Stomping Through the "Savoy" (2006–2007)

[eje]

A lot of these 'after-dinner' drinks really look like they would benefit with the addition of some rye/scotch/bourbon/etc. 

What do you think Erik?

Great work by the way. Love catching up with the goings on in this thread. Keep it up...

[...]

←

Thanks!

Uh, yeah, I felt like some of these were too sweet. There have been a couple that I thought would be pretty undrinkable without tweaking them towards modern tastes.

On the other hand, the thing I like about the Savoy is there is a good variety of cocktails. Some really sweet, some really sour, some really bitter, some really strong, some kind of weak. To me it's cool to think about what occasion would be a proper venue for a certain cocktail.

There is a modern tendency, I think because of portion control and the like, to balance every cocktail the same. Every cocktail has to have the same amount of alcohol, be the same size, and be a balanced mix of sweet and sour or sweet and bitter.

Some of this perspective may be romantic delusion on my part, and another part of it may just be the "shovelware", (to use Doudoroff's word,) nature of the Savoy Cocktail Book.

But, it does seem like something of the idea of drinking the right thing for the right occasion got lost in prohibition (or the 70s or something). I get the impression 90% of people today just go to the bar and order the same "Vodka and Cran", whether the weather is hot or cold, they just got dumped or engaged, before dinner or after.

Sorry, that was a bit long winded. Obviously something I've been thinking about.

[eje]

Blenton Cocktail

1/3 French Vermouth (1 oz Noilly Prat)

2/3 Plymouth Gin (2 oz Plymouth Gin)

dash Angostura Bitters

(Twist Meyer Lemon Peel)

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

Another of the many 2/3 gin, 1/3 French Vermouth cocktails in the Savoy. A perfectly fine Martini variation, I felt improved with the addition of a twist of Meyer Lemon peel. The interesting savory elements of the Plymouth gin and Meyer Lemon Peel played nicely together.

[ThinkingBartender]

There is a modern tendency, I think because of portion control and the like, to balance every cocktail the same. Every cocktail has to have the same amount of alcohol, be the same size, and be a balanced mix of sweet and sour or sweet and bitter.

This is so true. 50ml of any spirit is a minimum for me when I concoct a recipe. The reasoning behind this, for me anyway, is the cost. I am not one to spend good money on a drink that, while historically correct as it might be, is just interesting when it comes to flavour. I love the taste of the spirits that go into the cocktails, so the rest of the drink is there to offer something else on top of that.

Cheers!

George

[eje]

Block and Fall Cocktail

1/6 Anis del Oso or Absinthe (1/2 oz Verte de Fougerolles Absinthe)

1/6 Calvados (1/2 oz Germain-Robin Apple Brandy)

1/3 Brandy (1 oz Korbel VSPOP)

1/3 Cointreau (3/4 oz Cointreau)

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

Another Savoy sweet-and-deadly in the style of the Between the Sheets. This one raises the ante slightly over the BTS by tossing some 140 proof Absinthe into the pot.

When reading through cocktail books, the name of this cocktail has often caught my eye and I've wondered what it meant.

Turns out, "Block and Fall" is another name for the rope and pulley device more commonly called, (at least in the US,) a "Block and Tackle". Well, a couple of these will certainly get you "hoisted".

Also, I found a reference to Prohibition (US) era speakeasies called "Block and Fall Joints". According to some, these were the sorts of places serving low quality, high proof booze. Patrons would stop by for a cocktail, leave, walk a "block," and "fall" into the gutter.

It's actually a complex and interesting cocktail, everything is there and cooperating. I did slightly reduce the amount of Cointreau called for.

Don't drink too many, if you want to make it home safely!

[eje]

Thinking I needed a lighter, tarter cocktail to go with some of the richer, sweeter offerings on last night's cocktail menu, at the last minute, I added the Bacardi Special from the Savoy Cocktail Book.

Despite being among some very tasty competition, (Wet Spot, Le Demon Vert, Addam's Apple,) it turned out to be a real favorite with the guests.

I guess some of these cocktails do still have legs!

[eje]

Blood and Sand Cocktail

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

1/4 Scotch Whisky (3/4 oz Compass Box Asyla)

1/4 Cherry Brandy (3/4 oz Massenez Creme de Griotte)

1/4 Italian Vermouth (3/4 oz Cinzano Vermouth Rosso)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

This one is supposed to be named after the 1922 movie of the same name featuring Rudolph Valentino. The story of a bullfighter rising from a poor background only to be defeated by his own ambition.

As far as the cocktail goes, I think the Asyla is a bit too civilized for this company. The cocktail probably could have used a more assertive a Scotch. Also, while not syrupy, the Blood and Sand is pretty sweet. When I make it again, I will probably drop the Creme de Griotte to 1/2 oz.

Oh, and oddly, Patrick Gavin Duffy instructs this cocktail should be stirred, not shaken.

edit - add a couple links to much better writers than I tackling the mystery that is the Blood and Sand.

Professor gets some Education, Gary Regan, in a SF Chronicle Cocktailian column from 2003

Naming Names, Paul Clarke, from his Cocktail Chronicles blog in 2005

Edited January 29, 2007 by eje (log)

[eje]

Couple more notes about Blood and Sand.

First, my use of blood orange wasn't really planned. We have a couple kinds of oranges in the fridge, and I picked a small one I thought was a valencia. When I split it, I realized it was a blood orange. Well, "apropos," I thought. Also, these are very early season blood oranges, so still quite tart. The berry/musk doesn't really start to overwhelm the fruit until later in the year.

Blood and Sand is another of those cocktails that's been on my list to try for quite a while. I usually have all the stuff for it in the house. It just has never made it to the top of the list. There's the short list of regular cocktails, and the cool ones I read about in Regan's column or on the Internet... Any of those always seem more appealing than the BandS.

It certainly is an odd cocktail. Fairly mild on the alcohol front, not as sweet as a dessert cocktail, and neither dry nor aromatic enough to qualify as an aperitif or digestif.

Hard to know where it fits. Brunch, maybe?

[slkinsey]

We really like the Blood & Sand at Casa slkinsey, although I typically modify it a bit to get a bit moree scotch smoke. I like something like this:

Modified Blood and Sand

0.75 oz : Famous Grouse

0.75 oz : Cherry Heering (I thougt this was standard for the B&S?)

0.75 oz : Carpano Formula Antica

0.75 oz : freshly-squeezed orange juice

0.25 oz : Lagavullin

For us, the smokey single malt seems to be just the bump this cocktail needs to go from interesting to delicious.

Eric, part of what may have been screwing up your B&S was the use of a creme liqueur in place of cherry brandy. Something like Cherry Heering or Cherry Marnier is going to have a different flavor than a creme liqueur, and should bring a lot less sweetness to the game.

Edited January 25, 2007 by slkinsey (log)

[eje]

[...]

Eric, part of what may have been screwing up your B&S was the use of a creme liqueur in place of cherry brandy.  Something like Cherry Heering or Cherry Marnier is going to have a different flavor than a creme liqueur, and should bring a lot less sweetness to the game.

←

Grumble, grumble, I suppose.

Like I really need two giant bottles of cherry liqueur in the house.

Especially, if I find out they aren't that much different!

Anyone have experience with both brands willing to share some insight before I run out and try to find a bottle of Cherry Heering?

I will say the Massenez creme liqueurs do seem less sweet than those from some other French makers I've tried. Very intense fruit flavor and not tooth achingly sweet.

I tried a blueberry creme liqueur from Vedrenne and it was quite light on fruit flavor and as sweet as pancake syrup.

Edited January 25, 2007 by eje (log)

[eje]

Bloodhound Cocktail

1/4 French Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat Dry)

1/4 Italian Vermouth (3/4 oz Cinzano Rosso)

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

2 or 3 Crushed Strawberries (2 strawberries muddled in the shaker with a pinch of sugar. Off season strawberries are a tad on the tart side.)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Double strain if yer picky about seeds - eje)

I didn't have much hope for this one. Gin, vermouth, and strawberries seemed like a bad idea.

Ends up, it is quite tasty! With the gin, vermouth, and strawberries combining nicely into a single complex taste. The Tanqueray does poke its head out a bit as the cocktail warms. But, the initial taste and smell is just that of enhanced strawberries.

Many of the internet recipes for this say to, "garnish with 2 or 3 crushed strawberries," instead of shaking the gin, vermouth, and strawberries together. I'm unclear on that idea. On the side? Drizzle them in after you chill the other ingredients?

A fanned strawberry on the side of the glass would be a nice touch.

edit - By the way, some recipes I found for the Bloodhound suggest substituting strawberry liqueur for the fresh strawberries. To me, that takes what is intended to be a fairly dry strawberry cocktail and turns it into a dessert drink. I disapprove.

Edited January 27, 2007 by eje (log)

[gethin]

I didn't have much hope for this one.  Gin, vermouth, and strawberries seemed like a bad idea.

Bad idea or not - gin, vermouth and rasberry is a better one ! That's how they make Bloodhounds in Hawksmoor and they are delicious.

I'd assumed, possibly wrongly, that the rasberry version was the original, partly because its the better one and partly because Hawksmoor generally take care about authenticity. They claim the cocktail (or at least the rasberry one) was "introduced to thunderstruck London tipplers by the Duke of Manchester in 1922".

Gethin

[ThinkingBartender]

I didn't have much hope for this one.  Gin, vermouth, and strawberries seemed like a bad idea.

Bad idea or not - gin, vermouth and rasberry is a better one ! That's how they make Bloodhounds in Hawksmoor and they are delicious.

I'd assumed, possibly wrongly, that the rasberry version was the original, partly because its the better one and partly because Hawksmoor generally take care about authenticity. They claim the cocktail (or at least the rasberry one) was "introduced to thunderstruck London tipplers by the Duke of Manchester in 1922".

Gethin

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For those who are interested about what and where Hawksmoor is, here is their website.

"It seems obvious to us that the ever popular Mojito has its origins in the Mint Julep."

This theory has never been proven, and is based purely on the commonality of ingredients (i.e. mint). The common ancester of the Kentucky Mint Julep or Mojito is the Mint Sling in my opinion.

They seem to have ladled on every fact that they could get their hands on, the Mint Julep is a more complicated beast than most people imagine (madiera, claret, etc, etc).

Anyway, I am just nit-picking, it looks like a nice modern-styled place.

Cheers!

George

[eje]

re: Bloodhound. I've read that the cocktail was originally created with raspberries, too. Though, if they were already making the cocktail with Strawberries in 1930, it couldn't have been raspberries for long. Hawksmoor's drink menu does look nice. Their website reminded me I need to find a copy of Saucier's "Bottom's Up". For the recipes, really! Ouch, on those cocktail prices, though. And I thought New York and San Francisco were expensive!

Blue Bird Cocktail

4 Dashes Angostura Bitters

3/4 Wineglassful of Gin (2 oz Tanqueray)

5 Dashes Orange Curacao (Teaspoon Brizard Orange Curacao)

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

A 19th Century style Gin Cocktail (Link to Jerry Thomas' recipe on Art of the Drink) by any other name.

Edited January 30, 2007 by eje (log)

[eje]

New Information

After lurking on Alibris for a while, I turned up a (relatively) reasonably priced copy of the Second Edition, 3rd Printing, of the Savoy Cocktail Book from 1936.

In the appendix, it does include a few pages of "New Cocktails", a couple corrections, and some cocktails apparently overlooked in the original edition.

While I try to figure out how to take an effective picture of the Blue Blazer without burning down the house or sending myself to the hospital, I'm going to catch up on the few from the appendix we have missed alphabetically.

[eje]

Albert Keller Cocktail

2/3 Bacardi Rum (2 oz Flor de Cana Extra Dry)

1/3 Lime Juice (1 oz fresh lime juice)

1/2 Wine Glass Grenadine per 6 cocktails (1/3 oz homemade Grenadine)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

First cocktail from the "New and Additional Cocktails" in the Second edition of the Savoy is the Albert Keller.

Now I'm not sure which Albert Keller this might be. There are at least 3 relatively well known Albert Kellers from the late 19th and early 20th century. Google turns up a Sociologist, author, and professor; a Swiss painter; and, finally, a ship captain.

Whichever gentleman preferred this cocktail, it seems simply to be a "Bacardi Cocktail, heavy lime". The instructions for, "1/2 wine glass grenadine per 6 cocktails," also indicate it was intended to be made as a "party" cocktail.

ThinkingBartender has written up the "Bacardi Cocktail" extensively in this topic:

The Bacardi Cocktail

I'll write a bit more about the Savoy Bacardi cocktails when we get to the one from the "New and Additional Cocktails" in a couple days.

edit - New digital camera, so bear with me while I get the hang of it.

Edited February 1, 2007 by eje (log)

[Vesper Lynd]

................................

Anyone have experience with both brands willing to share some insight before I run out and try to find a bottle of Cherry Heering?

It just so happens that I have a bottle of each in my bar, and as I sit here and type, I have shot of each in front of me The Cherry Heering has a much darker richer colour than the Creme de Griotte. The Heering also seemed to have a thicker consistency as it poured, which was subsequently backed up by it's luscious mouth feel. The Creme de Griotte had a stronger cherry nose than the Heering. Whilst there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the Creme de Griotte, the Cherry Heering was slightly drier and seemed to have a much fuller body to it, and would be my preference, however I certainly wouldn't complain if all that was on hand was Creme de Griotte

Edited February 2, 2007 by Vesper Lynd (log)

[eje]

re: Cherry Liqueur. Thanks for the info Vesper Lynd! Nose part makes sense to me, as I believe the Massenez Creme de Griotte is based on a Cherry Brandy base and the Heering on grape brandy.

Atlantis Cocktail

1/4 Cointreau (3/4 oz Luxardo Triplum)

1/4 Pineapple Juice (Dole)

1/2 Scotch (1 1/2 oz Compass Box Asyla)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Second cocktail from the "New and Additional Cocktails" section of the Savoy Second Edition. So far, not terribly impressed with these. Quite sweet. Dash of lemon juice would go a long way to making this cocktail more appealing to me. Like with the Blood and Sand, I think the Asyla is a bit civilized for these proceedings, and its flavor is pretty much lost. I'm just getting orange and pineapple. Probably Famous Grouse or another less subtle blended Scotch would be more appropriate.

This is my first experiment with the Luxardo Dry Orange. I accidentally killed my bottle of Cointreau without comparing, so I can't do a side by side. The Triplum is 38% and Cointreau 40%, so no big difference there. The Triplum did seem to have a bit more of a bitter orange edge to it. I also noticed the alcohol more than I remember noticing with Cointreau.

edit - I also note from the De Danske Spritfabriker Heering page, that Heering is aged in oak for 3 years before being bottled.

Edited February 2, 2007 by eje (log)

[Chris Amirault]

A bit late to this party:

Bennett

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

1/4 Lime Juice (1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice)

3/4 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Tanqueray)

(dash Rich Simple Syrup)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass

I couldn't quite hang with this one without any sweetener at all. 

←

If memory serves, Gary Regan's receipt is similar in Joy, with 1/2 oz simple syrup added to the gin, bitters, and lime, for similarly mouth-puckering reasons.

ETA: different proportions, too, for the gin and juice:

• 2 oz gin
  1 oz lime juice
  1/2 oz simple syrup
  Angostura to taste
  

Edited February 4, 2007 by chrisamirault (log)

[eje]

Bacardi Cocktail

1/4 Lemon Juice or Lime Juice (3/4 oz Lime Juice)

1/4 Grenadine (3/4 oz home made grenadine)

1/2 Bacardi Rum ( 1 1/2 oz Flor De Cana Extra Dry Rum)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass

Third cocktail from the "New and Additional Cocktails" section of the Second edition of the Savoy Cocktail Book. Despite anti-grenadine sentiment to the contrary, in my opinion, the first decent cocktail of the supplement.

Recent correspondence from eGullet member jazzyjeff shows that the Bacardi cocktail was actually part of the original first pressings of the Savoy. Not sure how to explain. Here is his picture.

It looks like it was a recipe that was mislaid; but, that the publisher, authors or editors felt strongly enough about the Bacardi Cocktail to insert a part of a page to the first edition of the Savoy cocktail book.

The Bacardi cocktail was then included in the "New and Additional Cocktails" section of the second edition.

[JerseyRED]

Bacardi Cocktail

1/4 Lemon Juice or Lime Juice (3/4 oz Lime Juice)

1/4 Grenadine (3/4 oz home made grenadine)

1/2 Bacardi Rum ( 1 1/2 oz Flor De Cana Extra Dry Rum)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass

←

Hmmm, can you really call this a Bacardi cocktail when you're using Flor De Cana? Isn't that an aged rum, beside the fact that it isn't Bacardi? You know, a 7 & 7 should be Seagrams 7 & Seven-Up... (yuck)... otherwise, it isn't a 7 & 7. So a true Bacardi Cocktail should have, Bacardi.

As an aside, are all the variations of the Bacardi cocktail (grenadine or not) using "white" or aged Bacardi?

Trust me, I'm not being a "nudge". I've picked up a lot of info from your trip through the Savoy.. "I'm just saying".

Rich

[eje]

Hmmm, can you really call this a Bacardi cocktail when you're using Flor De Cana? Isn't that an aged rum, beside the fact that it isn't Bacardi? You know, a 7 & 7 should be Seagrams 7 & Seven-Up... (yuck)... otherwise, it isn't a 7 & 7. So a true Bacardi Cocktail should have, Bacardi.

As an aside, are all the variations of the Bacardi cocktail (grenadine or not) using "white" or aged Bacardi?

Trust me, I'm not being a "nudge". I've picked up a lot of info from your trip through the Savoy.. "I'm just saying".

Rich

←

Here's my understanding:

Bacardi was THE Cuban Rum. Their particular genius was to age rum for a few years and then filter it again using proprietary technology. They would then sell it as a white rum. However, the aging had mellowed it, so it was much nicer than the other unaged white rum on the market. They had the foresight to leave Cuba before, well, things happened. Some portions of Bacardi became Havana Club, others became the larger Bacardi brand. Rum folks feel neither the Bacardi brand nor the Cuban Havana Club really live up to the pre-events Bacardi rums.

It's my opinion it's not really possible to make a 1930s era Bacardi cocktail, as that brand of rum really no longer exists.

Others have recommended Flor de Cana as a well regarded rum in the spirit of Havana Club. So I use it as a substitute for Bacardi and/or Havana Club.

Edited February 4, 2007 by eje (log)

[Vesper Lynd]

Blue Devil

½ Dry Gin (40ml Bombay Sapphire)

¼ Lemon or Lime (20ml we made two versions one using freshly squeezed lemon and the other freshly squeezed lime)

¼ Maraschino (20ml Maraska Maraschino)

1 Dash Blue Vegetable Extract (1 drop Queen Blue food colour {lime} 2drops {lemon})

We love using food colouring to add colour to cocktails rather that the more usual precoloured cordials as it allows for the intensity of colour to be varied according to the mood.

Notes on Measurements; on this occasion we chose to us an Alessi jigger which is 40ml/20ml rather that the more standard 1oz (30ml)/ 1/2oz (15ml) as we felt it would simplify mixing this drink and the result would present better in our 4oz glasses.

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Our first foray into this thread is the Blue Devil; we have left the Blue Blazer for Erik as we feel that it represents a cocktail better appreciated during the colder months.

What we imaged to be our first dilemma, choosing which Maraschino to use (Luxardo, Italy or Maraska, Croatia) turned out to be a non issue once we realised that we barely had half a shot of the Luxardo left. However for the sake of the exercise we did do a quick comparison, and found that the Luxardo had a more pronounced nose in which the pip of the cherry was easily detected. On the pallet we found the Luxardo to be quite sweet with hints of cinnamon, whilst the Maraska was comparatively drier and with a slight citrus tang to it.

The next issue was whether to use Bombay Sapphire or Plymouth gin, in the end we plumped for our favourite the Bombay.

This cocktail immediately put us in mind of one of our favourites the Aviation, although the recipe we favour is the one in Harrington & Moorehead’s “Cocktail The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century”, 1 ½ oz Gin, ½ oz Maraschino ¾ oz lemon juice. So we returned to the bar to mix up one of these to throw into the mix (so to speak). We feel that the Blue Devil proved to be a far more balanced drink than the Aviation with no one ingredient clamouring for ones attention.

When it came to the comparison of lemon Vs. lime in the Blue Devil, we feel that for our palette the lemon provided a better result. This visually appealing cocktail is well balanced, refreshing and easy to drink, and should appeal to all but the sweetest of palettes.

P&J

[JerseyRED]

Hmmm, can you really call this a Bacardi cocktail when you're using Flor De Cana? Isn't that an aged rum, beside the fact that it isn't Bacardi? You know, a 7 & 7 should be Seagrams 7 & Seven-Up... (yuck)... otherwise, it isn't a 7 & 7. So a true Bacardi Cocktail should have, Bacardi.

As an aside, are all the variations of the Bacardi cocktail (grenadine or not) using "white" or aged Bacardi?

Trust me, I'm not being a "nudge". I've picked up a lot of info from your trip through the Savoy.. "I'm just saying".

Rich

←

Here's my understanding:

Bacardi was THE Cuban Rum. Their particular genius was to age rum for a few years and then filter it again using proprietary technology and sell it as white rum that was much nicer than the other unaged white rum on the market. They had the foresight to leave Cuba before, well, things happened. Some portions of Bacardi became Havana Club, others became the larger Bacardi brand. Rum folks feel neither the Bacardi brand nor the Cuban Havana Club really live up to the pre-events Bacardi rums.

It's my opinion it's not really possible to make a 1930s era Bacardi cocktail, as that brand of rum really no longer exists.

Others have recommended Flor de Cana as a well regarded rum in the spirit of Havana Club. So I use it as a substitute for Bacardi and/or Havana Club.

←

Educated once again!

Ironically, I received a bottle of Flor De Cana last night and shall try a few of the variations of the Bacardi Cocktail.

Thanks for the explanation and info!

Rich

[eje]

[...]

When it came to the comparison of lemon Vs. lime in the Blue Devil, we feel that for our palette the lemon provided a better result. This visually appealing cocktail is well balanced, refreshing and easy to drink, and should appeal to all but the sweetest of palettes.

P&J

←

Welcome to eGullet P&J (aka Vesper Lynd)!

Thanks for joining in on the Stomp through the Savoy!

With the three of us working on it, it might only take a year or two, instead of the projected three or four years.

[eje]

Bamboo Cocktail

1/4 French Vermouth (1 oz Noilly Prat)

1/4 Italian Vermouth (1 oz Carpano Antica)

1/2 Dry Sherry (2 oz Lustau Solera Reserva Dry Oloroso Sherry "Don Nuño")

Stir well and strain into cocktail glass (over rocks -eje). (Squeeze orange peel over drink, and drop in glass. - eje)

Third cocktail from the "New and Additional Cocktails" section of the second edition of the Savoy Cocktail book.

Made this a tad on the large side as a long cocktail. Not bad at all. Went very well with some blue cheese we were having before dinner.