362. Vienna Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Martini & Rossi Rosso (sweet vermouth)
  1 oz Noilly Prat extra dry vermouth
  1 dash St. George absinthe verte

Fill mixing-glass with fine ice, frappé (shake vigorously), strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This vermouth x2 duo + absinthe first appears in Straub 1913. A light drink that can be enjoyed anytime, it can easily be imagined being deposited on a small café table in Vienna, Austria or Vienna, Virginia.

356. U. C. Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Castle & Key London Dry Gin
  1 oz Martini & Rossi Extra Dry Vermouth
  1 dash St. George absinthe verte

Fill shaker with ice, shake about 30 strokes, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This shaken Martini+absinthe recipe first appears in Straub 1913 without a hint as to the source of the name.
 

354. Tuxedo Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.5 oz Gin Lane 1751 Old Tom Gin
  1.5 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
  3 dashes Angostura bitters
  1 dash Luxardo maraschino
  1 dash St. George absinthe verte

Fill mixing-glass half full with ice, stir well (about 30 seconds), strain into cocktail glass, add cherry (here Amarena), serve. —This heavy-hitter classic cocktail from the Tuxedo Club, NY, is offered by Grohusko in a redder, more heavily bittered incarnation. Straub 1913 sees Jack and raises him a barspoon of sherry wine (authentic secret or misguided allusion to the Tussetto? See previous post). McElhone garnishes this with a lemon twist. Craddock (in the No. 2 by this name) has cherry and expressed lemon peel, but the drink is shaken. For further information, see Difford’s detailed post.
 

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).

 

343. Taxi Cocktail

My interpretation:

  1 oz Castle & Key dry gin

  1 oz Dolin Dry

  2 tsp lime juice

  2 tsp St. George absinthe verte

Fill shaker with fine ice, frappé / shake vigorously 40-50 strokes, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This cold dry martini with lime and absinthe comes from Straub 1913 and finds its way thence into JM1916, which changes barspoons to teaspoons but keeps everything else the same.

329. Smith Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Copper & Kings brandy
  1 oz Rothman & Winter apricot liqueur 
  1 tsp Hiram Walker crème de menthe (white)
  1 dash St. George absinthe verte (to finish)

Fill mixing-glass with ice, shake, strain into cocktail glass, add dash absinthe (with atomizer if desired), serve. — This brandy / apricot dessert Duo comes from Straub 1913 and is picked up by Jack Grohusko for JM1916. It is good, if rather indistinguishable from a number of brandy-based dessert drinks.

320. Sherman Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.25 oz William Wolf Rye
  0.75 oz Noilly Prat Rouge
  1 dash St. George absinthe

Fill mixing-glass half-full with broken ice, shake, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This Manhattan riff with absinthe instead of bitters, perhaps named after the Civil War general, appears first in Straub; from thence it is taken into JM1916.

300. Robert Burns Cocktail

My intepretation:
  1.5 oz The Famous Grouse blended Scotch whisky
  0.5 oz Noilly Prat Rouge
  1 dash St. George Absinthe Verte

Fill mixing-glass with broken ice, shake well (about 30 seconds), strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This classic Scotch cocktail goes heavy on the base, surprisingly similar to the modern version. In 1908, Jack was a little confused on the Scotch trio of recipes which appear in close proximity here. The first, the Robert Burns, was to be made with equal portions of Scotch whisky and French (Chappaz) vermouth, with 3 dashes of absinthe. This was only amended in JM1916, after Straub’s Manual appeared and according to that recipe, which also rightly introduced the option of Scotch (Robert Burns was himself Scotch, so it makes sense). The Irish option remained, perhaps due to the popular taste for that whisky among those of Irish descent living New York at the time. The drink ought to be stirred, as specified in the earlier, pre-Straub editions of Jack’s Manual.

297. Reis Cocktail

My interpretation:
  2 oz Hayman’s Old Tom Gin
  2 dashes Angostura bitters
  2 dashes St. George Absinthe Verte

Fill mixing-glass with cracked ice, shake, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — JM1916 has this from the recipe in Straub 1913/1914. Undoubtedly related is the Rees Cocktail in the Old Waldorf Bar Days (1931), where it is given the alternate name “H. C. Club.” This recipe has an absinthe rinse, 2 dashes Angostura, 9/10 Tom Gin, and 1/10 Sweet Vermouth; yet the drink is to be served warm, apparently not shaken or stirred with ice.

274. Pick-Me-Up Cocktail

 My interpretation:
  0.75 oz Rémy Martin VSOP
  0.75 oz Lustau Vermut
  0.5 oz St. George Absinthe Verte

Frappé (shake intensely with fine ice) 25-30 seconds, strain, serve. — This bracing morning recipe first appears in Straub 1913 in perfect thirds, and from thence is borrowed for JM1916 with a slight reduction of the absinthe. Typical of a class of drinks reputed to lift the spirits especially in the morning, it resembles similarly named recipes in a number of mixology books. Most notably, I may mention the 1931 Old Waldorf Bar Days recipe, 1:1 Absinthe to Sweet Vermouth with 2 dashes acid/lemon phosphate; shake, strain. Though absinthes vary in character, the principle that guides Jack’s adjustment here is well to note. With a softer white absinthe, for example, one might choose to use equal thirds, with a VS cognac, perhaps reduce its quantity. However, the drink should not be perfectly balanced. It should be “bracing.”

270. Peacock Cocktail

My interpretation:
  2 oz Copper & Kings Brandy
  1 dash Amaro Ciociaro
  1 dash St. George Absinthe Verte

Fill mixing-glass with ice, shake, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This recipe, a sort of augmented Brandy suitable for daytime and pre-dinner (where brandy is usually after dinner), is first found in print in Straub 1913, and is first borrowed in JM 1916. While modern drinks bearing this name often include brightly-colored mixers in honor of the name, our present mixture may possibly be named by portmanteau from the formula “Pic(on)” + “Cock(tail).” But the Old Waldorf Bar Days (1931) suggests as the origin the famous Peacock Alley corridor originally connecting the two halves of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. A movie and a restaurant by the same name came later. Note that Amaro Ciociaro is used here in place of the Amer Picon or “Picon bitters,” unobtainable in its old formula. Bigallet China-China Amer would also work.

252. Olivette Cocktail

My interpretation:
   1 oz Beefeater London Dry Gin
   1 oz Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth
  3 dashes Fee Brothers Orange Bitters
  3 dashes St. George Absinthe Verte
  1 dash Angostura Bitters
  1 dash gum syrup

In mixing-glass half-full of ice stir well (20-30 seconds), strain into chilled cocktail glass, express lemon peel over glass and garnish with fresh lemon peel. — The original recipe for this Martini riff from JM 1908 omits vermouth, has 2 dashes of syrup instead of 1, and includes an olive alongside the lemon peel, the latter point being perhaps rather on the nose for a drink by this name. 

These differences all reflect a reorientation of the original recipe, an enhanced Plymouth Gin Cocktail + olive, in conformity with the Martini style recipe in Straub 1913/1914, which cuts the gin with vermouth, dials down the syrup, and drops the olive. In 1927’s Barflies and Cocktails, however, we find the older recipe without vermouth, with 2 dashes syrup, and with the olive. This earlier recipe is again found in the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. A less similar Olivet in the Old Waldorf Bar Days (1931) has gin paired with sweet vermouth, orange bitters, and an olive, a Martinez-riff.
 

236. Mill Lane Cocktail

My interpretation:
  2 oz Bacardí Ocho Años
  1 T lime juice
  1 tsp Jack Rudy Grenadine
  4 dashes (1 tsp) St. George Abinsthe Verte
  3 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters

Fill mixing-glass with cracked ice and ingredients including squeezed half lime; shake, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This cocktail, appearing only in JM1912(Third Edition) through 1933, and apparently an invention of Mr. Grohusko himself, is essentially a Rum Sour using grenadine for sweetener and augmented with anise qualities from Peychaud’s bitters and absinthe. More directly, it is a Bacardí Cocktail so augmented.

 

225. Marqueray Cocktail

My interpretation:
  2 oz Bluecoat American Dry Gin
  1 egg white
  2 dashes Jack Rudy Grenadine (about 1 tsp)
  1 dash St. George Absinthe Verte
  1/2 T fresh lime juice

Shake all ingredients well with cracked ice, about 30 seconds, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — Borrowed from Straub 1913 for JM 1916, this Gin Sour recipe, with lime for the sour and grenadine for the sweet, distinguishes itself from similar recipes (like the Sunshine Cocktail) by the added enhancement of absinthe, which for a modern twist could be dashed or sprayed on top before serving instead of shaking in. Another example is found here.

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).
 

220. Mallory Cocktail

My interpretation:
  0.75 oz Western Grace Spanish Brandy
  0.75 oz Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur
  0.66 oz Hiram Walker Creme de Menthe (white)
  1 dash St. George Absinthe Verte

Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This dessert Trio first appears in Straub 1913 (who seems to harbor a distinct fondness for such toothsome postprandials) and is taken from thence into JM1916 with Jack’s usual tweak of the perfect thirds recipe to reduce slightly the crème de menthe, which might otherwise overpower the apricot and dash of absinthe.

 

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.

 

148. French Canadian Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Canadian Club
  1 oz Dolin Dry
  1 dash St. George absinthe verte

Stir in mixing-glass half-full of cracked ice, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This cocktail was borrowed for JM 1916 from Straub 1913/1914. The comparatively flat Canadian Club is easily overpowered by the savory Dolin and forceful St. George absinthe; one is here tempted to believe Canadian whisky the true predecessor of vodka.

 

121. Duchess Cocktail

My interpretation:
  0.75 oz Dolin Rouge
  0.75 oz Noilly Prat Extra Dry
  0.75 oz St. George Absinthe Verte

Fill shaker with cracked ice, shake well (about 20 seconds or 30 shakes), strain into cocktail glass, and serve. — This aggressive recipe was first borrowed from Straub 1913 into JM 1916 as the “Dutchess” and is also found in the Savoy Cocktail Book. The Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book (1935) adds a dash of orange bitters to no avail. No attempt to change or refine the ratio was ever made until modern times, when the taste of the day prefer a 3:3:1, with the absinthe taking more of a backseat (the attempt being made, anyway). However, sufficient shaking on fine or cracked ice will yield a palatably diluted mixture both bracing and refreshing, and even pleasant to the more ardent devotees of anise.
 

106. Creole Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.25 oz Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
  0.75 oz St. George Absinthe

Fill mixing-glass with broken ice, shake 20 seconds, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This Creole cocktail (duo) derives from Straub’s Chicago recipe and appears in the 1916 and 1933 editions of Jack’s Manual.