The Japalac Cocktail

Just because it looked pretty in the picture, I decided to make the Japalac Cocktail:

• Juice of 1/4 orange
• 0.75 ounce dry vermouth
• 0.75 ounce rye whiskey
• 1 teaspoon raspberry syrup

Combine in an iced cocktail shaker, and shake and strain into a small cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

I liked this drink. It is slightly sweet due to the syrup but it complements the rye well.

Picon Punch

After three long months, I was finally able to make an authentic Picon Punch:

• 1.0 teaspoon real pomegranate grenadine
• 2.5 ounces Amer Picon
• Soda Water
• 1.0 ounce brandy

Fill a collins glass with crushed ice. Add the real pomegranate grenadine and Amer Picon. Fill with soda water. Float brandy on top.

I had a lot of issues with this drink.

The first was getting Amer Picon. The French word “Amer” is similar to the Italian “Amaro” and it is used to describe a strong, herbal flavored liqueur. Amer Picon is supposed to have a stronger orange flavor than most Amaro, and while it is called for in a number of vintage cocktails, it is very hard to get “authentic” Amer Picon. Always hard to obtain in the States, The House of Picon radically changed the recipe in the 1970s, halving the proof, and thus modern Amer Picon can’t be used for that authentic experience.

Honeymoon Cocktail

I was looking for some sort of drink for Valentine’s Day when I found the Honeymoon Cocktail:

• 2.0 ounces Calvados
• 0.5 ounce Bénédictine
• 0.5 ounce orange curaçao
• 0.5 ounce lemon juice

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed lemon twist.

The book states that this cocktail was made famous at the Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles.

I have a great memory of the Brown Derby. My friend Howard’s graduation party was held in a private room there. Being a country boy now in the big city, I was eager to try out all sorts of new things. I can remember ordering the escargot, and for my main course I had sweetbreads. The salad course was Caesar salad, which I had never had before.

The Millionaire

The one time this phrase may actually work, “Bartender, make me a Millionaire”:

• 1.50 ounces Myers’s Original Dark Rum
• 0.75 ounce sloe gin
• 0.75 ounce apricot brandy
• juice of one fresh lime (1 to 1.5 ounces)

Shake vigorously in an iced cocktail shaker. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Okay, so I stole that line from Dr. Cocktail, and while he ended his recipe with it, I decided to use it at the beginning, so they are as different as a Martini and a Gibson.

Golden Dawn

After the Calvados Cocktail it seemed logical to explore the cocktail it was compared to, the Golden Dawn:

• 0.75 ounce (or 1.0 ounces) Calvados
• 0.75 ounce (or 1.0 ounces) dry gin
• 0.75 ounce (or 0.5 ounce) apricot brandy (Marie Brizard Apry)
• 0.75 ounce (or 0.5 ounce) orange juice
• Pomegranate grenadine

Combine all ingredients except the pomegranate grenadine and shake like crazy in an iced cocktail shaker; strain into a cocktail glass. Drop a stemless cherry with no pick into the drink as a garnish. Dribble a little real pomegranate grenadine through the drink. Do not stir.

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The Calvados Cocktail

Usually cocktails call for a dash or two of bitters, and not the large amount as in the Calvados Cocktail:

• 1.50 ounces Calvados
• 1.50 ounce orange juice
• 0.75 ounce Cointreau
• 0.75 ounce orange bitters

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Add an orange wheel to garnish.

I was introduced to Calvados through this book, as I had never heard of it before. It’s a “revered apple brandy from France” and a number of vintage cocktails call for it. Dr. Cocktail states that this cocktail was forgotten was due to the disappearance of orange bitters, but now that they have been rediscovered I have a couple of types in my collection. I bought a bottle of Stirrings Blood Orange Bitters to make Amer Picon and so I had plenty on hand for the 3/4 of a ounce this drink requires.

The Vesper

When Bond, James Bond, walks into a bar, he is known to order The Vesper:

• 3.0 ounces gin
• 1.0 ounce vodka
• 0.5 ounce Lillet Blanc

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker. Strain into a stemmed cocktail glass. Twist a large swathe of lemon peel over the surface of the drink and drop it in.

For a long time I did not like gin. But then there was the time I was at Vong’s in Chicago (sadly, now closed) with my friends Demetri and Cat. My usual go-to drink at that time was a highball of bourbon and ginger ale, but Vong’s didn’t have any ginger ale. The place was packed and Demetri ordered a martini with Bombay Sapphire gin, so rather than hold up the line I just decided to order the same to make it easy. I liked it so much I had two.