Cobblers

[ThinkingBartender]

On finally having the pleasure of meeting Doctor Cocktail on his last visit to London, England, I presented Ted with my "latest invention" a Rye Cobbler. Yes, I know it is not my invention, but rather it is a re-interpretation of the often-overlooked Cobbler catergory. Both I and the Doctor were taken with just how good it was. I have thusly decided to pursue the furtherment of the Cobbler.

The first recipe is the one I presented to Doc Cocktail, the others are what I came up with afterwards:

Rye Cobbler.

35ml Sazerac Rye Whiskey,

10ml Creme de Abricot,

1 sugar cube,

2 lemon twists.

Dash of soda-water (club soda).

Muddle last three ingredients in the bottom of a rocks glass; Add the Rye

whiskey and the Apricot liqueur; Fill the glass with crushed ice; Churn the

drink thoroughly then top with more crushed ice; Garnish with a curled lemon

twist, plus two short sip straws.

Elderflower & Bisongrass Cobbler.

35ml Zubrowka.

15ml St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur.

1 sugar cube.

2 lemon twists.

Muddle the sugar and both lemon twists, along with a dash of sodawater, in the

bottom of a rocks glass; Fill the glass with crushed ice; Add the Zubrowka and

the St. Germain; Churn the ice with a barspoon; Top up the glass with crushed

ice; Garnish with a shredded lemon twist.

Tequila Cobbler.

35ml Herradura Reposado Tequila.

15ml Creme de Peche (Peach Liqueur).

1 sugar cube.

2 lemon twists.

Muddle the sugar and both lemon twists, along with a dash of sodawater, in the

bottom of a rocks glass; Fill the glass with crushed ice; Add the Tequila and

the peach liqueur; Churn the ice with a barspoon; Top up the glass with

crushed ice; Garnish with a shredded lemon twist.

So do I arouse anyones interest in pushing the Cobbler catergory back into the limelight?

A Cobbler is much more than spirit, sugar and crushed ice. Or at least I think so.

Cheers!

George

Edited April 27, 2008 by ThinkingBartender (log)

[brinza]

So do I arouse anyones interest in pushing the Cobbler catergory back into the limelight?

A Cobbler is much more than spirit, sugar and crushed ice. Or at least I think so.

Cheers!

George

←

You've convinced me. I am definitely going to the try the Rye Cobbler, which sounds delightful, and maybe the Tequila Cobbler as well.

[Tiare]

So do I arouse anyones interest in pushing the Cobbler catergory back into the limelight?

A Cobbler is much more than spirit, sugar and crushed ice. Or at least I think so.

Cheers!

George

←

You've convinced me. I am definitely going to the try the Rye Cobbler, which sounds delightful, and maybe the Tequila Cobbler as well.

←

I was going to say the same thing..

[slkinsey]

George, I'm trying to pin down exactly what your conception of the cobbler is. It seems like you're using as your basis something like: base spirit, liqueur, sugar muddled with lemon twists and crushed ice.

This seems like it's going in a rather different direction from the cobblers with which I am familiar, and which seem to reflect the heyday of the cobbler, which were not made with distilled spirits at all but rather with a base of wine (either fortified or not) together with sugar, copious fruit (sometimes shaken together with the ingredients but always ornamenting the glass) and crushed ice. One sees the occasional recipe for a cobbler with spirits, starting with JT's whiskey cobbler. But this always struck me as a perfunctory add-on consisting of a simple repetition of the sherry cobbler recipe with a spirit base rather than the usual wine base (and resulting in a ridiculously large amount of spirits). More to the point, while one sees the occasional rare recipe for a spirit-based Cobbler, one never reads of anyone drinking one.

All of which is to say that I'd be interested to hear your basis for what you think constitutes a Cobbler. For me, the things that make a Cobbler a Cobbler are (1) the crushed ice; (2) a (fortified) wine base; and (3) lots of fresh fruit, some of it lightly muddled, but always plenty to ornament. I could see making an Icewine Cobbler or an Amaro Cobbler or a Vermouth Cobbler, but somehow a Whiskey Cobbler seems like a Julep without the mint. Is every crushed ice drink that includes neither bitters nor citrus juice a Cobbler?

[ThinkingBartender]

George, I'm trying to pin down exactly what your conception of the cobbler is.  It seems like you're using as your basis something like: base spirit, liqueur, sugar muddled with lemon twists and crushed ice.

The lemon twist is entirely optional as, depending on the spirit used, it can be a good thing or a bad thing. I did experiment with lime twists and orange twists. In fact I am working on using muddled lime twists in a Gin Cobbler.

I definately think that using a liqueur is a good thing with the Cobbler, though I am using Emburys opinion purely because it agrees with my own view on the drink.

I definately feel that the use of crushed ice is compulsary, though the method of preparation is open to personal taste, my own preference being to churn the ice in the style of a swizzle (once again agreeing with Embury, but that too is because it agrees with my own view).

This seems like it's going in a rather different direction from the cobblers with which I am familiar, and which seem to reflect the heyday of the cobbler, which were not made with distilled spirits at all but rather with a base of wine (either fortified or not) together with sugar, copious fruit (sometimes shaken together with the ingredients but always ornamenting the glass) and crushed ice.  One sees the occasional recipe for a cobbler with spirits, starting with JT's whiskey cobbler.  But this always struck me as a perfunctory add-on consisting of a simple repetition of the sherry cobbler recipe with a spirit base rather than the usual wine base (and resulting in a ridiculously large amount of spirits).  More to the point, while one sees the occasional rare recipe for a spirit-based Cobbler, one never reads of anyone drinking one.

That is true. But I think that this is partly due to the Cobbler being an afterthought in most cocktail books (though this is a big assumption). The Cobbler was meant to be very popular in its time, so I assume that was because it was good.

I haven't really experimented with Sherry or Portwine thus far, but I will eventually. I am a spirit man myself, so this probably/ definately has something to do with it.

All of which is to say that I'd be interested to hear your basis for what you think constitutes a Cobbler.  For me, the things that make a Cobbler a Cobbler are (1) the crushed ice; (2) a (fortified) wine base; and (3) lots of fresh fruit, some of it lightly muddled, but always plenty to ornament.  I could see making an Icewine Cobbler or an Amaro Cobbler or a Vermouth Cobbler, but somehow a Whiskey Cobbler seems like a Julep without the mint.  Is every crushed ice drink that includes neither bitters nor citrus juice a Cobbler?

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My criteria, for a Cobbler are:

1. Spirit only. Preferably American Rye, or Cognac.

2. Crushed Ice.

3. Churned, rather than rolled or shaken.

4. Addition of a complementary liqueur (peach, apricot, fig, etc).

5. Muddled Citrus Twists, the best suited to the spirit; Or none at all.

6. Garnish is discretionary; My taste is for simple, though a huge abundance of berries would be agreeable too.

7. Must be served in a glass with thin sides, so as to facilitate the appearance of frosting on the glass.

8. Sip straws are optional.

Cheers!

George

[ThinkingBartender]

Is every crushed ice drink that includes neither bitters nor citrus juice a Cobbler?

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If a drink has citrus juice or bitter then, in my eyes anyway, it can never be a Cobbler.

I am also working on Crustas, and I am wondering what the Crusta is called without the sugar rim.

Cheers!

George

Edited May 12, 2008 by ThinkingBartender (log)

[slkinsey]

Interesting criteria, George. But it strikes me that, following your criteria, the most important Cobbler of all wouldn't qualify. I wonder it using Embury as a starting-off point makes much sense, considering that the Cobbler had long passed its heyday and been largely forgotten by the time Embury was writing (and, of course, Embury could be a bit iconoclastic).

Edited May 12, 2008 by slkinsey (log)

[brinza]

Nomenclature aside, I tried George's Rye "Cobbler" and let me just say this: That was one of the few times I made the same mixed drink twice in the same weekend. Lip-smackingly good.

In light of this thread (no offense to slkinsey, who is technically correct), I suggest calling it a Rye Quibbler.

[ThinkingBartender]

Nomenclature aside, I tried George's Rye "Cobbler" and let me just say this: That was one of the few times I made the same mixed drink twice in the same weekend.  Lip-smackingly good.

In light of this thread (no offense to slkinsey, who is technically correct), I suggest calling it a Rye Quibbler.

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Quibbler is just as good a word. Plus it scores more in Scrabble. Glad that you liked it.

What I meant with my criteria is what I think is best, at this current moment in time, for a Cobbler, as made by me. I do not feel that I have access to the "right" Sherry to use for the Sherry Cobbler.

[brinza]

Quibbler is just as good a word. Plus it scores more in Scrabble. Glad that you liked it.

What I meant with my criteria is what I think is best, at this current moment in time, for a Cobbler, as made by me. I do not feel that I have access to the "right" Sherry to use for the Sherry Cobbler.

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While it might not technically be a cobbler, it seems to be a drink that conveys the idea of a cobbler. It's kind of cobbler-esque, with the fruit liqueur standing in for the actual fruit. You make a good point about the sherry. I think it warrants a discussion on what kinds of sherries were intended in the old recipes that call for it. The recipes never specify what kind of sherry is meant to be used.

[slkinsey]

Dave can likely speak to this, but he mentions that back in the heyday of the Sherry Cobbler where were more or less two kinds of sherry that would have been available to someone such as Jerry Thomas: a generally dry style and a generally sweet style. The recipe in JT's book calls for enough sugar to suggest strongly that he was assuming the generally dry style. However, there is no reason it couldn't or wouldn't have been made with a sweeter style -- just with less sugar.

[brinza]

Dave can likely speak to this, but he mentions that back in the heyday of the Sherry Cobbler where were more or less two kinds of sherry that would have been available to someone such as Jerry Thomas:  a generally dry style and a generally sweet style.  The recipe in JT's book calls for enough sugar to suggest strongly that he was assuming the generally dry style.  However, there is no reason it couldn't or wouldn't have been made with a sweeter style -- just with less sugar.

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Thanks. You'd think I would have remembered that since I only just finished reading his book. Doh!