Duffy

[Rob Simmon]

My brother lent me a copy of the Offical Mixer's Manual by Patrick Gavin Duffy on Tuesday. Copyright 1934/1940. It's got boatloads of very odd cocktails, many featuring defunct ingredients. (What is Hercules? or Orange Gin? or Caperitif? (CocktailDB has the answers, but you get the picture)

I'm going to work my way through the book, make the cocktails that catch my fancy, and post the recipes and my thoughts here. The proportions will be listed as written, and then I'll add what measures I used. (How much is a glass?)

Kola Tonic Cocktail

1/3 Dry Gin (1 oz. Damrak)

2/3 Kola Tonic (Rose's)

Stir well in ice and strain. Add a cherry.

Good for a sore throat. The Gin adds some nice citrus and herbal notes to the Kola Tonic. Might be better at 50/50.

Mule Hind Leg

1/5 Gin (1/2 oz. Damrak)

1/5 Benedictine

1/5 Applejack (Laird's Bonded)

1/5 Maple Syrup

1/5 Apricot Brandy (M-B Apry)

Stir well in ice and strain. Serve in glass #1 (essentially a cocktail glass)

Hmm. Sweet. Thick, syrupy, and sweet. I think I'd cut the sweet ingredients in half, possibly leaving the Benedictine as-is.

[Rob Simmon]

After Dinner Cocktail (Special)

1 Jigger Cederlund's Swedish Punsch (1.5 oz. Carlschamn's Flaggpunsch)

1/2 Jigger Cherry Cordial (0.75 oz. Massenze creme de griotte)

1/2 lime (0.5 oz. lime juice)

shake well with cracked ice and strain

Again on the sweet side, but not so much as the previous two. Better balanced and more drinkable. Could stand to have the amount of cherry reduced, and likely calls for a dash of Angustora or a spice tincture to really put it over the top.

[slkinsey]

Interesting stuff, Rob. Keep it coming.

[Rob Simmon]

Xanthia Cocktail

1/3 Cherry Brandy (Cherry Marnier)

1/3 Yellow Chartreuse

1/3 Dry Gin (Magellan)

Stir well in ice and strain into glass.

I had to try this with both yellow and green Chartreuse. It turns out the yellow is superior: green dominates the drink with herbal flavors (gentian) but the yellow blends in quite nicely. Yet again on the sweet side. Does anybody know if Duffy means kirsch when he specifies cherry brandy? I tried kirsch, yellow Chartruese, gin, and thought it was inferior to the drink made with Cherry Marnier. Oddly, the kirsch dominated. Any of the above may be improved with a lemon twist, flamed orange peel, or perhaps best of all, a grapefruit twist.

(For those of you who are wondering, Cherry Marnier is available in the US Virgin Islands.)

[Dan Ryan]

The xanthia is pretty sweet. It's definitely a last drink. I've also made it subbing strega for the yellow chartreuse. Very herbal then.

[eje]

After Dinner Cocktail (Special)

1 Jigger Cederlund's Swedish Punsch (1.5 oz. Carlschamn's Flaggpunsch)

1/2 Jigger Cherry Cordial (0.75 oz. Massenze creme de griotte)

1/2 lime (0.5 oz. lime juice)

shake well with cracked ice and strain

Again on the sweet side, but not so much as the previous two. Better balanced and more drinkable. Could stand to have the amount of cherry reduced, and likely calls for a dash of Angustora or a spice tincture to really put it over the top.

←

Are there any Swedish Punsches available in the US?

I don't think I've ever seen them, at least here in CA.

Substitutions?

I'm reading the Waldorf Astoria book, myself, and it's fascinating how different the ratios are, even in that more recent book, from modern recipes. I guess Americans have always had a sweet tooth.

Edited April 14, 2006 by eje (log)

[Rob Simmon]

Duffy includes a list of drinks with a Chartreuse base, so of course I had to try one. Unfortunately they're mostly pousse-cafe's that look vile. However, one seemed palatable:

St. Germain Cocktail

Juice of 1/2 Lemon (0.75 oz.) and 1/4 Grapefruit (1.5 oz.)

White of 1 Egg (oops, somehow I managed to forget to put that in, and didn't notice it until now, a day later!)

1 Liqueur Glass Green Chartreuse (1.5 oz.)

Finally, a drink that's balanced! The grapefruit and lemon cut the intensity of the Chartreuse just enough to bring out the herbal characteristics and mellowed the gentian somewhat. A friend who had never had Chartreuse before said it reminded her of basil. Quite nice, and probably a good summer drink with soda water and lots of ice. I've gotta give it another go with an egg, though.

[Rob Simmon]

Fox River Cocktail

4 Dashes Peach Bitters

1 Lump of Ice

1/4 Creme de Cacao (0.5 oz. Marie-Brizard)

3/4 Rye Whiskey (1.5 oz. Old Potrero 18th Century Style)

Stir gently and squeeze Lemon Peel on top.

Odd but good, despite a poor choice of rye. The Old Potrero is too funky, and takes over the drink instead of melding into it.

[Rob Simmon]

Creole Cocktail

1/2 Whiskey (0.75 oz. Sazerac 6)

1/2 Italian Vermouth (0.75 oz. Carpano Antiqua)

2 dashes Benedictine

2 dashes Amer Picon (Torani Amer)

Stir well with cracked ice, strain and serve with a twist of Lemon Peel.

A thoroughly adult cocktail. Despite an overpour of Amer (precisely how much is in a dash, anyways?) which added a touch too much bitterness (especially combined with the Carpano) the ingredients played well together, with the Benedictine lending an herbal note that tied things together. More of a Manhattan relative than a really distinctive drink on its own, but very nice. I'd probably up the proportions of Rye and Vermouth, hopefully correct the amount of Amer, and maybe increase the Benedictine to make the cocktail more distinctive.

[Rob Simmon]

Ladie's Cocktail

1 Jigger Whiskey

2 Dashes Absinthe

3 Dashes Anisette

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Stir well with cracked ice, strain and serve with a piece of Pineapple on top.

I don't remember what bottlings I used, but was not impressed with the cocktail at all. Mildly anise flavored whiskey. shrug.

[Rob Simmon]

Trilby Cocktail No. 2

2 Dashes Absinthe (scant 1/8th teaspoon)

2 Dashes Orange Bitters (Regan's)

1/3 Parfait Amour Liqueur (0.75 oz. M-B)

1/3 Scotch Whiskey (Mortlach (Speyside))

1/3 Italian Vermouth (Carpano Antiqua Formula)

Stri well in ice and strain into glass

Some days, you've just gotta try the weird stuff (I'll admit that's every other day for me, but this drink is pushing the boundary a bit). I'm not sure what to make of it--the sweetness of the parfait amour balances nicely with the smokiness of the Scotch (in a blood and sand sort of way), but the bitterness of the Carpano is too pronounced. Next time I'll either reduce the proportion, or switch to a milder vermouth (Vya, if I can find it). I'm not sure I can taste the absinthe at all. Maybe garnish with a flamed orange peel? I'm also not sold on such a smokey scotch. Anybody know if single-malts were common in the 30s? Interesting drink, but it needs work.

For those of you who were wondering, there's no listing for a "Trilby Cocktail No. 1"

[Rob Simmon]

Are there any Swedish Punsches available in the US?

←

I haven't seen any. Mine was imported by a friend. If you're ever in DC come over and I'll mix something for you.

[slkinsey]

Trilby Cocktail No. 2

2 Dashes Absinthe (scant 1/8th teaspoon)

2 Dashes Orange Bitters (Regan's)

1/3 Parfait Amour Liqueur (0.75 oz. M-B)

1/3 Scotch Whiskey (Mortlach (Speyside))

1/3 Italian Vermouth (Carpano Antiqua Formula)

Stri well in ice and strain into glass

Some days, you've just gotta try the weird stuff (I'll admit that's every other day for me, but this drink is pushing the boundary a bit). I'm not sure what to make of it--the sweetness of the parfait amour balances nicely with the smokiness of the Scotch (in a blood and sand sort of way), but the bitterness of the Carpano is too pronounced. Next time I'll either reduce the proportion, or switch to a milder vermouth (Vya, if I can find it). I'm not sure I can taste the absinthe at all. Maybe garnish with a flamed orange peel? I'm also not sold on such a smokey scotch. Anybody know if single-malts were common in the 30s? Interesting drink, but it needs work.

For those of you who were wondering, there's no listing for a "Trilby Cocktail No. 1"

This is an interesting and strange one, Rob. If you're interested in trying this one again, I'd suggest trying it with a blended Scotch (I like Famous Grouse) and a regular vermouth. They were certainly not mixing with single malt scotch at that time, as indeed hardly anyone does today, and I find Carpano's Antiqua Formula to have quite a bit more herbal and especially bitter component than most "standard" red vermouths. Try Cinzano or M&R.

[Rob Simmon]

This is an interesting and strange one, Rob.  If you're interested in trying this one again, I'd suggest trying it with a blended Scotch (I like Famous Grouse) and a regular vermouth.  They were certainly not mixing with single malt scotch at that time, as indeed hardly anyone does today, and I find Carpano's Antiqua Formula to have quite a bit more herbal and especially bitter component than most "standard" red vermouths.  Try Cinzano or M&R.

←

I remade the Trilby #2 with more conventional ingredients, and transformed it into something boring. The parfait amour and vermouth (Martini & Rossi) dominated, burying the scotch (Famous Grouse). The whole thing mostly came off as simply sweet, which is surprising considering the ingredient list. So next time (if there is a next time) less parfait amour, maybe add 1/3 single malt and 2/3 blended?

[Rob Simmon]

More weirdness:

Yellow Parrot

1/3 Yellow Chartreuse

1/3 Apricot Brandy (my dwindling bottle of Apry)

1/3 Absinthe

Very sweet, again! Not really much to recommend here. The absinthe dominates (no surprise, really) and the apricot disappears. I think the proportions would have to adjusted radically for the drink to work.

Maybe 2 parts Chartreuse, 3 Apricot, 1 Absinthe? It doesn't solve the sweet problem, though. Citrus would almost certainly clash with the absinthe. Bitters? Too much complexity, I bet (sometimes more is less, after all).

[Rob Simmon]

Attention Cocktail

1/4 French Vermouth (0.75 oz. Vya)

1/4 Absinthe (144 proof Verte de Fougerolles)

1/4 Gin (Magellan)

1/4 Creme de Violette (Cote Garrique Sirope a la Violette)

2 dashes orange bitters (Regan's)

Stir well with cracked ice and strain.

Tastes like licorice. Maybe a hint of violet, but mostly like licorice. Perhaps cut the absinthe in half? Then in half again?

[Rob Simmon]

Hugo Bracer

Juice of 1 Lime (1 oz.)

2 dashes grenadine syrup (1/8 teaspoon Cortas (from a middle-eastern grocery))

1/3 Amer Picon (0.75 oz. Torani Amer)

2/3 Apple Brandy (1.5 oz. Laird's 12 year (hey, it's what I have!))

Shake well with cracked ice and strain.

Finally, another grown-up cocktail. There's a lot of promise here, but either limes are bigger now (likely, in my opinion) or more grenadine was intended (also likely, since I suspect the drink was supposed to be pink or red, and it was decidedly brown). So up the grenadine by 50%, cut the lime juice to 0.75 oz., and I think the Hugo Bracer would be a superb cocktail. Tons of complexity, with a sour and bitter edge that would go great with rich food, like rare grilled salmon or smoked pork.

[slkinsey]

The Hugo Bracer sounds like an interesting one. I'll have to give it a try. WRT the formula, I note that cocktailDB has slightly different amounts:

1.0 oz : apple brandy

0.5 oz : Amer Picon

1.0 oz : lime juice

0.5 oz : grenadine

That still makes it 2/3 apple brandy to 1/3 Amer Picon, but results in a substantially larger proportion of lime juice. On the other hand, this formulation calls for a lot more grenadine than you used. Not sure of the provenance of cocktailDB's recipe, but it might be an interesting tweak.

Especially wrt the amount of grenadine and simple syrup in old cocktail books, it's hard to judge just how big the dashes were (a dash out of a grenadine bottle might be a lot bigger than a dash out of a bitters dasher) or just how saturated the syrups were.

How did you find the Torani Amer worked? Having tasted it side-by-side with Amer Picon, I am beginning to wonder whether I agree that it's a good substitute. Amer Picon seems deeper with a fuller flavor, and a little bit sweeter without Torani Amer's striking front of the mouth bitterness.

[eje]

In order to play along, I picked up a copy of the Beard edited version of Mr. Duffy's Mixer's Manual.

Strangely, while most of the above recipes above are in it, I couldn't find the Hugo Bracer.

Gave the formulation of the Pegu Club a try last night.

2/3 gin (Beefeaters)*

1/3 Curacao (Clement Liqueur Creole)*

1 tsp lime (I used persian limes this time)

2 dashes orange bitters (Regan's)

2 dashes angostura bitters

Nice refreshing cocktail for a hot night. The additional juniper muscle of the Beefeaters does add quite a lot to the cocktail.

*Revisiting my math with morning eyes, I believe, I was closer to 3/4 gin, 1/4 Orange Liqueur.

[Lan4Dawg]

I have the revised Mixer's Manual (Misch) and it has no mention of the Hugo Bracer but does have a "Hugo Special" which is muddled pine-apple & orange w/ 2 parts gin and 1 part sweet vermouth. Hugo must have some reference to the orange & pine-apple combination as there is also a "Hugo Rickey" which is a gin rickey w/ orange & pine-apple added.

as a side note: I wonder how popular the Hugo Bracer was in Charleston a few years ago when the hurricane of the same name hit the town.

[Rob Simmon]

Hugo Bracer

Juice of 1 Lime (1 oz.)

2 dashes grenadine syrup (1/8 teaspoon Cortas (from a middle-eastern grocery))

1/3 Amer Picon (0.75 oz. Torani Amer)

2/3 Apple Brandy (1.5 oz. Laird's 12 year (hey, it's what I have!))

Shake well with cracked ice and strain.

I adjusted the grenadine to 0.5 oz.--a tad too sweet. Almost a jack rose, in fact (lime (including rind!), not lemon, is specified by Duffy). 2 tsp.? I haven't compared Amer Picon to Torani Amer, but Dr. Cocktail prefers Torani to the current formulation of Amer Picon. Personally, I like the assertive bitterness of the Torani.

[Rob Simmon]

Jewel Cocktail

2 Glasses Green Chartreuse (1 oz.)

2 Glasses Italian Vermouth (1 oz. Carpano Antiqua)

2 Glasses Gin (1 oz.)

1/2 Dessertspoonful Orange Bitters (1 dash Regan's)

Shake thoroughly in ice and serve with a cherry (omitted), squeezing lemon peel on top.

Nice, but the vermouth and gin seem to serve mainly to tone down the Chartreuse. Perhaps cutting the vermouth in half would result in a more balanced cocktail.

[eje]

I found a 1934 edition of Duffy over the holiday.

It's a pretty cool artifact, bound in a 2 ring binder, saying, "And so the Official Mixer's Manual has been made loose-leaf, and every 4 months or as often as necessary a supplement will be sent to subscribers containing the recipes for whatever new concoctions have proved themselves worthy of recognition. The Official Mixer's Manual not only preserves the hoary old stand-bys, but insures the bartender, professional or amateur, of being up-to-the minute in all his operations."

It also has a fantastic introduction from Mr. Duffy, and an illustrated list of glassware, with every cocktail numbered for appropriate glass.

On the cocktails Mr. Duffy states, "The great majority of this list of Cocktails are wholesome and well concocted but we cannot approve of those which include Gin, Scotch, Brandy, Vermouth and cream in one drink. Nor indeed, can we give our support to any concoction consisting of Gin and Rye, Gin and Scotch, Gin and Brandy or to any beverage where two kinds of strong liquors are shaken together with bitters, cream and Raspberry Syrup. Old Barkeepers know well that drinking different strong liquors at one session often brings on sudden intoxication and sick headaches afterwards...As a means of precaution, I have placed a * opposite each Cocktail which I personally do not recommend."

Fun stuff!

Plus, I've already found several discrepancies between this edition and my 1950s James Beard edited version.

I've always wondered why Duffy had changed Ensslin's Aviation recipe to call for Apricot Brandy instead of Creme de Violette. In the 1934 version it is nearly verbatim from the Ensslin recipe, only the modern edition calls for Apricot.

Edited January 4, 2008 by eje (log)

[eje]

One of the things that has been puzzling me lately is the relationship between the James Beard edited version of Patrick Duffy's "The Official Mixer's Manual" and the 1948 edition of "Bartender's Guide...by Trader Vic".

There are a number of recipes in both that are sort of unusual. The Corpse Reviver with Swedish Punsch and the Aviation with Apricot Brandy come to mind.

Initially, I thought probably Beard, or some other earlier editor of Duffy made these changes, and Trader Vic then replicated them.

Turns out, it may have been the other way around.

Doubleday published* both the 1947 edition of "Bartender's Guide..." and editions of "The Official Mixer's Manual" from 1948 onwards.

I asked around a bit and while talking to Ted Haigh, he mentioned that Duffy's "Official Mixer's Manual" didn't get expanded and revised until Beard's edition in the 1960s. The last Copyright date on my Duffy/Beard is 1958, but it contains information on wine vintages up until 1961.

So it seems like these changes to the vintage recipes came from the Trader Vic book, and then were carried forward when Beard edited Duffy.

For what it is worth, it looks like Stan Jones' also got much of his corpus of his pre-prohibition cocktails from the 1947/48 Trader Vic. Though he altered many of the recipes.

So while I still puzzle over the addition of Apricot Brandy to the Aviation, I may have Victor Bergeron to thank for the delicious, and kind of tropical tasting, Corpse Reviver No. 2 with Swedish Punsch.

*The Trader Vic I have is from 1948 and published by Garden City Books, but at the beginning it sez,"Garden City Reprint Edition, 1948, by special arrangement with Doubleday & Company, Inc., Copyright, 1947, By Doubleday & Company, Inc."

Edited September 3, 2008 by eje (log)