337. Star Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Laird’s Applejack
  1 oz  Casa Mariol Vermut Negra
  3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Fill mixing-glass half-full of ice, stir, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This Applejack Manhattan with a NOLA twist is included in JM 1908. The same recipe occurs in Straub alongside a Star Old Fashioned calling for sugar and other fancy extras. McElhone is more fussy, building a stronger drink in equal parts gin and calvados tinged with a tsp of grapefruit and a dash each of dry and sweet vermouth. He describes it as a popular drink at the Plaza Hotel, NY. Grohusko’s simpler, sweeter recipe is more nearly echoed in the Old Waldorf Bar Days book, using orange bitters instead of Peychaud’s.
 

312. St. John Cocktail

My interpretation:

  1 oz Gin Lane 1751 Old Tom Gin

  1 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negra

  1 dash Fee Brothers Orange Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — The second of the three “saints” from the analogous section of Straub, this slightly sweeter Martini varies depending on the Martini recipe referred to. In Straub, it’s a 2:1 sweet vermouth Martini. Grohusko’s Martini is, as typical, adjusted to 1:1, favoring a cheaper mixture (or less-inebriated customer!).

 

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.

254. Opal Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Copper & King’s Blanche Absinthe
  1 oz Casa Mariol Vermut

Fill mixing-glass half-full of ice, shake, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This bracing recipe first appears in JM 1912. A recipe by the same name in Straub 1913/1914 is a stirred dry Martini with a dash of absinthe on top. This suggests a common source imperfectly reproduced in one or either of the books. Straub is corroborated by reference to the 1931 Old Waldorf Bar Book, which also inserts 1 dash of Orange Bitters in the dry Martini. A different cocktail by the same name in The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) is a large-format cocktail for 6 people consisting of gin, orange juice, and curaçao, etc.
 

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.
 

232. McLane Cocktail

My interpretation
  1 oz Beefeater Gin
  0.5 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negra
  0.5 oz Noilly Prat Extra Dry

Shake 20 seconds in mixing-glass with cracked ice, strain into cocktail glass, express orange peel and garnish. — Straub 1913, under the entry by this name, informs the reader: “Same as Perfect Cocktail.” This is given as 1/2 jigger of gin, 1/3 jiggers each of Sweet and Dry vermouths, and an orange peel, shaken. The orange peel is meant to be shaken in the drink, and possibly used as a garnish as well. Clearly, this is a shaken Perfect Martini with addition of orange oil either in the shaking or expressed on top, according to preference.
 

 

231. McHenry Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Beefeater London Dry Gin
  1 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negra
  1 dash Fee Brothers Orange Bitters
  1 tsp or bsp Rothman & Winter Apricot liqueur

Fill mixing-glass with ice, stir, strain, serve. — This augmented Martini, previously in JM1916, is found first in Straub 1913, where, as here, the reader is referred to the Martini Cocktail. To begin, therefore, we consult the Martini Cocktail on the previous page:

The only difference there is that Straub calls for stirring the Martini “well.” To this, then, is added 1 tsp of Apricot “brandy” (Hungarian in Straub), meaning, we may safely say, not the clean eau de vie des apricots, but the sweet, fruity, fragrant kind of dram pungent enough to be noticeable at the ratio of 1 tsp to 2 oz of remaining liquids (Straub specifies 1 bsp).

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.
 

221. Manhattan Cocktail

 

My interpretation:

  1.5 oz Rittenhouse Rye

  1.5 oz Casa Mariol Vermut

  1 dash (3 drops) Angostura bitters

Stir with 1/2 glass cracked ice, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — The original JM1908 called for Ballor Vermouth and Boker’s Bitters. Boker’s original recipe, or a good approximation of it, is not readily available, though Fee’s Cardamom is worth a try (perhaps mixed with Angostura). Ballor Vermouth may have been closer to a Turin chinato like Alessio. Casa Mariol has plenty of interesting qualities, if not the bitterness. In any event, Martini & Rossi was preferred by 1916. For the whisky (note that rye is crossed out in this copy), a spicy bonded rye like Rittenhouse works perfectly.

 

210. Liberal Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Rittenhouse Bonded Rye
  1 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negra
  1 dash Amaro Ciociaro

Fill mixing-glass with cracked ice, stir, strain, and serve. — This Manhattan-riff dates back to the first edition of JM, 1908, where Ballor vermouth is specified. Straub includes it in 1913, probably from JM. The Old Waldorf Bar Book (1935) indicates an additional 3 dashes of Orange Bitters, which Straub would likely have included if that had been in his source. By 1916, JM is specifying new sponsor, Martini & Rossi vermouth.

206. Lawrence Cocktail

My interpretation:
  2/3 oz Captive Spirits Big Gin
  1/3 oz Casa Mariol Vermut
  2/3 oz Noilly Prat Extra Dry
  1/3 oz Plymouth Sloe Gin
  3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Shake with broken ice, strain into cocktail glass, and serve. — This recipe first appears in JM 1910 (his 2nd Edition) and is evidently designed in complementary doses, so that the total ingredients may be measured in two ponies. In any event, the result is a sort of elegant, fruity perfect martini, subtracting some of the gin in favor of the sweetening Sloe Gin, and offsetting with the pungent Peychaud’s.
 

198. John Wood Cocktail

My interpretation:
  0.5 oz The Famous Grouse
  1.5 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negra
  1 T lemon juice
  1 dash homemade kümmel
  1 dash Angostura bitters

Shake well (30 seconds), strain, and serve. — This cocktail, resembling almost a punch in its attentive balance, appears first in the Savoy Cocktail Book with Irish rather than Scotch whisky, and is then picked up for JM 1933 with a slight change. I have to admit, I think Jack improved this recipe by the substitution of Scotch, though I don’t know if John Wood approved it.

 

195. Jim Lee Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Captive Spirits Big Gin
  0.5 Dolin Dry
  0.5 Casa Mariol Vermut Negra
  2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
  2 dashes Angostura bitters
  
Shake with ice, strain, serve in cocktail glass. — This Perfect Martini riff comes with an added dose of bitters, providing an augmented ruddy blush to the drink. It first appears in Straub 1913 and is picked up in JM 1916.
 

193. Jersey Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Daron Calvados or Laird’s Bonded Apple Brandy
  1 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negra
  1 dash Angostura bitters

Mix with ice, strain, garnish with lemon twist, serve. — The omission of ice in this 1908 recipe is curious, since the use of ice certainly improves the drink. However, the use of Laird’s Bonded Apple Brandy (not Applejack) really provides the proper fruity element for either chilled or unchilled preparation, and is especially appropriate in view of the name, since Jersey always originally referred to Laird’s, which began in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Straub 1913 substitutes 2 dashes of syrup for the jigger of Vermouth.
 

191. Japanese Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.0 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negra
  0.75 oz Hochstadter’s Bonded Rye
  0.25 oz Jack Rudy grenadine
  2 dashes Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao

Shake vigorously with broken ice 30 strokes, strain, serve. — This recipe dates back to JM 1908 and is picked up by Straub in 1913. Japanese Cocktail is otherwise, and now more normally, a cognac-orgeat recipe with lemon peel, as in the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book.

 

187. Italian Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negro
  0.5 oz Fernet Branca
  0.5 oz Jack Rudy grenadine

Fill glass (12 oz) with broken ice, shake well / frappé 30 seconds, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — A fine aperitif Trio

170. Hillard Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.25 oz Aviation American Gin
  0.75 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negro
  2 dashes Angostura bitters

In absence (perhaps fortunately) of directions for preparation, I stir this with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve. — Yet another in a long row of Straub recipes first borrowed for JM 1916, this slightly stiffer Martinez riff is altered, as typical, from its original 2:1 ratio to a more moderate 3:2, perhaps more appropriate for service in a “fine” Italian restaurant as Baracca’s must have been in the early 1900s.

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.
 

155. Graham Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.5 oz Casa Mariol Vermut Negro
  0.5 oz Fernet Branca

Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass, and serve. — In its original debut in JM 1908, the aperitif cocktail suitable to the palate of a New York Italian restaurant like Baracca’s called for stirring. This technique was changed to shaking in the 2nd and 3rd editions in 1910, which while not necessary, produces a slightly colder drink with a nice thin layer of foam on the surface. While the Fernet Branca produced in North America may have a more pronounced menthol quality, and even differ in other respects, from the formula presumed to have exited in 1908, it does not seem necessary to introduce Fernet Vallet into this recipe.