1966: "And while we're in that neck of the woods, here is the Singapore Sling — from the noted Raffles Hotel. This is served ornamented with a spirally cut peel of lime, such as we used to enjoy in our childhood served in a glass of gingerale and called a "Horse's Neck." You need the finest, dryest gin you can obtain to make it perfectly. Also, fine cherry brandy and then Benedictine. At Raffles' they use equal parts, but we recommend increasing the percentage of gin to your own taste. Shake the mixture with a few ice cubes, then strain into a chilled highball glass with 1 ice cube — fill as far as you wish with chilled club soda, and decorate with the long peel." Feel free to check out: http://wiki.webtender.com/wiki/Singapore_Sling Cheers! George g.sinclair@yahoo.co.uk

I suppose that I should clarify my question: "What recipe would Trader Vic have been using in 1939 as the Raffles Bar Sling?" Cheers! George g.sinclair@yahoo.co.uk http://wiki.webtender.com/wiki/Singapore_Sling

Hi Guys/ Gals, My question is "What is the recipe that Trader Vic would have been using in 1939 for his 'Raffles Bar Sling'?". Here is the text of the Advert I found it in: "Oakland Tribune" 15th February 1939. Famous for "Selective" Drinks. "Vic" Bergeron Offers The Pleasure Loving People of Oakland and Exposition Visitors Authentic Drinks Gathered From The Far Corners OF The World. Mojito from Habana. Rum Cow from Porto Rico. Barbados Red Rum Swizzle. Raffles Bar Sling from Singapore. Champagne Apricot From France. Cuban Presidente, From Habana. Maui Fizz, From Honolulu. Gin and Schweppes Tonic, From North Africa. Pisco Punch, From Peru. TRADER VIC YOUR HOST World Famous Drinks. 6500 San Pablo Ave. Oakland. Cheers! George S. g.sinclair@yahoo.co.uk http://www.wiki.webtender.com/wiki/

Hi Janet, I would love to know more about this "Cock Ale". Thanks. I recently "discovered" a newspaper article from 1855 which featured a brandy rooster tail and a gin rooster tail. I thought that they were just being polite. George

I think that you are assuming that because someone dislikes overly sweet drinks that they must therefore want all their drinks to be sour, which is not the case. The amount of sour in a drink, usually older styles of drink or just the older recipes, was used to bring out the flavour of the spirit used. Authentic Daiquiri recipes for example used only the juice of half a lime, whereas nowadays they seem to use twice as much lime juice, and therefore have to include more sugar to compensate for this. I think that the reason for people using twice as much lime in a Daiquiri is that they are reluctant to look at the "original" recipes and see what they were trying to achieve. Lazy people just try to assume that a Daiquiri is a Rum Sour made with lime, but this is not the case at all. How would these same people go about recreating Jerry Thomas' many brandy+lemon juice+curacoa recipes? Would they take the lazy route and assume that they must all be made in the same way, and must all be so-called "New Orleans Sours", why yes they would. Brandy Daisy (Use small bar-glass.) * Take 3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup. * 2 or 3 dashes of Curacoa cordial * The juice of half a small lemon. * 1 small wine-glass of brandy. * 2 dashes of Jamaica rum. Fill glass one-third full of shaved ice. Shake well, strain into a large cocktail glass, and fill up with Seltzer water from a syphon. Brandy Sour (Use small bar-glass.) * Take 1 large tea-spoonful. of powdered white sugar, * dissolved in a little Apollinaris or Seltzer water. * The juice of half a lemon. * 1 dash of Curacoa. * 1 wine-glass of brandy. Fill the glass with shaved ice, shake, and strain into a claret glass. Ornament with orange and berries Brandy Crusta (Use Small bar-glass.) * Take 3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup. * 1 dash of Boker's bitters. * 1 wine-glass of brandy. * 2 dashes of Curacoa. * 1 dash lemon juice. Before mixing the above ingredients, prepare a cocktail glass as follows: Rub a sliced lemon around the rim of the glass, and dip it in pulverized white sugar, so that the sugar will adhere to the edge of the glass. Pare half a lemon the same as you would an apple (all in one piece) so that the paring will fit in the wine-glass, as shown in the cut. Put the above ingredients into a small whiskey glass filled one-third full of shaved ice, shake up well and strain the liquid into the cocktail glass prepared as above directed. Brandy Fix (Use small bar-glass.) * Take 1 large tea-spoonful of fine white sugar dissolved * in a little water. * The juice of a quarter of a lemon. * 3 dashes of Curacoa. * 1 wine-glass of brandy. Fill the glass two-thirds full of shaved ice. Stir well and ornament the top with slices of lemon or lime. Tom Collins Brandy (Use small bar-glass.) * Take 5 or 6 dashes of gum syrup. * Juice of a small lemon. * 1 large wine-glass of Brandy. * 2 or 3 lumps of ice; Shake up well and strain into a large bar-glass. Fill up the glass with plain soda water and imbibe while it is lively. Brandy Fizz (Use medium bar-glass.) * Take 1 tea-spoonful of powdered white sugar. * 3 dashes of lemon juice. * 1 wine-glass of brandy. * 1 small lump of ice. Fill up the glass with Apollinaris or Seltzer water, stir thoroughly and serve. Another interesting set of examples to use would be the Caipirinha and the Ti-Punch. The Caipirinha is Cachaca and Lime sweetened with sugar, while the Ti-Punch appears to be Rum and sugar freshened with Lime. Sugar covers alot of the flavour of a spirit if used to excess, sour doesn't do that. Cheers! George

I was referring to your determination of your recipe as "true mojito", not whether it actually came from Cuba. How many other bars used your bartender's method, and what books is this method/ recipe listed in?

"true Mojito". Where exactly do people get these "true Mojito" ideas from? Certainly not from Cuba. Same thing goes with "true caipirinha", "true martini", "true (insert cocktail name)" etc etc. This is how they prepare Mojitos at "La Bodeguita del Medio": * 1 teaspoon of sugar * 1/4 oz fresh lime juice * two mint sprigs (not a forest !) * crush gently ,( you don't need to make a "pesto" sauce or a puree !!) * add 1/12 oz white cuban rum * add ice * add two oz soda water * stir well * garnish with a sprig of mint The most annoying "true mojitos" are the ones that contain brown sugar, and are then said by their makers to be "authentic", Same goes for the "true caipirinhas" that are made with brown sugar.

Was it Tuaca?

Do you mean syrup or liqueur? If it was a liqueur then maybe it was an orange liqueur. What did it taste like?

Can anyone give me a definitive recipe for a Petit Punch? if so, what is it? Cheers! George

Admin: threads merged. Hi All, Can anyone give me the lowdown on the Petit Punch (Ti Punch)? Why no ice in the drink? or is that optional? How much water, if any, goes into the drink? Whats the history of the Petit Punch? Does anyone have any authentic recipes? Thanks in advance, George

Dear All, Are there any recommended recommendations (sic) for Planters Punch that the world is missing out on? Are there any truly exceptional concoctions that go under the name Planters Punch? Also, is a drink such as follows, able to called itself a Planters Punch? 2 shots Myers Rum, 1 shot Fresh Lime Juice, 1/2 shot Grenadine Syrup, 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters, Top with Sodawater. Is this a planters punch? What is the Myers Rum Planters Punch Recipe? the one on the bottle, if you please!-) Cheers! George

Okay, so does anyone know when Grenadine Syrup was first put into the Bacardi Cocktail? and why? I am working on the theory that the Bacardi Cocktail and the Daiquiri were originally one and the same drink. http://wiki.webtender.com/wiki/Bacardi_Cocktail "THE OLD WALDORF-ASTORIA BAR BOOK" By Albert Stevens Crockett (1935) Giving the Correct Recipes for FIVE HUNDRED COCKTAILS AND MIXED DRINKS... The Whole Flavored with Dashes of History Mixed in a Shaker of Anecdote and Served with a Chaser of Iluminative Information. Pg. 126 "CUBAN CONCOCTIONS...From Will P. Taylor, manager of the Hotel National, in Havana, who stuck at his post all through the recent local disturbances, which included a bombardment of his hotel, I have obtained the choicest Cuban Rum recipes. Out of compliment to Mr. Taylor, who was last resident manager of the Old Waldorf-Astoria, is placed at the head of this list the distinctive cocktail which at his hotel is also called a Daiquiri, or a Bacardi." PORTS OF THE SUN: A GUIDE TO THE CARIBBEAN, BERMUDA, NASSAU, HAVANA AND PANAMA (1937) by Eleanor Early Pg. 304 (HAVANA): "Hardly anyone knows how to mix a proper Bacardi cocktail, so I asked Senor Rafael Valiente, who is host at the famous bar, and he told me that you should take the juice of half a lime, half a teaspoon of granulated sugar, one and a half ounces of white Bacardi, mix thoroughly, and shake well with ice." CATERER AND LIQUOR RETAILER, September 1941, pg. 19, col. 2 (Bacardi ad) YES...BACARDI COCKTAILS MUST BE MADE WITH BACARDI Ruling of the N. Y. Supreme Court, April 28, 1936 The Recipe in Rhyme! * A LITTLE SOUR, (Juice of half a lime) * A LITTLE SWEET, (1/2 teaspoonful of sugar) * THE TROPIC SUN, (A jigger of BACARDI, White or Silver Label) * WITHOUT THE HEAT! (Ice and shake well) Cheers! George

I recently "found" an Old Newspaper article, which refers to the Monkey Gland, but more importantly to the Side-car. The interesting point about this article is that it shows a different recipe to the one listed by Robert Vermiere in his 1922 book "Cocktails: How to Mix Them", and it is only a year after Cheers! George http://www.wiki.webtender.com

Jack: you seems to thought alot about this. Basil Haydens is one of my favourite Bourbons. As for the Basil (herb), it could be. Gin, basil, strawberry, have been used in a few cocktails in London. It does work, but not worth bragging about it. Matchbar make a Rathbone Gardens which has Gin/ Basil/n Strawberry. Mint Leaf (indian restaurant) also had a strawberry and basil thing which I don't recall the name of. Apparently Sherlock Holmes drank a "great deal of Brandy" (according to web searches) and was a "wine connoisseur" (again, according to web searches). Basil infused Gin is very palatable. However, I would hope it is the Basil Hayden Sour. yum. Cheers! George

The Salt Yard Dog was created for a Tapas Bar called "Salt Yard" Hopefully they are still making cocktails there, my "Grappacino" included. They weren't really into their cocktails, and I was sternly told "no muddling!". They just wanted quick to make cocktails (no problem as always). http://www.london-eating.co.uk/5714.htm As for where I am now, I am in Norway (again it seems). I am currently constructing my cocktail website (live next month, definately). Then its off to "sell" myself to one of the cocktail bars over here. Cheers! George

Gary: I had your favoured 3:2:1 Margarita ratio in mind while making the Salt Yard Dog, but got lost along the way. 1 1/2 shots Grappa 1 shot Limoncello 1/2 shot Fresh Lemon Juice However I think a little sugar syrup is needed, although I feel that 35ml was a bit overboard, so I think eggwhite and, dare I say, bitters might be in order, with a much smaller amount of thicker sugar syrup. Cheers! George