I think Anders Erickson's recipe is the best one I've tried. It's 45ml Plymouth gin, 30ml Apricot liqueur and 15ml lemon juice with 2 dashes of Peychauds. It strikes the perfect balance between sweet and sour in my mind.
Does Anders give metric measurements now? Haven’t see him in a few years and remember everything being in ounces.
A cocktail I return to every few years and am always pleased by its exotic combination of aromatics and flavors. What holds it back from becoming a rediscovered classic, along the lines of the Last Word, is the difficulty in getting the balance just right. This is not a drink that can be made to predictable specifications. It requires a culinary approach, tasting and tweaking in the tin until the sweet and tart are in harmony, with the knowledge and experience of what dilution will impart. But it does reward the extra effort, there being nothing else in the cocktail lexicon quite like it.
A cocktail I return to once every few years and am always pleased by its exotic combination of aromatics and flavors. What holds it back from becoming a rediscovered classic, along the lines of the Last Word, is the difficulty in getting the balance just right. This is not a drink that can be made to exact specifications. It requires a culinary approach, tasting and tweaking in the tin until the sweet and tart are in harmony, with the knowledge and experience of what dilution will impart needed, as well. But it does reward the extra effort, which here being nothing else in the cocktail lexicon hire like it.
Tweaked this somewhat puzzling classic (though I do like it) into something I find more complex and appealing:
Ambassador to Japan
2 oz Beach Rose infused Maison Rouge VSOP
.25 oz house-made orgeat
.5 oz earl grey infused Lustau Amontillado
3 dashes angostura
1 dash angostura orange
drop of saline
Lemon peel
I go back and forth between shaking and stirring this drink. Both work. If I’m drinking it after dinner I’ll stir.
Approximately how long does the honey ginger syrup keep?
Ran a farm to bar cocktail spot in the early 2010s and we made a ginger juice syrup we used in our signature drink and a ginger soda in large batches. It would keep for over a week in the refrigerator without noticeable loss of quality.
The very first old-timey cocktail I ever tried, way back in the mid- 2010s. Return to it every few years and still find it surprisingly delicious and an improvement over a Southside. I’d like to eventually do some research to find its provenance.
Any idea if De Kuyper's products are different in the U.S. than what they sell in Europe? Apart from a much less appealing label design in the States (and why is that, as well?) the products seem to be generally considered cheap and artificial here, where as I get the impression it's fairly well respected in the Uk.
Always found this product works well in shaken cocktails, better than the Rothman & Winter and regular Giffard, for sure. Doesn't get much love, but for the price it's solid
Excellent and unusual Flip. One that would be a good accompaniment to a nod by the tree on Christmas Eve.
An interesting historical note: this drink was created the year after the only other (classic) drink I know that contains both Chartreuse and Benedictine: the Widow's Kiss. Can't help but wonder if it was inspired by the recent creation of that most "evocative" concoction.
Many thanks for letting me know. I've amended and also added a quote from the book.
FYI-you listed the publication of Davies' book as 1986 in the lead in to the quote and recipe from that book.
3:1 (3 parts honey to 1 part water) is richer than 2:1 - it has a greater percentage of honey, so it should be the opposite of what I think you're suggesting.
Of course, you’re right. Meant 4:1 or 2:1/2. I’m used to measuring larger amounts where I use mls as the measuring unit. Thanks for catching that.
An undeniably tasty drink. The necessity for an ingredient not carried in most bars and one that takes some effort to make yourself keeps it from being a staple. Fortunately I have a hack that doesn’t diminish its greatness. In a tin muddle two thin slices of ginger and .75 oz honey syrup (2:1 honey to water). Proceed with making the rest of the drink.
2:1 honey to water works better in most cocktails for me. 3:1 always leans toward thin and overly sour. A go to drink for me though. Simple and good.
Good but in desperate need of a dash of lime juice to take it to loftier heights.
I'm confused about the naming of this drink and the Honey Bee. On the Honeysuckle page, it suggests switching out to Jamaican rum makes the drink a Honey Bee. On the Honey Bee page it suggests switching out to light rum makes the drink a Honeysuckle. Both drinks call for Bacardi Gold, lemon, oj, and honey syrup. I like the name Honeysuckle Daiquiri, so I use that when serving the drink to friends.
I've amended my version to Flor de Cana 7 and jasmine tea instead of water to make my syrup
I was under the impression the original Brown Derby was Rum, Maple and Lime. This seems be a combo of the two Derby's. Still a good drink though!
Add a grapefruit twist to the tin before you shake and you're really in business!
The Cablegram is an old drink. Very old. Eric Alperin had little to do with its creation. It first appeared in William Boothby's World Drinks and How To Mix Them. True, bottled ginger ale was originally used, but it's the same drink with the same name.
