Old Pal – Classic Recipe & History

Old Pal
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Old Pal

0 from 0 votes Only logged in users can rate recipes
Course: DrinksCuisine: British
Servings

1

servings
Calories

120

kcal
Total time

3

minutes

How to make an Old Pal

Ingredients

  • 1 oz Dry Vermouth

  • 1 oz Campari

  • 1 oz Scotch

Directions

  • Technique: Simple Stir
  • Combine all ingredients in the mixing glass.
  • Add ice to the mixing glass.
  • Stir the ingredients for 10 – 15 seconds. Try to avoid over-diluting the drink
  • Strain into a glass with ice.

Featured Video

History Of The Old Pal Cocktail

The oldest reference to the Old Pal I can find is on page 82 of the 1927 book “Barflies and Cocktails” by Harry McElhone. The recipe (Along with the oldest reference to the Boulevardier) comes from the contribution section of the book by Author Moss, who writes about some of his favorite cocktails around London and their origins told by the bartenders who make them. Author Moss writes:

“I remember way back in 1878, on the 30th of February to be exact, when the writer was discussing the subject with my old pal “Sparrow” Robertson and he said to yours truly, “get away with that stuff, my old pal, here’s the drink I invented when I Fired the pistol the first time at the old powderhall foot races and you can’t go wrong if you put a bet down on 1/3 Canadian Club, 1/3 Eyetalian Vermouth, and 1/3 Campari,” and then he told the writer that he would dedicate the cocktail to me and call it, My Old Pal.”

This is satirically written as there is no 30th of February, and Eyetalian is phonetically written to imitate someone with a heavy accent saying Italian. Italian Vermouth is also different from the typical vermouth used. Dry Vermouth is. McElhone seems to correct this when he adds the Old Pal as a recipe in his 1930 book “ABCs of Mixing Cocktails.” Recipe 208 on page 65 for the Old Pal is 1/3 Canadian Club Whisky, 1/3 French Vermouth, and 1/3 Campari. And states the recipe is by “Sparrow” Robertson, the sporting editor of the New York Herald in Paris.

The Old Pal is a fantastic cocktail and my preferred version of Campari with vermouth and spirit. If you like Boulevardiers or Negronis, then this is a must-try.

Variations Of This Cocktail.

Popular variations of this kind of cocktail are:

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Monte Carlo – Classic Recipe & History

Monte Carlo
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Monte Carlo

0 from 0 votes Only logged in users can rate recipes
Course: DrinksCuisine: American
Servings

1

servings
Calories

150

kcal
Total time

3

minutes

How to make a Monte Carlo.

Ingredients

  • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters

  • 1 oz Benedictine

  • 2 oz Rye Whiskey

Directions

  • Technique: Simple Stir
  • Combine all ingredients in the mixing glass.
  • Add ice to the mixing glass.
  • Stir the ingredients for 10 – 15 seconds. Try to avoid over-diluting the drink.
  • Strain into a glass.
  • Garnish:
  • Lemon peel

Featured Video

The History Of The Monte Carlo

The earliest printed recipe for the Monte Carlo I can find comes from the 1948 Book “The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks” by David Embury. The Monte Carlo is a rye whiskey variation of the older Kentucky Colonel cocktail, which uses bourbon instead. Named after the prominent ward of Monaco, the Monte Carlo is a beautiful blend of sweet herbs and spices. The sharp, spicy flavors of the rye whiskey are cut by the sweet herbal flavors of the benedictine, and the two come together in a wonderfully balanced cocktail. This is a must-try if you’re a fan of the Bobby Burns or Manhattan.

Recipe Resources

I have the 1961 edition linked below because that is the only one I can find for free online, but this cocktail is the same as the 1948 edition.

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New Algonquin – Recipe & History

New Algonquin
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New Algonquin

0 from 0 votes Only logged in users can rate recipes
Course: DrinksCuisine: American
Servings

1

servings
Calories

139

kcal
ABV

20%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make the New Algonquin cocktail.

Ingredients

  • 1 oz Pineapple Juice

  • 1 oz Dry Vermouth

  • 2 oz Rye Whiskey

Directions

  • Technique: Saxe Soda Shake
  • Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker.
  • Add one medium or two small ice cubes to the cocktail shaker and shake until the ice fully melts.
  • Without a strainer, pour the chilled and aerated drink into a glass.

Notes

Featured Video

The History Of The Algonquin Cocktails

I am able to find three unique Algonquin cocktail recipes, and I don’t think the three are related at all. The Oldest is from the 1926 book “The Cocktail Book” by L.C. Page. That recipe is just genever and wormwood bitters. The second is from 1935 book “Along the Wine Trail” by G. Selmer Fougner. That is the most commonly cited recipe, and in that book, it is called the “New Algonquin” cocktail. The Third recipe is from the 1951 book “Bottoms Up” by Ted Saucier. That recipe uses rum, blackberry brandy, benedictine, and lime juice. Ted Saucier, the lead publicist and historian for the Waldorf-Astoria after Crockett left, cites his recipe as the recipe used at the Algonquin Hotel. Saucier knew his stuff and is a very reputable source. He replaced Albert Crockett (The guy who wrote the Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book), and his book is notable for having the first Negroni recipe, saving the Last Word recipe, and along with Embury, accurately documenting post-prohibition New York cocktail culture.

Interest in the Algonquin stems from being the weekly meeting place for a group of influential New York authors during prohibition. The Algonquin Round Table, as the group became known, was made up of newspaper and magazine columnists, playwrights, actors, comedians, screenwriters, directors, and editors for major magazines. Needless to say, the group was very influential on the literary and art scene of the time.

People in the cocktail world are curious to know what this group drank, and the most common recipe used for the Algonquin cocktail is the New Algonquin recipe from the Fougner book. I personally don’t think this was the recipe used by the hotel and enjoyed by the members of the Algonquin Round Table. In fact, I don’t think this group ever actually enjoyed an alcoholic beverage there ever. The hotel owner and head manager, Frank Case, was a firm and vocal supporter of prohibition. Frank Case voted dry and voluntarily stopped serving alcohol at the Algonquin in 1917. Three years before the start of prohibition. The group met for ten years, beginning in 1919, and eventually stopped around 1929, four years before the end of prohibition. It’s doubtful this group ever had a cocktail there.

Algonquin is also not a unique word or name. Algonquin is the name of the indigenous people who occupied most of the North American northeast. The term Algonquin is everywhere. There are towns, lakes, gas stations, bars, restaurants, barbershops, etc., named Algonquin. It doesn’t mean much if the recipe from “Along the Wine Trail” and the hotel share the same name if the name is common. Fougner also never states that the recipe is from the hotel. It’s just called the “New Algonquin.” The only recipe of the three cited as the Algonquin hotel’s recipe is the Saucier one. Frank Case ran the Algonquin till his death in 1946. Considering Ted Saucier’s proximity to the New York drinking culture and hotel industry, the fact he was a skilled publicist and New York historian, and that he cites his explicitly as the hotel’s recipe, I imagine his was the authentic recipe used at the Algonquin Hotel after prohibition.

Again because the hotel was most likely genuinely dry, I doubt the famed Algonquin Round Table even had Saucier’s recipe. Regardless of wheater the New Algonquin cocktail from G. Selmer Fougner’s book is the authentic hotel recipe or not, it’s still a good drink that’s worth trying.

So if they couldn’t drink, why would this group of young artists and writers choose the Algonquin to meet? While a staunch dry, Frank Case was very supportive of the arts and especially authors. The group got to eat for free at their meetings, and visiting published authors got to stay at the hotel for free too. Frank Case went out of his way to accommodate the group, and the Algonquin continues Case’s support for authors today by providing published authors with a free or reduced stay at the hotel in exchange for a signed copy of their book.

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Poets Dream – Classic Recipe & History

Poets Dream
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Poets Dream

0 from 0 votes Only logged in users can rate recipes
Course: DrinksCuisine: British
Servings

1

servings
Calories

115

kcal
ABV

29%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make a Poet’s Dream

Ingredients

  • 1 dashes Orange Bitters

  • 2 dashes Benedictine

  • 1 oz Dry Vermouth

  • 2 oz Dry Gin

Directions

  • Technique: Simple Stir
  • Combine all ingredients in the mixing glass.
  • Add ice to the mixing glass.
  • Stir the ingredients for 10 – 15 seconds. Try to avoid over-diluting the drink.
  • Strain into a glass.

Notes

Featured Video

What Does The Poet’s Dream Taste Like?

The Poet’s Dream taste like a slightly more herbal dry martini. A little less boozy but more complex with a small amount of benedictine and orange bitters. My suggestion is to serve this as cold as possible, stir maybe a couple of seconds more than usual and go easy on the orange bitters. A dash too much on the bitters becomes the overwhelming flavor. Like the dry martini, this is a hard drink to make. Not because it is complex but because it is so subtle and unforgiving if you don’t get it right. This drink can be excellent if done right, and the flavors are kept in check when measuring and stirring. But it can also be pungent if you get a little heavy-handed on the bitters. It’s easier to start small on this and gauge the taste, adding a little more of the benedictine and bitters as you continue making more.

William Tarling’s Cafe Royal Book And Its Influences.

Cafe Royal is massive. I can’t find exactly how many recipes are actually in this book, and I’m not going to count, but my best guess is around 1200. William Tarling did not create most of the recipes in Cafe Royal; he was the president of the UKBG (United Kingdom Bartenders Guild) and head bartender of the Cafe Royal in London. He instead compiled some of his own bars’ top recipes and the recipes of other UKBG into a single source. In his introduction, he says he combed through more than 4000 recipes to find the best and most original ones from around England. This book is a monster, and sadly ordinary folks like you and me will probably never own it. Sure there are limited reprints from time to time, but there were only 1000 original copies made in its single 1937 edition. The book was created and sold as a fundraising item for the UKBG healthcare benefit and Cafe Royal sports club. Healthcare didn’t become universal till 1948 in the UK. We’re still waiting here in the US.

William Tarling was known for experimenting with new ingredients. He positioned the Cafe Royal Bar as more edgy and experimental in its recipes compared to other more traditional bars like The American Bar at the Savoy Hotel. Cafe Royal was an early pioneer in Tequila, mezcal, and vodka cocktails mixed with exotic fruit juices. Tequila and Vodka cocktails don’t start becoming more common till the 1940s with the Moscow mule and the margarita. It’s easy to argue that the margarita was invented at the Cafe Royal in the early 1930s as their picador cocktail. In the book’s preface, William Tarling argues that there needs to be more originality and variety. Martinis and Manhattans are great but just as one tires of eating the same dinner night after night; it’s monotonous to drink the same drinks at every party. Have some fun and try channeling your inner William and try something you wouldn’t normally drink.

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Chrysanthemum – Classic Recipe & History

Chrysanthemum
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Chrysanthemum

0 from 0 votes Only logged in users can rate recipes
Course: DrinksCuisine: British
Servings

1

servings
Calories

155

kcal
ABV

26%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make a Chrysanthemum.

Ingredients

  • 3 dashes Absinthe

  • 1 oz Benedictine

  • 2 oz Dry Vermouth

Directions

  • Technique: Simple Stir
  • Combine all ingredients in the mixing glass.
  • Add ice to the mixing glass.
  • Stir the ingredients for 10 – 15 seconds. Try to avoid over-diluting the drink.
  • Strain into a glass.
  • Garnish:
  • Lemon peel

Notes

Featured Video

What Does The Chrysanthemum Taste Like?

From The 1934 Savoy Cocktail Book, The Chrysanthemum is a beautiful example of the kind of cocktails invented in Europe during American Prohibition. With heavier use of European liqueurs and favoring more complex herbal flavors over the more American spirit-forward cocktails, the Chrysanthemum is a beautiful, herbal, bright, and both lightly sweet and dry cocktail. If you are looking for something new that will become one of your favorites, try the Chrysanthemum. This is not an exaggeration. The taste of this cocktail blew my mind. It’s that good.

A Short History Of The American Bar at the Savoy Hotel In London.

In 1893, The American Bar at the Savoy hotel started serving American-style cocktails in London to the British upper class. The American Bar has always been a high-end bar but what set it on the map was when Harry Craddock became its head bartender in the 1920s. Harry Craddock was a British-born bartender who immigrated to the United States, eventually becoming a US citizen and head bartender of several high-end hotel bars. Still, Harry found himself out of work with the start of prohibition in 1920. He then immigrated back to England and became head bartender of the Savoy Hotel’s Bar. Harry transformed The American Bar from a high-end bar to one of the seminal cocktail bars of the 20th century. As the American prohibition ended, the hotel realized it should record all of its most famous recipes and the innovations Harry brought to the bar. A year later, they published the Savoy Cocktail Book. Printed in 1934, the Savoy Cocktail Book documents the bar’s best recipes from the 1890s to the 1930s and stands as the pillar of prohibition-era European cocktail innovation. If Jerry Thomas’s Bartenders Guide is the best cocktail book the 1800s gave us, then The Savoy Cocktail Book is the best cocktail book of the first half of the 1900s. I don’t think I will ever be able to drink there, though. A cocktail cost around $250 there, and they have one that’s almost $1000, and I’m not the Amazon guy, so good thing we have their recipe book.

The Garnish Is Absolutely Important

The most essential ingredient in the Chrysanthemum is the expressed orange peel garnish. There is only one Benedictine so that easy and good dry vermouth is also necessary, but the subtle flavor the orange oil adds makes this a fantastic drink. The garnish is rarely what makes a drink, but with the Chrysanthemum’s case, it’s essential. If you do not have an orange for the peel, orange bitters work well. I think it tastes better with a dash of orange bitters instead, but an expressed orange peel is traditional.

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White Lily – Classic Recipe

White Lily Cocktail
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Quick Step-By-Step White Lily Recipe Video

White Lily

5 from 1 vote Only logged in users can rate recipes
Course: DrinksCuisine: British
Servings

1

servings
Calories

238

kcal
ABV

40%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make the a classic White Lily.

Ingredients

  • 5 dashes Absinthe

  • 1 oz Orange Liqueur

  • 1 oz White Rum

  • 1 oz Dry Gin

Directions

  • Technique: Simple Stir
  • Combine all ingredients in the mixing glass.
  • Add ice to the mixing glass. Stir the ingredients for 10 – 15 seconds. Try to avoid over-diluting the drink.
  • Strain into a glass.
  • Garnish:
  • Lemon peel

Recipe Video

Notes

What Does The White Lily Taste Like?

The white lily is a fantastic cocktail. It is clean and strong with a delicate orange and herbal flavor. If you wanted to group it, then it’s more along the lines of a vesper or dry martini. The white lily does many things right that it’s really impressive—lightly sweet, strong, and delicate flavor, citrusy and herbal.

A Short History Of The American Bar at the Savoy Hotel In London.

In 1893, The American Bar at the Savoy hotel started serving American-style cocktails in London to the British upper class. The American Bar has always been a high-end bar but what set it on the map was when Harry Craddock became its head bartender in the 1920s. Harry Craddock was a British-born bartender who immigrated to the United States, eventually becoming a US citizen and head bartender of several high-end hotel bars. Still, Harry found himself out of work with the start of prohibition in 1920. He then immigrated back to England and became head bartender of the Savoy Hotel’s Bar. Harry transformed The American Bar from a high-end bar to one of the seminal cocktail bars of the 20th century. As the American prohibition was ending, the hotel realized it should record all of its most famous recipes and the innovations Harry brought to the bar. A year later, they published the Savoy Cocktail Book. Printed in 1934, the Savoy Cocktail Book documents the bar’s best recipes from the 1890s to the 1930s and stands as the pillar of prohibition-era European cocktail innovation. If Jerry Thomas’s Bartenders Guide is the best cocktail book the 1800s gave us, then The Savoy Cocktail Book is the best cocktail book of the first half of the 1900s. I don’t think I will ever be able to drink there, though. A cocktail cost around $250 there, and they have one that’s almost $1000, and I’m not the Amazon guy, so good thing we have their recipe book.

Use The Right Orange Liqueur.

The most essential ingredient in the white lily is the orange liqueur. You have to use Cointreau, no other brand works, and I will tell you why. When mixing any cocktail, it’s best to use a neutral base spirit, orange liqueur, like Cointreau, and not one that uses an aged-based spirit, like Grand Marnier. Grand Marnier is excellent stuff and wonderful to drink by itself, but the color is off, and aged oaked brandy flavors compete with the cocktail’s other flavors. It’s excellent for sipping, not so much for mixing drinks. It specifically has to be Cointreau and not another brand of dry neutral orange liqueur because Cointreau has a ton of orange peel oils dissolved in it. This cocktail’s beautiful pale white color is the dissolved oils in the orange liqueur breaking off the alcohol molecule they are attached to in a process called the Ouzo effect or louching. It is similar to how absinthe turns pale white when you add water. Cointreau does too, but to a much lesser degree since it has fewer dissolved oils than absinthe. The amount of oil capable of being dissolved in a liqueur will be proportional to the ABV of the liqueur. At 40% ABV, Cointreau has far more orange peel oil than an orange liqueur would at 35, 30, or 25% ABV. The oil also adds a lot of flavors, but only Cointreau will give you that beautiful look and intense orange flavor. Again other orange liqueurs will still taste good but will not have the same appearance. Check out my Absinthe drip description for a more detailed explanation of the Ouzo effect.

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Vodka Martini – Original Recipe & History

Vodka Martini
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Vodka Martini

0 from 0 votes Only logged in users can rate recipes
Course: DrinksCuisine: American
Servings

1

servings
Calories

186

kcal
ABV

32%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make the a classic Vodka Martini.

Ingredients

  • 1 oz Dry Vermouth

  • 2 oz Vodka

Directions

  • Technique: Simple Stir
  • Combine all ingredients in the mixing glass.
  • Add ice to the mixing glass.
  • Stir the ingredients for 10 – 15 seconds. Try to avoid over-diluting the drink.
  • Strain into a glass.
  • Garnish:
  • Lemon peel

Notes

Featured Video

The Rise Of Vodka Cocktails in the 1940s.

Vodka cocktails were almost nonexistent and not popular till the 1940s. Except for the Bloody Mary, I can’t think of a single cocktail that contained vodka before the 1940s. What happened in the 1940s to change that? The Moscow Mule was invented in 1941, and its overnight success suddenly made vodka a popular spirit. Most classic vodka cocktails can be traced back to this period. Since Vodka had no history of being used as an ingredient, bartenders found it easy to replace gin with vodka and give the drink a fun new name. The screwdriver was just an orange blossom with vodka. The vodka Martini was just a martini with vodka, and a drink called the Russian Bear (most likely origin of the White Russian) was just an Alexander with vodka instead of gin, and the list goes on.

In David Embury’s 1948 book “The Fine Art Of Mixing,” he states he has no idea why anyone would want to replace gin for vodka as it is a flavorless dull spirit that adds nothing to a drink. He compared mixing with vodka to mixing with water. Lucius Beebe’s 1946 book “The Stork Club Bar Book” is less judgmental of vodka cocktails but also claims most vodka cocktails are just modified gin cocktails. Beebe provides two vodka martini recipes which are garnished and served identical to a standard dry martini. This is Beebe’s Vodka Martini #1 recipe that follows the same 1:2 ratio of dry vermouth to dry gin as a traditional dry martini.

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Vieux Carré – Original Recipe & History

Vieux Carre
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Quick Step-By-Step Vieux Carre Recipe Video

Vieux Carre

0 from 0 votes Only logged in users can rate recipes
Course: DrinksCuisine: American
Servings

1

servings
Calories

144

kcal
ABV

32%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make the a classic Vieux Carre.

Ingredients

  • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters

  • 2 dashes Peychauds Bitters

  • 1 tsp Benedictine

  • 2/3 oz Sweet Vermouth

  • 2/3 oz Brandy

  • 2/3 oz Rye Whiskey

Directions

  • Technique: Simple Stir
  • Combine all ingredients in the mixing glass.
  • dd ice to the mixing glass. Stir the ingredients for 10 – 15 seconds. Try to avoid over-diluting the drink.
  • Strain into a glass.
  • Garnish:
  • Lemon peel

Recipe Video

Notes

The History Of The Vieux Carré.

The Vieux Carré was invented sometime in the 1930s by Walter Bergeron, the head bartender at the Hotel Monteleone’s cocktail lounge In New Orleans. It was first published in the 1937 book “Famous New Orleans Drinks and how to mix ‘em” by Stanley Clisby Arthur. The Vieux Carré is a beautiful cocktail that is both strong and herbal. It’s similar but much more complex than the famed New Orleans Sazerac. It’s hard to describe this cocktail without trying, but if herbaceous solid drinks are your thing, this is a must-try.

What Does Vieux Carré Mean?

Vieux Carre translates to “The Old Square,” referring to the New Orleans French Quarter. New Orleans is one of my absolute favorite places. Its history is both fantastic and terrifying. Many iron-laced balconies date back to the 1700s and predate the United States. You can drink at the same bars generals planned battles at and experience some of the oldest American histories. Not as museum pieces behind glass just to be seen, but by actually walking the halls, eating at the same tables, ordering at the same bars, and living in the same spaces, many historical events happened.

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Vesper Martini – Original Recipe & History

Vesper
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Quick Step-By-Step Vesper Recipe Video

Vesper Martini

5 from 1 vote Only logged in users can rate recipes
Course: DrinksCuisine: British
Servings

1

servings
Calories

312

kcal
ABV

37%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make the a classic Vesper.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 oz Cocchi Americano

  • 1/2 oz Vodka

  • 1.5 oz Dry Gin

Directions

  • Technique: Simple Stir
  • Combine all ingredients in the mixing glass.
  • Add ice to the mixing glass. Stir the ingredients for 10 – 15 seconds. Try to avoid over-diluting the drink.
  • Strain into a glass.
  • Garnish:
  • Lemon peel

Recipe Video

Notes

The Vesper Martini Origin

Ian Fleming created the Vesper Martini in his 1953 book “Casino Royale” which was also the debut of James Bond. In Chapter 7 of the book, Bond thinks up the drink on the spot and requests the barman make it for him.

-Casino Royale-
‘A dry martini,’ he said. ‘One. In a deep champagne goblet.’
‘Oui, monsieur.’
‘Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?’
‘Certainly monsieur.’ The barman seemed pleased with the idea.
‘Gosh, that’s certainly a drink,’ said Leiter.
Bond laughed. ‘When I’m … er … concentrating,’ he explained, ‘I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink’s my own invention. I’m going to patent it when I think of a good name.’

As Bond states, the original vesper is massive. It’s 4.5 oz (130 mLs) of solid booze before any water is even diluted into the drink. His recipe would require a 6 oz (180 mLs) glass minimum to hold the drink. That’s a bit unreasonable, so for the recipe listed here, I have cut it by half, but be aware that the original is double the size on this site. After his love interest in Casino Royale, Bond eventually calls his cocktail the Vesper. By the end of the book, Vesper Lynd has revealed herself to be a double agent working against Bond but overcome by her guilt and genuine feelings for him; she sacrifices herself to save him. Stricken by the sadness of Vesper Lynd’s death, Bond never orders another Vesper again.

Should The Vesper Be Shaken Or Stirred?

Bond requests the drink to be shaken and not stirred. I have a much more in-depth write-up on the origins of shaking drinks that were traditionally stirred in my dry martini article. Essentially during the 1920s – late 1930s, shaking became a way to soften the harsher gins of the time and add a bit of effervescence to the drink. You could be sure that a quick shake would rapidly dilute and cool the glass as much as possible for a bartender of any experience level. A colder, more diluted drink with tons of tiny bubbles would help soften and mask the poor quality of prohibition-era gins. To get similar results stirring a drink requires more patience and skill, which was lacking in prohibition-era America. In addition to poor quality alcohol, were poor quality bartenders. Young patrons found the best way to mitigate those issues was to ask for the drink shaken. Shaken martinis thus became associated with the way trendy young drinkers requested stiff drinks and evolved into more of an image. In the recipe for the dry martini, the author of The Old Waldorf-Astoria Cocktail book laments this trend and states how the old skilled bartenders of pre-prohibition times refused to make martinis this way.

Bond uses this association to establish himself to the reader as a young and hip assassin. Requesting his cocktails shaken is a kind of world-building that tells the audience that Bond is trendy and sophisticated, not old and stiff. I find it quite funny because, stay with me here, Casino Royale was published in 1953. This mainly was a trend of the 1920s – early 1940s. The only person in the 1950s who would think a shaken martini still was young and trendy would be an older man who started drinking in the 1920s or 30s. Ian Fleming was born in 1908, so he was a young and impressionable drinker during the 1930s when this was a more common request. These were books written for older men to remind them of when they were young—giving them a kind of fantasy alternate reality youth.

Should You Substitute Kina Lillet With Lillet Blanc Or Cocchi Americano?

Unfortunately, the original ingredient Kina Lillet was discontinued by the Lillet company in 1986. What replaced it is Lillet Blanc, but Lillet Blanc is a different wine from what Kina Lillet was. I will clearly say I have personally never tasted the now defunct Kina Lillet. But from other sources and individuals familiar with its taste, most say Cocchi Americano is closer to what Kina Lillet used to taste like than Lillet Blanc. So even though it shares the Lillet name, you may want to substitute Cocchi Americano for the Kina Lillet. For any pre-1980s cocktail that calls for Kina Lillet, use Cocchi Americano.

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Tequila Manhattan – Recipe

Tequila Manhattan Cocktail
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Tequila Manhattan

0 from 0 votes Only logged in users can rate recipes
Course: DrinksCuisine: American
Servings

1

servings
Calories

193

kcal
ABV

32%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make the a Tequila Manhattan.

Ingredients

  • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters

  • 1 oz Sweet Vermouth

  • 2 oz Anejo Tequila

Directions

  • Technique: Simple Stir
  • Combine all ingredients in the mixing glass.
  • Add ice to the mixing glass.
  • Stir the ingredients for 10 – 15 seconds. Try to avoid over-diluting the drink.
  • Strain into a glass.
  • Garnish:
  • Maraschino cherry

Notes

Featured Video

A modern variation of the classic Manhattan, this one substitutes bourbon for Anejo tequila. This is a delicious cocktail, and if you’re a tequila fan, this is worth a try. Be sure to use Anejo(old) tequila. Reposado is ok but not great, and silver or gold tequila is not good in this cocktail. It can only be Anejo.

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