318. Schulke Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Beefeater London Dry Gin
  0.5 oz home-infused orange gin (Gin Lane 1751 Old Tom + orange peels)
  0.5 oz Plymouth Sloe Gin
  1 T lime juice

Fill mixing-glass with broken ice, stir, strain, serve. — This interesting Trio balanced with a little lime juice, comes off like a Savoy punch-style drink, though it makes its appearance much earlier in JM1910. The orange gin of the day was Booth’s. Today a number of options are starting to appear again, but home-infused orange gin may still be the best resort in many parts of the States.

296. Red Lion Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Castle & Key Dry Gin
  0.75 oz Noilly Prat Rouge
  0.25 oz home-infused orange gin

Stir with mixing-glass half-full of cracked ice, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This Dry Martini riff with a stiff orange twist appears in JM 1908 calling for high and dry gin, Ballor Vermouth, and Booth’s Orange Gin. The latter, by the symbol on its label, inspired the name for this drink, though, aside from the Booth’s Orange Gin, this mixture differs considerably from that sweet-sour one ascribed to A. A. Tarling.

246. Nicholas Cocktail

This luxuriant dessert Duo, first appearing in JM1912, might be construed as a sweet-tooth variant on the old Gin-Sweet Vermouth workhorse cocktail base which finds so many iterations in the old books. The orange-infused gin is not much sweeter than a Tom Gin (I use Hayman’s as the base here), though the original Booth’s Orange Gin may have been much sweeter (it was 60 proof, thus more of a liqueur based on gin), and (here) Plymouth Sloe Gin—Jack used Field’s Sloe Gin—which is only slightly thicker and more syrupy than the deepest, darkest sweet vermouth. The balance when the two combine is pleasantly surprising. Foolishly attempting to use a cheap sloe gin here will get you an incongruous cotton-candy note and medicinal aftertaste. Incidentally, Straub, who picks this up in 1913, specifies Old Tom gin (Booth’s brand) instead of orange gin. Here is my take of Grohusko’s recipe with my own home-infused orange gin.

208. Leowi Cocktail (Loewi Cocktail)

 My interpretation:
  0.5 oz Hayman’s Old Tom infused with orange peels
  1 oz Captive Spirits Big Gin
  0.5 oz Noilly Prat Extra Dry

Fill mixing-glass with ice, stir, strain into cocktail glass, serve. — This pre-dinner cocktail recipe first appears in JM 1908 under the name Loewi (a surname, like Otto Loewi). In that recipe, Booth’s Orange Gin is specified by name. The 2nd Edition changes the spelling to Leowi. The 3rd Edition’s pertinent page is missing. Straub 1913 has Loewi, pointing to Straub’s better knowledge or confinement to JM 1908. At any rate, the change in spelling persists to 1933, though the spelling Loewi seems correct. While no orange gins are readily available in our market, orange gin is not difficult to produce. The easiest method is to place several orange peels in a container of gin for about 4 weeks, agitating occasionally, and strain off into a clean, sealable container. This special ingredient adds a fragrant orange flavor to this Dry Martini riff (with a 3:1 ratio) without weakening or sweetening it too much.

190. Jack Zeller Cocktail

 My interpretation:
  1 oz Dubonnet Rouge
  1 oz prepared gin (Captive Spirits Big Gin infused with orange peels & syrup, strained)

Stir with ice, strain, serve. — This original recipe of JM 1908 (where “Booth’s Orange Gin” is specified) depends on a unique ingredient to balance the lightly bitter/astringent qualities of the aperitif component. While orange gin has only recently begun to reappear on the market, certain substitutions were available in the recent past, such as Seagram’s Twisted Orange (now out of production). However, the mixologist may easily obtain a good result by infusing his own gin (preferably an American or botanical style) with carefully sliced orange peels and sugar syrup to taste. If orange gin is not feasible or to taste, one may follow the Straub 1913 recipe, which calls simply for “Booth’s Old Tom Gin.”

104. Coronation Cocktail

 My interpretation:
  0.75 oz Noilly Prat Extra Dry Vermouth
  0.75 oz Hawthorn’s London Dry Gin
  0.5 oz Dubonnet

Stir with ice, strain, serve. — This cocktail appears in the 3rd Edition, JM 1910, calling for equal portions and “orange gin” rather than dry gin, as it appears in Straub 1913:

The change in proportions may have been for finer balance of the palate, or perhaps to conserve an increasingly rare Dubonnet. The name and year suggest this was created after the death of Edward VII in preparation for the coronation of George V, but it may have been for Edward VII’s coronation in 1902.