Creole Contentment

How to make:

STIR all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled glass.

Garnish:

Luxardo Maraschino cherry

Comment:

If using a sweeter Madeira such as Verdelho/Rainwater (medium dry) or Bual (medium sweet) you'll need to adjust this finely balanced cocktail. Even Baker himself says says it "needs a little trimming". However, dry Sercial Madeira works best to produce a finely balanced complex cocktail.

About:

Adapted from Charles H. Baker's 1939 The Gentlemen's Companion in which Baker writes, "Creole Contentment, an Insidious Pleasantry from the Charming-Hot-Bed of Intrigue and Culture which is the Pulse of the Great Delta Country - New Orleans.

"This hazard and liability to consistent maidenhood came to our desk through office of a friend whose father once was Episcopal Bishop of Washington, and who writes books about pirates. Don't treat this one lightly, mes amis....

"Of Cognac, Madeira wine and maraschino, take 1 pony; turn this into a bar glass with ice; toss in 1 dash of orange bitters, stir well, pour into a big Manhattan glass or saucer type champagne, and garnish with 3 maraschino cherries; red, green and white... Our personal experience is that it is better to cut the maraschino down by half, stepping up the cognac in that ratio. The business of the 3 cherries, while no doubt a pretty and chivalrous gesture of the feminine victim is, of course, sheerest swank. It is a good drink and needs a little trimming."