Stomping Through the "Savoy" (2009–)

[thirtyoneknots]

Uh, yeah, since Baker preferred 2 oz jiggers, that’s, um, 6 ounces of spirits and a cup of half and half. Wheee! That’s a party in a glass, all right.

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I've wondered about this before...at one point he says don't be stingy and use a 2 oz jigger, and in anotehr place he states with no qualification that a jigger is 1 1/2 oz. Given the context of the recipes, where he will sometimes say things like one jigger of this and two ponies of that I have always interpreted his recipes with a 1.5 oz "jigger".

Not that that necessarily helps very many of them.

[eje]

I've seen Dale Degroff top off an Irish coffee with slightly thickened cream on the Rachel Maddow show where he's been a guest a few times. The

.

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Yes, it is traditional to top Irish Coffee with slightly whipped cream.

However, I'd never seen it done to top a cold cocktail.

Now that I think about it, the first time I remember seeing someone top a cold cocktail with slightly whipped cream, it was Thomas Waugh for an Averna contest last year. And Thomas now works at Clover Club!

What a small world!

[Alcuin]

I've seen Dale Degroff top off an Irish coffee with slightly thickened cream on the Rachel Maddow show where he's been a guest a few times. The

.

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Yes, it is traditional to top Irish Coffee with slightly whipped cream.

However, I'd never seen it done to top a cold cocktail.

Now that I think about it, the first time I remember seeing someone top a cold cocktail with slightly whipped cream, it was Thomas Waugh for an Averna contest last year. And Thomas now works at Clover Club!

What a small world!

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He actually does top a cold drink (1:1 Irish whiskey and Irish Mist) with cream in that video that he calls the Dubliner. Probably should've mentioned that though.

Anyway, nice photo. Those little soft mounds of cream look like something I wouldn't mind drowning in.

[eje]

He actually does top a cold drink (1:1 Irish whiskey and Irish Mist) with cream in that video that he calls the Dubliner. Probably should've mentioned that though.

Anyway, nice photo. Those little soft mounds of cream look like something I wouldn't mind drowning in.

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Oh funny! I didn't watch the whole video, but cool.

Irish Mist always reminds me of my father-in-law. Apparently, someone used to always give him a bottle every Christmas. He always says, you could gauge how stressful the particular year was by the level of Irish Mist left in the bottle.

By the way, those aero latte type devices make whipping the cream for a single drink a breeze.

[Alcuin]

By the way, those aero latte type devices make whipping the cream for a single drink a breeze.

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Yeah I want to get one of those. I hear they're good for whipping up Ramos Gin Fizzes too.

[mkayahara]

Excellent is right. Wonder how it'd work with Regan's -- tasty, I bet.

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I can't compare to Angostura orange bitters because I still haven't found any, but I can now attest that the Palmetto, when made with Regan's (and Cruzan Estate Diamond), is an all-around excellent drink.

[eje]

Pansy Cocktail.

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters.

6 Dashes Grenadine. (2 barspoons homemade Grenadine)

1 Liqueur Glass Absinthe. (1 1/2 oz Kubler Absinthe)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Wow, is that not a menacing, muddy, brown-ish red color?

“Oh yeah, if you can’t drink this, you’re a pansy!” is about all I can think regarding the name, as there is a sort of disconnect between a shot of slightly sweetened and chilled Absinthe and the word, “Pansy”.

With a good, long, hard shake, this isn’t, strictly speaking, awful. In the end, probably not all that dissimilar to a shot of Jägermeister. Still, there are probably better ways to use all of the ingredients here, at least if quality cocktails is your goal, and not simply getting drunk.

[RoyalSwagger]

Blechhh... nice touch with the knife in the background.

[slkinsey]

I wonder if, with a more traditionally red grenadine, the color of the cocktail might have some out with a more traditional red pansy color.

[eje]

Pansy Blossom Cocktail.

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters.

1 Teaspoonful Grenadine. (1 teaspoon Homemade Grenadine)

1 Glass Anis del Oso. (1 1/2 oz Kubler Absinthe)

Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass. (Spanked mint tip garnish.)

As the Block and Fall Cocktail calls for “Anis del Oso or Absinthe”, I’m going to assume a blanche absinthe, like Kubler, is a fair substitution here. Perhaps Anis del Oso is a dry style Anis. I added the mint tip, just to give the camera something to focus on, though it also brings a pleasant brightness to the scent of the cocktail.

Not much difference between the Pansy Cocktail and Pansy Blossom. Slightly less Grenadine and Angostura in the Blossom, making it a bit less murky in color.

On the previous post someone pointed out the color wasn’t dissimilar to the dark center of the pansy flower.

Another possible reading of the name comes up on the pansy wikipedia entry:

“In William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the juice of a pansy blossom (”before, milk-white, now purple with love’s wound, and maidens call it love-in-idleness”) is a love potion: “the juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid, will make a man or woman madly dote (fall in love) upon the next live creature that it sees.” (Act II, Scene I see also: Oberon at II, i).”

There’s a definite parallel there, between Absinthe’s alleged aphrodisiac properties and those ascribed to the pansy blossom.

Again, if you like Absinthe and are into high proof booze, this isn’t a horrible cocktail. I’ll take it over Jägermeister any day. Still, there are better uses for these ingredients.

[David Santucci]

“In William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the juice of a pansy blossom (”before, milk-white, now purple with love’s wound, and maidens call it love-in-idleness”) is a love potion: “the juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid, will make a man or woman madly dote (fall in love) upon the next live creature that it sees.” (Act II, Scene I see also: Oberon at II, i).”

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Perhaps this was the intended presentation of the drink:

Take a glass of Absinthe and shake with ice, serve in a goblet in front of drinker and recite the following lines:

"Yet markt I, where the bolt of Cupid fell.

It fell upon a little western flower;

Before, milk white;..."

Stir in a dash of grenadine and continue to recite:

"...now purple, with love's wound,

And maidens call it, Love in idleness.

Fetch me that flower: the herb I showed thee once.

The juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid,"

Add a dash of bitters and continue:

"Will make or man or woman madly dote,

Upon the next live creature that it sees."

Drinker slugs down drink and, his courage thus bolstered, goes off to pursue the woman of his fancy...

[eje]

Nice, David, I'll have to remember that the next time I serve it.

If only it was a tastier drink!

[bostonapothecary]

“In William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the juice of a pansy blossom (”before, milk-white, now purple with love’s wound, and maidens call it love-in-idleness”) is a love potion: “the juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid, will make a man or woman madly dote (fall in love) upon the next live creature that it sees.” (Act II, Scene I see also: Oberon at II, i).”

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Perhaps this was the intended presentation of the drink:

Take a glass of Absinthe and shake with ice, serve in a goblet in front of drinker and recite the following lines:

"Yet markt I, where the bolt of Cupid fell.

It fell upon a little western flower;

Before, milk white;..."

Stir in a dash of grenadine and continue to recite:

"...now purple, with love's wound,

And maidens call it, Love in idleness.

Fetch me that flower: the herb I showed thee once.

The juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid,"

Add a dash of bitters and continue:

"Will make or man or woman madly dote,

Upon the next live creature that it sees."

Drinker slugs down drink and, his courage thus bolstered, goes off to pursue the woman of his fancy...

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most amusing.

the flavors remind me of patxaran.

[eje]

You may remember that a couple weeks ago I made a Hibiscus Milk Punch based on a recipe I read on another blog.

The whole thing was a bit of a leap of faith, given I’d never made anything similar or even tried it.

However, it turned out so well, I thought I should turn back the clock a bit further and investigate an older recipe for Milk Punch. So when Daniel Hyatt suggested we make some punches for one of our Savoy Cocktail Book night at Alembic, I thought I would make Savoy Milk Punch No. 1. Upon investigation, it turns out it is based on a recipe from the 1862 version of Jerry Thomas’ Bartenders Guide.

The recipe from Mr. Thomas is as follows.

    California Milk Punch.

    (For Bottling.)

    Take the juice of four lemons.

    The rind of two lemons.

    ½ pound of white sugar, dissolved in sufficient hot water.

    1 pineapple, peeled, sliced and pounded.

    6 cloves.

    20 coriander seeds.

    1 small stick of cinnamon.

    1 pint of brandy.

    1 pint of Jamaica rum.

    1 gill of Batavia Arrack.

    1 cup of strong green tea.

    1 quart of boiling water.

    1 quart of hot milk.

    Put all the materials in a clean demijohn, the boiling water to be added last; cork this down to prevent evaporation, and allow the ingredients to steep for at least six hours; then add the hot milk and the juice of two more lemons; mix, and filter through a jelly-bag; and when the punch has passed bright, put it away in tight-corked bottles.

    This punch is intended to be iced for drinking. If intended for present use filtering is not necessary.

Using Mr. Thomas recipe as a starting point:

Bernal Heights Milk Punch.

    1 qt Osocalis Brandy.

    1 pt Appleton V/X.

    1 pt Coruba.

    1 pt Batavia Arrack von Osten.

    Peel 4 lemons.

    Juice 6 lemons, strained

    1/2 pineapple, chopped and crushed.

    6 cloves.

    1 cinnamon stick (cassia).

    5 Green Cardamom Pods, Crushed.

    4 teaspoons Lung Ching Dragonwell Tea.

    16 oz Water

    1/2 # Florida Crystals.

    1 quart Straus Family Creamery Whole Milk.

    Peel lemons and add to Brandy.  Juice 4 lemons and crush pineapple.  Add to rums (including Arrack).  Allow both to infuse for 48 hours.

    Heat water and add spices and tea. After it has steeped for 10 minutes, strain. Add sugar, stir to combine, and cool.

    Juice other two lemons and add to pineapple, lemon, and rum mixture. Heat milk to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Add to Rum, lemon, and pineapple mixture. Allow to stand for 30 minutes and filter through cheesecloth. Strain brandy mixture off peels. Combine Rum mixture, brandy mixture, and syrup. Cool, bottle in clean containers, and chill over night. Filter again through coffee filters, leaving any sediment which has collected in the bottom of the containers behind.  Makes about 3 quarts.

Perhaps not so oddly, I misremembered the recipe and used Cardamom instead of Coriander. But I really like the clove/cardamom nexus, so not a bad thing. I needed some pineapple and pineapple juice for another cocktail this week, so only used half for the punch. More pineapple wouldn’t hurt. The initial division of the infusions was just a result of the size of my containers, but actually seemed to help with getting a firmer curd from the milk solids. If I had to do it again, I’d do it the same way.

The water amounts didn’t really make sense to me for starting with 80 proof booze. My guess is Thomas was working with cask strength liquors, to require that much dilution. So I adjusted a bit. Perhaps a bit too much, as according to Mrs. Flannestad, this ended up a bit strong and boozy. Depending on your perspective, that may be bad or good.

Very good response to the punch at Alembic’s Savoy Cocktail Book night last Sunday, so if you’re feeling adventurous give it a try. I don’t think you’ll regret it. We just served it over ice with a splash of soda. It would make a fantastic highball!

Even though I can now cross this off the list of Savoy punches I need to make, I have a feeling I’ll be making this Milk Punch again some time soon.

[Wild Bill Turkey]

Very good response to the punch at Alembic’s Savoy Cocktail Book night last Sunday

!!

[eje]

Pantomime Cocktail.

1 Dash Orgeat Syrup. (1/3 tsp. Homemade)

1 Dash Grenadine. (1/3 tsp. Homemade)

The White of 1 Egg.

1 Liqueur Glass French Vermouth. (1 1/2 oz Noilly Original Dry)

Shake (without ice for 10 seconds. Add ice, shake) well and strain into medium size glass. (Garnish with drops of angostura bitters and grated nutmeg.)

Kind of odd to have egg white in a cocktail without citrus, but there you go.

I found the Pantomime an interesting and fairly enjoyable light cocktail. Heck, you could even make this at a bar without a full liquor license! Of course it is an awful lot of work to go for very little “bang”, if you know what I mean.

[eje]

Paradise Cocktail.

1 Dash Lemon Juice.

1/4 Orange Juice. (1/2 oz fresh squeezed Orange Juice)

1/2 Gin. (1 oz North Shore Distiller’s No. 6)

1/4 Apricot Brandy. (1/2 oz Rothman and Winter Orchard Apricot)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Sadly, nothing particularly amazing or fantastic going on here in the Paradise, but what do they say? “Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.” This version of paradise is a refreshing and enjoyable cocktail and not much more. Strikes me as kind of non-threatening and brunchy.

Crap, I should be keeping a list of these Screwdriver, Mimosa, and Bloody Mary replacements, so I can order them the next time I have brunch at a cocktail bar. Hear that Clover Club? I’m looking at you!

[eje]

Parisian Cocktail.

1/3 French Vermouth. (1 oz Noilly Original Dry)

1/3 Crème de Cassis. (3/4 oz Brizard Creme de Cassis)

1/3 Gin. (3/4 oz Beefeater Gin)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Nothing particularly earth shattering here in another Cocktail likely sourced from the 1929 edition of Harry’s McElhone’s “Harry’s ABC of Cocktails”. How enjoyable this cocktail is to you will likely wholly depend on how interesting you find your bottling of Creme de Cassis.

[Splificator]

Parisian Cocktail.

1/3 French Vermouth. (1 oz Noilly Original Dry)

1/3 Crème de Cassis. (3/4 oz Brizard Creme de Cassis)

1/3 Gin. (3/4 oz Beefeater Gin)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Nothing particularly earth shattering here in another Cocktail likely sourced from the 1929 edition of Harry’s McElhone’s “Harry’s ABC of Cocktails”. How enjoyable this cocktail is to you will likely wholly depend on how interesting you find your bottling of Creme de Cassis.

I've been drinking these--occasionally, to be sure, but nonetheless--since the early '90s, when my wife Karen and her friend Melissa Clark (now a famous food writer) used to make them after closing at the Manhattan restaurant where they worked. I think they pried the recipe out of Mr. Boston. In any case, they always made them with more gin and less cassis. The way I do 'em now is with 1 1/2 oz gin, 1 oz vermouth and 1/2 oz cassis, which is pretty much what they used to do. Made thus, it's a rather delightful drink, and nice to have in the repertoire.

[RoyalSwagger]

Parisian Cocktail.

1/3 French Vermouth. (1 oz Noilly Original Dry)

1/3 Crème de Cassis. (3/4 oz Brizard Creme de Cassis)

1/3 Gin. (3/4 oz Beefeater Gin)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Nothing particularly earth shattering here in another Cocktail likely sourced from the 1929 edition of Harry’s McElhone’s “Harry’s ABC of Cocktails”. How enjoyable this cocktail is to you will likely wholly depend on how interesting you find your bottling of Creme de Cassis.

I've been drinking these--occasionally, to be sure, but nonetheless--since the early '90s, when my wife Karen and her friend Melissa Clark (now a famous food writer) used to make them after closing at the Manhattan restaurant where they worked. I think they pried the recipe out of Mr. Boston. In any case, they always made them with more gin and less cassis. The way I do 'em now is with 1 1/2 oz gin, 1 oz vermouth and 1/2 oz cassis, which is pretty much what they used to do. Made thus, it's a rather delightful drink, and nice to have in the repertoire.

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Upon reading Erik's post I immediately thought of the "Gotham" recipe. Not to say that the two drinks are similar but, the French Vermouth/ Cassis combo just said Wondrich to me.

Cheers,

Ciaran

[eje]

[...]

In any case, they always made them with more gin and less cassis.

[...]

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Why am I not surprised?

I guess I seemed a bit dismissive of the Parisian.

I realized this AM, I meant to rewrite the Parisian before posting it, but the Stomp caught up with me before I had the chance.

Definitely a cocktail with "good bones".

I do sometimes wonder if some of the cocktails, like the Parisian, lost their soda in translation. Or if they were adaptions of French drinks for American Bars.

Building something like Cassis, gin, and vermouth in a glass and then topping it up with soda just seems so very French.

Not to mention, build it over crushed ice and you're a dash of lemon juice away from something like Dick Bradsell's famous Bramble.

Edited June 30, 2009 by eje (log)

[eje]

Parisian Blonde Cocktail.

1/3 Sweet Cream. (3/4 oz Sweet Cream)

1/3 Curacao. (3/4 oz Cartron Curacao Triple Sec)

1/3 Jamaica Rum. (3/4 oz Appleton Extra)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Well, no. Using a Milk Frother, whip cream until slightly thickened. Stir rum and curacao with ice to chill. Strain into cocktail glass. Carefully pour lightly thickened cream over the back of a spoon to float on top. Garnish with finely grated cinnamon.)

As in the Panama Cocktail, again deploying the Clover Club method of agitating the cream separately from the other ingredients, then spooning on top. Done that way, this is an enjoyable after dinner cocktail, along the lines of a Brandy Alexander.

Found the Cartron Curacao at a liquor store in Napa. May be my new favorite orange liqueur. Nice complex intense orange flavor, good proof level, and very little harshness or burn.

The interesting part, here, is that the name of the product uses both “Curacao” and “Triple Sec”, hearkening back to the origins of orange liqueurs.

[eje]

Pat’s Special Cocktail.

(6 People)

Put 2 Glasses of Gin (1 oz Sarticious Gin) , 2 of Sherry (1 oz Don Nuno Dry Oloroso Sherry) and 2 of Quinquina (1 oz Dubonnet Rouge) in the shaker; add 2 dashes of Crème de Cassis (dash Brizard Creme de Cassis) and 2 of Abricotine (dash Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot). Shake well and serve with a (Luxardo) cherry and a piece of orange peel.

I’m still unsure about “Quinquina” used generically as an ingredient. Dubonnet Rouge is definitely a Quinquina. Just not sure if it is what is called for in cocktails that use the actual word.

I’ve been playing, off and on, with the Sarticious Gin, and enjoy it. I can’t find much information about the company that makes it. I guess it is in Santa Cruz and the owner also runs the Alexander Cellars Winery. Beyond that, their use of non-traditional botanicals like Cilantro has gained them some attention.

Anyway, for some reason, I thought of it for this cocktail.

Kind of a kitchen sink recipe, as far as ingredients go, but fairly enjoyable. The Cassis and Apricot liqueur end up being more hinted at than actually present in the flavor profile of the cocktail. Mostly I get slightly exotic tasting Sherry and Gin. Enjoyable enough to make again.

Gotta say thanks to the Shabbanigans for sending out this lovely cocktail shaker. I promise to use it in good faith and hope to see you soon!

[eje]

Pauline Cocktail

(6 People)

3 Glasses Rum. (1 1/2 oz Barbancourt White Rum)

3 Glasses Sweetened Lemon Juice. (1 oz Lemon Juice, 1/2 oz Rich Simple Syrup)

1 Dash Absinthe Bitters. (1 Dash Verte de Fougerolles Absinthe)

A little Nutmeg, grated.

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

I tried this one both with "Gin and Wormwood" and plain old Absinthe. I found I preferred the regular Absinthe.

Since it doesn’t specify what type of rum to use here, and I’ve really been digging Barbancourt’s white rum lately, I chose to use it in this cocktail. Barbancourt’s rums are produced from Cane Juice so they have a bit of flavor in common with the Rhum Agricoles from Martinique and elsewhere. However, their white rum has less of the harshness and funk of the white rums from those areas.

Proves to work quite well in this Daiquiri-like cocktail.

No idea who the eponymous Pauline might have been, but I like her taste in cocktails!

[eje]

Peggy Cocktail.

1 Dash Absinthe. (Absinthe Verte de Fougerolles)

1 Dash Dubonnet. (Dubonnet Rouge)

1/3 French Vermouth. (3/4 oz Noilly Original Dry Vermouth)

2/3 Dry Gin. (1 1/2 oz Beefeater Gin)

Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass.

There are a couple cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book that call for Dubonnet Rouge in “dash” proportions. I had heard that the French version of Dubonnet Rouge was distinct from the American version, so assumed it might have more bitter character. I thought maybe that might explain using it in such small proportions.

However, I recently had a chance to try the French version of Dubonnet Rouge. While it did seem to be a nicer product, with maybe a slightly higher quality wine base, it was really not much different at all in terms of overall taste and bitterness. While it is possible that both products may have evolved over time, I suspect that the dash of Dubonnet here is just providing a slight rosy hue.

In any case, this is a pleasant, if not outstanding, cocktail. A slightly richer, and pinker, version of a dry martini.

As Mrs. eje and I are still making our way through the second season of Mad Men, the name of this cocktail reminds me a bit of the always conflicted Peggy on that show.