The Daily Tippler

So how does Cocktail go from being one of many drinks to being “the” Drink. This is two part story and here goes part one:

All though no one knows the exact where’s and when’s of the story there is a lot of evidence to suggest that Cocktail originated in the Northeast and spread from there. In it’s early days it was looked down on upon as it transitioned from morning tonic to all-day and evening drink. During this time two things were incorporated that helped boost the reputation and popularity of Cocktail: Ice and Vermouth.

Ice had been used in various drinks like the Julep for decades before it made it into the Cocktail in what seems to be the 1860’s. The Italians (sweet) & the French (Dry) had been trying to penetrate the American tippling market with Vermouth since the early 1800’s. It does, however, not seem to take hold until finding it’s way into the Manhattan. Around the 1890’s we start to see the role of bitters diminish and the use of Vermouth and ice skyrocket; bringing the Cocktail a little closer to what we are used to today.

Manhattan, Formula #1 (Old Standard)
How to Mix Drinks – Barkeeper’s Handbook, 1884

-2 or 3 Dashes Peruvian Bitters
-1 or 2 Dashes Simple Syrup
-1 1/2 oz. Whiskey
-1 1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth

Fill Mixing glass 3/4 with shaved ice, stir, strain into a Fancy cocktail glass.

It is, I’m totally serious…

No I’m not. Nobody really knows where the name came from and there are a lot of stories floating around. Here’s one that at least involves fowl:

A tavern near Elmsford, New York was popular with the officers of the Revolutionary soldiers of Washington and Lafayette. The American troops preferred whiskey or gin, the French preferred wine or vermouth. All enjoyed a bit of brandy or rum. Sometimes late in the evenings, in a spirit of camaraderie, the spirits were mixed from one cup to another during toasts. A soldier stole a rooster from the tavern owner’s neighbor, who was believed to be a Tory supporter of George III of the United Kingdom. The rooster was promptly cooked and served to the customers, with the tail feathers used to adorn the accompanying drinks. The toasts accompanying this meal were “vive le cocktail” and the mixed drinks were so called ever after. (Wikipedia)

Westbrook Cocktail:
Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930
Serves 6.

-5 1/4 oz gin
-2 1/4 oz sweet vermouth
-1 1/2 oz whisky
-2 bar spoons sugar

Shake with ice and strain into 6 cocktail glasses

I’m calling this drink “Off the Cuff” because it is a little silly. But, I couldn’t resist ending the week this way; and it is Friday.

Off the Cuff:

-2 oz. Dolin Dry
-1/2 oz. Dolin Blanc
-1/4 oz. Dolin Sweet
-1/4 oz. Green Chartreuse

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass over ice and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Angostura, the people that make the bitters, also make Rum. Many of you probably know this all ready, but for those of you who don’t they are the largest Rum producer in Trinidad. They make a Rum called 10 Cane which is only for export, so you can get it here but not there. It is on the sweeter side, which means they are probably targeting the US market; I think it’s great. I also thought that it and the Vermouth Bianco might go nicely together. This recipe also requires Basil Syrup; which is made the same way as the Mint Syrup, but with about 30 Basil Leaves instead of Mint.

The Ten Cane’er:

-2 3/4 oz. 10 Cane Rum
-1 Barspoon Dolin Blanc
-1/2 Barspoon Luxardo Maraschino
-1 Barspoon Lemon Juice
-1 Barspoon Basil Syrup

Combine all ingredients in a shaker over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Rub the rim of the glass with a lemon twist and garnish with the twist.

I’m beginning to sound like a broken record with these summer drinks, but the floral character of Bianco just pushes itself that way. The Northeast has had an exceptionally good summer for cucumbers with all of the rain we had in June. And, when cucumbers make it into cocktails they can be pretty refreshing on a hot day. This drink requires Mint Syrup, so I will give you that recipe first.

Mint Syrup:
Makes roughly 14 oz.

Muddle about 30 mint leaves in a cup of sugar. Boil a cup of water and let it cool slightly. Pour the hot water over the mix and stir it lightly. Let cool and strain through cheesecloth.

The Bumper Cucumber:

-3 oz. Hendrick’s Gin
-Splash Dolin Blanc
-2 Barspoons Mint Syrup
-4 Slices of Cucumber
-Soda Water to top

Muddle the cucumber slices in the bottom of a shaker until all are broken. Add the Mint Syrup and allow it to macerate for half a minute. Add the Gin & Vermouth, fill with ice and stir. Strain into an ice filled Highball glass, top with soda and garnish with a cucumber slice. Serve with a straw.

Reiterating for the 3rd time; Vermouth Bianco does not work in your typical Martini; it over powers vodka and does nothing for straight Gin. Another thing that doesn’t work in a typical Martini is Holland Gin. So, I thought, based on the floral sweetness of the Bianco it might be a good way to cut the edge on the Holland Gin; it worked.

The Un-Martini:

-2 1/2 oz. Bols Genever
-1/4 oz. Dolin Blanc

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass over ice and stir. Strain into chilled Cocktail Glass and garnish with a Lemon Twist.

So after making my purchase of Dolin Blanc last week, for the benefit of The Tippler, I got a lot of ideas about cocktails it could work in. I had thought about giving three recipes on Friday, but why make so much extra work for myself. Instead, I realized I could probably stretch it to 5; so all this week original recipes featuring Vermouth Bianco.

I mentioned last week that, all though not great in a Martini, the Bianco slides nicely into the Manhattan; giving it a lighter edge for Summer:

The Summer Manhattan

-3oz. Sazerac Rye Whiskey
-Splash Dolin Blanc
-Splash Luxardo Maraschino
- 2 Dashes Fee Brothers Cherry Bitters

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass over ice and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a Bing Cherry.

Did  you know there is a third type of Vermouth?

I personally found this out pretty recently; it’s called Bianco and it is a White Wine based semisweet vermouth. It is made by all the major producers, Cinzano, Martini & Rossi, so I picked up a bottle of the Dolin Bianco. It is not as assertive in flavor as it’s brethren with a lighter more floral character.  I would imagine that it is actually infused with some flowers and other sweet things. It doesn’t make a great martini, but it can be used to make a lighter more summer friendly Manhattan.  If you pick-up a bottle, and I recommend you do, think of it more like a liqueur or an interesting additive for fruit based drinks.

Vermouth Cocktail:

-2 oz. Dry Vermouth
-1 oz. Bianco Vermouth
-1 Dash Orange Bitters

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass over ice and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Like Sweet Vermouth, Dry Vermouth’s are made from secret recipes of  botanicals, but skewing to the bitter spectrum; like Dill and Marjoram. I wouldn’t personally like to think of Dry Vermouth as bitter, but more crisp and assertive. All though an additive in many cocktails, Dry Vermouth  is probably most famous for it’s role as second fiddle in the Martini.  Which brings us back to the NY Times article from Sunday:

Around 1960 Noilly Prat noticed that the amount of Dry Vermouth selling in America had been declining.  The reason, they determined, was that the amount being used in Martini’s was decreasing nationwide. In order to reverse this trend Noilly created a new recipe for export that was tailored to American palates. The tailoring involved making the flavor and color more neutral; in effect making the spirit less noticeable in the drink. What should have been obvious is that making something more innocuous doesn’t create desire for it. In my mind all this did was pave the way for the Vodka Martini and eventually the Dirty Martini.

The combination of Dry Vermouth and Gin is very specific and replacing the Gin with Vodka does not taste nearly the same. But, combine the all ready decreasing amount of Vermouth with an increased neutrality of flavor and suddenly 3 oz. of cold Vodka seems like a pretty good idea. Next up you have 3 oz. of cold Gin with not so much as a cube of ice to soften the bite;  you too would be craving some extra Olive Brine. This all boils down to a bar scene where barely a wisp of vermouth makes it into these drinks

My goal here is not to be disparaging to the above cocktails; as so many have before me. What I would like to do is suggest something that I think has been realized by the current cocktail resurgence; evidenced in the fact that Noilly is exporting the original Dry Vermouth recipe to this country.  Everybody should  try a Gin Martini with a 2 to 1 ratio of good Gin and good Vermouth. If you do you will really see the silkiness and roundness that probably attracted people to it in the first place; in fact they were originally made at 1 to 1.

Plain Vermouth Cocktail:

-2 oz. Dry Vermouth
-1 Barspoon Maraschino Liqueur
-1 Barspoon Absinthe

Combine Ingredients in a mixing glass over ice and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry.

In addition to fortification Vermouth really gets it’s flavor from the infusion of herbs and spices. Vermouths are made from closely guarded recipes and each brand has it’s own distinct character in the two major categories. Botanicals used in the infusion are far ranging, but one can assume that Sweet probably contains things like Cinnamon and Cardamon. The Sweets are well know for the Manhattan and mixing well with darker spirits, but they make great additives to a lot of things. And, if you really like them, drinking Sweet Vermouth on the rocks with a lemon twist is a great aperitif.

Tulip Cocktail:

-1 1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth
-1 1/2 oz. Calvados
-Dash Apricot Brandy
-Dash Lemon Juice

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