357. Union League Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.25 oz Gin Lane 1751 Old Tom
  0.75 oz Offley Tawny Port
  1 dash Fee Brothers Orange Bitters

Fill mixing-glass half full with ice, stir well (about 30 seconds), strain into cocktail glass, serve. — The Union League comes to JM1916 from Straub 1913/1914, where it has the slightly stronger ratio of 2:1 rather than 3:2. It is named for one of the famous conservative clubs, perhaps that in New York on Union Square, which has since moved; though since this recipe is found first in Straub, who spent time in Chicago, that Union Club may be the originator. Its similarity to Kappeler’s Princeton Cocktail is notable (Jack’s is a Gin Cocktail topped with Seltzer), except that he layers in the port neatly instead of stirring it in. The Union League is all but forgotten as such (a brand new, impostor “Union League” with whisky and orange juice is now being promoted), with the Princeton slightly more common. The most famous Gin+Port drink at present seems to be the more citrusy Crimson.

 

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).

 

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).

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.
   

306. Rossington Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.25 oz Gin Lane 1751 Old Tom Gin
  0.75 oz Noilly Prat Rouge

Fill mixing-glass with ice, stir well (20 seconds), strain into cocktail glass, twist orange peel, garnish, serve. — There are two Rossingtons (AKA Martinis), one with dry gin, dry vermouth, and lemon peel, and another as given here. The Dry Rossington appears in JM1910–1912. After Straub’s influence, JM1916 has the Sweet Rossington with Old Tom. Thus I justify interpreting JM1933’s unqualified “gin” along the same lines. A similar pair of dry and sweet Rossingtons is found in the Old Waldorf Bar Days (1931). Spelled “Rosington” in the Savoy (1930), it is there built as 2:1 with dry gin to sweet vermouth orange peel.

301. Robin Cocktail

 My interpretation:
  1.75 oz The Famous Grouse blended Scotch whisky
  0.25 oz cinchona-calisaya liqueur

Fill mixing-glass half-full with ice, stir 20 seconds, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with amarena cherry, serve. — This orange-tinged, slightly bittersweet, Scotch-forward cocktail, perfectly finished by the cherry, first enters the JM canon in 1916, a borrowing from Straub or otherwise inherited from the Old Waldorf tradition. The Old Waldorf Bar Days (1931) renders the drink in equal parts Scotch and calisaya, specifies stirring and straining (hence implying ice), and also features the cherry. The Robber Cocktail in Barflies & Cocktails (1927) is tantalizingly close, a Rob Roy served with a cherry. We may view the Robin as a riff on the Rob Roy replacing both vermouth and bitters with calisaya.

261. Palmetto Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Appleton Estate
  1 oz Casa Mariol Vermut
  3 dashes Angostura bitters

Add ice to fill mixing-glass half way, stir well (20 seconds), strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This Rum Manhattan riff first appears in JM 1908 and continues unchanged until 1933. It also appears in other New York books with small variation. In 1913, Straub picks up the recipe, substituting Dry Vermouth for Sweet and frappéing for stirring. The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) has sweet vermouth, but calls for 2 dashes of orange bitters and shaking. The Old Waldorf Bar Book (1931) based on the older bar manual, specifies 1 dash of orange bitters and stirring.

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.
 

244. Netherland Cocktail

Netherland, not “-lands.” This recipe, which Jack may have gotten from Straub 1913/1914 (both require “good brandy”), is claimed by the Old Waldorf Bar Book to be named for, and derived from, the (New) Netherland Hotel (1893–1927), a Waldorf-Astor property. I suppose they should know, though the orangey-ness of the drink suggests at least a passing familiarity with the “old” Netherland and the importance of that fruit and color to its history (not to mention Curaçao then belonging to Dutch Antilles).
 

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:

 

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.

201. Kentucky Colonel

 My interpretation:
  2.25 oz Henry McKenna 10 Year
  0.75 oz DOM Benedictine

Stir well (30 seconds) with ice, strain into Old Fashioned glass with fresh piece of ice (my addition). Garnish with lemon peel. — This simple, satisfying “new fashioned” mixture (with Benedictine serving for sweetness and complexity) first appears in Straub 1913 and is then picked up by JM 1916.

180. Imperial Cocktail

 

My interpretation:

  1 oz Big Gin

  1 oz Dolin Dry

  1 dash Luxardo maraschino

  1 dash Angostura bitters 

Stir well with ice (25 seconds), strain into cocktail glass, serve with olive. — This recipe comes from the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930).

 

153. Good Fellow Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Henry McKenna Bourbon Aged 10 Years
  1 oz Dolin Rouge
  1 dash Angostura bitters
  1 dash homemade Calisaya

Stir well (20–30 seconds), strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This cocktail first appears in Straub 1913 and is borrowed without change in JM 1916. The whisky formerly specified was Green River, which was touted as producing no headaches.
 

152. Golf Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Castle & Key London Dry
  1 oz Dolin Dry
  2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Stir well (20 seconds) with cracked ice, strain into cocktail glass, serve.
 

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.

 

145. Fox Shot Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Castle & Key London Dry
  0.5 oz Angostura Bitters
  0.5 oz Western Grace brandy
  0.5 oz Dolin Rouge

Stir well (about 30 seconds) in mixing-glass filled 1/2 full with ice, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This interesting, bitter-leaning aperitif-style cocktail is borrowed from Straub 1913 for JM 1916. The Angostura gives it a big cardamom spice, which is immediately balanced by the sweet round qualities of the brandy and red vermouth. Nothing to do with the Fox Trot, which is essentially a Daiquiri with curaçao instead of sugar.

128. Evans' Cocktail

 My interpretation:
  2 oz Hochstadter’s Straight Rye
  1 dash Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
  1 dash Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur
  1 dash Fee Brothers Cardamom Bitters (Boker’s Style)

Fill mixing-glass with cracked ice, stir 30 seconds, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This JM 1908 standby, a variation on a traditional “fancy” whisky cocktail, originally called for Boker’s Bitters, though this specification soon fell away before the 2nd edition in 1910 (I use Fee Brothers cardamom in tribute to this, and it fits really well with the profile). The apostrophe in the name was added in 1933. Straub borrows the recipe in 1913, omitting bitters altogether. Note that I have taken apricot brandy to indicate the sweeter, fruitier brandy-based liqueur, rather than a drier brandy distilled from apricots; this is supported by the small dosage required, suggesting a more flavorful quality.
 

124. Dutch Charlie's Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Hochstadter’s Straight Rye
  1 oz Dubonnet
  0.5 Dolin Rouge
  2 dashes Angostura bitters

Fill mixing-glass with ice, stir 30 seconds, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — From Straub 1913, this vinous Manhattan riff was borrowed for JM 1916, changing the original 1:1:1 recipe to 2:2:1.