Air Mail

Review:

Lightly aged rum invigorated with brut sparkling wine, freshened by a touch of lime and balanced by honeyed richness.

Described by some as being a rum-based French 75, and like the French 75, there is debate over the correct glass and whether to serve with ice. The truth: the Air Mail is best as originally intended, served as a highball in a highball glass (max capacity 10 oz/ 300 ml).

History:

This is a potent little cocktail's name likely references airmail as the quickest way to get a letter from A to B., and it probably dates to the early days of airmail, which started on 15th May 1918 with the world's first scheduled airmail route between New York and Washington D.C.. However, the earliest known reference to this cocktail is a 1930s promotional pamphlet, Bacardi and Its Many Uses.

The Air Mail (spelt as two words) most notably appears in W.C. Whitfield's 1941 wooden cover-bound Here's How, accompanied by the note "It ought to make you fly high."

AIR MAIL
1 Lime (juice only)
1 Teaspoon strained honey
1 jigger Fine rum
Shake well with cracked ice and strain into highball glass, fill with champane.
(It ought to make you fly hight.)

W.C. Whitfield, Here's How, 1941

Indeed, the 1940s appear to be the Air Mail's heyday, with the cocktail mentioned in David A. Embury's seminal 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks and appearing in Esquire's 1949 Handbook for Hosts.

BEE'S KNEES
1 part Honey
2 parts Lemon Juice
8 parts Gin
Shake vigorously with cracked ice. The addition of a small amount of orange juice (about 1 to 2 parts) makes an interesting variation.

The same drink, except for the use of white Cuban rum in the place of gin, is known as the Honeysuckle. The same drink with Jamaican rum is the Honey Bee. The Honeysuckle is also sometimes called the Airmail.)

David A. Embury, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, 1948

AIR MAIL
Mix in shaker:
Juice of one-half ime
1 teaspoon honey
1 jigger gold rum
Add cracked ice, shake; strain into highball glass and fill with dry champagne.

Esquire Handbook for Hosts, 1948

That Bacardi leaflet calls for Bacardi Gold rum while Whitfield specifies "fine rum" [well-aged blended Caribbean blended rums work well]. Both these recipes, along with the Handbook for Hosts, stipulate a highball glass [a tall glass smaller than 10oz / 295ml] filled with ice. This is a "short drink served long" and misguided folk who serve it straight-up in a coupe or flute are taking a flight of fancy.

Nutrition:

One serving of Air Mail contains 168 calories