Tovarich

Review:

Vodka-laced, delightfully clean and cleansing with kummel's distinctive rich caraway and cumin flavour combining well with lime.

History:

Tovarishch, tovarisch or tovarish are all Russian for comrade, friend, colleague or ally. The naming of this cocktail, which first appears in Grosby Gaige's 1944 Standard Cocktail Guide, may have been inspired by Tovaritch, a 1933 play by Jacques Deval.

TOVARICH COCKTAIL
1 ounces Vodka
1 ounce Kümmel
Juice of 1/2 Lime
Shake with cracked ice.

Grosby Gaige, Standard Cocktail Guide, 1944

TOVARICH
1 part Kümmel
2 parts Lime Juice
8 parts Vodka
Shake with chilled ice.

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

Our recipe adapted from Charles H. Baker, Jr.'s 1951 The South American Gentleman's Companion: Being an Exotic Drinking Book or, Up & Down the Andes with Jigger, Beaker & Flask.

Here Is The TOVARITCH COCKTAIL, or COCTEL TOVARITCH, which in Spite of its UN UNLIKELY NAME IS WORTH RECORDING in this WORK, from Restaurante Troika, in Buenos Aires

As near as we can figure-out when we were in this spot 1st time, 4 years ago, there wasn't anything red about the joint except the lips of the big buxom boisterous Caucasian singing-waitresses, gals who doubled in the chorus line when not trotting to our table from the kitchen or bar. They had all skipped-out of mujik-land a long time back and had no wish or intention of standing on the stepps again – being too damned happy where they all were right then. And please remember, this I must be very cold to taste correct.
1½ oz Vodka
1 pony imported Kümmel
Juice ¼ lemon
White of 1 egg
1 tsp sugar or grenadine

Shake with fine ice both long and hard; strain into prechilled stemmed glass, and twist a curl of lemon peel over.

Charles H. Baker, The South American Gentleman's Companion, 1951

Nutrition:

One serving of Tovarich contains 210 calories