350. Turf Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Castle & Key London Dry Gin
  1 oz Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth
  2 dashes St. George Absinthe Verte
  2 dashes Luxardo maraschino
  2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters
  1 dash Fee Brothers Cardamom Bitters

Fill mixing-glass half full of ice, stir well, strain into cocktail glass, drop in olive, serve. — This Dry Martini augmented by dashes from half the liquor cabinet appears in JM1908 and continues unchanged. It becomes the Turf Cocktail No. 1 in Straub 1913, where the No. 2 is Holland gin, sweet vermouth, and bitters—essentially a Sweet Martini with genever, which is the recipe named “Turf Club” in JM1916 (see the next post), but simply “Turf” in the Old Waldorf Bar Book (1931).

 

346. Trilby Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Castle & Key London Dry Gin
  1 oz Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
  1 dash Angostura aromatic bitters
  2 barspoons Rothman & Winter crème de violette

Fill mixing-glass half full with ice, stir well (20-30 seconds), strain into cocktail glass, add cherry, add crème de violette carefully so that it settles in a clear layer at the bottom of the glass. — Of all the recipes going by the name Trilby, this one may be the most perplexing, due to the fact that the specific gravity of the concoction is not high enough to support a crème of any kind on its surface. This cannot be traced back further than JM1916. Straub 1913 has the recipe but calls only for a 1/6 jigger of Crème Yvette and does not specify floating or layering of any kind. He also uses Old Tom gin (that is usually the source of Grohusko’s generic term “gin,” and indeed it is supported by earlier editions calling for Tom gin). McElhone’s 1927 recipe replaces the Old Tom gin with scotch and the
Crème Yvette with Parfait d’Amour. The Old Waldorf Bar Days (1931) keeps (or rather, is the source of) Grohusko’s recipe, without specifying float or layering of the Crème Yvette, thus confirming the propriety of laying the blame at the feet of Grohusko (or whoever was his direct source).

344. Tiptop Cocktail

My intepretation:
  2 oz Martini & Rossi Dry Vermouth
  4 dashes DOM Benedictine
  3 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters
  1 dash Angostura aromatic bitters

Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This light, vermouth-based drink appropriate for any time of day, first appears in print in Straub 1913, from which it is borrowed for JM1916. The drink probably originates with the Old Waldorf bar. The 1931 publication of the manual includes this recipe with the following differences: 2 dashes Angostura (not 1), no orange bitters, stirred (not shaken), lemon twist.

339. Strawberry Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.5 oz Martell Cognac VS
  0.5 oz homemade strawberry syrup
  1 dash Luxardo maraschino
  2 dashes Regan’s orange bitters

Fill mixing-glass with ice, shake, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This fruity, “improved” strawberry and brandy dessert duo is first found in Straub 1913 and is borrowed for JM1916. The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) features a large-format (6 serving) drink made with strawberries, orange juice, whisky, and ice. Closer is the Old Waldorf Bar Days (1931) recipe, which only differs by reduction of orange bitters by 1 dash.

 

324. Silver Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Beefeater Gin
  1 oz Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth
  2 dashes Regan’s orange bitters
  2 dashes Luxardo maraschino
  1 dash gum syrup
  1 dash Angostura bitters

Stir well (30 seconds) in mixing-glass half full of ice, strain into cocktail glass, squeeze lemon peel, garnish, serve. — This recipe is first found in JM1908 and continues without change to JM1933. Straub 1913 shows a simpler formula with sweet vermouth and no gum syrup. McElhone’s recipe in Barflies & Cocktails (1927), ascribing the authorship to Pat O’Brien of the Knickerbocker, uses dry vermouth, but instead of gum syrup calls for egg white and orgeat—for which Jack’s use of gum syrup would be a reasonable, if lackluster, substitute. The Savoy Cocktail Book simplifies on Jack’s recipe by dropping the Angostura and gum syrup, bringing it closer to an augmented dry Martini or Tuxedo. This idea is also reflected in the Old Waldorf Bar Days book, which calls for a Martini with maraschino, frappé.
   

286. Prince Henry Cocktail

My interpretation:
  0.75 oz Aria American Dry Gin
  0.75 oz Noilly Prat Rouge
  0.5 oz Hiram Walker Crème de Menthe (white)
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters

 Frappé (shake vigorously with fine ice), strain into chilled cocktail glass, serve. — This cooling, minty Martini-riff appears first in laconic Straub, from which it is borrowed for JM 1916 without filling in the directions. Frappé drinks in this time are almost always strained. In the Old Waldorf Bar Book (1931), the Prince Henry is a Martini with a dash of crème de menthe on top, while the Prince is whisky with crème de menthe and orange bitters. This is further support for a Martini-style strained drink, rather than one served on fine ice (which frappé usually signifies today). The Old Waldorf Bar would be more trustworthy in this case than Straub, since it is based on the original recipe book to which Straub may or may not have had access. The 1935 revision by Crockett attributes the Martini-style drink to the commemoration of a visit by Prince Henry (Heinrich) of Prussia in 1902.
 

238. Millionaire Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.5 oz Rittenhouse Rye
  1 egg white
  1 tsp Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
  2 dashes Jack Rudy Grenadine
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters

Shake well (30 seconds) with cracked ice, strain into large (claret) glass, serve. — Note that while I usually humor JM when it calls unnecessarily for shaking, I could not here countenance the prospect of imbibing a drink in which the egg white is merely stirred. However, the stirring technique is specific all the way back to Straub 1913, from which it is reproduced in JM 1916. This must be an error. The same recipe in Barflies and Cocktails (1927) is indeed well shaken, where it is also attributed to the Ritz Hotel, London. The Savoy Cocktail Book has two Millionaire cocktails, neither of which we need concern ourselves with here. The only resemblance is that one of them has an egg white (well shaken, naturally).

There is, however, in the Jack’s Manual tradition a different, earlier “Millionaire’s” (with possessive) recipe going back to JM1910 and corroborated to some degree in the 1931 Old Waldorf Bar Book, where it is called “Millionaire” and described as a Martini with grenadine poured on top, in a glass. JM1910 is a little more complex but essentially the same drink: A 5:4:1 mix of dry gin, dry vermouth, and grenadine with juice of 1/2 lime, stirred. This drink was no doubt replaced by the richer but unrelated Ritz / Straub drink to avoid confusion. Pictured below is the result of that later recipe:

 

213. London Cocktail

My interpretation:
  2 oz Captive Spirits Big Gin
  2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters
  2 dashes gum syrup
  2 dashes Hiram Walker Anisette

Shake well (30 seconds), strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This recipe follows almost exactly the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, except for the Anisette in place of original Absinthe. Since Jack retains absinthe in other recipes, this is a curious change, though we know from experience that he generally makes his drinks a little weaker, and this may be for that purpose.

171. Hoffman House Cocktail

 My interpretation:
  1 oz Aviation American Gin
  1 oz Dolin Dry
  2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters
  
Shake 30 seconds, strain into cocktail glass. Twist lemon over glass, garnish, and serve. — This recipe from the famed Hoffman House bar appears previously in the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) but in no prior JM edition. The Savoy specification of Plymouth gin is omitted in favor of a generic denomination. The Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book adds this note:

I have used a softer American in view of the apparently original call for Plymouth:

143. Fourth Regiment Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz McKenna 10 Year Bonded Whisky
  1 oz Dolin Rouge
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
  1 dash Angostura bitters
  1 dash Bitter Truth celery bitters

Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with lemon peel, serve. — This classic Manhattan riff comes to JM 1916 from an unknown source, not appearing in Straub 1913. While it is usually made with Rye these days, I take Jack’s generic whisky as an invitation to defy the trend, and the experiment is successful on the whole, the celery working nicely with the flavors of the bourbon.
 

82. Chrisp Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire
  1.5 oz Carpano Antica
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
  1 slice of orange, halved.

Shake with ice, strain, garnish with fresh half-slice of orange; serve. — This cocktail recipe appears first in Straub 1913/1914 and then in JM 1916. It is also presumably found, with two slices of orange, under the variant name “Christ Cocktail” in the Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book (1935), which, though published after the Sad Era, purports to contain the correct recipes commonly used before Prohibition.

63. Bud's Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire
  0.75 oz Gallo Extra Dry
  0.75 oz Yzaguirre Rojo
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
  1 dash Hiram Walker Apricot Brandy

Fill mixing-glass with cracked ice, shake, strain, serve. Garnish with twisted orange peel. — This Cocktail, a “perfect Martini with a couple extras,” first appears in the reorganized and expanded JM 1916.