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Oh, cool. So the Savoy Cocktail Book Gin Daisy is from the 1876 appendix of Thomas and the Whisky and Rum (more or less) from whatever version of Jerry Thomas Darcy O'Neil has scanned and put online? 1887, I guess, from the cover board. Odd, but there you go.

I.B.F. Pick-Me-Up Cocktail In a wineglass place one lump of Ice, 3 dashes of Fernet Branca (1 tsp. Fernet), 3 dashes of Curacao (1 tsp. Luxardo Triplum), one liqueur glass of Brandy (1 1/2 oz Cerbois VSOP Armangac), fill remainder with Champagne (Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Brut). Stir and squeeze lemon peel on cocktail glass. According to their Blog (!) the... In any case, it is a fine, fine cocktail and a proper restorative for the drinker who may have imbibed a bit too seriously the night before. Depending on your feelings about Fernet, the I.B.F. may or may not benefit from a slightly generous hand with the teaspoon of that substance. I kind of thought it needed a little more...

"H" Cocktail Roundup.

"H" was another pretty short letter, with only a few cocktails. Started with a promising Martinez-like cocktail called the Hakam Cocktail. Continued with more vermouth discussion and the delicious H&H Cocktail. There was a bit of Hanky Panky, but nothing too serious. The H.P.W. Cocktail was yet another Martinez variation, this one made with Malacca thanks to Mike and Jenny. The Harry's Pick-Me-Up Cocktail was a French 75 type thing with a bit of a blush. A not surprisingly tasty Harvard Cocktail. Some discussion of Gum Syrup along with the Hasty Cocktail. I cheated and used Apricot Eau-de-Vie for the Havana Cocktail and found it strangely appealing. Met up with Thad Vogler at Beretta, here in San Francisco for a few cocktails. More discussion of Old-Tom Gin. Mkayahara contributed the mysterious Habitant Cocktail. Who can complain about a Hoffman House Cocktail? Finally braved and sort of enjoyed the Hop Toad. And that's it. Of to I-Land.

I toted the Van Wees back from our last trip to England, so Gerry's Wine and Spirits, actually. Sorry! I'm getting pretty low on the 40 Creek, so I will have to address a new bottle of Canadian pretty soon. Thanks for the suggestions! Unfortunately, I don't think either are available here in CA. I'll have to see about ordering them from Binny's or Sam's. Could use to pick up a bottle of that tasty new Sirene Absinthe from North Shore Distilling and maybe their Aquavit at the same time.

Yeah, I gotta say Italian Basil, like the sort used in Pesto Genovese, is the least interesting to me in cocktails. Not sure if it is just my taste memory associating it with savory food, or if this is really the case.... But too much of it, and it really seems to give an unappealing savory aspect to a cocktail. Try fatdeko's Rathbone Sour: About a half ounce of lemon and a quarter ounce of Rich Simple Syrup works for me. Your mileage may vary...

Not sure where that Savoy Gin Daisy recipe comes from. The Whisky and Santa Cruz seem to be more or less verbatim from the 2nd edition of Thomas. Well, the Thomas Whisky Daisy uses Orgeat instead of Gum. I will note that Daisys don't appear in a google books scan of the 1862 edition of Thomas, nor do they appear in the Harry Johnson scanned by the euvs folks. Those recipes do appear on Darcy O'Neil's online edition of Thomas. Jerry Thomas pg. 15

Hmmm... Oops, well, 1 out of 3 and it always could be a typo...

Well, 2 out of 3 in the Savoy Cocktail Book... --- Gin Daisy The Juice of 1/2 Lemon. 1/4 Tablespoonful Powdered Sugar. 6 Dashes Grenadine. 1 Glass Gin. Use long tumbler. Half fill with packed ice, stir until glass is frosted. Fill with Syphon Soda Water, put 4 sprigs of green mint on top and decorate with slices of fruit in season. Whisky Daisy. Use small bar glass. 3 Dashes Gomme Syrup. The Juice of 1/2 Small Lemon. 1 Wineglass Bourbon or Rye Whisky. Fill glass 1/3 full of shaved ice. Shake thoroughly, strain into a large cocktail glass, and fill up with Apollinaris or Seltzer Water. Santa Cruz Rum Daisy Use small bar glass. 3 or 4 Dashes Gomme Syrup. 2 or 3 Dashes Maraschino or Curacao. The Juice of 1/2 Small Lemon. l Wineglass Santa Cruz Rum. Fill glass 1/3 full of shaved ice. Shake thoroughly, strain into a large cocktail glass, and fill up with Appollinaris or Selzer Water.

The Hurricane Cocktail 1/3 Whisky. 1/3 Gin. 1/3 Crème de Menthe. The Juice of 2 Lemons. Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Another cocktail ripped from the pages of Judge Jr.'s "Here's How". And like the Crow Cocktail before it, one which makes no sense as transcribed in the Savoy. Fortunately, the original recipe is a tad more sensible, not to mention the fact that it is across the page from the similarly natural disaster themed "Earthquake" cocktail. Too bad the Savoy transcribers dropped those "pint" measures, eh? So, it's a bottled cocktail, with the juice of two lemons up against a pint of spirits and liqueurs. 3/4 oz Famous Grouse. 3/4 oz Broker's Gin. 3/4 oz Brizard Creme de Menthe. A little less than 3/4 oz Lemon Juice. Well, it's not, strictly speaking, entirely awful. Kind of refreshing, I suppose. Still, not anywhere near the top 10, or likely, top 100 Savoy Cocktails.

What's the rest of the word starting with "Spiritu...". My college German is pretty rusty, but to me the "Feine Spirituosen... aus Wein" seems to indicate it's an unaged brandy or grape Eau-de-Vie of some sort.

Well, in most of my older bar books, Tom Collins is made with Old-Tom, Dry Gin, or "1 Drink any Gin desired" and John Collins is made with "Holland Gin". In some there is also a "Tom Collins Whiskey" which is, well, made with whiskey. Embury has some enlightening information in his book. Embury goes on to delineate his preferences for Collins names thusly: Tom Collins--Gin, if made with old-tom, use less sugar John Collins--Holland Gin Colonel Collins or Bourbon Collins--Bourbon Whiskey Mike Collins or Irish Collins--Irish Whiskey Jack Collins or Apple Collins--Applejack Pedro Collins or Rum Collins--Rum Pierre Collins or Brandy Collins--Cognac Sandy Collins or Scotch Collins--Scotch Rye Collins--Rye Vodka Collins--vodka Canadian Collins--Canadian Whisky Tequila Collins--Tequila Whew!

Could have sworn I posted this, but don't see it. Last December, about when Mr. Wondrich's book was published, the San Francisco Chronicle re-ran this column from November 16, 1962. THE MAN WHO RUINED BOOZING, Charles McCabe.

The Hundred Per Cent Cocktail 1/6 Orange Juice. (1/2 of 3/4 oz Orange Juice) 1/6 Lemon Juice. (1/2 of 3/4 oz Lemon Juice) 2/3 Swedish Punch. (1 1/2 oz Homemade Arrack Punch) 2 Dashes Grenadine. (1/2 teaspoon Fee's American Beauty Grenadine) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. I was kind of afraid this would be way too sweet. Fortunately, my oranges are pretty tart, so this sort of works out OK. Pretty intense, though. Reminds me of the sort of balance often struck in modern cocktails, where the sweetness and tartness are both pushed out. Nice Arrack flavor, though, so you won't be mistaking it for a Cosmo, despite the similar color.

Houla-Houla Cocktail 1 Dash Curacao. (1/2 tsp. Luxardo Triplum) 1/3 Orange Juice. (3/4 oz Orange Juice) 2/3 Dry Gin. (1 1/2 oz Broker's Gin) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. A perfectly fine and refreshing beverage, if nothing earth shattering. I'm lucky to have some particularly tasty early season valencia oranges which are pretty sour around the house, giving this some added zest. I'm new to Broker's Gin, but so far it seems pretty good to me. Nice strong Juniper flavor and not too harsh base spirit. Still liking the Triplum as a Curacao substitute. Its strong bitter orange character (it sometimes actually louches in cocktails, it has so much orange oil) and sweetness sort of makes it almost sensible in dash proportions, where many other orange liqueurs just fade into the background. I sometimes see this cocktail name spelled "Hula-Hula" but am not sure which spelling is correct. According to sources, this cocktail first crops up in one of Harry McElhone's pre-Savoy guides.

I've run across recipes for "Gin and Tansy" and "Gin and Wormwood" in a number of old bar books (not to mention "Gin and Bitters" and "Gin and Pine"). This one is from a 1934 edition of "Harry Johnson's 1882 New and Improved Bartender's Manual and a Guide for Hotels and Restaurants": Anyway, I'm guessing these beverages were intended more as medicinal or tonic beverages, rather than recreational, but to me these infusions and the method of serving get closer to the roots of the "Cock-tail" than probably the monastic elixirs.

Yeah, no I don't agree. I like both. The Rittenhouse is beautiful in some applications and the Wild Turkey in others. I suppose it kind of depends on my mood. But anyway, to me, I kind of like the Rittenhouse in more civilized Manhattan type applications and the Wild Turkey in things like Sazeracs and Old-Fashioneds. I really don't see why we should be without either one. Bastards.

Camper English wrote a blog post about open bottles a while ago... Storing Whiskey According to him, and the folks at Woodford Reserve: To be honest, I haven't noticed it that much with spirits. The only exception I can think of right now is my current bottle of Flor de Cana Extra Dry. I dunno if I'm just tired of it or if has gone off...I've certainly had it for less than a year...But much of the flavor seems to be gone, leaving me with something that more or less smells and tastes like plain vodka. Maybe it is the bottle level air thing? I haven't had much call for Dry Rum drinks lately in the Savoy, and it's been more than 3/4 empty for a few months.

Mickael, I've not had Chartreuse Grand Elixir Vegetal as of yet so can't speak to whether or not it is bitter or could be used like a bitters in cocktails. Sounds promising. It's pretty scarce here, but if you create any recipes, you'll have to post them. Generally, medicinal and/or bitter elixirs, whether wine, beer, or spirits based, go back nearly as far as it possible to trace human history. The way I look at it, is, the particularly American invention in relation to bitters was combining perfectly good, (or maybe not perfectly good,) spirits with these medicinal elixirs in the same glass. You'll find Vermouth-like substances nearly as far back in Greco-Roman history as you can go. But, for whatever reason, nobody thought to combine these "medicinal" substances with the recreational substances like Whisk(e)y, Gin, or other spirits until the Americas of the 19th Century. Thus, while the Italians may have had Vermouth, Gin, and Campari, it didn't occur to them to create the Negroni until the fashion for drinking bittered spirit based cocktails in the American manner had trickled back to Europe.

Hot Deck Cocktail 1 Dash Jamaica Ginger. (6 drops Eclectic Institute Ginger Herbal Extract) 1/4 Italian Vermouth. (1/2 oz Carpano Antica Vermouth) 3/4 Canadian Club Whisky. (1 1/2 oz 40 Creek Barrel Select Whiskey) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Lemon Peel.) Another use of "Jake", which is quite exciting. You kind of hope some of these cocktails will be on offer at Jake Walk in Brooklyn! In any case, the Ginger Extract ends up being a bit more subtle in this one. Just a touch of bite in this Manhattan variation.

Hop Toad Cocktail 1/4 Lemon Juice. (1/2 oz Lemon Juice) 3/4 Apricot Brandy. (1 1/2 oz Zwack Barack Palinka) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Lemon Peel.) I have to admit I've always been a bit curious about this cocktail, but never really quite had the courage to make it for myself. Mr. David Wondrich has pointed out in his books and the esquire drinks database that the proper base spirit for this is absolutely not apricot liqueur, but instead an apricot eau-de-vie, like the fiery Hungarian Zwack Barack Palinka. To quote Mr. Wondrich from his amusing esquire writeup. Definitely in the unsweetened school of the Bennett or Bronx Terrace, the Hop Toad is more of a restorative tonic than what folks now consider a cocktail. Make it small, shake it well, and drink it while it is still very cold. It will wake up your taste buds and get the blood flowing to your brain again.

“Hoop La!” Cocktail 1/4 Lemon Juice. (3/4 oz Lemon Juice) 1/4 Kina Lillet. (3/4 oz Cocchi Americano) 1/4 Cointreau. (3/4 oz Cointreau) 1/4 Brandy. (3/4 oz Cerbois VSOP Armangac) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Lemon Peel.) Well, this is exactly the same as the Frank Sullivan Cocktail, and I'm making it with the same ingredients. Not much too exciting there. Still, an enjoyable cocktail, and I don't mind at all repeating it. Though, my fast dwindling bottle of Cocchi Americano makes me a bit sad...

Honolulu Cocktail (No. 2) 1/3 Maraschino. (3/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino) 1/3 Gin. (3/4 oz Tanqueray) 1/3 Benedictine. (3/4 oz Benedictine) Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass. I suppose that is what it should be. I just couldn't quite face that cocktail. Thinking about the Maraschino and Benedictine, Oude Genever occurred to me. Yes, indeed that seems like a good idea! Honolulu Cocktail (No. 2) 1/3 Maraschino. (1/2 oz Luxardo Maraschino) 1/3 Gin. (1 oz Van Wees Oude Genever) 1/3 Benedictine. (1/2 oz Benedictine) Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass. (Lemon Peel.) Tweaked the proportions slightly, but didn't want to just turn it into an Improved Holland Gin Cocktail. Still quite sweet, but really, really tasty. 1 1/2 oz Oude Genever, 1/4 oz Luxardo, 1/4 oz Benedictine, maybe some bitters, and this would rock. Probably have to think up a different name... Kailua Cocktail? Diamond Head Cocktail? Why is this a Hawaii themed Cocktail name anyway? I could see No. 1 being Hawaii-esque, since it had Pineapple juice. But Gin, Maraschino, and Benedictine?

Honolulu Cocktail (No. 1) 1 Dash Angostura Bitters. 1 Dash Orange Juice. (1/2 tsp Orange Juice) 1 Dash Pineapple Juice. (1/2 tsp Pineapple Juice) 1 Dash Lemon Juice. (1/2 tsp Lemon Juice) 1 Glass Dry Gin. (2 oz Broker's Gin) A little Powdered Sugar. (1/4 tsp Caster Sugar) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Orange Peel.) A bit like the Harrovian, this seems to be a style of cocktail that has not survived to the 21st Century. Sort of a vaguely exotic tasting glass of cold gin, it's kind of puzzling and enjoyable at the same time.

Thanks for posting, Matt! Now you have me curious about what version of the Savoy you have and what other cocktails might be in it!