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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Mizuwari – Classic Recipe

Mizuwari
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Mizuwari

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

1

servings
Calories

150

kcal
ABV

11%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make a mizuwari

Ingredients

  • 2 oz Scotch

  • 5 oz Water

Directions

  • Technique: Build In Glass
  • Add Ice to a glass.
  • Pour whiskey in and stir to cool.
  • Add more water to dilute, but not too much. The result should be an easily drinkable cocktail with a gentle whiskey flavor.

Notes

Featured Video

What Does Mizuwari Mean?

The mizuwari is an iconic Japanese cocktail, and it means to cut with water. Cutting whiskey with water is nothing unique to this cocktail, as even in traditional Irish whiskey, drinking the whiskey is cut with a bit of water to open up the flavors. The difference here is how much the whiskey is thinned with water. Many whiskey drinkers will use just the water that melts off the ice, or some will add a single ounce of water, but the mizuwari is massive, a 1-2 or 1-2.5 ratio of whiskey to water.

Why Drink a Mizuwari?

The mizuwari and Japanese highball has a similar soul to them. They have a clean, unmistakable whiskey flavor but are not overpowering like a short, old-fashioned whiskey cocktail. They are refreshing like a collins or rickey, but without any extra flavors the collins or rickey bring. They are clean, easy-to-drink cocktails, with whiskey the only unobstructed flavor. The mizuwari is more accessible to drink than the highball as it does not even have carbonation. But do not be mistaken. This is not just water added to whiskey. If done right, this can be a great cocktail. If done wrong, this can be the flattest and saddest drink.

The Most Important Part To Making a Mizuwari.

The mizuwari is all about technique. It’s just two ingredients (3 including the ice), but those two ingredients can become something delicious if appropriately combined. So the essential part of making a mizuwari is the process of how it is made. It’s similar to making a Japanese highball but just a little bit simpler.

1). Start with a chilled glass. Stemware matters too. A highball, collins, or zombie glass will work too (they are all pretty similar anyway). The drink needs a heavy broad base to hold extra coldness, and the straight sides make stirring easier. Pint glasses are fine, but they taper to a smaller base, meaning less cold surface area to whiskey ratio. Next, add your ice, and since the glass is already chilled, there is no need to use the ice to chill it. Suppose the glass is not chilled. Stir the ice to cool the glass and dump the water that has melted off. Also, the ice is vital. This is the ice served with the drink, so it should be challenging, clear, and freezing ice. This is done to dilute the whiskey as little as possible before adding the water. If you are adding water, you are diluting it. Still, it is preferable to cut it as little as possible before adding water because it helps maintain the whiskey to water ratio you serve it at length. If you combine the whiskey and water at a 1-2.5 ratio and then add ice, the ice will melt and change the ratio to something like 1-3 or more. If you do it the preferable way, you can see how much water was added by chilling the whiskey and adding more or less water as needed and not have melting ice change that ratio.

2). Next, add your whiskey and stir for maybe 10 seconds. This is to cool the whiskey down to near freezing so that once you add the water, the ratio is not changed while the ice melts and cools the drink to near freezing. When preparing a Japanese highball, you are concerned about preserving the carbonation with cooler temperatures that you do not need to worry about here. This part is just to protect the water to whiskey ratio.

3). Next, add the refrigerated water. The typical ratio is 1 part whiskey to 2 – 2.5 parts chilled water. You’ll want to vary this based on how strongly flavored the whiskey is and how much the melting ice already lengthened it. You aim to balance and open up the flavors, so a more intensely flavored whiskey may want 5oz water to 2oz whiskey, and a more subtle whiskey would work better with 4oz soda water to 2oz whiskey. Know the whiskey and add what you think will make it taste better. Also, use good-tasting filtered water. You’re not adding juice or syrups, so there is nothing to mask lousy water or ice.

4). Finally, give it a few last stirs to mix. Although don’t just turn the spoon in a circle but bring it to the bottom and pull the whiskey up into the water. Do this just a couple of times to evenly mix the drink. A lot of work for a simple two-ingredient drink, right?

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Rob Roy – Classic Recipe & History

Rob Roy
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Rob Roy

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 classic Rob Roy.

Ingredients

  • 1 dash Orange Bitters

  • 1.5 oz Sweet Vermouth

  • 1.5 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.
  • Garnish:
  • Maraschino cherry.

Notes

Featured Video

The History Of The Rob Roy Cocktail.

The earliest known Rob Roy recipe comes from the 1908 Boothby book “The Worlds Drinks and How to Mix Them” Boothby credits the cocktail to Johnny Kent of San Francisco. His recipe is a scotch, dry vermouth, and angostura bitters cocktail, which is very good. The more common recipe is the Waldorf-Astoria recipe which is 1:1 scotch and sweet vermouth with orange bitters. Other than scotch, the two recipes are entirely different. Both are fantastic cocktails, and even though the Waldorf-Astoria recipe is more popular, the Boothby recipe is worth trying.

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Rusty Nail – Original Recipe

Rusty Nail Cocktail
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Rusty Nail

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

1

servings
Calories

216

kcal
ABV

40%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make the a classic Rusty Nail.

Ingredients

  • 2/3 oz Drambuie

  • 2 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.

Notes

Featured Video

The History Of The Rusty Nail Cocktail.

The standard history of the Rusty Nail cocktail is it was invented in the 1930s at the British Industries Fair and was called a B.I.F cocktail. However, I cannot find any reference to it in American or European cocktail books from the 1930s to the 1960s. The earliest reference to the Rusty Nail I can find is from the April 1968 issue of Playboy. In the nightlife and Liqueur section, Liqueur Legerdemain, Thomas Mario says, “The latest, the Rusty Nail, is also one of the most mellow—a simple libation of Scotch on the rocks with a float of Drambuie.” Thomas refers to the Rusty Nail cocktail as a new liqueur cocktail, and it was around this time the first Rusty Nail was printed in a cocktail book. The 1972 Trader Vic’s Bartender Guide has a recipe for a Rusty Nail that is 1:1 Scotch and Drambuie. Searching the American and British newspaper archives, the Rusty Nail cocktail was mentioned in the 1980s. Looking through all this, I could not locate the cocktail’s inventor or where it originated from. It’s more likely the Rusty Nail was invented in the 1960s than the 1930s.

How To Mix a Rusty Nail.

The trick to mixing an excellent rusty nail is to mix it as little as possible. Some recipes cool the scotch and then add the Drambuie without any additional mixing. This cocktail is in the same spirit as the B&B, and it benefits from a less chilled and slight separation of the ingredients.

The ratio of Drambuie to Scotch is variable too. The lower end tends to be 1/2 oz (15 mLs) to 2 oz (60 mLs) scotch, and the higher end is the Trader Vic style 1:1. I prefer the ratio below of 2/3 oz Drambuie to 2 oz Scotch.

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Rattlesnake – Original Recipe & History

Rattlesnake
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Rattlesnake

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

1

servings
Calories

231

kcal
ABV

23%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make the a classic Rattlesnake Cocktail.

Ingredients

  • 1 whole Egg White

  • 2 dashes Absinthe

  • 1/2 oz Lemon Juice

  • 1/2 oz Simple Syrup

  • 2 oz Scotch

Directions

  • Technique: Saxe Soda Shake
  • Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker.
  • Add one medium or two small ice cubes to the cocktail shaker and shake till the ice has fully melted.
  • Without a strainer, pour the chilled and aerated drink into a cocktail glass.
  • Garnish:
  • Angostura bitters drops on top

Notes

Featured Video

What Does The Rattlesnake Taste Like?

This tastes very similar to a whiskey sour with egg whites. They taste almost the same, but the small addition of absinthe does add an excellent herbal profile to the cocktail. If you like sours and herbal flavors, this is one to try. The Savoy Cocktail Book claimed it was so strong it could cure a rattlesnake bite, but it’s not that intense, it’s pretty lovely, and I would say an improvement over the standard whiskey sour.

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.

How To Get Great Foam On Cocktails With Egg Whites.

Egg Whites are challenging to get right in cocktails. Everyone struggles with them at some point, and bartenders search for any way to make whipping them into a fluffy meringue easier. Henry Ramos hired “shaker boys” to shake for him. Some use the dry shake or reverse dry shake, others swear by only using one large ice cube, and some say you have to shake till your arms fall off. The method I like is called the Saxe Shake, and De Forest Saxe invented it in the 1880s.

The Saxe Shake is largely unknown in the cocktail world because De Forest Saxe was a soda fountain operator in Chicago, Illinois. His 1890 book “Saxe’s New Guide Hints to Soda Water Dispensers” details his shaking technique for egg drinks that produces the best foam and can be accomplished with minimal effort. Saxe states to shake drinks with eggs with only one chestnut-sized ice cube. An Ice cube from a standard ice tray is about chestnut-sized, so one or two small cubes will work. Then shake until the ice fully melts, and pour into the serving glass without straining. The small amount of ice is just enough to cool and dilute the drink, and since there are no remaining bits of ice left in the shaker, there is nothing to strain. Passing the mixture through a strainer destroys most of the bubbles you worked so hard to make. As you add soda water, the escaping carbon dioxide fills the tiny bubbles in the drink, forcing them to expand and form a large fluffy foam. Give it a try. Using the Saxe Shake, I have turned out Ramos Gin Fizzes as fast and efficiently as any other shaken cocktail with excellent results.

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Bobby Burns – Original Recipe & History

Bobby Burns
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Quick Step-By-Step Bobby Burns Recipe Video

Bobby Burns

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

1

servings
Calories

186

kcal
ABV

28%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make the amazing Bobby Burns cocktail from the 1934 Savoy Cocktail book.

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp Benedictine

  • 1.5 oz Sweet Vermouth

  • 1.5 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.
  • Garnish:
  • Lemon peel

Recipe Video

Notes

About Bobby Burn And His Poetry.

Bobby Burns was an 18th-century Scottish poet. Every English speaker in the world knows his poetry, who has celebrated Valentine’s Day, or attended a New Year’s party. Robert Burns wrote many famous poems and songs, but two of them are still commonly used today; Auld Lang Syne and Red, Red, Rose. Sung at the turn of the year, everyone knows the tune to Auld Lange Syne even if they don’t know the words. Written in 18th-century scot (a mix of modern English and Scottish Gaelic), the poem is bittersweet in its lyrics as it reminisces about the experiences shared between two friends. And Red, Red Rose is just that; everyone knows that. “Oh my love is like a red, red rose, That’s newly sprung in June: Oh my love is like the Melodie, that’s sweetly played in tune.”

What Does The Bobby Burns Taste Like?

The Bobby Burns is a fabulous cocktail that tastes very similar to a Manhattan but with a slightly more herbal flavor. If you like manhattans, then this is a must.

The Most Important Ingredient.

Like the Manhattan, the essential ingredient in the Bobby Burns is the sweet vermouth. The other two ingredients are crucial too, but the sweet vermouth is critical. The sweet vermouth is where you have the most play and the most diverse flavors to work with. The sweet vermouth is what carries this drink and lends the most flavor. It has the most meaningful impact on the cocktail, so pick a good one.

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

Opened in 1893 The American Bar at the Savoy hotel started serving American style cocktails in London to the British upperclass. The American Bar has always been a high end bar but what really set it on the map was when Harry Craddock became it’s 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, but Harry found himself out oIn 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. f 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 coming to an end the hotel realized it should record all of its most famous recipes and the innovations Harry brought to the bar and a year later they published the Savoy Cocktail Book. Printed in 1934 The Savoy Cocktail Book documents all of the bars 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.

Here is the original Scots Auld Lang Syne and an English translation for fun.

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Avenue – Classic Recipe

Avenue Cocktail
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Avenue Cocktail

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

1

servings
Calories

190

kcal
ABV

26%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make a classic Avenue cocktail.

Ingredients

  • 1 oz Passion Fruit Juice

  • 1 tsp Grenadine

  • 1 tsp Orange Liqueur

  • 1 oz Scotch

  • 1 oz Brandy

Directions

  • Technique: Saxe Soda Shake
  • ombine 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 Avenue Cocktail.

The Avenue Cocktail was first written in London’s 1937 Royal Cafe Cocktail Book. The Author, William Tarling, is credited for creating this fantastic cocktail and many other more famous ones. The first written recipe for the margarita is from the Royal Cafe Cocktail Book. Whether he is the actual creator of the margarita is up for debate, but he is recognized as the creator of the Avenue cocktail.

What Does The Avenue Taste Like?

The Avenue is a beautiful cocktail that is both strong and balanced. The gentler mix of brandy and scotch blends well with the Passion fruit, pomegranate, and orange flavors and creates an almost European tropical cocktail. William Tarling used lesser-known and exotic ingredients, and the Avenue Cocktail displays that. At 60 mLs of the European spirit and 40 mLs of exotic tropical flavors, the Avenue has one foot in Europe and one foot in the exotic. Unfortunately, this isn’t something you can order at any bar. Most bars, even high-end ones, have probably never made this before, and passion fruit juice is not a commonly held ingredient. If you want to order this out, you will first need to ask if the bar has passion fruit juice, and if they do,eed to you will also n give them the recipe. This will most likely be one you make for yourself and friends at home.

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.

Balancing The Flavors Of This Cocktail.

The most essential ingredient in the Avenue is both brandy and scotch. This is a very mellow drink, and a smoother brandy and scotch balance the drink well. The passion fruit, grenadine, and orange liqueur are not overly assertive in this cocktail, and if you use a powerful flavored spirit for the brandy or scotch, it tips the scale too much. Though this isn’t a make or break for the drink, use it if there is brandy or scotch you like. That being said, a smoky scotch will ruin this drink. Smoke, tobacco, or peat moss flavors will not mix with the other flavors.

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Japanese Highball – Classic Recipe

Japanese Highball
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Japanese Highball

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

4

servings
Calories

150

kcal
ABV

11%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make a classic Japanese Highball.

Ingredients

  • 2 oz Scotch

  • 5 oz Soda Water

Directions

  • Technique: Build In Glass
  • Combine all ingredients except for the soda water in a glass.
  • Fill the glass with ice.
  • Stir to combine and chill the ingredients.
  • Gently add the soda water and give the drink a couple of last stirs to mix it fully.

Notes

Featured Video

How The Japanese Highball Is A Structurally Correct Highball.

While many long drinks in tall glasses tend to be called highballs and are often thought of that way, a structurally correct highball is simply 1 part spirit, 2-2.5 parts carbonated beverage, and optional bitters or citrus peel. They do not contain juice or additional sweetener. I love this cocktail, and it’s usually what I often make for myself when I’m home. It goes down easy and gives me the pleasure of drinking a beer without the bloat. While the Japanese did not create the highball, they have maintained the classic highball better than American or British cultures. The highball has continued to stay a popular beverage there.

Keep This In Mind When Drinking A Japanese Highball.

Again even though it’s called a Japanese highball, it was not invented by the Japanese. It’s called that because it’s still a trendy cocktail with Japanese business people after work. Similar to how the Japanese jigger was originally American, it eventually fell out of fashion in the USA and remained popular in Japan. Sadly most Americans find this cocktail dull at first taste and need to be told its history or how it’s popular in Japan to say, “oh, ok. I see”. American and British cocktail culture is one more strong drink with juice-filled big flavors, and those are good, but this cocktail is all about subtlety done perfectly. This cocktail is all about the perfect technique.

The Most Important Part To Making A Japanese Highball.

Most cocktails live in a gradient from good to bad and fall somewhere between. How well-made or poorly made a cocktail will end up is based on ingredients and preparation. The most crucial part of creating a Japanese highball and the mizuwari is your technique. How well you prepare each ingredient before moving on to the next step will make or break this cocktail. No joke, this can only be 1 of 2 things, perfect or awful. Learning how to prepare this cocktail taught me more about mixing drinks than any other cocktail.

1). Start with a chilled glass. Stemware matters too. Use a highball, collins, or zombie glass (they are all pretty similar anyway). The drink needs a heavy broad base to hold extra coldness, and the straight sides make stirring easier. Pint glasses are delicate, but they taper to a smaller base which means less cold surface area to whiskey ratio. Next, add your ice, and since the glass is already chilled, there is no need to use the ice to chill it. If the glass is not chilled, stir the ice to cool the glass and dump the water that has melted off. Also, the ice is vital. This is the ice served with the drink, so it should be challenging, clear, and freezing ice. This is done to dilute the whiskey as little as possible before adding the soda water. It should be refreshing bubbly soda water lengthening the whiskey, and not warmed melted ice.

2). Next, add your whiskey and stir for maybe 10 seconds. This is to cool the whiskey down to near freezing so that once you add the soda water, the warmth of the whiskey does not force carbonation to leave the drink. You don’t want to over stir and add risk adding too much water to the whiskey, thus diluting it too much and making for a flat cocktail. Ice is typically around 0°F (-18°C), and whiskey freezes at -17°F (-27°C). So if you keep stirring, it will keep getting colder and colder until it becomes the same temperature as the ice, 0°F, but it doesn’t need to get that cold. The drink is getting far colder than it needs to be and gaining extra flat melted ice. It just needs to match the temperature of the soda water. Soda water will be refrigerated, making it around 34°F (1°C). Then again, you don’t know when you have hit 34°F, so just stir for 10 seconds. That will get you in the right ballpark.

3). Next, add the soda water. The ratio is 1 part whiskey to 2 – 2.5 parts soda. You’ll want to vary this based on how strongly flavored the whiskey is. You aim to balance and open up the flavors, so a more intensely flavored whiskey may want 5oz soda water to 2oz whiskey, and a more subtle whiskey would work better with 4oz soda water to 2oz whiskey. Know the whiskey and add what you think will make it taste better. Also, how you pour is essential too. Don’t be violent and pour it in. Pour gently and down the side of the glass to maintain as much carbonation as possible. The warmer and more aggressive the pour, the more bubbles will leave.

4). Finally, give it just two last stirs. Although don’t just turn the spoon in a circle; bring it to the bottom and pull the whiskey up into the soda water. Do this just two times to evenly mix the drink while losing as little carbonation as possible. A lot of work for a simple two-ingredient drink, right?

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Blood & Sand – Original Recipe And History

Blood and Sand
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Blood and Sand

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

1

servings
Calories

158

kcal
ABV

20%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make the amazing Blood and Sand cocktail from the 1934 Savoy Cocktail book.

Ingredients

  • 2/3 oz Orange Juice

  • 2/3 oz Cherry Liqueur

  • 2/3 oz Sweet Vermouth

  • 2/3 oz Scotch

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

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What Does a Blood & Sand Taste Like And Why Is It Called That?

What a gross name for such a tasty drink. It’s named after the 1922 silent film Blood and Sand. The movie is about a young matador who gets caught up in the glitz and glamour of bullfighting, has an affair, and dies while trying to redeem himself. I never saw it, that’s what IMDB says, but it sounds like a typical 1920s movie. I shouldn’t make fun of its period; one of my favorite movies, Metropolis, is from 1927. The taste is hard to describe because a lot is going on in this drink. It’s half Rob Roy/Manhattan, and the other half is tequila sunrise-like. I guess that’s the best way to describe it. It’s like a Manhattan, and a tequila sunrise had a baby.

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.

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