Suggestions for More "Forgotten Cocktails"

[slkinsey]

We're all ware of Doc's monumental Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails : From the Alamagoozlum to the Zombie : 100 Rediscovered Recipes and the Stories Behind Them. But I, for one, am disappointed that some of my favorite lesser-knowns are not included -- and there also seem to be some obvious candidates that aren't in there. So I thought I'd start a topic for people to nominate cocktails for possible "Forgotten Cocktail" great status.

Here are the first four that come to mind:

#1 The Jimmy Roosevelt : Quite simply one of the great cocktails of all time, from the best-written cocktail book of all time

#2 The Parkeroo : 2-to-1 sherry to tequila; infinite possibilities from the Stork Club Bar Book

#3 Remember the Main : Another nice one from Chaz Baker

#4 The Last Word : Seems like an obvious one

[dietsch]

Funny. The Remember the Maine is a cocktail I keep rediscovering. I'll mix it, wonder why I don't make it all the freakin' time, and then forget it while pursuing some other Yeti. I think I need to etch it into my walls.

Edited for grammar.

Edited October 31, 2009 by dietsch (log)

[KD1191]

The Creole Cocktail is one of my all time favorites that is often forgotten (more than likely due the difficulty of obtaining Amer Picon). Rittenhouse BIB and Punt e Mes really set it off.

[thirtyoneknots]

The Jimmie Roosevelt is a drink that I've never thought works quite right as written but has awesome potential if tweaked (though this is sort of the rule for >80% of Baker's drinks). I had what I thought was a decent version of it worked out and we talked about putting it on our menu but decided against it in the end for a variety of reasons. But it's a fun drink to pull out on folks who like intellectual beverages. How is everyone making these?

One of my recent faves is the Darb, from the Savoy. I'd also nominate most of the contents of Imbibe! as great lost cocktails...though we all should have seen them. The Improved Cocktail's reintroduction to the drinking public is a service whose value cannot be overstated.

[slkinsey]

The Jimmie Roosevelt is a drink that I've never thought works quite right as written but has awesome potential if tweaked (though this is sort of the rule for >80% of Baker's drinks). I had what I thought was a decent version of it worked out and we talked about putting it on our menu but decided against it in the end for a variety of reasons. But it's a fun drink to pull out on folks who like intellectual beverages. How is everyone making these?

It's interesting that you say many of Baker's drinks need tweaking. I suppose that's true. Certainly it's true for the Jimmy, not least because the original formula calls for three ounces of cognac, one ounce of Green Chartreuse and a half bottle of champagne! The Jimmy was cocktail on the opening menu at Pegu Club, which I write about here:

Besides offering her own creations, Audrey's menus often feature a few contemporary cocktails created by colleagues and forgotten classics worth resurrecting. To that end, the menu features Paul Harrington's Jasmine, Dale DeGroff's Whiskey Smash and from Charles "Doc" Baker's The Gentleman's Companion (one of the all time great cocktail books), the Jimmie Roosevelt. This last one deserves a little extra description, for it is a most interesting libation and one that is unlikely to be familiar. In the Pegu Club's version, a glass is rinsed with demerara simple syrup, then in goes some Cognac and an Angostura-soaked sugar cube; on top of that goes cracked ice, then a top of champagne and the whole thing drizzled with Green Chartreuse. Since the drink isn't mixed per se, the ingredients combine in the glass according to their own whimsy (and specific gravities, no doubt), which leads to a drink that evolves greatly, making many twists and turns on the way to the bottom of the glass. The first few sips are light, dry and effervescent; then the herbal exoticism of the Chartreuse begins to make its presence felt, lurking around the bits of cracked ice; towards the bottom of the glass the sweetness from the demerara syrup rinse and the Angostura's cinnamon come to the fore. Meanwhile the Cognac is there throughout to tie the whole thing together. It's like three or four drinks in one -- a must have.

Pegu Club came to be highly associated with the drink, and to the best of my knowledge no other bar is offering it. It requires a very large coupe a lot of guys around here actually call the "Jimmy glass" for short. You can still order the Jimmy Roosevelt off-menu at Pegu Club. Lately, Del Pedro, who is now at Pegu Club, has been adding his own touch by igniting a small dish of Green Chartreuse, repeatedly swirling the rim of the glass into the flaming liquid and blowing it out, thereby creating a thin shell of burnt/candied Chartreuse around the rim.

Two other Baker drinks I think I'd nominate, and which I have been enjoying lately, are the Holland Razor Blade and the Daisy de Santiago.

[Kent Wang]

One of my recent faves is the Darb, from the Savoy. I'd also nominate most of the contents of Imbibe! as great lost cocktails...though we all should have seen them. The Improved Cocktail's reintroduction to the drinking public is a service whose value cannot be overstated.

Big fan of the Darb as well. Not a fan of the name, though.

Andy, what was the recipe you settled on for the Jimmy?

[Splificator]

Here's one I've been enjoying rather too much lately; it's from the Hoffman House bartender's guide, circa 1910:

Modern Cocktail (ca. 1910)

Stir with cracked ice:

1 1/2 oz blended Scotch

1 1/2 oz Sloe Gin

1/4 oz lemon juice

1/4 oz 1:1 simple syrup

1 dash Absinthe

1 dash orange bitters

Strain into chilled cocktail glass and add cherry.

I like it with Johnny Walker Black (cut back to 1 oz), Plymouth Sloe, Vieux Pontarlier absinthe and Gary Fee/Joe Regan bitters; the cherry depends on your feelings about cherries.

[thirtyoneknots]

Thanks for that clarifying--extra sweetening was one of the things I also decided the drink needed, though when I was making more of them they were definitely scaled down to fit in a 12 oz glass. And quality sparkler is a must.

[thirtyoneknots]

Here's one I've been enjoying rather too much lately; it's from the Hoffman House bartender's guide, circa 1910:

Modern Cocktail (ca. 1910)

Stir with cracked ice:

1 1/2 oz blended Scotch

1 1/2 oz Sloe Gin

1/4 oz lemon juice

1/4 oz 1:1 simple syrup

1 dash Absinthe

1 dash orange bitters

Strain into chilled cocktail glass and add cherry.

I like it with Johnny Walker Black (cut back to 1 oz), Plymouth Sloe, Vieux Pontarlier absinthe and Gary Fee/Joe Regan bitters; the cherry depends on your feelings about cherries.

I came across something similar to that back in the spring though without the lemon or sugar and it was damn fine (can't recall the name, could have been the same). Good Sloe Gin is distressingly rare around here so I didn't make a habit of drinking them but mmmm.

[thirtyoneknots]

One of my recent faves is the Darb, from the Savoy. I'd also nominate most of the contents of Imbibe! as great lost cocktails...though we all should have seen them. The Improved Cocktail's reintroduction to the drinking public is a service whose value cannot be overstated.

Big fan of the Darb as well. Not a fan of the name, though.

Andy, what was the recipe you settled on for the Jimmy?

If I'm recalling this right I was doing a bitters-soaked sugar cube in a tall glass, fill with cracked ice, then pouring in a scant jigger of Cognac and a scant 1/2 oz of 1:1 simple. Top with Champagne (we were using Piper Heidseck) and flot a 1/4 oz or so of Chartreuse. Also cool is adding a horse's neck in the glass.

Edit to say: I actually think Extra Dry champers works better here than Brut. If using, I omit the simple.

Edited October 31, 2009 by thirtyoneknots (log)

[jmfangio]

One that immediately comes to mind is the Charlie Chaplin, from Old Waldorf Bar Days:

1 oz Sloe Gin (Plymouth, though I've also used a homemade damson plum liqueur that a friend brought back from an English farmer's market and, following a suggestion from Baker, Tequila por Mi Amante, both to good effect)

1 oz Apricot Liqueur (I only have the Rothman & Winter, so I can't vouch for how well other labels work in this drink)

1 oz lime juice

Shake, strain, no garnish.

This is one that I ignored for a long time because, on paper, it sounded too sweet for my palate, but it's really quite crisp and tart, with a lovely stone fruit flavor.

I also wholeheartedly agree with Sam about the Remember The Maine and The Last Word. And, partly for sentimental reasons, I'd like to nominate the Corpse Reviver #2, as it's one of the first recipes I made that inspired me to move beyond Martinis and down this road of ruin to my liver and credit card balance. It's also one of the drinks, along with the Jasmine and Aviation (with violette) that I use to convert people who say they hate gin, and have yet to fail.

[slkinsey]

The Corpse Reviver #2 is indeed a worthy nominee. So worthy, in fact, that it's already in Doc's book.

[jmfangio]

The Corpse Reviver #2 is indeed a worthy nominee. So worthy, in fact, that it's already in Doc's book.

D'oh!

Points for enthusiasm: 1

Points for fact checking before posting: -1

[brinza]

#4 The Last Word : Seems like an obvious one

I agree; I was very surprised to see that that one didn't make it into the 2nd edition.

My other nominations would be the Weeper's Joy that Mr. Wondrich has reintroduced to us

and the KCB Cocktail (Savoy recipe only).

Edited November 6, 2009 by brinza (log)

[Splificator]

Here's another forgotten favorite of mine; because I'm lazy, I'll just paste in the write-up I did for Drinks magazine back in 2005:

Burnt Fuselage

In 1927, Harry MacElhone put out a specially illustrated and augmented version of his book, under the title of Barflies and Cocktails. Besides revealing all sorts of arcana about the I.B.F. [international Bar Flies, the social and benevolent association that was founded at Harry's bar, in Paris], it also added a section of recipes contributed by various of the bar’s regulars. Among them was this balanced delight, supplied by Philadelphian Chuck Kerwood, “the wild man of aviation.” (Having flown in the French Air Force during World War I, he knew a thing or two about burnt fuselages.)

Stir well with cracked ice:

1 oz VSOP-grade cognac

1 oz Grand Marnier

1 oz dry (white) French vermouth

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and twist a swatch of thin-cut lemon peel over the top.

Simple construction, complex flavor, good backstory--exactly what I like in a drink.

[skbohler]

I, too, would like the recipe (and any related history) for the Jimmy Roosevelt.

I'm actually in the early stages of creating an Alcohol of Fame, with the help of Doc, Dale DeGroff, Gary Regan, Ryan Magarian and Jamie Boudreau (to start) on the judging panel. Cocktails will be voted in to the "Hall" at some basis, starting with the oldies first. We also want to get some popular vote from knowledgable mixologists as well. I'll keep you posted.

-Steve

[slkinsey]

The history of the Jimmy Roosevelt can be found in Chaz Baker's book, along with his recipe.

I don't feel at liberty to divulge the exact adaptation of the cocktail they do so successfully at Pegu Club, but a general description of their adaptation may be found above. Given the variables, one ought to be able to experiment and come up with a reasonably-sized drink that suits ones tastes. To me, one crucial discovery is that it needs a touch of extra sweetening, thus the swirl of demerara syrup in the glass described above.

[hathor]

Look at this post from the Old Foodie: Whistlebelly

"sour beer simmered in a kettle, mixed with molasses, filled with bread crumbs, and drunk hot"

Just the thing on a cold winter night, eh? Not sure it qualifies as a cocktail however. Is a hot toddy a cocktail??

[slkinsey]

Well, no I wouldn't say that's a cocktail.

But, more to the point, we're not so interested in drinks simply on the basis that they are old/and or obscure. This thread is to celebrate largely unknown classic cocktails that deserve to be more widely known and consumed due to what we personally know to be their surpassing deliciousness. Hot sour beer with molasses and bread crumbs... doesn't sound like it to me.

[John Rosevear]

David's Burnt Fuselage, on the other hand, sounds like a serious contender. I'll try one tonight, maybe with a decent Bas-Armagnac I have on the shelf.

[Splificator]

David's Burnt Fuselage, on the other hand, sounds like a serious contender. I'll try one tonight, maybe with a decent Bas-Armagnac I have on the shelf.

If you did try it, as I did last night (hadn't made one in a while) you probably found that a smidgen less Grand Marnier and a smidgen more brandy and/or vermouth would be an improvement. With the old 1960s-formula Noilly, you could get away with more liqueur; with the stuff we get now, I found the drink slightly over-ripe, if still pretty damn tasty. For round two, I went with 1 1/4 oz cognac, 1 oz vermouth and 3/4 oz GrandMa. Nice.

[John Rosevear]

I did in fact make one last night. My first thought was that the lemon peel is absolutely critical to the balance of the whole thing, which surprised me a little. I'll try it again with your revised proportions, but I thought it was excellent as it was.

[Splificator]

Agree about the lemon peel. That's why I don's twist them into the glass first or anything like that--I love the aroma of lemon oil that greets your nose as you lift the glass up to drink, and in this kind of all-alcohol drink, it's an essential bright accent.

[bostonapothecary]

Agree about the lemon peel. That's why I don's twist them into the glass first or anything like that--I love the aroma of lemon oil that greets your nose as you lift the glass up to drink, and in this kind of all-alcohol drink, it's an essential bright accent.

i agree about the vermouth. i tried it a few nights ago with 1960's style "bleached" vermouth from stock. i imagine NP or dolin is a drastically different experience. i enjoy the top notes of the lemon peel but it can be so intense it turns the drink into a jolly rancher candy sort of experience. i think the dry vermouth-grandmarnier juxtaposition is an awesome concept but the cognac holds the drink back by not offering interesting enough contrasting depth. if i made it again i'd start deviating by trying bonded lairds applejack or bacardi 8 year.

[John Rosevear]

Subbing something for the brandy is an interesting idea. I'd probably try another rum before the Bacardi... Clement VSOP, maybe.

David, re the lemon-oil nose... yes, exactly. Wonderful.