Cocktails with two spirits

[JAZ]

Lately, I've been drinking the occasional Maiden's Prayer out of Paul Harrington's book, which calls for equal parts gin and white rum, plus Cointreau and lemon juice. It occurs to me that there are only a couple of cocktails that call for two spirits in more or less equal parts. Another is the Saicar from Dave Wondrich's Killer Cocktails, which calls for brandy and reposada tequila. It too is a great cocktail.

I know of several other cocktails that call for a base of one spirit, plus a splash of another, but not many that call for two spirits with equal billing. Am I missing them, or are they a rarity? Any others worth trying?

[KatieLoeb]

There's always a Vesper, for the martini lovers in the crowd. I love a nice Vesper from time to time.

[mkayahara]

There's also Between the Sheets, which calls for both brandy and rum. Then, of course, there's the Long Island Iced Tea.

Overall, I think Patrick Gavin Duffy's thoughts on this matter tend to hold true, to wit:

Nor indeed, can we give our support to any concoction consisting of Gin and Rye, Gin and Scotch, Gin and Brandy or to any beverage where two kinds of strong liquor are included...

[slkinsey]

The Vieux Carré has two spirits (rye and cognac) with equal billing, plus vermouth and herbal liqueur. And there are dozens of variations on this formula around the NYC cocktail scene.

The Saratoga has whiskey and cognac as well.

In particular, there seem to be a lot of cocktails around NYC bars in which Laird's bonded is blended in equal parts with another spirit, as it is a particularly felicitous combination with either whiskey or cognac.

Toby's 41 Jane Does contains equal amounts of Calvados and Poire William.

Of course, many tiki drinks contain combinations of different rums (not sure if that counts).

Edited July 24, 2008 by slkinsey (log)

[bgood]

A personal favourite of mine is the Corpse Reviver #2. I use the recipe from Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails.

It has equal parts gin, Lillet, Cointreau and a dash of pastis as well as lemon juice.

[daisy17]

Negroni?

[slkinsey]

Neither the Corpse Reviver #2 (one spirit, one liqueur, one aromatized wine, one juice) nor the Negroni (one spirit, one amaro, one aromatized wine) contain two spirits in more or less equal balance.

The spirit is the high-proof stuff: whiskey, rum, gin, tequila, brandy, etc.

[daisy17]

I suspected that about the negroni and then you threw me off with the 41 Jane Does. I'm not up to speed on my brandies.

[Splificator]

Overall, I think Patrick Gavin Duffy's thoughts on this matter tend to hold true, to wit:

Nor indeed, can we give our support to any concoction consisting of Gin and Rye, Gin and Scotch, Gin and Brandy or to any beverage where two kinds of strong liquor are included...

←

Like all rules, I believe this one is meant to be learned, understood, and then broken. Some spirits pair up very well indeed. Dark rum and brandy, for instance, have been bunkmates in the booze world since the seventeenth century, with no signs whatsoever of squabbling or disharmony. The brandy adds body and richness, while the rum adds pungency and fragrance. There are others: rye whiskey and brandy (which works like the dark rum-brandy combo), Jamaican-style rum and gin (really!), applejack and just about any damn thing (as noted), etc. Others don't work together at all (bourbon and gin I have found to be rather unpleasant). There's no rule here--it's an empirical art, and the drain will claim many a drink.

As an example of one of the unlikely combinations that (IMHO) works, here's a drink I came up with a couple of years ago:

Scozzese

1 1/2 oz blended Scotch

1/2 oz Hendrick’s gin

1/2 oz Campari

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

scant 1/2 oz honey syrup (made 1 to 1)

Shake and strain; no garnish

Weird, but surprisingly tasty, if you like drinks with a bitter edge.

Edited for detail and because all rums are not created equal.

Edited July 24, 2008 by Splificator (log)

[eje]

Overall, I think Patrick Gavin Duffy's thoughts on this matter tend to hold true, to wit:

Nor indeed, can we give our support to any concoction consisting of Gin and Rye, Gin and Scotch, Gin and Brandy or to any beverage where two kinds of strong liquor are included...

←

Like all rules, I believe this one is meant to be learned, understood, and then broken.

[...]

←

I'm in total agreement with Mr. Wondrich here.

Try a Bacardi Special some time:

Bacardi Special Cocktail

1 Teaspoonful Grenadine.

1/3 Burroughs Beefeater Gin.

2/3 Bacardi Rum.

The Juice of 1/2 Lime.

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Fantastic drink which I have served to accolades at several parties.

In the introduction to his book, I believe Mr. Duffy was speaking particularly about prohibition era cocktails where gin was being used more or less as a lengthener for more expensive and hard to come by spirits. In the edition I have, he even goes so far as to note the drinks which he specifically does not recommend mixing.

I forget many examples, but the Barbary Coast Cocktail springs to mind as a drink Duffy did not recommend which ended up surprisingly tasty. The Frankenjack/Claridge is another I seem to recall him disapproving of, which can be quite tasty if carefully mixed.

Edited July 24, 2008 by eje (log)

[brinza]

The Vieux Carré has two spirits (rye and cognac) with equal billing, plus vermouth and herbal liqueur.

←

Also, I believe Dale DeGroff uses both rye and cognac in his Sazerac recipe.

[mkayahara]

OK, OK, I'm convinced! But I wonder if Duffy's injunction might explain, in part, why cocktails with multiple base spirits are so rarely seen.

Now, about that Jamaican rum/gin combo... I'd love to hear more!

[plattetude]

The Vieux Carré has two spirits (rye and cognac) with equal billing, plus vermouth and herbal liqueur.

←

Also, I believe Dale DeGroff uses both rye and cognac in his Sazerac recipe.

←

Similarly, the Saratoga has both rye and cognac along with sweet vermouth.

Something I concocted for a MxMo a while back was rye and reposado tequila in equal parts (1 oz each) with maraschino (1/2 oz) and orange bitters. Thought they played well together. (And I then tried a variant with St. Germain in place of maraschino, which I liked even more.)

Christopher

[Nathan]

as slkinsey noted above, the NY cocktail scene is replete with variations on the Vieux Carre...I'd even venture to say that a third of the list at some bars is essentially in that family....especially in the winter. its also amazing what bitters and a little simple can do to harmonize two spirits...

[weinoo]

In particular, there seem to be a lot of cocktails around NYC bars in which Laird's bonded is blended in equal parts with another spirit, as it is a particularly felicitous combination with either whiskey or cognac.

←

Now, if we could only find ample amounts of Laird's Bonded...

[thirtyoneknots]

Good points all around, but don't forget the humble Pink Lady.

Barack Palinka or other dry apricot brandy is imo absolutely bewitching with dry white rum like Flor de Cana. For proof, I present the Culross.

[slkinsey]

In particular, there seem to be a lot of cocktails around NYC bars in which Laird's bonded is blended in equal parts with another spirit, as it is a particularly felicitous combination with either whiskey or cognac.

Now, if we could only find ample amounts of Laird's Bonded...

I just picked up two bottles down at Astor!

[Chris Amirault]

That Maiden's Prayer is dandy. Here are two with orgeat:

Cameron's Kick (from the Savoy):

1 oz scotch

1 oz irish whiskey

1/2 oz lemon

1/2 oz orgeat

Puerto Apple Cocktail (from cdb):

1 1/4 oz applejack

3/4 oz light rum

1/2 oz lime

1/4 oz orgeat

[jsmeeker]

Neither the Corpse Reviver #2 (one spirit, one liqueur, one aromatized wine, one juice) nor the Negroni (one spirit, one amaro, one aromatized wine) contain two spirits in more or less equal balance.

The spirit is the high-proof stuff:  whiskey, rum, gin, tequila, brandy, etc.

←

using that definition for spirit, what about drinks that used Cointreau? It's 80 proof. Just like most gins, vodkas, etc. That would make a whole lot of drinks fall under the "two spirits" type.

Of course, I don't think that's what we are looking for here. So, there must be more to the definition of what makes something a spirit.

[thirtyoneknots]

Neither the Corpse Reviver #2 (one spirit, one liqueur, one aromatized wine, one juice) nor the Negroni (one spirit, one amaro, one aromatized wine) contain two spirits in more or less equal balance.

The spirit is the high-proof stuff:  whiskey, rum, gin, tequila, brandy, etc.

←

using that definition for spirit, what about drinks that used Cointreau? It's 80 proof. Just like most gins, vodkas, etc. That would make a whole lot of drinks fall under the "two spirits" type.

Of course, I don't think that's what we are looking for here. So, there must be more to the definition of what makes something a spirit.

←

Cointreau is flavored and more importantly, sweetened. It's high proof makes it a fantastic and versatile liqueur, but it's not a spirit as traditionally understood.

[fatdeko]

Others don't work together at all (bourbon and gin I have found to be rather unpleasant). There's no rule here--it's an empirical art, and the drain will claim many a drink.

←

Gin and Bourbon are difficult to get to work together, tis true, and it's always puzzled me because those Blues guys are always sticking the two together in songs.*

But the Suffering Bastard gets it about right: Gin, Bourbon, Lime Juice, Bitters Ginger Ale

myers

* The only 2 that come immediately to mind are Graham Parson and RL Burnside:

"The first time I lose I drink whiskey/The second time I lose I drink Gin"

"I got a ass [sic] pocket of whiskey/Front pocket full of gin", respectively.

[phlip]

We probably have about ten cocktails using two spirits on the menu now. One thing thats interesting to me: lacking more good modifying liquiors why not use base spirits as modifyers. Think the Diamondback. 2 rye, .5 yellow chartruese, .5 Lairds Bonded. The bonded just makes it reach another plain.

Rule to be broken indeed.

[JAZ]

I tried this Maiden's Prayer variation from Cocktaildb, which combines gin and applejack. A little sweet, but nice.

[brinza]

The Vieux Carré has two spirits (rye and cognac) with equal billing, plus vermouth and herbal liqueur.

←

Also, I believe Dale DeGroff uses both rye and cognac in his Sazerac recipe.

←

Similarly, the Saratoga has both rye and cognac along with sweet vermouth.

←

On the other hand, DeGroff's recipe for Between the Sheets swaps out the rum for Benedictine because, "the two base spirits confuses the palate."

[jsmeeker]

I tried this Maiden's Prayer variation from Cocktaildb, which combines gin and applejack. A little sweet, but nice.

←

I've got a recipe for a Pink Lady that calls for gin and applejack. (and lemon juice, grenadine, and an egg white).

Made one, but it seemed a little weak. I think I need to tewak the ratios. The recipe I found was really just a list of ingredients from a cocktail menu.