Science Of Drink

With our today cocktail – Opera Cocktail – I decide to taste two my maraschino liqueurs – LUXARDO Maraschino Originale and generic BOLS Maraschino. My first maraschino liqueur was DK Marasquin. Then I acquire the BOLS liqueur I tested both and conclude that BOLS is more interesting, natural and complex. It is so sweet and flavorfull liqueur with specific cherry taste and bright floral notes. It has a little bitternes like almonds or cherry pit in the finish. Then I obtain LUXARDO I surprised. The taste if LUXARDO liqueur is so different. This liqueur has complex specific flavor of marasca cherry with floral and almond notes. The taste is sharp, intensive and interesting. The liqueur has unique taste of marasca distillate with sharp entry, roundish palate and long finish with hint of wood.

The Opera Cocktail is so old cocktail. It was so popular in the legendary Harry’s American Bar in Paris in 1920-s. I use recipe from United Kingdom Bartenders Guild Approved cocktails (1936).

Opera Cocktail

60 ml gin
15 ml Dubonnet Rouge
15 ml maraschino liqueur
Stir well. Strain into cocktail glass. Squeeze orange peel on top.

In my opinion both cocktails are great. They have so sweet, strong and complex taste. The flavor has bright citrus, orange dominant. Actually cocktail with LUXARDO liqueur has more rich and complex taste. It is no so sweet as cocktail with BOLS. Main taste oh both cocktails is fruity-floral taste of maraschino with grape hint of Dubonnet. It is admirable cocktail.

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Congratulation! Today we have our second S.I.P. – on-line event for russophone bloggers-inbibirs. The point of this event is in investigation and exploring great classic cocktail. Our S.I.P. #2 devote to Sidecar. The Sidecar Cocktail is great stuff for researching. This great classic cocktail has interesting story, fancy composition and taste, which can to improve the taste of its consumer. The Sidecar is cocktail which has true taste.

For S.I.P.#2 I explore the way of Sidecar from its possible predecessor – the Brandy Crusta Cocktail to modern creature Mandarine Sidecar.

The history of the Sidecar creation is so unclear. According to legend the Sidecar was created during or after World War (circa 1920) in one Paris little bistro for American or French Army capitan who was driven to and from the bar in a motorcycle sidecar, hebce its name. Actually a sidecar was very popular transport among the military at that time. There are two possible places where cocktail was born. First – the legendary Paris American bar Harry and another – The Ritz Hemingway Bar. The Sidecar was first mentioned in print in 1922 into two cocktails books – Cocktails: How to Mix Them by Robert Vermiere and ABC of Mixing Cocktails by Harry MacElhone.

David Embury in his The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (1948) specify that original Sidecar contained some six or seven ingredients in place of common three. It seems that oroginal Sidecar was so close to old New Orlean cocktail – Brandy Custa. For example the recipe of Brandy Crusta Cocktail from Harry Jonson:

3 OR 4 DASHES OF ORCHARD SYRUP;
1 OR 2 DASHES OF BITTERS (BOKER’S GENUINE ONLY);
4 OR 5 DROP OF LEMON JUICE;
2 DASHES OF MARASCHINO;
3/4 OF THE GLASS FILLED WITH FINE GLASS;
1 WINE-GLASS OF BRANDY (MARTELL).

Stir up well with a spoon, strain it into the glass, dress with a little fruit, and serve.

In Jerry Thomas’es version this cocktail is much closest to modern Sidecar:

3 OR 4 DASHES OF GUM SYRUP.
2 DO. BITTERS (BOGART’S).
1 WINE-GLASS OF BRANDY.
1 OR 2 DASHES OF CURACOA.
A LITTLE OF LEMON JUICE.
A SMALL LUMP OF ICE.

First, mix the ingredients in a small tumbler, then take a fancy red wine-glass, rub a sliced lemon around the rim of the same, and dip it in pulverized white sugar, so that the sugar will adhere to the edge of the glass. Pare half a lemon the same as you would an apple (all in one piece) so that the paring will fit in the wine-glass, as shown in the cut, and strain the crusta from the tumbler into it. Then smile.

Thus first cocktail of the Sidecar exploring is Brandy Crusta. I use recipe from The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock:

Brandy Crusta

3 dashes marascino
1 dash Angostura bitters
4 dashes lemon juice
15 ml curacao
45 ml brandy
Stir well and strain into prepared glass with sugar rim. Garnish with a long lemon peel.

The Brandy Crusta Cocktail has so strong and spicy flavor and taste. It is closest to Old-Fashioned with brandy than traditional sour – the Sidecar.

The traditional Sidecar is very simple drink – base spirit (cognac), sweetener – Cointreau and sour agent – lemon juice. It is canonical sour.

Actually for Sidecar you should use real french cognac. The VS cognac is apropriate but VSOP is best choice. I compared all of my cognacs – Hennessy VS and VSOP, Martell VSOP ans Remy Martin VSOP in my Sidecars. First I tested two of common proportions – equal french style and 3:2:2 in Englesh style.

Sidecar (French style)

30 ml cognac
30 ml Cointreau
30 ml fresh lemon juice
Shake with a lot of ice. Strain into cocktail glass with sugar rim.

French style Sidecar is too sour and so tart. It is no my chice. The 3:2:2 ratio is excellent – so good balanced drink. In this ratio all VSOP give good results. But Sidecar with Martell VSOP isa little bit more flavorfull.

And in final I propose to taste some modern Sidecar. The recipe of Mandarine Sidecar I found at the diffordsguide. The adopted recipe is:

Mandarine Sidecar

30 ml Courvoisier V.S.O.P cognac
20 ml Mandarine Napoleon liqueur
20 ml fresh lemon juice
1 dash Monin Pure Cane sugar syrup (65°brix, 2:1 sugar/water)
Shake all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass with sugar rim (optional). Garnish with a lemon zest.

I use Remy Martin VSOP Cognac and my favorite demerara 2:1 syrup instead Courvoisier and Monin.

It is very balanced cocktail with main palate of friut liqueur with a cognacs hint. It is so interesting sour. Admirable drink.

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Now we explore two so similar cocktails of Prohibition Era. The Flamingo Cocktail and the Mary Pickford Cocktail. Both of this cocktails are so rare and hard to find in popular cocktails book. Both has similar composition with rum and pineapple with hint of fresh lime (Flamingo) or maraschino liqueur (Mary Pickford). Both has beatiful foam as a garnish.

Dale DeGroff suppose that cocktail Flamingo was created by famous Constante Ribalagua – owner and barman of La Floridita, Havana. The gold age of this and another cuban bar was at Prohibition. I use recipe of Flamingo Cocktail from The Craft of the Cocktail by Dale DeGroff.

Flamingo

35 ml light rum
35 ml pineapple juice
1 tsp. grenadine
1 tsp. fresh lime juice
Shake. Pour into cocktail glass.

The Flamingo Cocktail has smooth and light fruit cocktail with great rum palate. My favorite white rum – Havana Club Anejo Blanco – work extremely well in this cocktail.

The Mary Pickford Cocktail has so similar composition with maraschino liqueur instead lime juice. Dale DeGroff suppose that Mary Pickford Cocktail was invented also Constante Ribalagua but another sources report that Mary Pickford Cocktail was invented by another cuban barman – Eddie Woelke (the creator of famous El Presedente Cocktail). This cocktail created for first Hollywood superstar – Mary Pickford.

First mention of the Mary Pickford Cocktail is in Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddoc (1930) but I use version from Cocktails and Mixed Drinks by Anthony Hogg.

Mary Pickford

35 ml white rum
35 ml pineapple juice
1 tsp maraschino liqueur
1 tsp grenadine
Shake and strain in the cocktail glass.

Wow! The Mary Pickford Cocktail is awesome drink. It is one of the best cocktail that I drink!

Dale DeGroff also specify another recipe of Mary Pickford Cocktail – “the Flamingo Cocktail plus orange curacao”. It is worth to try.

Mary Pickford #2

35 ml white rum
35 ml pineapple juice
1 tsp orange curacao
1 tsp grenadine
1 tsp fresh lime juice
Shake and strain in the cocktail glass.

This version of Mary Pickford Cocktail has well-balanced smooth taste with pleasant fruit and citrus taste with great rum palate. Great drink for hot summer evening. By the way, best orange liqueur for this cocktail in my opinion is Cointreau.

This MxMo hoster is Mike at Hobson’s Choice. He propose so interesting and so wide theme for this MxMo – Punch. I think that any so big cocktail with many ingredients is appropriate. Some times ago I found one interesting mixed drink in one of my cocktail book – Imbibe! by D. Wondrich. It is Gin Punch. This old and rare cocktail come into my notice with one uncommon ingredient – the Holland Gin. The recipe from Imbibe! by D. Wondrich looks like that:

1 TABLE-SPOONFUL OF RASPBERRY SYRUP
2 TABLE-SPOONFUL OF POWDERED SUGAR
1 WINE GLASS [2 oz] OF WATER
1 1/2 WINE GLASS [3 oz] OF HOLLAND GIN
[JUICE OF] 1/2 SMALL-SIZED LEMON
2 DASHES MARASCHINO
2 SLICES OF ORANGE
1 PIECE OF PINEAPPLE

Fill the tumbler with shaved ice.
Shake well, and ornament the top with berries in season.
Sip through a glass tube or straw.

My first interpretation of this recipe include dutch gin (genever, geneva) – Jonge Bols Graanjenever (or Plymouth Gin, or London Dry Gin as D. Wondrich specified). I use berry grenadine by Routin instead raspberry syrup. I decrease a quntity of sugar for 2 little bar-spoon and use 1 oz of fresh-pressed lemon juice:

Gin Punch

15 ml raspberry syrup
2 tsp. sugar powder
60 ml water
90 ml Holland gin (genever) / Plymouth gin / London dry gin
30 ml fresh pressed lemon juice
2 dash maraschino liqueur
2 slices of orange
1 piece of pineapple
a few berries
Shake all ingredients (except fruits) with a lot of ice. Pour into tumbler with shaved or crushed ice and garnish with fruit and berries. Serve with a straw.

The Gin Punch in this version is admirable drink. It has very smooth sweet and sour taste with berry and fruit palate. The best results I obtain with genever and Plymouth gin. This mixed drink is so similar to Fraises Fizz.

Also I try version with raspberry syrup. In original version the Gin Punch is amazing drink. It has very interesting taste with main palate of gin with pleasant raspberry note. It is not so sweet as version with berry grenadine. It is good-balanced light and refreshing drink.

I posted the Martinez Cocktail on my blog before, but I decided to return to this cocktail for detailed investigation. The Martinez Cocktail is one of my favorite classic cocktail.

The Martinez Cocktail is very old cocktail. Some peoples think that Martinez is the precursor of most famous cocktail of the world – The Martini cocktail. The author of Martinez Cocktail is legendary Jerry Thomas.

Some imbabers-bloggers give attention to this cocktail too. You can find more interesting information about Martinez on one of my favorite blog Oh, Gosh! (by Jay Hapburn) and, of course, on Spirits And Cocktails (by Jamie Boudreau).

First I discovered old-style version of Martinez Cocktail, which is more closest to original recipe by Jerry Thomas.

Martinez (Old Style)

60 ml sweet vermouth
30 ml gin (Old Tom gin is preferable)
1 tsp maraschino liqueur
1 dash bitters
Stir. Strain in cocktail glass. Garnish with a quarter of lemon wheel.

It is amazing cocktail with right and elegant taste. It is so week as for my taste, but rich complex taste of this version is very good for me.

Next step of my investigation is recipe of Martinez from CocktailDB. In this Martinez we can to try orange curacao as substitute of maraschino liqueur and dry vermouth instead sweet.

Martinez (Dry Style)

35 ml gin
30 ml dry vermouth
7 ml orange curacao (or maraschino liqueur)
1 dash orange bitters
Stir. Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

This Martinez is so closest to Martini Cocktail. It has so dry, aromatic taste (I use MB Orange Curacao 30%). This cocktail is very good aperetive, but this version is not my choice.

This version of Martinez with maraschino liqueur has beautiful light sweet aromatic taste with floral undertones. This taste is more preferable for my understanding of Martinez Cocktail.

And of course I try modern version of Martinez Cocktail by Jamie Boudreau. It is one of my favorite cocktail.

Martinez (Modern style)

45 ml gin
45 ml sweet vermouth
2 tsp maraschino liqueur
2 dash orange bitters
Stir. Strain into cocktail glass and garnish with lemon slice.

Magnificent cocktail! It is smooth and very aromatic cocktail. Sometimes I use Angostura aromatic bitters instead orange bitters, this work well in my opinion.

In conclusion I try my own version of this classic cocktail. I like to use sweet citrus vermouth by Cinzano in my Martinez.

My Martinez

35 ml gin
35 ml sweet citrus vermouth (I prefer Cinzano Limetto)
2 tsp maraschino liqueur
2 dash Angostura bitter
Stir. Strain into cocktail glass and garnish with lemon slice.

It is beautiful cocktail with smooth aromatic citrus taste.