Stomping Through the "Savoy" (2009–)

[Plantes Vertes]

Today we chose the Champs Elysées to relief the angst of an intense party-planning session.

2oz cognac

0.75oz Green Chartreuse

0.5oz lemon juice

0.25oz simple

Dash bitters

Edited October 13, 2013 by Plantes Vertes (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Today we chose the Champs Elysées to relief the angst of an intense party-planning session.

2oz cognac

0.75oz Green Chartreuse

0.5oz lemon juice

0.25oz simple

Dash bitters

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Made this a while back (with the ratios from the Zig Zag Cafe: 1.5 oz cognac, 1/2 oz green Chartreuse, 1/4 lemon juice, 1/8 simple syrup, 2 dashes Angostura bitters) and was not crazy about it. But yours looks much nicer than mine without the unappealing foam.

What did you think? (and how did the party go?)

[Plantes Vertes]

I will probably not make it again soon as I didn't find it especially memorable, but I didn't spit it out I just felt it was lacking in contrast and found the spices from the Angostura and the herbs in the Chartreuse blended into one rather. I might experiment with adding a bass note with more bitterness or something a bit more savoury/leafy/funky than cognac to give it some more go.

The party has not happened yet; it's for my birthday at the end of next month and will double as our housewarming. We are spatially challenged ... Once we have put in a table for food, some mixing decks and space for coats, the guests will have to go in the hall and there will be nowhere to sleep. On the other hand I am the fortunate acquaintance of a troupe of circus performers who will do acrobatics on our roof/deck for booze*, so entertainments at least are simple and sorted.

*Acrobatics first, booze after. Health and Safety, Health and Safety.

Edited October 21, 2013 by Plantes Vertes (log)

[Plantes Vertes]

We tried a Leap Year tonight with the ratios from 12bottlebar.

 

2oz Sipsmith gin

1/2oz Grand Marnier

1/2oz Carpano Antica

Dash lemon juice

 

 

I found this one utterly put-down-able. Sipsmith is not a good gin for this drink; the strong juniper does not marry well with the vanilla from the Antica and the peppery gin finish is way too aggressive. It was also somewhat sickly so I would increase the lemon by a fair way next time.

[FrogPrincesse]

I think with this one you are supposed to try it every 4 years to remind yourself why you don't like it...

I am not a big fan either although it is pretty (2 years since my last attempt which was the Joy of Mixology version).

 

 

[EvergreenDan]

I think with this one you are supposed to try it every 4 years to remind yourself why you don't like it...

 

That should be called the Presidential Cocktail.

[Rafa]

That should be called the Presidential Cocktail.

 

http://instantrimshot.com/

 

Or up to every five years if you're Plantes. 

[FrogPrincesse]

I had a Bloodhound last night, which is a perfect Martini with strawberries. I used Dorothy Parker gin for its floral/hibiscus notes, Punt e Mes, and Dolin French vermouth.

 

 

Surprisingly good.

 

Note that I did not bother muddling the strawberries, so the taste was on the subtle side. It's probably best to muddle them a bit, unless your shake is especially energetic and your strawberries super ripe.

[FrogPrincesse]

Cherry Mixture Cocktail (what an uninspired name) from the Savoy, which also makes an appearance in the Art of the Shim. In AoS it's recommended for someone in the mood for Manhattan "but really perhaps oughtn't", but of course with just dry & sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur, and Angostura bitters, it's missing its main player.

 

I went with Dolin for the dry and Margerum for the sweet (the book recommends a Noilly Prat dry and Carpano Antica combo, which is also what Erik had done). Unlike Erik, I did not put any ice because I wanted to avoid additional dilution.

 

Not bad but a little too sweet. I may attempt again with Punt e Mes.

 

 

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

In keeping with a Savoy theme tonight (although this recipe may have been lifted from Robert Vermeire*), after a White Lady twist, I made a Sensation Cocktail with London dry gin (Beefeater), lemon juice, maraschino liqueur, and mint (homegrown). If you are wondering what sensation, the first sip was one of bracing sourness. So I went with Erik's recommendation and added a 1/4 ounce of simple syrup.

 

 

 

This is what I ended up with:

 

1.5 oz gin

0.5 oz lemon juice

1.5 barspoon maraschino liqueur

3 mint sprigs

 

It's a Southside with maraschino and it's very very nice. Crisp and refreshing.

 

(*) I haven't suddenly turned into a cocktail historian, I am just putting Martin Doudoroff's new Cocktail and Mixed Drinks app into good use!

 

[FrogPrincesse]

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.

 

Here is my rendition of the Pantomime cocktail with Dolin dry vermouth, homemade orgeat, grenadine, egg white, grated nutmeg.

 

 

Measurements in dashes for ingredients that don't come in dasher bottles are so confusing. I gave some feedback to Martin Doudoroff suggesting to add a definition of dashes to his new app, and the short answer is that it's a measurement that can vary from a modern dash to 1/2 oz depending on the author, for old recipes, so it's highly subject to interpretation. It reminded me of this discussion.

 

I used:

 

1.5 oz dry vermouth

1/4 oz orgeat

1 barspoon grenadine

Egg white

Nutmeg garnish

 

I am always confused by the orgeat + egg white combination, to me it feels a bit overkill.

 

In the end, it's a little aperitif which is light and pretty, although probably too much fuss for what it is (since there is egg white involved). It's not going to leave you satisfied, for sure.

Edited September 4, 2014 by FrogPrincesse (log)