Are you a Discerning Drinker?
Join thousands of like-minded professionals and cocktail enthusiasts, receive our weekly newsletters and see pages produced by our community for fellow Discerning Drinkers.
Forum
Brown Derby
This is a better cocktail than the similar but honey-sweetened De Rigueur Cocktail, as unless you have a very full-bodied honey, maple syrup's 'tang' sits...
Frederic D.
26th April 2024 at 21:38
I was actually surprised by how good this turned out to be. I was inspired by Roi's comment below and added a (heavy) barspoon of honey vinegar, which really brought more focus and clarity to the drink, without turning it into a sour. I used Yellowstone bourbon (eh). It starts off with maple flavors, and after a brief grapefruit detour, ends with bittersweet bourbon notes. Overall I found it highly enjoyable.
5th May 2024 at 22:52
Made again with the exact same specs, but subbing honey for the maple syrup, and I much prefer the maple version. I found the maple to combine with the other ingredients in a way that was both more harmonious and more interesting, while the honey was kind of just there.
27th January 2024 at 17:12
I've been enjoying a version of this that incorporates apple cider vinegar (2 ounces bourbon, 1 ounce grapefruit juice, 1/2 ounce each of honey syrup and apple cider vinegar). It's really well balanced.
28th September 2023 at 15:39
You claim that the use of honey syrup in the Brown Derby is a 'misguided belief' which stems from the '33 book "Hollywood Cocktails," but the only evidence you've given that maple syrup was in the original recipe is a column published 6 years later in '39, which uses an entirely different spirit and citrus. Seems a little dubious. Made a rather nice cocktail nonetheless.
6th October 2024 at 03:00
Perhaps there is an inference in Mr. Difford's review that the "1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book" describes a recipe for a Brown Derby with maple syrup but "when made with honey this is a De Rigueur cocktail"?
12th February 2023 at 01:02
Fan of the original, but tried with reposado tequila (and a pinch of salt) in place of the bourbon and really enjoyed the result – like a short, sweet Paloma.
14th January 2023 at 21:58
prefer spirit forward cocktail... so i suggest 2.5 oz rye otherwise too sweet...or cut back on maple syrup
30th October 2022 at 18:05
At first, I felt it was a bit too Bourbon forward for my taste. Then it turns out that I forgot 10ml of grapefruit juice. Added it after the fact and it was genuinely amazing from there. The tartness of grapefruit melds well with the slight woodiness of the maple syrup and the mellowness of the Bourbon. Easily my favourite Bourbon drink from my (limted experience). Uses WT101.
10th October 2022 at 14:07
Thank you! How could I have missed that entire page?!
10th October 2022 at 02:48
I'm looking at my copy of Buzza's 1933 Hollywood Cocktails and I don't see it. What page is it on? Or by what other name?
10th October 2022 at 06:25
I've added a link to the page above. Please click the book name "Hollywood Cocktails".