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Yeah, that's why I hate to buy Carpano Antica. Sure wish it came in a half liter size.

Uh, wow! Thanks for looking that up, jazzjeff! I still think that it is a bit odd that Boothby is the only one to note this. Maybe it was too obvious a point for anyone else to even mention?

Homestead Cocktail 1 Slice Orange. 2/3 Dry Gin. (1 1/2 oz Broker's Gin) 1/3 Italian Vermouth. (3/4 oz Carpano Antica) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Orange Peel.) The whole "1 Slice Orange" is a bit obscure. I just cut a horizontal mid-section out of a valencia orange, quartered it, and threw it in the tin. I have to admit I kind of preferred it to the usual Bronx. There's definitely the bitter orange thing from the peel going on.

I'm not sure if it indicates my level of spirits boorishness but, yeah, I think it is interesting too. I've not seen another source that differentiates between "old tom" and "old tom cordial". Jerry Thomas does not, nor does Harry Johnson. I dunno if it is a local thing or what. I've seen some scans of Boothby's early post earthquake "World Drinks" and he does carry some of these recipes forward. However by the "Cocktail Bill Boothby's World Drinks and How to Mix Them" copy I have, all trace of Old Tom seems pretty much to be gone.

Don't forget the Martinez and Ramos Gin Fizz... ← Yes, true, of course! I didn't mean generally. Just that these were the only recipes I have noticed so far in this book where old tom was specifically called for.

I certainly admit I am occasionally guilty of reading too much intent into old cocktail books... But here are a couple more passages from Boothby which made me think there was a distinct "cordial" version of Old Tom gin. Also, there are distinct recipes for an Old Tom Gin Cocktail and an Old Tom Gin (Cordial) Cocktail: That's about it for Old Tom in the book, as most of the gin recipes call for Holland gin. For completeness sake, here's the Gin Cocktail: And the Martini: I think the only other use of Old Tom is in the Tom Collins.

Hmm... I thought I was being pretty clear by calling it, "Thomas' Arrack Punch Variation II." that I wasn't making a replica. Guess not. When I'm making liqueurs for myself, at home, I'm always trying to think of ways to change or improve them. I don't see any reason to make the same thing exactly the same way twice. Not like I'm selling them or making a menu item. In this case, I purchased two organic lemons with the intent of making it to the recipe I'd used before. Turned out, by the time I got to making the punch, one of the lemons was not in great shape. So I used a lime and a lemon. When it came time to make the tea syrup, I was going through the various teas in my cabinet and for some reason the Dragonwell seemed a more appropriate and interesting choice with the lime in the picture. When it was done, I tasted it and liked it. The intersection of lime and green tea was as interesting as I had hoped. I had some friends try it and most were pretty positive. So I thought I would post the recipe.

Hoffman House Cocktail 2 Dashes Orange Bitters. (1 dash Fee's Orange Bitters, 1 dash Regan's Orange) 1/3 French Vermouth. (3/4 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth) 2/3 Plymouth Gin. (1 1/2 oz Plymouth Gin) Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass. Squeeze lemon peel on top. I can't really think of anything interesting to say about the Hoffman House, other than, maybe, if you don't like this you may need to adjust your perception of what constitutes a proper cocktail. Sorry if that seems harsh, but this is pretty close to the platonic ideal, at least for me, of the Martini type cocktail. "Slip out of these wet clothes..."

[...] ← Haha! I can't believe a Swede is asking me for advice on Arrack Punch! Mange tusen tak! You've done wonders for my self esteem!

Try an Asian Market. It's also sometimes called "Long Jing" in English. Another loose leaf Chinese Green Tea of some sort? Just not a Jasmine Tea. That would probably be pretty bad. There are so many, it's hard to know what you have, what might be available, or what it might be called. Looks like this, with the leaves in long needle-like bundles: Long Jing

The thing that made me think about the possibility there were both was that Hayman's does make a "gin liqueur" and an "old-tom gin". I believe there are some vintage advertisements at the beginning of the book from various gin manufacturers. I will have to look at them more closely and see if they advertise a "cordial" version along with the other.

I was lucky to meet John Burton, of the Santa Rosa Bartender School, this last weekend during San Francisco Cocktail Week. An amazing man and just a font of knowledge about bartending and bar culture in America. One of his early projects was to put together a reproduction of "Cocktail Boothby's American Bartender" based on a 1900 edition of that book. Boothby was a prominent pre-prohibition San Francisco bartender. Unfortunately, most of the copies of his early book and his cocktail library were destroyed in the fires after the 1906 earthquake. I was thrilled to discover that John had copies of that book along at the event and was selling them. I'm just starting to get through the book, but one of the important distinctions Boothby makes is between regular "Old Tom Gin" and "Old Tom Cordial Gin." Specifically, Boothby's recipe for the Martini calls for "Old Tom Cordial Gin". He notes, "This cocktail requires no additional sweetener, as the Old Tom Cordial Gin and Italian Vermouth are sweet enough." (That was from memory, so I could have the quote slightly wrong.) So another interesting wrinkle concerning Old Tom. It was available in a sweetened cordial form and an unsweetened form. Some recipes from the late 19th and early 20th century which call for "Old Tom" may actually be calling for a cordial form, including, potentially, the Martini. And some recipes which call for "Old Tom" may be calling for an unsweetened form of that gin.

Thomas' Arrack Punch Variation II 1 cup Appleton V/X Rum 1/2 cup Batavia Arrack 1 cup hot extra strong tea (2 tsp Peet’s Lung Ching Dragonwell tea brewed in 1 cup water) 1 cup sugar 1 lemon sliced thinly, seeds removed 1 lime sliced thinly, seeds removed Put sliced lemon and lime in a resealable non-reactive container large enough to hold 4 cups of liquid. Pour Rum and Batavia Arrack over citrus. Cover and steep for 6 hours. Dissolve sugar in hot tea and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate. After 6 hours, pour rum off of sliced citrus, without squeezing fruit. Combine tea syrup and flavored rum. Filter and bottle in a clean sealable container. Age at least overnight. --- Tried this room temp, straight and found the bitterness of the lime a little overwhelming. On the rocks, however, it was pretty darn tasty.

I thought this article from this week's Chronicle gardening section interesting. Tinctures and oils: Garden-variety medicines I'd actually love to experiment more with flower infusions, other than the obvious ones like Elderflower, Rose, and Violet.

For some reason, to me, Brandy seems like an odd choice for a "filler" spirit with Mezcal. Also, the use of Lemon and Lime seems a bit odd. Like they were trying to split the difference between a Margarita and a Sidecar? Or replicate sweet and sour mix for the home cocktail enthusiast? If I were trying to salvage it, I'd pick lemon or lime and maybe use a blended canadian whisky or reposado tequila instead of brandy.

FOUR STAR BEER Interesting article! I hadn't realized that the French Laundry had their own beer!

Hesitation Cocktail 1 Dash Lemon Juice. 1/4 Canadian Club Whisky. (1/2 oz 40 Creek Barrel Select) 3/4 Swedish Punch. (1 1/2 oz Arrack Punch, homemade) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. As I mentioned when discussing apricot liqueur vs. brandy question with the Havana cocktail, this one is the same proportions. Same amount of liqueur, same amount of spirits, same "1 Dash Lemon Juice". As with the Havana with apricot liqueur, this is pretty sweet. If you go a bit long on the Lemon and are using the likely less sweet homemade arrack punch, not undrinkably so. Still, I think both the Boomerang and Havana are more interesting.

Yeah, as far as I know, too, the ingredients in Benedictine are a closely guarded secret. You might be thinking of Drambuie, which regularly advertises that it contains honey.

Hell Cocktail (6 People) Shake (or stir, what does it matter?) 3 glasses of Cognac (1 1/2 oz Cerbois VSOP Armangnac) and 3 glasses of Green Crème de Menthe (1/2 oz Brizard White Creme de Menthe). Serve with a pinch of red pepper (Cayenne Pepper) on each glass. Glasses are, of course, 2 ounces. 12 ounces, total, for 6 people, makes it 2 oz per serving. A half an ounce of Creme de Menthe seemed like plenty to me so I upped the Brandy. I put it in a liqueur glass, because, frankly, this is a shooter.

Before the last time I was out East, I got a note fro LeNell's saying that they'd managed to find an Americano of some sort. It was Red, in some sense, unlike the Cocchi Americano. But given recent Hercules information, it still seemed interesting. On its own the flavor is nice, if you like this sort of thing. Somewhere between Barolo Chinatos I've tried and Byrrh. To be honest I'm not entirely sure if it is a white wine or red wine base. Still, probably closer in bitterness to Barolo Chinato than Byrrh. So when you've learned that Hercules was, "a cross between an aperitif and a bitters," this Americano seems like a good idea! Health Cocktail 1/3 Brandy. (1 oz Cerbois VSOP Armangac) 2/3 Hercules. (2 oz Americano of some sort) Stir slightly in ice and strain. So, yeah, the idea of using this Americano, for this cocktail, seems pretty random, but on the other hand, like I've been led to do it. Definitely enjoyable! Interestingly, this Americano seems sweeter and less bitter after being mixed with the Armangac than before.

I didn't think so, but didn't know for sure, so sent them a note this AM. They replied within a few minutes. I guess it must be a question they get pretty often. No, there's no connection between Domaine St. George Wines and St. George Spirits.

Thad Vogler at Beretta in San Francisco.

This is the Sixth 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 I met up with Erik Adkins at Flora, another bartender who was working that night was Thad Vogler. We talked about getting together and making some Savoy Cocktails. A few months later, I ran into Mr. Vogler again, and he told me he was working on reopening a restaurant for the owners of the space that used to be The Last Supper Club, (not to mention Radio Valencia, for those oldsters among the audience). The relaunch of this restaurant with a cocktail program composed of modern and classic drinks seemed like an auspicious time to get together and make some Savoy Cocktails. The concept for Beretta is a casual place with cocktails, Italian Food, and Pizza. Interestingly, like a few new restaurants I've been to in San Francisco and Portland, much of the dining room is taken up the bar and a large table for shared seating. They do have a few tables at the back for proper seated dining, and a large room downstairs for groups and possibly overflow. The drink menu is based primarily around New World Spirits and Citrus. Agave and Cane Spirits, Pisco, Whiskey. A very good selection of these spirits, some that I've never seen before. In addition, the roster of bartenders Mr. Vogler has assembled nearly reads like a who's who of San Francisco's advanced mixologists: Erik Adkins, Ryan Fitzgerald, Lane Ford, Eric Johnson, Jill Santer, Jon Santer, and Todd Smith. Holland House Cocktail The Juice of 1/4 Lemon. 1 Slice Pineapple. (handful sliced pineapple pieces) 1/3 French Vermouth. (3/4 Vya Dry Vermouth) 2/3 Dry Gin. (1 1/2 oz Plymouth Gin) 4 Dashes Maraschino. (barspoon Luxardo Maraschino) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. We had high hopes for this one, which were pretty much dashed immediately. It tastes pretty much like a flat Aviation. Thad tried a couple variations and neither were much good. The funky and unpleasant side of the Luxardo was definitely the dominant element in the cocktail. I have to admit the "1 Slice Pineapple" still puzzles me. Even being generous, it contributed not much at all to the cocktail. Maybe, if you did a whole, fresh, horizontal slice and muddled it? Or infused the Gin with Pineapple for an hour or two? Q: How important are menus? I found this pretty interesting. It was an aspect of presenting a menu to the customer that I had never considered. Sure, I knew menus were often used to drive sales of certain spirits or highlight the creativity of the mixologist. But the idea that the menu was in the service of the restaurant and the customer was a philosophy I hadn't considered. Honey-Moon Cocktail The Juice of 1/2 Lemon* 3 Dashes Curacao. (Scant barspoon Cointreau) 1/2 Benedictine. (1 oz Benedictine) 1/2 Apple Brandy. (1 oz Occidental Road Gravenstein Brandy) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Licking our wounds after that first cocktail, this one seemed like a sure thing. Indeed, this is a pretty fantastic cocktail. I hadn't been familiar with this particular Apple Brandy, but I guess it was a contract distillation by St. George for some folks that own a Gravenstein Apple Orchard in Sonoma. Tasty stuff. Embarrassingly, I was having such a great time chatting with Thad, that I totally spaced taking a picture of this cocktail and the next one. Q: Do you think bar menus should change periodically? “Hoots Mon” Cocktail 1/4 Kina Lillet. (1/2 oz Cocchi Americano) 1/4 Italian Vermouth. (1/2 oz Carpano Antica) 1/2 Scotch Whisky. (1 oz Famous Grouse) Stir well in ice and strain. This might have been my favorite cocktail of the evening. Just an all around fantastic brown liquor cocktail. The quinine in the Americano combines fabulously with the Grouse. If someone could guarantee a proper supply of Kina Lillet, or something like it, I think this cocktail would take its place with the Bobby Burns, Rob Roy, and Affinity. Recipe from Mr. Vogler: I almost feel like I should recuse myself from commenting on Beretta. Not only is most of the bar staff either an acquaintance or a friend, but I am also very biased towards wishing the restaurant continued success. It is the nearest outpost of advanced cocktail artistry to my house. The 67 MUNI Bus goes nearly directly from my front door to Beretta. In fact, I think it may be the only cocktail bar, I don't have to get a transfer to travel to. So, obviously, I really hope it succeeds! Well, don't take my word for it, check out mkayahara's writeup over in the San Francisco Lounges Topic: "Beretta blew me away..." Sheesh, I thought Canadians were supposed to be reserved in their opinions!

Oh, cool! I just got to try the Armazem Vieira Esmerelda out at the bar the other day. Mighty tasty stuff! It's just starting to show up out here in bars and liquor stores. Couldn't resist picking up a bottle, it's such a unique and interesting taste.

The African Hut usually carries Rose's Cola Tonic. You can find it under Sodas, Juice, and Cordials on their site.