eje

Moonlight Cocktail (6 People) 1 1/2 Glasses Grape-fruit Juice. (3/4 oz fresh Grapefruit Juice) 2 Glasses Gin. (1 oz Broker's Gin) 1/2 Glass Kirsch. (1/4 oz Clear Creek Kirsch) 2 Glasses White Wine. (1 oz Les Domains Tatins, 2007, Quincy/Domaine du Tremblay) Add ice and shake thoroughly. Serve by placing in each glass a thin shaving of lemon peel. I mentioned the ingredients to this cocktail to some drinky friends and they said, "That's a Boudreauing Wine-tini!" Ahem. Well, as we all know by now, there truly is very little new under the sun, whether it is the use of fresh herbs and spices in cocktails or wine. It is actually a pleasant cocktail, more along the lines of a punch, almost, than what I usually think of as the typical cocktail flavor palette. And, yes, it is a very dry cocktail!

If any of you read (or write) blogs which cover cocktails, you might know that Paul over at Cocktail Chronicles has been organizing a monthly online cocktail event he calls Mixology Mondays. I've been very bad in not getting this up on eGullet in a timely manner. I blame our Irish guests for filling my nights with drink and my days with hangovers. This month's event is being hosted by Doug over on his blog Pegu Blog The theme is Made From Scratch!. To quote Doug from his explanation of the topic: Again, I apologize for not getting this up until today. But if you've got a homemade ingredient you'd like to feature please write up a cocktail in this topic before Monday, Nov 10th at midnight. I will compile a list of cocktails posted and email them to the organizer.

Montpelier Cocktail 1/3 French Vermouth. (3/4 oz Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth) 2/3 Dry Gin. (1 1/2 oz Jackalope Gin) Shake (I'd stir) well and strain into cocktail glass. Add a pickled pearl onion (or three). I guess this is where the missing onion in the Gibson went! Every Thursday at the Mixoloseum chat room we host an event called "Thursday Drink Night". A theme is picked and folks show up. Suggest a drink. Try other peoples' suggested drinks. Insult each others' Moms. That sort of thing. Because it starts on East Coast time, I'm usually at work at the beginning, out to dinner for the middle, and show up for the bitter end. However, fun to take the odd second out from the end of my work day and chat with other drink obsessed folks. This week the theme was "Gin" and they suggested you buy a new bottle to try and post the drink you made with it. We have guests this week at home, so I wasn't going to be able to do that. So, instead I tried to take both TDN and the Savoy Stomp out into the real world. I stopped by Alembic Bar in the upper Haight on my way to dinner and asked the bartender there, Buffalo, to make me a 2-1 Gibson with Jackalope gin. He obliged, and thus the blurry camera phone photo above. Jackalope was only OK in the Montpelier. I'd say it is a bit lightly flavored to be used in a cocktail heavy in vermouth. For better or worse, I could barely tell there was gin in the drink. Speaking of Alembic, they've started a blog: Alembic Bar. Check it out.

Monte Carlo Imperial Cocktail 1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz Broker's Gin) 1/4 Lemon Juice. (1/2 oz Lemon Juice) 1/4 White Crème de Menthe. (1/2 oz Brizard White Creme de Menthe) Shake well and strain into medium-size glass and fill up with Champagne (Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Rose Perle d'Aurore). Was explaining to the house guests the nature of the Savoy Stomp, and they were asking about what cocktails were coming up. The Creme de Menthe here certainly caught their attention. "Sounds Horrible!" "How many more cocktails do you have to make?" and similar. Those of us who tried the Monte Carlo Imperial found it far less awful than you might imagine. Helps, I suppose, that the Brizard Creme de Menthe is not an awful liqueur. General response was, "If someone was offering it to me and nothing better, I wouldn't turn it down." It is, nothing but a French 75 with Creme de Menthe as a sweetener instead of sugar. The mint makes it a bit girly, but certainly nothing near the "pour down the sink" category. In fact, not at all far from the well regarded Old Cuban.

Honestly, I have no real idea. I'm really pretty pathetic when it comes to keeping track of my personal finances, aside from being sure that the bills are paid and the credit card carries no balance, especially over a period of years. I do, however, go through an awful lot of Gin and Vermouth!

Well, I was making two drinks, so it would have been about a half teaspoon for 3 dashes per drink. I do take your point, however about Absinthe in bitters bottles. Keep meaning to fill one with Absinthe the next time I finish a bottle of bitters. I do also really Verte de Fougerolles is a bit more touchy to mix with than Kubler or Lucid. Still, I found the cocktail perfectly acceptable and enjoyable. It was just the Mrs. and the house guests who weren't so fond of it.

Well, I was more or less following the Savoy recipe, so perhaps over did it a bit on the Absinthe. McElhone's 1 dash per cocktail may be more sensible than the 3 dashes the Savoy Cocktail Book calls for. Verte de Fougerolles is a pretty intense flavorant. More than once I've discovered I've added too much to a cocktail when I thought I was being conservative. I don't usually mind the flavor, but those less fond of Absinthe may. Just to be a stickler, I'm not sure that the Monkey Gland was exactly a "Pre-Prohibition" cocktail. Voronoff's experiments were in vogue during the 1920s and 1930s. According to wikipedia, his first transplant of a Monkey Gland into a human took place in 1920. McElhone was at Ciro's in London prior to taking over Harry's American Bar in Paris in 1923. So, probably, this cocktail was invented, or at least named, some time between 1920 and 1923. Given that timing, odds are this cocktail was probably made with the newly available* Wormwood free Pernod. *From this Coctkailtimes article: Absinthe was banned in 1910 in the Switzerland, 1912 in the US, and 1914 in France. In 1920, France again allowed the production of anise flavored drinks. Pernod's new Wormwood free formulation was one of the first out of the gate.

Monkey Gland Cocktail 3 Dashes Absinthe. (1 teaspoon Verte de Fougerolles Absinthe) 3 Dashes Grenadine. (2 teaspoons Homemade Grenadine) 1/3 Orange Juice. (1 1/2 oz Orange Juice) 2/3 Dry Gin. (3 oz Plymouth Gin) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. According to Robert Vermeire, "This cocktail is very popular in Deauville and London. Harry McElhone, the well-known bartender of Ciro’s Club, invented it." Here is Mr. McElhone's version from "Barflies and Cocktails": 1 dash of Absinthe; 1 teaspoonful of Grenadine; ½ Orange Juice; ½ Gordon Gin. He also notes, "Invented by the Author, and deriving its name from Voronoff’s experiments in rejuvenation." Voronoff's's "experiments in rejuvenation" allegedly refers to therapeutically implanting monkey, uh, parts. Some details from the wikpedia article: In the 1930s, thousands of people took this treatment, but by the 1940s it had fallen out of favor as scientific studies failed to show any benefit, beyond the placebo effect, to Voronoff's treatments. Anyway, made a double batch of Monkey Glands thinking Mrs. eje or the house guests would enjoy them. However, aside from me, no one seemed particularly taken with the cocktail.

Moll Cocktail (6 People) 2 Glasses Gin. (3/4 oz Plymouth Gin) 2 Glasses Sloe Gin. (3/4 oz Lindesfarne Sloe Gin) 2 Glasses French Vermouth. (3/4 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth) Add a few drops of Orange Bitters (1 drop Angostura Orange Bitters) and sugar (dash Depaz Cane Syrup) to taste. Shake (stir?) and serve in cocktail glasses. Vermouth, strangely, seemed to be the dominant element in the Moll cocktail. A perfectly fine, if a bit dull, cocktail.

By the way, the Modder River is a river in South Africa that forms part of the border between the Northern Cape and the Free State provinces. It was, apparently, also the site of one of the rather famous battles during the Boer war. Battle of Modder River Not a great day for the British...

Modder River Cocktail 1/4 French Vermouth. (1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth) 1/4 Caperitif. (1/2 oz St. Raphael Gold) 1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz North Shore Distiller's No. 11) (dash Angostura Orange Bitters) Stir well and strain into cocktail glass. (Squeeze orange peel over glass and discard.) An enjoyable, if a bit odd combination. Still no real idea what sort of "Aperitif" Caperitif was, so continuing to experiment with various aperitif wines. St. Raphael Gold is growing on me. It does really remind me of Sherry, so it is a good contrast here to the Dry Vermouth. With Daylight savings time ending today, this may be the last natural light photo for a while. Or maybe tonight, if I get a chance to make a few cocktails. edit- Forgot the orange bitters I put in the drink.

Oh cool! We are having a few people over for election day shenanigans. A punch is a most excellent idea that hadn't occurred to me.

Mint Cocktail (6 People) Soak a few sprigs of fresh mint for two hours in a glass and a half of White Wine (3/4 oz Les Domains Tatins, 2007, Quincy/Domaine du Tremblay). Add half a glass of Crème de Menthe (1/4 oz Brizard Creme de Menthe), 2 Glasses of Gin (1 oz Broker's Gin) and 1 1/2 glasses of White Wine (3/4 oz Les Domains Tatins, 2007, Quincy/Domaine du Tremblay). Ice and shake (or stir if you prefer) thoroughly. Serve with a sprig of mint tastefully arranged in each glass. Not sure how tastefully arranged that mint sprig is, but what can you do? We skipped this one at NOPA, as we hadn't planned ahead with the mint soaking. Not exactly sure why I picked this wine, but it does really work in this cocktail. And plus, afterwards, you're left with most of a delicious (and reasonable) bottle of Loire white. I don't know about you, but I certainly won't complain about that. Initially my tastes sort of rebelled at this cocktail. Tastes like wine...Something...Not...Right... But after a while I settled in to the light minty taste. After I finished the cocktail, I poured some plain wine in my glass, figuring it would be more enjoyable. Nice, sure. And if I had a dozen oysters around, maybe sublime. But I missed the flavor of the cocktail.

Matt Rowley would be the one to ask about that, but I don't think so. Ripe Peaches & freezing weather are not near each other temporally, geographically, or climatically. Apples, on the other hand, sure. And that wacky fermented Milk spirit from Eastern Europe/Western Asia.

The dried orange peel would be soaked in high proof neutral spirits of some sort and then the resulting liquid distilled. More or less the same as the way gin is made.

Also, maybe I'm a stickler, but I don't like the usage of saying Grand Marnier or Brizard Orange Curacao are based on Brandy/Cognac. This, to me, implies that somehow it is the base spirit for the infusion and/or distillation. As I pointed out, Grand Marnier and Cointreau are made in exactly the same manner. Flavoring essences are distilled and then used to flavor a sweetened liqueur. The only real differentiation point is the type of spirit with which the orange essence is blended after distillation. One is blended with brandy and the other is blended with neutral spirits.

Here's the way I currently look at it. Curacao was originally made by macerating orange peels in alcohol, filtering and bottling. Strong bitter orange character, but very, very sweet. I've asked Philip Duff a bit about this, and he has said he has tasted some vintage Curacaos. They are so sweet, he says there is no way they could even be marketed to today's tastes. Probably Clement Creole Shrubb is the best currently existing example of this style. Add Note: The column still wasn't patented until 1826, so out of necessity any liqueurs before this time would have been based, in the true sense, on pot stilled alcohol. Cheap grain neutral spirits weren't available until Europeans figured out how to make sugar, and thence alcohol, from beets on an industrial scale at around the same time. As time went on, and commercial products developed, sellers realized that by distilling the orange infusion, they could get better shelf life. So they started distilling an orange essence and blending it with spirits. Triple secs, like Cointreau, are this type of orange essence blended with neutral spirits. Products like Grand Marnier are distilled orange essence blended with brandy. They also tend to use a wider spice palate in flavoring their liqueur than products called "triple sec".

In regards the Mr. Manhattan Cocktail I made with Neyah at Nopa, it appears that "Mr. Manhattan" was the name of a musical drama by one Howard Talbot (aka Richard Lansdale Munkittrick). "Mr. Manhattan" had its premiere in 1916 at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London. It was considered one of Talbot's late minor works, as his style of musical theater had fallen out of fashion by that time. It was very much in the way of the American Bar at the Savoy to create drinks to commemorate events or theater openings. However, the musical might very well be a red herring, as the recipe, at least to me, totally sez 19th century America rather than early 20th Century England.

This is the Eighth in an ongoing series of bartender features in the Savoy Topic. Previously, I had experimented by asking the bartender at Montgomery Place to make me a Bombay Cocktail No. 2. While it was more or less successful, it seemed like it would be better to give future bartenders some fair warning, as the recipes and ingredients in the Savoy can be obscure. To make it less of a shock, I thought I would contact some local bartenders and give them a choice of the dozen or so Savoy Cocktails that might be coming up in the book. Surprisingly, some actually were game. --- When folks ask me which bars to go to in San Francisco, there are several restaurants which I routinely list along with bars. Among them is NOPA in the Western Addition neighborhood near the Panhandle of Golden Gate Park. When my wife and I lived in another part of San Francisco, one of our favorite restaurants was Chow. We were regulars there from the time it opened until we moved out of the neighborhood. Great, affordable food presented with heart. One of the astounding things to me was how long the staff stick around at Chow. We can still go back in, nearly 6 years later, and still recognize some of the same staff who waited on us. A couple years ago, one of the guys who opened Chow split off to open NOPA. Slightly more expensive food, a bigger space, and a full bar. They were also one of the first restaurants in San Francisco to include a large table off the bar for communal dining. One of the nifty things about Chow is that it is open fairly late. They have carried that even a bit further at NOPA, serving until 1:00 AM. Combine that with a bar, and you know it is going to be popular with the industry crowd. As far as I can tell, like Chow, NOPA has been an incredibly successful restaurant and bar. To get back to the bar, I'd run into Neyah White, the bar manager at NOPA, a few times around town. We'd talked. I'd insulted his taste in Absinthe. We talked some more. Eventually we got around to the idea of getting together to make some Savoy Cocktails. Finally, on a Saturday in October our schedules aligned and I met up with him on a Saturday afternoon to get together, chat, and try some Savoy Cocktails. When I asked Neyah what cocktails of the dozen I had sent he wanted to make he said, "Let's make all of them. I'm painting my apartment and am really sore. I could use a break." Well, OK then... He even brought along some of his stash of vintage glassware to make the pictures more interesting. Melon Cocktail 1/8 Lemon Juice. (1/4 oz Lemon Juice) 3/8 Maraschino. (3/4 oz Maraska Maraschino) 1/2 Gin. (1 oz Plymouth Gin) Shake (stir?) well and strain into cocktail glass. Like the Allen, another Aviation-esque cocktail. Perfectly fine, but not particularly outstanding. Merry Widow Cocktail 2 Dashes Absinthe. (St. George) 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters. 2 Dashes Benedictine. (1 teaspoon Benedictine) 1/2 French Vermouth. (1 oz French Vermouth) 1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz Plymouth Gin) Stir well and strain into cocktail glass. Twist lemon peel on top. When we initially tasted this, it was just too dry. Neyah remarked,"That Widow is just not very merry!" A bit more benedictine seemed to bring it into somewhat more tasty territory, but to my tastes there was still something conflicting in this combination. Maybe the bitters and the Absinthe? Mikado Cocktail 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters. 2 Dashes Crème de Noyau. (1/2 teaspoon Luxardo Amaretto) 2 Dashes Orgeat Syrup. (1/2 teaspoon Underhill Homemade Orgeat) 2 Dashes Curacao. (1/2 teaspoon Senior Orange Curacao 1/2 Glass Brandy. (1 oz Lustau Brandy) Shake (stir!) well and strain into cocktail glass. A Japanese Cocktail, more or less, and who can argue with that? Millionaire Cocktail (No. 1) The Juice of 1 Lime. 1 Dash Grenadine. (NOPA House Made) 1/3 Sloe Gin. (3/4 oz Plymouth Sloe Gin) 1/3 Apricot Brandy. (3/4 oz Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot) 1/3 Jamaica Rum. (3/4 oz Ron Barcelo Rum) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. The Millionaire, to my mind, is a neglected classic. Unfortunately, we didn't have any Jamaica Rum and subbed in the Puerto Rican Ron Barcelo. It's definitely a lighter flavored rum then the Appleton V/X I usually make this with. This allowed the Apricot Brandy to really come to the fore. Millionaire Cocktail (No. 2) 1 Dash Anisette. (dash or two Sambuca) The White of 1 Egg. 1/3 Absinthe. (3/4 oz Obsello Absinthe) 2/3 Dry Gin. (3/4 oz Leopold's Gin) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Whatever you do, don't leave out the sweetener if you are making this with traditional Absinthe. If you do so, it will likely end up fairly dry. With a healthy dash of Sambuca, we found this an interesting eye-opener type cocktail. Million Dollar Cocktail Tablespoonful Pineapple Juice. (Knudsen) Teaspoonful Grenadine. (NOPA House Made) The White of 1 Egg. 1/3 Italian Vermouth. (3/4 oz Martini & Rossi Rosso Vermouth) 2/3 Plymouth Gin. (1 1/2 oz Plymouth Gin) Shake well and strain into medium size glass. Egg white and Italian Vermouth cocktails always look like dishwater to me, so we were pleased to note combining the textures of Egg White and Pineapple presented a very interesting textural element. You almost can't taste the pineapple, more feeling it. A somewhat tasty and bizarre drink, if not particularly visually appealing. Minnehaha Cocktail The Juice of 1/4 Orange. (3/4 oz Fresh Orange Juice) 1/4 French Vermouth. (1/2 oz Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth) 1/4 Italian Vermouth. (1/2 oz Martini & Rossi Rosso Vermouth) 1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz Martin Miller Gin) 1 dash Absinthe. (St. George) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Aside from the fact that I just made this exact cocktail less than a week ago as the Maurice, it is fascinating how different this version is! I know I cheated last time and used the M&R Bianco Vermouth, but damn is this different. For me, it is the cucumber in the Martin Miller Gin, which really rises to the fore. Mickie Walker Cocktail. 1 Dash Grenadine. (House Made) 1 Dash Lemon Juice. 1/4 Italian Vermouth. (1/2 oz Martini and Rossi Rosso) 3/4 Scotch Whisky. (John, Mark, and Robbo Smooth, Sweeter One) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Blind, we doubted we could tell this from a Rob Rob, but we both thought we would rather be drinking a Rob Roy. Mississippi Mule Cocktail 2/3 Dry Gin. (1 1/2 oz Broker's Gin) 1/6 Lemon Juice. (1/2 of 3/4 oz Lemon Juice) 1/6 Crème de Cassis. (1/2 of 3/4 oz Trenel Creme de Cassis) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. No idea why this is named "Mississippi Mule". Don't really see a connection to Mississippi nor does it contain ginger ale. It does appear to come from Harry McElhone's book, but he is no more forthcoming than the Savoy authors. A fine, if somewhat plain cocktail. To be honest, I think it would be quite a bit better if you built it over ice and topped it up with ginger ale. But that's just me... Mr. Manhattan Cocktail Crush one lump of sugar in a little water. Then crush four leaves of fresh green mint. and add – 1 Dash Lemon Juice. (1/2 teaspoon) 4 Dashes Orange Juice. (1/4 oz or so fresh Orange Juice) 1 Glass Gin. (2 oz Bols Genever) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. When we were thinking about this, it occurred to Neyah to try with Bols Genever. To me that totally made sense, given the 19th Century style recipe. Delicious! The winner of the afternoon. Neyah's comment was, "I wish this had a better name, because I want to put it on the list!" Modern Cocktail (No. 1) 1 Dash Orange Bitters. (NOPA House Made) 2 Dashes Jamaica Rum. (Gosling's Black Seal) 1 Dash Absinthe. (St. George) 2 Dashes Lemon Juice. (1/2 teaspoon or so) 1 Glass Scotch Whisky. (2 oz John, Mark, and Robbo, Rich and Spicy One) (Dash Simple Syrup) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. We tasted this and it just wasn't doing it for us. A touch of simple brought out both the richness of the scotch and the flavor of the rum. Modern Cocktail (No. 2) 1 Dash Orange Bitters. (NOPA House Made) 1 Dash Absinthe. (St. George) 1 Dash Grenadine. (NOPA House Made) 1/3 Scotch Whisky. (3/4 oz John, Mark, and Robbo, Rich and Spicy One) 2/3 Sloe Gin. (1 1/2 oz Plymouth Sloe Gin) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. We both thought this a fine, tasty cocktail. Definitely worth the try, if you have Sloe Gin and Scotch in the house. Like the Slanted Door, NOPA is an incredibly busy restaurant. On a busy night the restaurant will do over 500 covers. One of the amazing things to me, when I go in, is how many mixed drinks I see out at tables. Their version of the Old Cuban seems to be at nearly every other table in the restaurant. Yet they hold the bar and service staff to an incredibly high standard. All fresh squeezed juice. Many homemade ingredients, High quality spirits, Jigger pouring, etc. Like the Slanted Door, NOPA is proof that, if the commitment is there from the staff and management, a high volume restaurant can successfully run a drink program without sacrificing quality. For me, I can think of no higher praise for Mr. White, and the the drink program at NOPA, than to say, while there are many restaurants and bars in San Francisco, there are few I will as unreservedly recommend for cocktails as NOPA. Also, the Pork Chop is one of the best I've ever had.

Was it really that interesting to anyone outside of New York? To be honest, I would be more interested in Bourdain talking to Wylie Dufresne for 45 minutes than anyone else on the show. Bourdain and Buford, maybe. A sort of "My Dinner with Andre" type thing with just those two would be interesting. Even Ted Allen. I don't even know who the other two are. Nor do I particularly care after listening to their inane babble.

Well, there's the "Stone Fence" which is basically just a "Cider Bomb". That is, Hard Cider with a shot of Applejack. There's also the Devonia, which is a similar drink. Cider with a shot of gin and a dash of orange bitters. Though recipes I have suggest adding ice "shaking lightly". They are silent on whether to strain into a cocktail glass. I will also add the Devonia is particularly nice with an Oude-style Genever gin, rather than a dry gin.

Absolutely! I've made one this size and it worked fine: 1 cup Appleton V/X Rum 1/2 cup Batavia Arrack 1 cup hot extra strong tea (2 tsp Chinese Black Tea tea brewed in 1 cup water) 1 cup sugar 2 lemon sliced thinly, seeds removed

Well, that recipe is based on two recipes from the version of Jerry Thomas' book on Darcy's Art of Drink site. The Imperial Arrack Punch and United Service Punch. If I remember correctly, one had citrus and one had tea. I used both citrus and tea. I also added cardamom. I've been tweaking it for about a year and a half now. Current large version: Biffy Cocktail, Doctor Cocktail, Corpse Reviver No. 2, etc. Just search through the Savoy topic for "Swedish". It's funny, given many folks seemingly instinctive dislike to Batavia Arrack, how popular this recipe has become. A lot of people seem to like it just on the rocks or with some selzer.

Melba Cocktail 2 Dashes Grenadine. (2/3 teaspoon Homemade Grenadine) 2 Dashes Absinthe. (2/3 teaspoon Verte de Fougerolles Absinthe) The Juice of 1/4 Lemon or 1/2 Lime. (Juice 1/2 lime) 1/2 Glass Bacardi Rum. (1 oz Montecristo Silver) 1/2 Glass Swedish Punch. (1 oz Homemade Swedish Punsch) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (If desired add a cherry, preferably Luxardo or Toschi.) I had high hopes for the Melba, but I'm not quite sure it lived up to them. A very good cocktail, that I could imagine being popular, it just doesn't quite have the magic of the very similar Corpse Reviver No. 2 (with Swedish Punsch). By pushing the sweet/sour focus out a bit further, it loses the refreshing lightness of the Corpse Reviver. Ends up being a bit heavy. Still, all in all, a tasty cocktail. One of the few I can think of involving Absinthe and Rum. Definitely some promise there!

So the Savoy cocktail book gives the Mayfair Cocktail as: Mayfair Cocktail 1 Dash Clove Syrup. 1/4 Apricot Brandy. 1/4 Orange Juice. 1/2 Dry Gin. Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. About the Mayfair, Robert Vermeire sez: Mayfair Cocktail ¼ gill of Dry Gin; ¼ gill of Orange Juice; 3 or 4 dashes of Apricot Syrup flavored with a little Cloves Syrup. This cocktail possesses a delicious flavor. I invented it at the Embassy Club in London, 1921. Mayfair is the aristocratic quarter of London, called so because under the reign of Charles II (seventeenth century) they used to hold a yearly fair there during the month of May. Interesting evolution of the recipe between the source, Vermeire and the Savoy Cocktail Book. To make both versions, being the incredibly lazy cuss that I am, I added a drop of clove oil to 2 oz of Aviation Gin (trying to finish a bottle) and proceeded as follows. 1 oz Clove infused Aviation Gin 1/2 oz Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot 1/2 oz fresh squeezed orange juice Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Squeeze orange peel over glass and drop in. 1 oz Clove infused Aviation Gin 1 oz fresh squeezed orange juice 1 tsp. apricot syrup* Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Squeeze orange peel over glass and drop in. Huh, they both have their good points. The first is a bit better balanced, while the pectin of the apricot syrup in the second makes it a bit more interestingly textured drink. Oddly, the second seems far sweeter than the first. Kind of digging the apricot syrup, though. Seems like a really interesting sweetener with a texture similar to gomme. *1/2 Cup water 1 Cup Sugar 1/2 Cup sliced dried apricot Dissolve Sugar and water and add apricot. Cool and strain out apricot pieces.