Gin Fizz

By now I think everyone needs a good drink. Gin Fizzes are one of my favorites because they are so easy and delicious! But I have always wanted to try the variations. Being stuck inside with a crazy boyfriend makes for a perfect time to try some drinks! I pulled out both the 1935 The Savoy Cocktail Book and the 1950 Here's How! by Stouffer's to get a nice variety of recipes.

I used the recipes from Stouffer's as a base since it was a lot more specific.

I am still trying to figure out what exactly a 'glass' is. Thanks Savoy.

I typically like to use lime juice in my basic gin fizz but I decided to stick with the lemon juice. Kept the generic club soda but went a little fancy with Hendrick's gin. The boyfriend loves Hendrick's.

When you ask for help be prepared for a little bit of craziness!

From left to right: regular Gin Fizz, Silver Fizz, and Golden Fizz. All in whatever glasses I could find.

A variation of the Ruby Fizz. We had an interesting debate on what exactly a 'splash' was. I don't know why. I don't write the cocktail books!

I didn't have rum but decided to have a try with gin instead.

I had a little bit of Mango Mango preserves left and thought it might be tasty in a drink.

It was quite a mixture of good and bland. The silver and golden fizz were creamier tasting but I didn't think they added anything to it. Ruby fizz was my favorite but needed a little bit more Chambord. The Pineapple Fizz was also nice but, again, I thought it needed more pineapple. The flavor was very light. The mango was a bust. Not bad tasting but very, very little flavor. I was expecting something a little more tropical. All in all a nice experimental evening. I have had other cocktails that included raw egg so that was nothing too out there for me although it was something new for my sweetie. 

My Rating: I'm going to stick with the basics, regular old gin fizz...with lime.

Boyfriend Rating: None of them were bad but the pineapple was my favorite.

Prince's Smile Cocktail

Just open a cocktail book and pick a page! Ta Da! The Savoy Cocktail Book gives us Prince's Smile Cocktail from 1934. I wish I knew the story behind this name.

Easy to make but I hate dashes. Just give me exact measurements! 

Yep, avoiding people and shops so I used bottled lemon juice. The bottle is not pretty enough to include. I'm sure fresh is better but bottled is easier.

Looks pretty! Smells nice and fruity.

Okay...not bad...not special though.

I made this because I had everything on hand and the name is intriguing however it is nothing special. Maybe fresh lemon juice or calvados might make it a little more exciting. If you have everything, give it a try but your not missing anything if you don't.

My Rating: Just okay. Don't know why the prince is smiling...

Star Cocktail No. 2

Well, not a lot people are wanting to be taste testers at the moment so I guess I'll have to stick to cocktails for the time being. I was just looking for something quick and refreshing that may go well with a bubble bath. The 1930's Savoy Cocktail Book gave me the Star Cocktail No. 2. The Star Cocktail No. 2 was too complex for this evening.

 Just two ingredients. It's going to be hard to mess this up! Luckily I had purchased a bottle of vermouth on my last shopping trip. I didn't have a cocktail in mind but I had seen it listed for several different ones so I picked it up.

I didn't have applejack but apple brandy is close. A quick online search and I discovered that Italian vermouth is sweet, red vermouth and French vermouth is dry, white vermouth. Further search revealed that vermouth is a type of fortified wine. So, this will be fun!

So easy and pretty and, most importantly, not pink! 

You could smell the sweetness as I mixed the drink. I didn't know what to expect but this was not it. Usually cocktails are very light but the vermouth made this one thick feeling. It tasted much more like a wine than a cocktail. With the apple it felt like a late summer drink. I could drink this under the fall foliage.

My Rating: Great if you have the ingredients but not too special.

Monkey Gland

I have been busy lately with dog and house sitting. It's a nice job but doesn't let me spend a lot of time at my own place. When I finally had a some time off the weather was crap. So, Cocktail Time! The problem with making cocktails is large number of different liquors and mixers and such that is needed. I am slowly adding to my bar with each cocktail but I am discovering that some of the simplest are some of the most delicious.

A quick flip through The Savoy Cocktail book found this interesting one. It is named after the experiments of the 1920's where Serge Voronoff grafted monkey testicle tissue onto human testicles for ... therapeutic purposes... It did not work. But it did give us a cocktail!

The recipe from The Savoy Cocktail Book is not very exact. Yeah...

This version is from a wonderful book my boyfriend got me for the Holidays about Paris in the 1920's. It is older than the Savoy version and is a lot lighter on the absinthe and grenadine.

 I may or may not have used this as an excuse to buy absinthe.

Here is the older, original cocktail. My cute salt and pepper couple mirror my reaction.

The Savoy version was a bit better but their smiles are way too big.

All in all not a good cocktail. I have discovered that I am not a fan of absinthe. If you are a fan of licorice tasting liquor then you might want to give this a try. Start with the older, lighter version and add dashes as you want.

My Rating: Not good. Not therapeutic!

Hurricane Cocktail

Rainy and overcast days are for lazing about around the house, coffee (or cocktail) in hand, real clothes are optional. I may have gone to the store in pj's. Nice pj's of course! Between actually cleaning my apartment and deep cleaning my office I did not feel like doing anything extra. No cooking. No baking. But I ran out of ciders and really really wanted a drink. And not just I could have an excuse to dance around the house in my pj's, blasting 80's music, pretending to clean...

Since I was not heading out in the rain again, I had to make do with what I had on hand and I had everything for this, The Hurricane Cocktail from the 1934, Savoy Cocktail Book.

I used Sunset Hills Virginia Gin, Jameson Irish Whiskey, and good old Dekyuper creme de menthe. The lemon was for picture purposes only. I used bottled lemon juice. Gotta use what you have.

Holy Crap! Is this thing green! Bright and minty! I probably should have made this drink over the holidays. I'm not certain what it has to do with a hurricane.

This has me feeling all fancy...Not put-on-real-clothes fancy but I couldn't clean my bathtub holding this thing!

I am not certain how I feel about this drink...It's not bad but kinda weird. The mint hits you full in the face first with the whiskey and gin slowly slipping in behind. The lemon juice helps cut down the mint some but, oh the mint.

The first sip is terrible minty but the aftertaste is nice and smooth. I tried to describe it to my wonderful boyfriend, apparently I had a strange look on my face, but couldn't. I then drank the rest of the glass without sharing.

My Rating: I don't know!

Friends and Family: Will update this later. I am definitely going to make them try this!

Fallen Angel Cocktail

Sometimes I need a little help baking. Pulling out The Savoy, I found this interesting gem. I'm not a big fan of mint drinks but this has gin so I was willing to give it a try.

I love the note at the end of the recipe.

Everything gathered! I can't remember why I originally bought creme de menthe...It's not something I normally keep at my bar.

 Looks minty green!

Well...not my favorite. I tried it with lemon juice but it may taste a bit better with lime. It was a little too minty for me and felt like it needed something more, like a double chocolate cake.

My Rating: Just okay. Might try again with lime next year.

Brandy Gump Cocktail

This evening I was feeling lazy and looking for an easy cocktail recipe. I came across this one in the Savoy Cocktail book. I have to admit the only thing that drew me to it was the fact that I had all the ingredients.

It used the end of my brandy. I had never heard of a 'hooker' as a measurement so I looked it up online. Helpful hint: Look up 'cocktail measurements.' Do not look up 'how much is a hooker.'

Yep. I love my radio.

It's kind of a drab peachy color. I'm not overly impressed with the taste. It's a little too strong for my taste as I am not a big fan of brandy. A brief search online reveals that most modern interpretations of the drink include more grenadine and less brandy. That definitely sounds more appealing. I may try that another day once I restock my brandy.


My Rating: Just okay

Alexander's Sister Cocktail

The temperature jumps this winter are starting to annoy me. I was hunting for another hot drink recipe when I came across this gem in the Savoy Cocktail Book. "Ladies are advised to avoid.."? Challenge accepted!

I am quite fond of gin drinks and I like mint...I was nervous about cream with alcohol.

It is as bright and minty as it looks! I think it would be fantastic for a holiday party or with a super chocolatey cake. Now I have to figure out what to do with a whole bottle of creme de menthe.

My Rating: Intense but good

I am ready for summer!

French 75

A nice relaxing evening deserves a great drink.
I can't remember how I got this fantastic 1933 edition of The Savoy Cocktail Book but it has one of my favorite covers.

"Being in the main a complete compendium of the Cocktails, Rickeys, Daisies, Slings, Shrubs, Smashes, Fizzes, Juleps, Cobblers, Fixes & other Drinks known & vastly appreciated in this year of grace 1934 with sundry notes of amusement & interest concerning them together with subtle observations upon wines & their special occasions Being in the particular an elucidation of the manners & customs of people of quality in a period of some equality. The Cocktail recipes in this book have been complied by Harry Craddock of the Savoy Hotel, London."

This book has some fantastic illustrations!

All the cocktails are listed in alphabetical order so it made finding the French 75 very easy. The recipe does not differ too much from modern recipes I have tried. The one big difference was the use of powdered sugar instead of simple syrup.

Beautiful and delicious!

Overall it was tasty. I decided to use a shaker to mix everything (except for the champagne of course) but the powdered sugar still did not dissolve well. This made the drink more sour and less sweet than I would have liked.

My rating: Good and fun but I'll use simple syrup next time

Friends and Family Rating: Unknown. It was too cold for visitors.