The Weekly Special Cocktail

Tonight I was perusing through my copy of The Cafe Royal Cocktail Book for an interesting new cocktail to try. The original edition of this book was printed in 1937 consisting of recipes from top bartenders and compiled by William J. Tarling, head bartender at The Cafe Royal in Piccadilly, London. It was an elegant book, printed in color and illustrated. The two main goals of the book were to raise money for the UK Bartenders Guild, and also to compile a set of tightly standardized and accurately measured recipes to be used behind every reputable bar in London, thus retaining consistency and avoiding duplicate drinks with the same name. The recipes here capture a booming time in cocktail history and offers a fascinating view into the wide array of drinks being served in London between the two world wars. Sadly, there was only one printing and the book became unobtainable rarity for several decades. This fascimile edition, published in 2008, unlocks the time capsule of drinks and knowledge for modern bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts. Some of the widely used ingredients in this book have reappeared in recent years, while others still, sadly, remain lost in time. This new edition of The Cafe Royal Cocktail Book is available at Amazon.com.

This particular cocktail, The Weekly Special, grabbed my attention because of it's pairing of maraschino liqueur (a favorite and indispensable home staple for me) and kummel ( a caraway, fennel and cumin flavored liqueur). I haven't had many opportunities to experiment with it and was excited to give it some attention. The kummel was very much tamed by the maraschino and grapefruit but still retained a pleasant background presence.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz gin (I used Seneca Drums from the Finger Lakes)
• 1 oz grapefruit juice
• 1/2 oz Luxardo maraschino
• 1/2 oz Kummel

Shake all ingredients and double-strain into a chilled cocktail glass. No garnish. Maybe a grapefruit peel?

There are some higher end brands of Kummel out there, but I will hold off for the time being. Though this is tasty enough that Kummel might end up going faster than it has!

The feeling of spring continues with The One Flight Up cocktail...

Spring is still in the air, though I don't believe much longer. So to cash in on the fleeting feeling,I found this springy drink from Pouring Ribbons in NYC. I found this because I was trying to find something else to do with my orange flower water other than a Ramos Gin Fizz. It turned out that this also gave me the opportunity to dust off the Pisco for the season. Hooray. This is actually sort of Ramos Gin Fizz-y in a respect. I love the addition of the Campari and the egg white and soda water makes it feel like an old school drug store soda fountain kinda thing....

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Pisco (I used Capel)
• 3/4 oz Bianco Vermouth (Dolin)
• 3/4 oz Lemon juice
• 1 oz Simple syrup
• 5 dr Orange flower water (Fee Bros.)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 Egg white
• 1/2 oz Campari
• 1 oz Soda water

Add Campari and soda water to a highball glass and fill with ice. Add the other ingredients to a shaker, seal and shake without ice to emulsify the egg white. Add ice to the shaker and shake to chill, then strain into the highball glass to float over the Campari and soda mixture. Garnish with twists of lemon and orange peel. Serve with straw.

Lots of ingredients, and a good many steps but totally worth it. As long as you have everything out you may as well just have two.

London Briar Cocktail..                    Kind of like a Springy Last Word.

A Last Word Cocktail (equal parts gin, maraschino, Chartreuse and lime juice) has always been kind of an end of the evening cocktail for me, as the name might suggest. The addition of creme de framboise (a raspberry liqueur)in the London Briar kind of lightens it up a bit and makes it not quite so...direct.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz London Dry Gin
• 1/2 oz creme de framboise (Mathilde is a nice brand, affordable and not cloyingly sweet)
• 1/4 oz green Chartreuse
• 1/4 oz Luxardo maraschino
• 1/2 oz lime juice

The classic Last Word cocktail is 3/4 oz each gin, Chartreuse, maraschino and lime. I love it but it can be intense for some. By switching around the proportions a bit, this would make Chartreuse and maraschino much more approachable for anyone new to these unique tastes. 

The Tanglefoot Cocktail:                   More fun with Swedish Punsch

Came across another great recipe using Swedish Punsch tonight on one of my favorite blogs cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com. This is very similar to a Dr. Cocktail but uses lemon and orange juice instead of the lime, and Bacardi Rum vs. the funky jamaican rum. The book Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars 1903-1933 suggests using cuban rum as the Bacardi of that era was similar. The combination of orange and lemon vs lime is also another alternate recipe of the Dr. Cocktail, and, I find, one that I am
beginning to prefer. I am lucky enough to have a couple bottles of Havana Club on hand so I used the lighter of the two. This is a very nice drink and one that I am happy to add to my Swedish Punsch list of recipes. 

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Cuban rum (I used Havana Club)
• 1 oz Swedish Punsch (Kronan)
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 1/2 oz orange juice

Shake and double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.