Mixing with the The Dead Rabbit Drinks Manual

[ChrisTaylor]

My copy of the book landed today and, oh dear, it's the first cocktail book I've bought where I can make very few of the recipes with my existing stock. Death & Co.? beta cocktails? No problem. Add some fresh fruit into the mix and I'm in business with most of the recipes. With this book I should have heeded Rafa's warning when he mentioned Muldoon and McGarry called for a lot of obscure ingredients. 

 

To be fair, a lot of the house-made infusions (e.g. the mace tincture) are called upon regularly, so you'd be able to make a whole lot more if you invested the time to make them, but this is a very ... interesting book. I'm not sure if my first impression was entirely positive (and not just because of the recipes). There's a rather ... weighty section of the book dedicated to elaborating on the greatness of the bar and those who created it. It avoids the more subtle road of, say, letting the recipes imply that the bar is great.

 

Nonetheless, here's a Ford. The plastic drink bottle contains Dolin dry. I thought it was a nice drink. And until I make some of those tinctures it's one of the few drinks I can make with a collection that extends a fair way into the obscure.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

No Benedictine in their Ford cocktail?

[Rafa]

No. They claim inspiration from Kappeler, whose recipe for the Ford indeed contains Bénédictine, along with Old Tom (Dead Rabbit specifies Tanqueray Dry), dry vermouth, and orange bitters. Most of the Dead Rabbit's adaptations depart rather far from the original. For example, their Lion's Tail calls for the usual trio of bourbon, allspice, and citrus (lemon rather than the usual lime), but adds crème de cacao, crème de poire, bitters, nutmeg, and orange juice.

[FrogPrincesse]

So their Ford Cocktail is like a Turf Club then? (gin, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur, orange bitters, absinthe rinse)

Confusing.

[FrogPrincesse]

For example, their Lion's Tail calls for the usual trio of bourbon, allspice, and citrus (lemon rather than the usual lime), but adds crème de cacao, crème de poire, bitters, nutmeg, and orange juice.

 

Orange juice!!! Oh no.

[Hassouni]

Orange juice!!! Oh no.

 

Dave Arnold's "corrected" orange juice has popped up on a few DC cocktail menus, it might be worth experimenting with it

[Rafa]

Pouring Ribbons does something similar, using an orange cordial with steeped peels and citric acid in place of OJ.

As far as I know The Dead Rabbit does no such thing, but I'm intrigued enough by the strangeness of their Lion's Tail recipe togive it a shot, and every drink I've ever had there gives me confidence that it'll at least be, well, well-concieved.

Of course, I'm currently in St. Thomas, where the Painkillers are plentiful and delicious, so I'm rethinking my bias against OJ.

Chris: if you don't mind making raspberry syrup and/or purchasing some Port, I highly recommend the Banker's Punch (aka Bankers Are Wankers) as a good and accessiblly ingredient-ed example of the DR style at its best.

[FrogPrincesse]

Chris: if you don't mind making raspberry syrup and/or purchasing some Port, I highly recommend the Banker's Punch (aka Bankers Are Wankers) as a good and accessiblly ingredient-ed example of the DR style at its best.

 

It even has its own video!

 

[Rafa]

Couple of things about that video:

 

1) Very minor differences between the version McGarry makes there and the one in the book, specifically that the book specifies Redbreast 12 Cask Strength and calls for 3/4 oz, not 1 oz, of each ingredient (presumably to make a la minute blending of their equal parts rum mix easier).

 

2) Jack's fill line in his jigger is much lower than the "fill it up until it's overflowing" New York standard. 

Edited October 21, 2015 by Rafa (log)

[Hassouni]

2) Jack's fill line in his jigger is much lower than the "fill it up until it's overflowing" New York standard. 

 

You mean fill it till it's full?

[Rafa]

Fill it until it cannot possibly hold another drop, and then add another drop. 

[ananth]

So their Ford Cocktail is like a Turf Club then? (gin, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur, orange bitters, absinthe rinse)

Confusing.

or maybe just a tuxedo?

[ChrisTaylor]

Bijou. The introductory spiel elaborates on their changes to the classic specs. I used Carpano Antica for the vermouth.

[Rafa]

Bijou. The introductory spiel elaborates on their changes to the classic specs. I used Carpano Antica for the vermouth.

 

 

I don't think this gets mentioned in the book for some reason, but the DR infuses (or at least used to) their sweet vermouth with a wormwood tincture, making drinks like this one and their Tipperary even more absinthe-y than they look on paper. 

[BillBuitenhuys]

Just got this book as well and at first glance was pretty dismayed that I couldn't make more than a handful of drinks with what I have at home. But as I read it more, I'm getting extremely inspired with the flavor combinations that they are using throughout. Time to start macerating!

[ChrisTaylor]

The Glee Club.

 

 

As with the D&C Flor de Jerez, the colour is a lot darker than the provided picture due to the colour of the Australian 'apera' I used. I like this one. The amontillado sub I've got is a bit of a bully, but Chartreuse and raspberry eau de vie manage to beat it into submission.

[ChrisTaylor]

Mamie Taylor: a scotch highball. I like it, but it's rather elaborate for a highball.

 

[ChrisTaylor]

 

Weeper's Joy. Not pictured: the Dolin dry vermouth, which serves as the base.

[ChrisTaylor]

I blitzed some watermelon just for this: the mezcal fizz. Possibly a little too heavy on the shrub. I suspect the problem is mine; I might have a different understanding of what a dash is. My partner hated it but I thought it was okay. i've liked all the drinks to varying degrees, although based on my ham-fisted recreations of the published specs I'm a bigger fan of D&C's style.

This one I really like: Gin Smash a la Byron. The black bottle contains lemon sherbet.

[ChrisTaylor]

I forgot to buy more nutmeg. This Hot Whisky Toddy goes unadorned. It's the first hot cocktail I've liked. Maybe it's just the shit weather and this mountain of marking and data entry set before me.

 

Incidentally, I'm somewhat surprised I'm the only one who seems to be mixing Rabbit drinks so far. I reckon if you've got a well-stocked bar and are prepared to make a few of the common ingredients (the lemon sherbet, the mace tincture [i based mine on vodka and didn't dilute it--rectified spirit is simply too expensive here]) the book is worthwhile. It's really pushed me, as the most amateur of bartenders, to think about things in very different ways. 

[ChrisTaylor]

Hot Buttered Rum. I had to make do with what I had. I didn't like it as much as the Toddy.

[Adam George]

Can't post now, out buying all the nutmeg.

Also;

Edited December 1, 2015 by Adam George (log)