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...

Mint Freeze

Another day of teleworking, another cocktail! This evening my Sweetheart was over for dinner so he had the amazing opportunity to be a taste tester for a cocktail. Lucky him! Still no baked goods. I thought it would be nice to take a break from summer thoughts and try something minty, the Mint Freeze from Stouffer's Here How! from 1950.

Just look at that description! How Could I pass it up?! 

Sadly I didn't have crushed ice on hand. I was able to crush some by hand but I don't think it was the same.

Using the end of my white rum and some fresh mint form my patio.

There is something just crazy about a bright green drink! I was less than impressed with the bits of mint floating in it. Kinda weird...

Oh so minty!

This was a bright refreshing drink. Tasted more like spearmint rather then plain old mint. It could be the mint leaves. I do not remember what type of mint I planted/borrowed from another place...It looks better on my patio! I think it would taste better with crushed ice or as a snow cone.

My Rating: Interesting but will probably not make again.

Dylan's Rating: Whoa! That's mint! Tastes like a medicine I've had...not bad though.

Pineapple Dream

Well, I never expected to live through a time quite like this. Pandemics are in history books not in a modern America. Between the crazy people, the sick people, and trying to work from home I desperately needed a dose of summer.  Here is my summer, a Pineapple Dream for the 1950's Here's How! by Stouffer's.

All ingredients remind me of summer. Pineapple...Lime...Rum... :)

I can't remember why I had several small cans of pineapple juice but by lucky coicidence I did. Yeah!

Super easy to mix up and looks beautiful.

Yep. This is summer. Fruity and delicious. Now I just need a beach to relax on...
I may have had a couple just to make sure it is good tasting. It is. Even after the 3rd one.

My Rating: Keeper!

Hilty Dilty

Crazy times call for cocktails! I actually made this over a week ago, before the world went nuts, but it seems the perfect time to post. This beauty is from Here's How! by Stouffer's from 1950. The cat is quite skeptical...

 I have high hopes for this. Just look at the description! How can you not?!

Just in case you, like I, had no idea what a California Cocktail glass is. I don't have one and never knew I needed it.  Guess I am going to have to hit the thrift shops.

For a while every cocktail recipe I looked at required apricot brandy. So I bought some. The only one I could find. And now I can't find any recipes that have apricot brandy in them...other than this one, of course.

 My cat still seems skeptical...

 I need to make something without grenadine. I'm getting a little tired of drinking pink.

Skeptical cat should not be so skeptical. This was delicious! and reminded me of summer, with a twist ...I miss summer. Easy to throw together with just a couple of ingredients. The apricot keeps the drink from being too sweet or peachy. Definitely high on the favorite list.

My Rating: If you have all the ingredients, through one together!

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!

Bimini Cocktail

A few warm days reminds me why I love summer so much. So I had to celebrate with a summery drink! The Bimini Cocktail from Here's How! by Stouffer's is a 1950 Tiki-style drink celebration.

This one promises to be 'invigorating'...

 I love simple cocktails. One of the best things about these older cocktail recipes is the simple ingredients and methods. Most of the time.

 It looks so pretty! Bright pink and fruity!

I love this drink! It tastes like the beach. I bet it would taste even better with fresh lime juice. Usually I am forced to try the drinks out alone (work frowns upon drinking during work hours) but I had my sweetheart over. He actually asked for a second. It looks like we will be sipping on these this summer on the back porch!

My Rating: So Delicious! I am ready for another!

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!