Stomping Through the "Savoy" (2006–2007)

[Martin Doudoroff]

I don't know how close I am to replicating kummel by mixing Aquavit with rich simple syrup

Kummel is probably a little stronger flavored than your Aquavit/sugar combo.

BTW, I wasn't sure what to garnish this one with.

This drink might not need a garnish, especially with such a nice glass.

[ThinkingBartender]

Erik,

I must say that I am certainly enjoying reading this thread. It is good to see the recipes from the Savoy Cocktail Book being made. Not really a book I reach for personally.

Is Linie Akevitt really that similar to Kummel? I have never tried them side by side, but I don't recollect them tasting that similar.

George

[JAZ]

Alfonso (Special) Cocktail

1 Dash Angostura Bitters (generous)

4 Dashes Italian Vermouth (2 teaspoons)

1/4 Dry Gin (3/4 oz Beefeaters)

1/4 French Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Pratt)

1/2 Grand Marnier (1 1/2 oz Gran Gala)

Shake well (I stirred, instead. - eje) and strain into a cocktail glass.

---

I'm not sure what the Alfonso (Special) has to do with the preceding Alfonso, as it is, more or less, a Satan's Whiskers Cocktail with inverted proportions.  It is nice looking; but, I didn't find it all that interesting.  By the time I got to the bottom, I was tired of it.

←

Interesting. I've been making the Alfonso Special recipe from Cocktaildb, which has the same ingredients but with different proportions:

1 oz. gin

1 oz. dry vermouth

1/4 oz sweet vermouth

1/2 oz. Grand Marnier

Dash bitters

Although now that I re-read the recipe, I realize that I've been making it with triple sec instead of the Grand Marnier, so it's less sweet. It's not my favorite cocktail, but I like it. The Savoy version sounds as if it would be unbearable sweet.

[eje]

Erik,

I must say that I am certainly enjoying reading this thread. It is good to see the recipes from the Savoy Cocktail Book being made. Not really a book I reach for personally.

Is Linie Akevitt really that similar to Kummel? I have never tried them side by side, but I don't recollect them tasting that similar.

George

←

Hi George,

I'm not sure how close they are. I wish there was somewhere I could go and ask for a small taste of Kummel! I know they are both caraway flavored, one is a liquor and one is a liqueur, and there are only so many bottles of obscure liquors and liqueurs I can clutter the house with before I start to question my own sanity.

I would guess Kummel is sweeter and less complex than my 1 oz of Aquavit plus 1 barspoon rich simple syrup. But after the Alfonso Special on Thursday, I was getting kind of tired of dessert drinks. I was quite pleased with the drink as is, even though it might not be exactly the same as intended.

[eje]

I'm not sure how close they are.  I wish there was somewhere I could go and ask for a small taste of Kummel!

[...]

←

Or even better, somewhere I could go and say, "Hey George, I just read about the Alice Mine Cocktail in the Savoy Coctail Book, could you whip one up for me?"

[eje]

I found out some more about the Secrestat Bitters called for in the Alfonso Cocktail. It was a French made drinking (aperitif?) bitters and a popular "tonic" during prohibition in the US. Still not sure about the flavor profile.

Allen (Special) Cocktail

2/3 Plymouth Gin (1 1/2 oz Plymouth Gin)

1/3 Maraschino Liqueur (3/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino)

Dash of Lemon Juice (Juice 1/6 lemon)

Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.

(Garnished with an Toschi Amarena Cherry - eje)

---

The Maraschino is the featured ingredient here, with the mildly flavored Plymouth and the dash of lemon in the background. Sweet; but, not cloyingly so. If you really want to taste what Maraschino liqueur is about, this is a good cocktail to try.

[eje]

re: Alfonso Special

I may give another formulation a try janet. Honestly, though, while I like Bronx and Income Tax cocktails, I've never really liked Satan's Whiskers or similar cocktails. Or perhaps I've never had a well made one. In any case, with both the Alfonso Special and Satan's Whiskers cocktails, I never feel like there is any real magic going on. It seems like I can just taste the gin, vermouth, and orange liqueur and they just seem to be sitting there in the glass.

Allies Cocktail

1/2 Dry Gin (1 oz beefeaters)

1/2 French Vermouth (1 oz noilly pratt)

2 Dashes Kummel (1 dash linie aquavit 1 dash simple syrup)

Shake well (stir - eje) and strain into a cocktail glass.

Mostly this tastes like a fine beefeater martini. I think in this case, I may be missing some of the cocktail by substituting Aquavit. Sigh, well, once the credit card revolves, perhaps I will pick up some kummel and try this again.

[eje]

Oh, I get it!

Allies, as in the Triple Entente when France (French Vermouth), Russia (Russian Kummel), and England (English Gin) entered World War I in 1914!

In which case, the drink has to be made with Russian kummel!

By using Aquavit, I've allied France, England and Norway!

Obviously, I will have to re-do the Allies cocktail... Though, I think Gilka is the only brand of Kummel available and it comes from, horror of horrors, Germany!

[eje]

Almond Cocktail (6 people)

Slightly warm 2 Glasses (2 oz Beefeaters) of Gin. Add a teaspoonful of powdered sugar (1/2 tsp. superfine). Soak in this 6 peeled almonds (4 halved and lightly roasted almonds) and if possible a crushed peach kernel (crushed plum kernel), and allow to cool. When the mixture is cold, add a dessertspoonful of Kirsch (1 tablespoon), one of Peach Brandy (1 tablespoon Massenez creme de peche), a glass of French Vermouth (1 oz Noilly Pratt) and 2 glasses of any sweet White Wine (2 oz Bonny Doon Riesling).

Shake thoroughly with plenty of ice.

---

Duffy gives this the lascivious sounding alternate name, "A Young Girl's Fancy" in his "Mixer's Manual". For all the work, my wife and I both thought this an odd tasting cocktail. Nutty, peachy and slightly sweet. "6 peeled almonds" did make me wonder if it was meant to be green almonds, which might be more interesting. I think I missed the season for those, however.

I also had some pyro fun, lighting the gin and pouring a long burning stream over the almonds. My wife didn't approve, though. Something about burning down the house...

Edited August 26, 2006 by eje (log)

[eje]

American Beauty Cocktail

1 Dash Creme de Menthe (Brizard)

1/4 Orange Juice (3/4 oz fresh squeezed)

1/4 Grenadine (3/4 oz homemade*)

1/4 French Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Pratt)

1/4 Brandy (3/4 oz Korbel VSOP)

Shake well and strain into a medium size glass and top with a little port wine (Warre's Warrior Porto).

----

I didn't have a lot of hope for this one. I thought I would probably feel like spitting it out as soon as I tried it. However, it's an intriguing mix of flavors. Pomegranate and mint is an interesting combination. It looks pretty muddy; but, I blame my home made Grenadine for that.

*1 Cup Pomegranate Juice (Knudsen Just Pomegranate)

1 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Pomegranate Concentrate

1/4 Cup Vodka

Combine sugar with juice and shake until dissolved. Add Pomegranate Concentrate and Vodka.

[eje]

re: American Beauty

I did find out that, aside from being the title of a Grateful Dead album and the name of an old garden rose variety, "American Beauty Rose" was the name of a song published around 1910. Mostly, it's one of those, "Yeah, girls from other countries can be kind of hot; but, I prefer my good old fashioned American Beauties," type songs. No idea if there is a connection.

Oh, and I ran across an article in NY Magazine which noted that they have or have had a version of the American Beauty on the cocktail list at WD-50.

Angel Face

1/3 Calvados (1 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy)

1/3 Gin (1 oz Beefeater's Gin)

1/3 Apricot Brandy (1 oz Vedrenne liqueur de Abricot)

Shake well (stir - eje) and strain into a cocktail glass.

---

This is a pretty good cocktail. I thought the Beefeater's flavor detracted a bit, however, and next time would probably reduce the amount or make it with a softer gin like Plymouth.

I thought of the idea of the apple angel's wings garnish on the way home and actually the flavor of the garnish and the cocktail complement each other nicely. The idea of trying to reproduce an angel's face also occurred to me; but, then I could only think about the Rilke poem which sez, "every angel is terrifying," and discarded the idea.

Googling didn't seem to turn up any relevant information for the name of this cocktail.

Edited August 31, 2006 by eje (log)

[eje]

Apricot Cocktail (Dry) (6 People)

Cut 2 Apricots (1 Apricot) in half, break the stones* and let the whole soak for 2 hours in a glass and a half of Congnac (2 oz Korbel VSOP Brandy). Add two teaspoonfuls of Peach Bitters (1 tsp fee's Peach Bitters), 2 glasses of Gin (2 oz Beefeater's Gin) and 2 glasses of French Vermouth (2 oz Noilly Pratt Dry).

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

(Garnish each glass by dropping in a thin, ripe peach wedge)

---

Skipped ahead to this one, as probably next week I won't be able to get any apricots at all. I really should have made it a few weeks ago when the apricots were at their peak. In any case, it is a pretty odd bird of a cocktail. An apricot scented Martini? I can't think of any other fruit flavored cocktails that aren't at least somewhat sweentened. I liked it and will definitely give it another try next summer during apricot season.

As a note for other who might attempt this cocktail, I tried to double strain, so no one would get apricot shell shards in their cocktail; but, the semi-pulverized apricots made that pretty much impossible.

*I will note that the kernels of all members of the rose family, including apricots, contain cyanogenic glycosides which on ingestion release hydrogen cyanide. The amounts of these chemicals vary from plant to plant and species to species. Bitter almonds generally contain the most, and eating 50-70 bitter almonds in one sitting is enough to be fatal for an adult human. I would not recommend sitting down and drinking 50 Apricot cocktails at once. Fortunately, in most people, these chemicals are rapidly broken down by your liver, and do not build up over time, so small doses are generally regarded as safe.

[eje]

Angel's Tip Cocktail

3/4 Liqueur Glass Creme de Cacao (Bols)

1/4 Fresh Cream

Use liqueur glass and float cream on top.

---

I picked the easiest and most predictable of the Angel's to do first. The Savoy doesn't specify light or dark Creme de Cacao. I see some recipes on the internet call for dark, some for light, and some, like the Savoy don't specify. Probably dark would taste more interesting.

It does look cool.

I will say these Crate and Barrel Cordial Glasses are kind of sucky, as they are too narrow at the top to fit in a bar spoon. Now I understand why the vintage ones I see on eBay flair open at the top. Fortunately, they are wide enough to allow a teaspoon wedged inside.

[eje]

OK, the second easiest Angel's cocktail:

Angel's Wing Cocktail.

1/2 Creme de Cacao (Bols)

1/2 Prunelle Brandy (Home made Prune Plum liqueur)

Use liqueur glass and pour ingredients carefully, so that they do not mix. Pour a little sweet cream on top.

Maybe I'm getting used to these things, or maybe it was my Mom threatening to make me "peppermint patties" and "Butterballs" last week; but, they don't seem so bad lately.

[eje]

Angel's Wings Cocktail

1/3 Raspberry Syrup (Monin)

1/3 Maraschino (Luxardo)

1/3 Creme de Violette (Benoit Serres liqueur de violette)

Use liqueur glass and pour ingredients carefully, so that they do not mix.

If the girl does not like it, do not drink it, but pour it quickly into the nearest flower vase.

I gotta say, this is one of my favorite snarky quotes in the Savoy. The cocktail isn't so bad, in a mouthful of flowers kind of way.

[birder53]

Erik - Your persistence with this project is truly admirable. I can't imagine drinking some of these concoctions - they seem to be very sweet. Have you any idea of how long this project will take? Maybe a cocktail party is in order so you can get some help.

[eje]

Erik - Your persistence with this project is truly admirable.  I can't imagine drinking some of these concoctions - they seem to be very sweet.  Have you any idea of how long this project will take?  Maybe a cocktail party is in order so you can get some help.

←

For whatever reason there does seem to be an unusual concentration of dessert (or "girly") cocktails starting with the letter A. Alexanders and Angel's. I'll certainly be glad when I am done with the Angel's cocktails and can get on with things I might find more appealing.

On the whole, though, I don't think the Angel's cocktails are any sweeter than a red bull & voddy or whatever other sickly sweet energy drink or shooter cocktails are popular these days. Jaeger bomb?

re: cocktail party. My friend, who is working his way alphabetically through the Joy of Cooking, and I have talked about working together on a party for obsessives. I think he is still on soup, though.

I've read there are about 750 recipes in the Savoy Cocktail Book, so if I made one a day, it would probably take me a couple years to get through it. I'm not sure if that counts the punch and other old fashioned drink categories at the end. I'm actually really looking forward to trying those. I may have to jump ahead and do some of those sections early.

BTW, anyone have a good suggestion for the most appropriate substitution for "Hercules"? According to the Cocktaildb it is a, "Defunct proprietary British sweetened anis-flavored absinthe and/or substitute. Possibly wine-based."

Edited September 29, 2006 by eje (log)

[eje]

Angel's Kiss

1/4 Creme de Cacao (Bols)

1/4 Prunelle Brandy (Homemade Prune Plum liqueur)

1/4 Creme de Violette (Benoit Serres)

1/4 Sweet Cream

Use liqueur Glass and pour carefully, so that the ingredients do not mix.

"Undrinkable?" "A waste of perfectly good liqueurs?"

I guess those sentiments are a little strong; but, this is easily my least favorite of any cocktail I have tried so far from the Savoy. Yuck.

However, it is the last of the Angel's, so, woo! No more liqueur stacking for me, at least for a while. On to a couple Pastis based cocktails, and then a bunch of Apple ones just on time for fall.

[eje]

Angler Cocktail

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

2 Dashes Orange Bitter (Regan's)

1/3 Hercules (3/4 oz Herbsaint)

2/3 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Beefeaters)

Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into a cocktail glass.

This one didn't do much for me. I'm not sure if Hercules was a milder absinthe-a-like than Herbsaint; but, to me, it really took over the cocktail and unbalanced it.

Also, almost all the recipes I see for the Angler's Cocktail (Different cocktail?) on the internet call for grenadine not pastis. Odd. The cocktaildb calls for grenadine, with cointreau or Hercules listed as substitutions, and tells you to build it in a Highball glass with ice.

Edited October 1, 2006 by eje (log)

[eje]

Ante Cocktail

1 Dash Angostura Bitters

1/4 Hercules (1/2 oz Henri Bardouin Pastis)

1/4 Cointreau (1/2 oz Cointreau)

1/2 Calvados or Apple Brandy (1 oz Laird's Apple Brandy)

Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into a cocktail glass.

Pretty cocktail. The Apple Brandy and Pastis actually make an intruiging flavor combination. Though, I think if you reduced the pastis to 1/4 oz, it would be a better balanced drink.

[BTR]

Ante Cocktail

1 Dash Angostura Bitters

1/4 Hercules (1/2 oz Henri Bardouin Pastis)

1/4 Cointreau (1/2 oz Cointreau)

1/2 Calvados or Apple Brandy (1 oz Laird's Apple Brandy)

Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into a cocktail glass.

Pretty cocktail.  The Apple Brandy and Pastis actually make an intruiging flavor combination.  Though, I think if you reduced the pastis to 1/4 oz, it would be a better balanced drink.

←

Back when I lived in chicago I would alternate between making hot apple cider with the standard range of spices and making it with cardamom and aniseed, and spiking it with pernod. Definitely a flavor combination that works, I think---I might fiddle with this recipe a bit.

Edit: actually it was cardamom and orange; the only anise presence was from the pernod itself.

Edited October 2, 2006 by BTR (log)

[Snowy is dead]

Angel's Kiss

1/4 Creme de Cacao (Bols)

1/4 Prunelle Brandy (Homemade Prune Plum liqueur)

1/4 Creme de Violette (Benoit Serres)

1/4 Sweet Cream

I'm curious about the creme de violette. What is the flavor like compared to the parfait armour? I have yet to even hear a mention of that stuff except on this site, did you pick it up in travel?

Sean

[johnder]

Creme de Violette tastes like candied violets. Depending on which one you get, the alcohol content will be anywhere from 10 to 25%.

It is extremely hard to find, almost non-existant here in the US.

There is a pretty big discussion on it here.

I have resorted to buying the Monin Violet Syrup (which you can find at any place that sells coffee syrups) and cutting it down with vodka as a passable substitute for the real thing. (Thanks donbert for the tip)

John

[eje]

Apparent Cocktail

1/2 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Beefeaters)

1/2 Dubonnet (1 1/2 oz Dubonnet Rouge)

dash Absinthe (Verte de Fougerolles)

Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into a cocktail glass. (Orange Twist garnish.)

I enjoyed this one. An interesting wet martini variation. I thought the orange twist added a nice layer of aromatic complexity. Definitely something I would make again.

[eje]

[...]

I'm curious about the creme de violette.  What is the flavor like compared to the parfait amour?  I have yet to even hear a mention of that stuff except on this site, did you pick it up in travel?

Sean

←

Sean,

I convinced some friends to bring the liqueur de violette from London when they were visiting the US. They got it from Sally Clarke's, who will ship to the US, if you're really curious.

Here's a picture:

The Benoit Serres liqueur de violette is made on an Armanac base and is 25% alcohol. It is very intensely aromatic and violet-ey. When I've given folks a taste or smell, they mostly say, "that's very odd".

For some reason, I still haven't tried Parfait Amour, so I can't give you a taste comparison. I've read Parfait Amour is an imperfect substitution for creme de violette. Sweeter and with a less intense violet flavor and with some citrus and vanilla added. Some authors describe it as "grape jellybeans".