Blue Moon Cocktail (1940's recipe)

Difford's Guide
Discerning Drinkers (32 ratings)

Serve in a

Coupe glass
Ingredients:
2 fl oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
1/3 fl oz Rothman & Winter Crème de Violette Liqueur
1/3 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1/6 fl oz Monin Pure Cane Syrup
1/3 fl oz Egg white (pasteurised) or Aquafaba (chickpea water) or 3 dashes Fee Brothers Fee Foam cocktail foamer
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Read about cocktail measures and measuring.

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
  2. Prepare raspberries for garnish.
  3. SHAKE all ingredients with ice and strain back into shaker.
  4. DRY SHAKE (without ice).
  5. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  6. Garnish with raspberries.

Allergens:


Recipe contains the following allergens:

  • Egg white (pasteurised) – Eggs
New Year's Day image

New Year's Day

If Auld Lang Syne left your throat dry? And dancing left your feet sore? And drinking left your head fuzzy? Then resist the temptation to curl up in bed

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Hot Toddy Day

In the days before ice was easily available - and in most parts of the world, you needed to be pretty much royalty to own an ice house and keep it stocked

The day Prohibition started image

The day Prohibition started

One minute after midnight on this day in 1920, the Volstead Act became law and Prohibition descended on the United States, making it illegal to possess,

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AKA:

Blue Devil Cocktail

Strength & taste guide:


Review:

A relation of the Aviation [see history], the Blue Moon features on the back label of Créme Yvette bottles dating from the 1940's. This cocktail became so synonymous with Créme Yvette that when production of the liqueur ceased in 1969 the cocktail was also forgotten. That was until 2010, when Rob Cooper relaunched Créme Yvette, a product formerly made by his father. In so doing he also revived interest in this cocktail. I worked with Rob on St-Germain at this time and I can attest to the efforts and expense he went to, in an effort to authentically replicate his family's liqueur.

However, the Blue Moon is also made with crème de violette liqueur rather than Créme Yvette. Using Crème Yvette creates a pale pink drink (pictured) while crème de violette produces a blue-grey coloured drink that befits its name. The difference in colour leads me to conclude that the Blue Moon was originally made with crème de violette and then reimagined to market Crème Yvette.

Incidentally, blue moon is an astronomical term for the second of two full moons to occur in the same calendar month.

History:

This cocktail is said to have been created around 1940 by Oscar Tschirky at Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, New York, USA. Better known as "Oscar of the Waldorf", he was maître d'hôtel at Waldorf-Astoria and is also credited for inventing the Waldorf salad and Eggs Benedict. Although he never worked as a chef, capitalising on his reputation at the hotel, he also authored a cocktail book.

Nutrition:

One serving of Blue Moon Cocktail (1940's recipe) contains 181 calories.

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 20.68% alc./vol. (41.36° proof)
  • 19.6 grams of pure alcohol
Difford's Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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New Year's Day image

New Year's Day

If Auld Lang Syne left your throat dry? And dancing left your feet sore? And drinking left your head fuzzy? Then resist the temptation to curl up in bed

Hot Toddy Day image

Hot Toddy Day

In the days before ice was easily available - and in most parts of the world, you needed to be pretty much royalty to own an ice house and keep it stocked

The day Prohibition started image

The day Prohibition started

One minute after midnight on this day in 1920, the Volstead Act became law and Prohibition descended on the United States, making it illegal to possess,

Beer Can Appreciation Day image

Beer Can Appreciation Day

Here at Difford's Guide we're huge fans of beer cans – indeed we prefer cans to bottles. So we're happy to support this marketing gimmick of a day from

Burns Night image

Burns Night

The evening of January 25th is when Scots everywhere hold Burns Suppers in honour of the birth of Scotland's favourite poet and son, Robert Burns. Born

Brandy Alexander Day image

Brandy Alexander Day

For no particular reason we know of, today has been declared Brandy Alexander Day. Hoorah!

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