RAC Cocktail

History

The house cocktail at London's Royal Automobile Club, a private members' club awarded its royal title by King Edward VII in 1907. The club moved to its splendid 89 Pall Mall address in 1911.

The R.A.C. cocktail's first appearance in a recipe book is Robert Vermeire's 1922 Cocktails: How to Mix Them, where its creation is credited to Fred Faechs in 1914.

R.A.C Cocktail.
Fill the bar glass half full of broken ice and add:
¼ gill of Dry Gin.
1/8 gill of French Vermouth.
1/8 gill of Italian Vermouth.
1 dash of Grenadine.
1 dash Orange Bitters.
Stir up well, strain into a cocktail-glass, add a cherry, and squeeze-orange peel on top.
R.A.C. means Royal Automobile Club. This is the largest club in London with, with over 16,000 members.
(Recipe by Fred Faechs, 1914.)

Robert Vermeire, Cocktails - How to Mix Them, 1922

It then appears in the 1924 book Kokuteeru written by Japanese bartender Yonekichi Maeda, considered the first modern Japanese bartending book.

RAC Cocktail
Dry Gin....................... 2/4 oz
French Vermouth....... 1/4 oz
Italian vermouth......... 1/4 oz
Grenadine................... 1 dash
Orange Bitter.............. 1 dash
Add all the ingredients into a mixing glass half-filled with crushed ice and stir well, strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry and some lemon peel.

Yonekichi Maeda, Kokuteeru, 1924 (from the 2022 Brendan Scott Grey translation)

The R.A.C. also appears in the 1933 The Green Cocktail Book written by the mysterious" Jimmy".

R.A.C.
2 parts Dry Gin.
1 part French Vermouth
1 part Italian Vermouth
1 dash Grenadine per cocktail
1 dash Orange Bitters per cocktail
Squeeze a piece of orange peel on top, and serve with a cherry.

The Green Cocktail Book by Jimmy, 1932

And in Harry Craddock's 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book.

R.A.C. SPECIAL COCKTAIL.
2 Dashes Orange Bitters.
¼ French Vermouth.
¼ Italian Vermouth.
½ Dry Gin.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Squeeze orange peel on top.

Harry Craddock, 1930