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.

41. Blackstone No. 1.

 My interpretation:
  2.25 oz Uncle Val’s Restorative Gin
  0.75 oz Martini & Rossi Rosso

Shake with cracked ice, strain. Squeeze lemon peel and use for garnish. Another “Martini” variation named for the Chicago hotel (see Blackstone, Blackstone No. 2). In Jack’s 1916 edition, following Straub (1914) he calls for Old Tom Gin.

30. Belmont Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.25 oz Rose’s Grenadine
  1.75 oz Uncle Val’s Restorative Gin
  1 tsp heavy cream
  
Shake well (20 seconds) with cracked ice, double strain, serve. Notes: A good grenadine is a necessity for this dessert drink. Rose’s should not be the star of the show. Try Liber & Co. or Jack Rudy’s version. Otherwise, a modern palate might prefer a ratio of 1:2 grenadine to gin.

 

25. Bath Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1.5 oz Uncle Val’s Restorative Gin
  1.5 oz Martini & Rossi Rosso Sweet Vermouth
  4 dashes Amaro CioCiaro

Fill mixing-glass with cracked ice, stir, strain, and serve. Garnish with orange peel. — What we might call a sweet Martini or Martinez riff, shorthand for anything built on gin and sweet vermouth. Amer Picon is available in the States only to a select few bartenders and mixologists who have some private conduit to Europe; and in any case, the recipe has changed from the olden days, and generally almost any orange-heavy amaro will fit the bill. Amaro CioCiaro works great for me. If it’s slightly sweeter, Uncle Val’s is drier than the Old Tom gin called for here (Hayman’s would work too), and things balance pretty nicely.

17. Auto Cocktail

This is the drink also known as the Automobile Cocktail. Being still on the page 42 of the 1933 Edition and therefore lacking the specific vermouth attribution, we continue to apply comparative historic mixology and consult the 1916 Edition:

That’s certainly clearer. Once again, we are informed not only that the Vermouth is French but that the Gin is (Old) Tom. Curiously, most recipes today seem to call for Sweet or Italian Vermouth

My interpretation:
  1.25 oz Vermouth (Casa Mariol Negro or M&R Extra Dry)
  1.25 oz Uncle Val’s Restorative Gin
  0.75 oz The Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whisky

Shake over ice, strain and serve. Garnish with lemon. Note that I decided to try both, and I have to say it’s close, but I lean toward the Dry. I’d certainly accept either if I were offered it. For a sweeter, more Scotch-heavy variant, see the Butcher (No. 65).

6. Alexander's Sister Cocktail

My interpretation:
  1 oz Uncle Val’s Restorative gin
  0.75 oz heavy cream
  1 oz green creme de menthe (homemade)

Shake well (about 20 seconds) and strain into cocktail glass (here a dessert glass). Garnish with fresh mint. This is pretty straightforward. Related to the Alexander, it seems to have been designed for ladies and, like its counterpart, fits well in the dessert domain.

5. Alexander Cocktail

 My interpretation:
  .75 oz Hiram Walker Creme de Cacao (white)
  .75 oz Uncle Val’s Restorative Gin
  1.5 oz heavy cream

Shake on cracked ice, strain, and serve. Garnish with grated nutmeg (and spill some on the counter). Heavier on the cream and lighter on the gin than I’m used to, but fully conceivable as an early 1900s dessert cocktail.

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.