The Daily Tippler

World Cocktail Week Starts Today!

In honor of world cocktail week 2010; I’m going to try to distill (pun intended) the history of the drink into seven posts. Because this will be brief at best, and because I make no effort to hide my plagiarism, for anyone who wants more info I highly recommend “Imbibe” by David Wondrich.

One supposes that I would start with the inventor of the cocktail, but trying to figure that out is like trying to figure out who decided to drink water first. Cocktails by today’s definition have been around as long as distilled beverages; since they consist of mixing any distilled beverage with something else. As early as 1880 there was scholarly, albeit inconclusive, research about the invention of the cocktail. Therefore, from a purely organizational standpoint, I offer the following incomplete time line:

-Wine Punch: wine being the earliest of spirits and made by every know civilization mixed with something

-Punch: wine gives way to other stronger spirits as the base for punch

-Collins, Fizz, Sour: the punch bowl behind the bar gives way to the single drink mixed on the bar

-Slings, Juleps, Toddies: Enter Sugar

-Cocktails: Enter Bitters

The word cocktail starts to appear in print at the very beginning of the 1800s; one can assume it had been around for a decent time before that. In the beginning and for awhile it is used to refer to drinks with Spirit, Sugar & Bitters; all though that is no longer really the definition I’ll leave it at that for today.

Plain Cocktail:
Jerry Thomas 1862

-3 or 4 dashes Simple Syrup
-2 Dashes Bitters
-1 Wine Glass (2 oz.) Spirits
-2 Dashes Curacoa

Squeeze Lemon Peel in a glass; fill 1/3 with ice and stir.

For those of you who made the Silver Fizz yesterday and feel bad throwing away the Egg Yoke after separting it from the white; I offer the Antithesis of the Silver Fizz.

The Golden Fizz:

Well actually a Rob Roy; which basically is a Manhattan but made with Scotch. There are not a lot of cocktails made with Scotch because it really is best on it’s own. For this reason the Rob Roy has really fallen out of popularity over the past 60 odd years and may never return. With this in mind I tried to improve on the recipe and make it a little more palatable, but feel free to let me know your thoughts. I recommend using a run of the mill lighter Scotch like a Dewar’s or low level Johnny Walker; anything really good would be a waste.

The Improved Rob Roy:

-3 oz. Scotch 
-Splash Sweet Vermouth
-Dash Creme de Casis
-Fee Brothers Cherry Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker over ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

This is how I make them.

My Manhattan:

-3oz. Sazerac Rye Whiskey
-1 Splash Antica Formulae Sweet Vermouth
-1 Splash Luxardo Maraschino
- 2 Dashes Fee Brothers Cherry Bitters

Combine ingredients in a shaker over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

All this week I will be offering different recipes for and variations on the Manhattan. A classic cocktail that dates back to the mid 1800’s there are many versions & variations. I ‘ll start out with the basic formula and offer four other recipes I find noteworthy.

Since Absinthe has recently returned to the market in the United States I thought I would include this recipe from 1888.

The Manhattan Cocktail (1888):

-2oz. Rye Whiskey
-1oz. Sweet Vermouth
-1 Bar spoon Absinthe
-1 Dash Simple Syrup
-1 Dash Angostura Bitters

Combine all ingredients, except Absinthe,  in a shaker over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Float Absinthe on top. Garnish with a Lemon Twist.

All this week I will be offering different recipes for and variations on the Manhattan. A classic cocktail that dates back to the mid 1800’s there are many versions & variations. I ‘ll start out with the basic formula and offer four other recipes I find noteworthy.

You can make a sweet Manhattan and vary the taste in interesting ways by removing the Sweet Vermouth entirely and using another sweet liquid. As you’ll see from some of the suggestions below it doesn’t even have to be liquor. (If you use the Curacao it is technically an Approve Cocktail)

The Sweet Manhattans:

-2 1/2 oz. Rye Whiskey
-1/2 oz. Luxardo Maraschino or Maple Syrup or Orange Curacao or Grenadine  
-1 Dash Angostura Bitters

Combine ingredients in a shaker over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish as you see fit.

All this week I will be offering different recipes for and variations on the Manhattan. A classic cocktail that dates back to the mid 1800’s there are many versions & variations. I ‘ll start out with the basic formula and offer four other recipes I find noteworthy.

If you like Manhattans this recipe is tastier then it sounds. It also probably dates back before the 1930 recipe and may have been served as a Manhattan depending on the bar you were in. Feel free to add a dash of Simple Syrup if you want it a little sweeter.

The Perfect Manhattan:

-2oz. Rye Whiskey
-1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth
-1/2 oz. Dry Vermouth
-1 Dash Angostura Bitters

Combine ingredients in a shaker over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry & lemon twist.

All this week I will be offering different recipes for and variations on the Manhattan. A classic cocktail that dates back to the mid 1800’s there are many versions & variations. I ‘ll start out with the basic formula and offer four other recipes I find noteworthy.

All this week I will be offering different recipes for and variations on the Manhattan. A classic cocktail that dates back to the mid 1800’s there are many versions & variations. I ‘ll start out with the basic formula and offer four other recipes I find noteworthy. This recipe dates from the 1930’s; all though the cocktail is older I chose this because it is the variation most common today. With one exception: most people have cutback on the Vermouth in favor of more Whiskey; but you can adjust the proportions to your liking.

The Manhattan Cocktail:

-2oz. Rye Whiskey
-1oz. Sweet Vermouth
-1 Dash Angostura Bitters

Combine ingredients in a shaker over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

The Maple Sazerac:

-3 oz. Rye Whiskey
-1 Bar Spoon Absinthe
-2 Dashes Brown Sugar Syrup or 1 Dash Maple Syrup
-2 Dashes Peychaud Bitters

Combine all ingredients, except Bitters,  in a shaker over ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add bitters and garnish with a twist.