380. Yale Cocktail

 My interpretation:
  2 oz Bombay Sapphire London Dry gin
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters 
  1 dash St. George Absinthe Verte
  1 lemon peel

Fill mixing-glass with cracked ice, shake, strain into cocktail glass, twist lemon peel, garnish, serve. — This recipe comes from Straub 1913. Craddock’s version in 1930 has orange bitters, Angostura, lemon peel, and a splash of soda. The Old Waldorf Bar Days, with this note:

calls for Tom Gin and Sweet Vermouth stirred and strained and finished with the seltzer. McElhone in 1927 calls for gin, orange bitters, Angostura bitters, lemon peel, and soda. Which drink best represents the institution in question is unsure.

359. Van Wyck Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Castle & Key London dry gin
  1 oz Plymouth Sloe Gin
  2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters

Shake well with ice, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This frothy yin-yang Duo of strong and syrupy hanging in dubious balance, strapped together with a cord of faint but deep orange bitters, first appears in Straub 1913 with “dry gin.” In JM 1916 it becomes the second of three “Vans” in the cocktail section of Grohusko’s, also specifying dry gin. This agreement suggests the Waldorf Bar as the common source, which is tentatively confirmed by reference to the Old Waldorf Bar Book (1931), where the drink appears with Old Tom gin and sloe gin in a 2:1 ratio, with the orange bitters, stirred, with “fruit in glass.” It was apparently to be drunk in the Van Wyck tunnel.

347. Trowbridge Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Castle & Key London Dry Gin
  1 oz Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters

Fill mixing-glass half full with ice, stir, strain into whisky glass, garnish with orange twist, serve. — This Sweet Martini with a twist, served down, first appears in Straub 1913 in a 2:1 ratio, sweetened up to 1:1, as usual, when copied by JM1916. There is no mention of ice, so a legitimate form of this drink would include a direct pour, esp. if the vermouth is duly chilled.

280. Poet's Dream Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.33 oz Aria American Dry Gin
  0.66 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
  2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters
  2 dashes DOM Benedictine

Fill mixing-glass with ice, stir, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This dry martini riff is first found in Straub 1913 in the ratio 2:1, 2 ds each of orange bitters and Benedictine. It is reprodcued in JM1916. The 1931 the Old Waldorf Bar Book gives an equal-thirds recipe of dry gin, dry vermouth, and Benedictine, with a lemon twist.
 

235. Metropolitan Cocktail (Southern Style)

My interpretation:
  0.75 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negra
  1.25 oz Western Grace Brandy
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters

Fill mixing-glass with ice, stir, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This putative variant of the last drink (No. 235) first appears in the laconic Straub 1913 without instructions (simply “serve”), but with the usual 2:1 ratio favored by Straub and which was typically altered to 3:2 by Grohusko. It is for all intents and purposes a Brandy Manhattan.
 

230. McCutcheon Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Beefeater London Dry Gin
  0.5 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
  0.5 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negra
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
  1 dash Angostura Bitters
  1 dash Hiram Walker Anisette

Fill mixing-glass with ice, stir ingredients except Anisette, strain into cocktail glass, finish with Anisette using spoon or mister. — This enhanced perfect Martini first appears in Straub 1913 and is then included in JM1916.

227. Martini Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Beefeater London Dry Gin
  1 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negra
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters

Fill mixing-glass with method ice, stir 10 seconds, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — The original recipe shows little variation from standard recipes of the day, though the Dry option is not listed (the 1935 Old Waldorf Bar Book by contrast has 4 versions, perhaps an influence of post-Prohibition tastes). Jack originally specified Gordon Dry and Martini & Rossi in 1908.
 

224. Marguerite Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Plymouth Gin
  1 oz Noilly Prat Extra Dry Vermouth
  2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters
  1 dash St. George Absinthe Verte

Fill mixing-glass with cracked ice, stir, strain into cocktail glass, add regular olive (not stuffed), serve. — This old Martini riff, one of the recipes that helped shape the modern concept of the Martini, is part of the JM tradition going back to 1908. Whence it came before that is unclear, though the unique language in the instructions (“stir up well with spoon”) points to an earlier source outside of JM. In 1908, it specifies Field’s Orange Bitters and Chappaz dry vermouth. Later, Straub 1913 includes the recipe, olive omitted, making it essentially a Dry Martini (he also omits the Plymouth specification).
 

217. Lusitania Cocktail

My interpretation
  1.5 oz Noilly Prat Extra Dry Vermouth
  1 oz Western Grace Brandy
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
  1 dash St. George’s Absinthe Verte

Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This vermouth-based after-dinner recipe first appears in Straub 1913, from which it is taken up into JM1916. Note the important qualifier “good brandy.” Top shelf had to be used here, perhaps the dusty bottle of Martell? Yet it is allowed to take a backseat to the vermouth, indicating a weaker shim type drink. The absinthe indicates intention as a digestif.

 

216. Love Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Bluecoat American Dry Gin
  1 oz Alessio Vermouth Chinato
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
  1 egg white

Shake ingredients with ice, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This recipe is taken directly from Straub 1913 for JM1916. My interpretation uses Jack’s definition of a Martini (1:1) rather than Straub’s (2:1), though the duplicated language “Martini Cocktail” certainly refers to each author’s respective version.

194. Jersey Lily Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Aviation American Dry Gin
  1 oz Alessio Chinato
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters

Stir with ice, strain, serve, garnish with mint sprigs. — This cocktail comes from Straub 1913 and appears in JM 1916. The Jersey Lily Cocktail should not be confused with the Pousse Café by the same name—perhaps the best pousse café—consisting of Chartreuse, Brandy, and bitters.
 

176. Hudson Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Aviation Gin
  1 oz Dolin Dry
  3 dashes Regan’s orange bitters

Stir with broken ice, strain, serve with olive. — In Straub 1913, this cocktail calls for sweet vermouth, dry gin, and an orange slice rather than an olive. The recipe in JM with dry vermouth goes back at least as far as 1910s. JM 1910s and both 1916 call for Holland Gin. Here is my version with the 1933 recipe an American gin.
 

167. Hearst Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Castle & Key London Dry Gin
  1 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negre
  1 dash Angostura bitters
  2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters

Stir with ice, strain, and serve. — This Martinez, or traditional Martini, riff was borrowed from Straub 1913 without change for JM 1916.
 

130. Express Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz The Famous Grouse
  1 oz Dolin Rouge
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This Rob Roy riff, substituting orange bitters for angostura, appears in Straub 1913, from whence it is borrowed by JM 1916.
 

117. Down Cocktail

 My interpretation:
  0.75 oz Dolin Rouge
  1.25 oz Hawthorn’s London Dry
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters

Stir up drink in mixing-glass filled with ice, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with olive (picked or sunk) and serve. — A nice Martinez riff from Straub 1913, who called for a “high and dry” gin, meaning preferably 90 proof or greater, or at least not Old Tom. Jack in 1916 calls for M&R vermouth and Gordon dry gin. The name is unclear, and may sound like a cocktail instruction (e.g., “This is how to serve any type of liquor ‘down,’” implying a lowball glass) but, without specification of glass type, I have opted to give it the standard cocktail presentation.

55. Brighton Cocktail

 My interpretation:
  1.5 oz Carpano Antica
  0.75 oz Uncle Val’s Restorative
  0.75 oz Hayman’s Old Tom Gin
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters

Stir well (20 seconds) with ice, garnish with twisted lemon peel, serve. — Another interesting cocktail apparently picked up from Straub 1914 for the JM 1916 edition, this “Martini” riff sweetens the gin side slightly with a spot of Old Tom.

21. Bamboo Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.5 oz Lustau Amontillado
  0.75 oz Dolin Blanc
  0.75 oz Martini & Rossi Extra Dry
 1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
  
Fill mixing-glass half full (or empty) with ice, stir mixture, strain, serve. Garnish with lemon. I like the way the mixed dry-blanc vermouth works in this one. Cheers!
 

15. Armour Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
  1.5 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negro
  1.5 oz El Maestro Sierra Oloroso Sherry

Stir over broken ice, strain, serve. Garnish with orange peel. It’s essentially the earlier Adonis Cocktail with slightly different proportions.

11. Applejack Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
  3 oz Laird’s Applejack 

“Cider brandy” sure sounds a lot better than Applejack, if it weren’t for the name . . . Anyway, a slight variation on the instructions, as usual when peels are involved in the mixture: Stir over cracked ice (with a spoon this time!), strain into glass. Drop in medium-size olive, squeeze lemon peel over drink, discard. Serve drink.

3. Alaska Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
  1.25 oz Yellow Chartreuse
  1.75 oz Uncle Val’s Restorative Gin

Talk about laconic instructions (see previous post), here Jack gives us none. I take my cue instead from the great state of Alaska and stir it over a glass 3/4 full of cracked ice. (Although my Hayman’s Old Tom was not accessible at the time of preparation, I think the Uncle Val’s Restorative worked well in the cocktail, especially given the sweetness of the chartreuse.) Garnish with orange peel—though sans garnish would be fine.