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!

Gandy Cocktail

I filled my house with wine and cider in preparation for Hurricane Florence and then it decided to not travel all the way up to Virginia. Not that I'm complaining! But I was so ready for a storm or, at least, heavy rain. Instead we got extreme humidity and a breeze. Okay. It gave me time to wander through recipes. This interesting cocktail from Here's How! by Stouffer's seems to have a little bit of lots of things. I prefer simple cocktails but somehow had all the ingredients for this.

 This is very different from the Gandy Dancer Cocktail!

Lots of a little bit...

 Why does everything I make come out green or bright pink?!

It was a bright, interesting drink. It doesn't make a lot so I would probably either double the recipe or serve it in a smaller glass. All in all a nice light citrusy drink.

My Rating: Not bad. I would make again if I had everything on hand.

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

Pink Lady

Time for a cocktail! Browsing through my 2 cocktail books I found the same cocktail done 2 different ways. I had to try and compare both! Let's go try the Pink Lady.

The recipe from The Savoy only has 3 ingredients. I'm a little concerned about the egg whites...

Stouffer's had a couple of more ingredients but still had that egg white.

They look exactly the same. So Pink!!

Savoy's:

Stouffer's:

Wow! These were 2 very different drinks! The Savoy's was terrible. Awful awful stuff! After one horrible sip I moved over to the Stouffer's which turned out great. I loved the fruit punch flavor! So I thought I would give the Savoy another chance but nope. Still bad.

My Rating: Stick with the Stouffer's