French 19th Century cocktail (lowercase c cocktail)

[EvergreenDan]

Any ideas for a spectacular cocktail? I thought of the Champs Élysées which has a French name, plus cognac and Chartreuse. But it is from the 1930s and is kinda so-so, at least with yellow Chartreuse. I'm looking for an aperitif from this period. Something not sweet and interesting enough for a jaded audience. Thanks much.

[Mjx]

Something based on absinthe or pastis would be period-appropriate.

[FrogPrincesse]

I don't think that you will find too many cocktails per se or interesting aperitifs that were created in France in that timeframe. Creme de cassis was invented at that time so a kir variation would be an obvious choice, but they can be quite sweet and would not be very original. A bunch of apetitif wines were created in that time period (Dubonnet, Saint Raphael, Picon, Byrrh, Lillet, etc), so instead of trying to find a historically-accurate option, you may be better off just creating a new drink for the occasion using one of them as an ingredient. Absinthe as Mjx suggested is a good idea too, given its popularity at the time.

Thinking about ways to incorporate these ingredients, there is one drink in PDT that could almost fit the bill. The Paddington, which is a rum-based version of a Corpse Reviver No. 2 (more or less), could be made with rhum agricole. It already uses Lillet and absinthe. You would need to switch the marmalade for something more French as well and it would need a new name. Just a few thoughts...

Edited April 9, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Rafa]

You could do an absinthe drip, if you want to be authentic. Bonus if you set it up in an opium den. Still, not really a "cocktail," not really "spectacular." (Maybe if you did a Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal drip. You're made out of money, right?)

Following up on LaPrincesseGrenouille's commentaires en haut-thread, there are several other contemporary cocktails incorporating the best in XIXe siecle French aperitifs and liqueurs, among them the Asterisk (brandy Last Word), the Mountain Man (you could sub Lillet for the Cocchi), the Albert Mathieu, the Weeski, and of course the White Negroni. A proper French spirit like brandy or rhum agricole could be subbed for the snooty Anglo gins and backwoods bourbons in the above. Or you could do something with a combination of orgeat and absinthe/pastis, a popular combo among the French. You could even take a preexisting cocktail you like that calls for sweet vermouth and substitute something like Byrrh or Bonal or Maurin. Or just mix any old fancy liqueur with Champagne. The possibilities are endless~*

Edited April 9, 2013 by Rafa (log)

[J_Ozzy]

You could give some of the early French cocktail books (~1890s-1900s) a shot.

http://www.euvs.org/en/collection/books

Edit: granted, most of the material is likely translated from period American books, but there surely must be a couple originals in the bunch.

Edited April 9, 2013 by J_Ozzy (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

You could give some of the early French cocktail books (~1890s-1900s) a shot.

http://www.euvs.org/en/collection/books

Edit: granted, most of the material is likely translated from period American books, but there surely must be a couple originals in the bunch.

Some fun books there, thanks for the link. The author of Cocktails de Paris (1929) seems particularly enthousiastic, finishing almost every sentence with an exclamation point! As he writes, Hourra! Hourra! Augusthourra!

Let me know if you need a translation; LaPrincesseGrenouille will be happy to oblige!

Edited April 10, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[EvergreenDan]

Thanks for the link. And thanks for the offer to translate. I'm looking through them.

I'm thinking that a Bijou with adjusted ratios might work. I'm going to play with that tonight. At least the Chartreuse is French.

[Van Stratten]

Any ideas for a spectacular cocktail? I thought of the Champs Élysées which has a French name, plus cognac and Chartreuse. But it is from the 1930s and is kinda so-so, at least with yellow Chartreuse.....

The cocktail is an American invention. Good luck trying to find French cocktails from the 19th Century.

If you want a good cocktail using French ingredients, the Phoebe Snow is decent. It's equal parts cognac and Dubonnet, with a dash of absinthe. Not as good as the gin counterpart, the Apparent Cocktail, but it's good nonetheless.

And the Champs Élysées is a fantastic cocktail, your opinion notwithstanding. It's wonderful with yellow Chartreuse, although it may not be a good cocktail for those who have a one-night-stand relationship with cocktails, and make a different drink every night.

[Steamtrain]

Time for a dumb guy to post something

Not French, not 19th century but one could rename it with a "Le, La, L', or Les" in front of the new name and add it to Wikipedia.

Sidecar or some Frenchyfied variation like adding a Chartruese, Sauternes or other French addition.

Jaded in what way?

[EvergreenDan]

Following the advice here, I declared defeat and went with probably the most important French liqueur, Chartreuse. I tried several cognac variations, with both Chartreuse and various aromatized wines, but didn't find anything that I loved. So the Last Word it is. I consider it to be one of the world's best cocktails -- certainly top 100, maybe top 25.

Thank you all for your help.

P.S. Jaded in that I have already sprung some pretty "advanced" cocktails on them. Kir or Kir Royale just wouldn't cut it, for example.