Standards Flashcards
Old Fashioned
4 dashes Angostura Bitters
1 tsp Sugar (or 2 sugar cubes)
1 Splash Soda Water
2 oz Bourbon
B: Build in Rocks Glass. Muddle Bitters, Sugar, Splash of Soda Water. Add Bourbon, Rocks, Stir
G: (S-Shaped) Orange and Cherry
History: Traditionally, the first use of the name “Old Fashioned” for a Bourbon whiskey cocktail was said to have been, anachronistically, at the Pendennis Club, a gentlemen’s club founded in 1881 in Louisville, Kentucky. The recipe was said to have been invented by a bartender at that club in honor of Colonel James E. Pepper, a prominent bourbon distiller, who brought it to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel bar in New York City.
Manhattan
2 oz Rye Whiskey
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
2-3 dashes Angostura Bitters
B: Stir, Strain, Coupe
G: Cherry
History: A popular history suggests that the drink originated at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the early 1870s, where it was invented by Dr. Iain Marshall for a banquet hosted by Jennie Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill, Winston’s mother) in honor of presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden. The success of the banquet made the drink fashionable, later prompting several people to request the drink by referring to the name of the club where it originated—”the Manhattan cocktail”.[4][5] However, Lady Randolph was in France at the time and pregnant, so the story is likely a fiction.[6]
The original “Manhattan cocktail” was a mix of “American Whiskey, Italian Vermouth and Angostura bitters”.[7][8] During Prohibition (1920–1933) Canadian whisky was primarily used because it was available.[9]
However, there are prior references to various similar cocktail recipes called “Manhattan” and served in the Manhattan area.[5] By one account it was invented in the 1860s by a bartender named Black at a bar on Broadway near Houston Street.[10]
An early record of the cocktail can be found in William Schmidt’s “The Flowing Bowl”, published in 1891. In it, he details a drink containing 2 dashes of gum (gomme syrup), 2 dashes of bitters, 1 dash of absinthe, 2/3 portion of whiskey and 1/3 portion of vermouth.
The same cocktail appears listed as a “Tennessee Cocktail” in Shake ‘em Up! by V. Elliott and P. Strong, copyright 1930 (p. 39): “Two parts of whiskey, one part of Italian Vermouth and a dash of bitters poured over ice and stirred vigorously.”
Dry Martini
2 1/2 oz Gin (or Vodka)
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
B: Stir, Strain, Coupe
G: Lemon Twist
History: The exact origin of the martini is unclear. Numerous cocktails with names and ingredients similar to the modern-day martini were first seen in bartending guides of the late 19th century.[13] For example, in the 1888 Bartenders’ Manual there was a recipe for a drink that consisted in part of half a wine glass of Old Tom Gin and a half a wine glass of vermouth.[14] In 1863, an Italian vermouth maker started marketing their product under the brand name of Martini, and the brand name may be the source of the cocktail’s name
Dirty Martini
2 1/2 oz Gin (or Vodka)
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz Olive Brine
B: Stir, Strain, Coupe
G: 1 or 3 Olives
Paloma
2 oz Tequila
1/2 oz Lime juice
Top w. Grapefruit soda
B: Build in Highball, Ice, Stir
G: Lime Wedge (or Grapefruit)
History: Some conjecture that it is named after La Paloma (“The Dove”), the popular folk song composed in the early 1860s.
Rob Roy
2 oz Scotch Whisky
1/4 oz Sweet Vermouth
3 Dashes Angostura Bitters
B: Stir, Strain, Coupe
G: Cherry
History: The Rob Roy is a cocktail created in 1894 by a bartender at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan, New York City. The drink was named in honor of the premiere of Rob Roy, an operetta by composer Reginald De Koven and lyricist Harry B. Smith loosely based upon Scottish folk hero Robert Roy MacGregor.
A Rob Roy is similar to a Manhattan but is made exclusively with Scotch whisky, while the Manhattan is traditionally made with rye and today commonly made with bourbon or Canadian whisky.
Like the Manhattan, the Rob Roy can be made “sweet”, “dry”, or “perfect”. The standard Rob Roy is the sweet version, made with sweet vermouth, so there is no need to specify a “sweet” Rob Roy when ordering. A “dry” Rob Roy is made by replacing the sweet vermouth with dry vermouth. A “perfect” Rob Roy is made with equal parts sweet and dry vermouth.
The Rob Roy is usually served in a cocktail glass and garnished with a lemon twist (for the perfect and dry versions), or maraschino cherry (for the sweet version).
Blood and Sand
1/4 oz Scotch Whisky
1/4 oz Orange juice
1/4 oz Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz Cherry Herring
B: Shake, Strain, Coupe
G: Orange Twist
History: one of the few classic mixed drinks that includes Scotch. It was named for Rudolph Valentino’s 1922 bullfighter movie Blood and Sand.[1] The red juice of the blood orange in the drink helped link it with the film.[citation needed] The recipe is first known to have appeared in the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book.
Gin Fizz
2 oz Gin 1 oz Club Soda 1 oz Lemon Juice 1/4 oz Simple syrup 1 Egg white
B: Build in shaker: Egg White, Gin, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup, Dry Shake, Shake with Ice. Fill Rocks Glass about 1/2 with Club Soda. Double Strain Shaker onto Club Soda
History: The first printed reference to “fiz” is in the 1887 edition of Jerry Thomas’ Bartender’s Guide, which contains six such recipes. The Fizz became widely popular in America between 1900 and the 1940s. Known as a hometown specialty of New Orleans, the Gin Fizz was so popular that bars would employ teams of bartenders that would take turns shaking the drinks. Demand for fizzes went international at least as early as 1950, as evidenced by its inclusion in the French cookbook L’Art Culinaire Francais published that year.[1]
Whiskey Smash
3 Lemon Wedges
Fresh Mint
1/4 oz Simple Syrup
2 oz Bourbon
B: Muddle Lemon, Add Mint, Simple, Bourbon. Shake, Double Strain over Crushed Ice
G: Mint
History: One of the earliest examples of a smash appears in the form of a julep recipe in Jerry Thomas’ 1862 How to Mix Drinks, or, The Bon Vivant’s Companion. Though Thomas doesn’t mention the smash by name, though his definition of the julep clearly lays the foundation for the future of the category. He begins by calling the julep a “peculiarly American beverage” that is most popular in the South. Though he declares that a “real Mint Julep” must be made from a dozen mint leaves, a spoonful of white sugar and “equal parts peach and common brandy,” topped with crushed ice, he does acknowledge that there were many versions in existence, many of them perfectly delicious.
Aviation
2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1/4 oz Crème de Violette or Crème Yvette
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
B: Build in Shaker, Ice. Shake, Strain, Coupe
G: Cherry
History: The Aviation was created by Hugo Ensslin, head bartender at the Hotel Wallick in New York, in the early twentieth century.[1] The first published recipe for the drink appeared in Ensslin’s 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks. Ensslin’s recipe called for 1½ oz. El Bart gin, ¾ oz. lemon juice, 2 dashes maraschino liqueur, and 2 dashes crème de violette, a violet liqueur which gives the cocktail a pale sky-blue color.[2]
Harry Craddock’s influential Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) omitted the crème de violette, calling for a mixture of two-thirds dry gin, one-third lemon juice, and two dashes of maraschino.[3] Many later bartenders have followed Craddock’s lead, leaving out the difficult-to-find violet liqueur.[4]
Creme Yvette, a violet liqueur made with additional spices, can be substituted in versions that call for crème de violette.[5]
Mojito
6 Mint leaves 3/4 oz Simple Syrup 3/4 oz Lime Juice 1 1/2 oz White Rum 1 1/2 oz Club Soda
B: Muddle mint. Add Simple Syrup, Lime Juice, Rum, Top with Ice. Shake, Pour (unstrained), Highball. Top with Club Soda
G: Mint
History: Havana is the birthplace of the Mojito, although the exact origin of this classic cocktail is the subject of debate. One story traces the Mojito to a similar 16th century drink known as “El Draque”, after Francis Drake.[4] In 1586, after his successful raid at Cartagena de Indias Drake’s ships sailed towards Havana but there was an epidemic of dysentery and scurvy on board. It was known that the local South American Indians had remedies for various tropical illnesses; so a small boarding party went ashore on Cuba and came back with ingredients for a medicine which was effective. The ingredients were aguardiente de caña (a crude form of rum, translates as fire water from sugar cane) added with local tropical ingredients; lime, sugarcane juice and mint.[8] Drinking lime juice in itself would have been a great help in staving off scurvy and dysentery.[9] Tafia/Rum was used as soon as it became widely available to the British (ca. 1650). Mint, lime and sugar were also helpful in hiding the harsh taste of this spirit. While this drink was not called a Mojito at this time, it was still the original combination of these ingredients.[4]
Some historians contend that African slaves who worked in the Cuban sugar cane fields during the 19th century were instrumental in the cocktail’s origin.[10] Guarapo, the sugar cane juice often used in Mojitos,[4] was a popular drink amongst the slaves who helped coin the name of the sweet nectar.[10] It never originally contained lime juice.[11][12]
There are several theories behind the origin of the name Mojito; one such theory holds that name relates to mojo, a Cuban seasoning made from lime and used to flavour dishes.[4][13] Another theory is that the name Mojito is simply a derivative of mojadito (Spanish for “a little wet”) or simply the diminutive of mojado (“wet”). Due to the vast influence of immigration from the Canary Islands, the term probably came from the mojo creole marinades adapted in Cuba using citrus vs traditional Isleno types.
The Mojito has routinely been presented as a favorite drink of author Ernest Hemingway.[14] It has also often been said that Ernest Hemingway made the bar called La Bodeguita del Medio famous as he became one of its regulars and wrote “My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita.” This expression in English can be read on the wall of the bar today, handwritten and signed in his name,[15] although Hemingway biographers have expressed doubts about such patronage and about the author’s taste for mojitos.[16] La Bodeguita del Medio is more known for their food rather than drink.[17][18]
A report created in 2014 states that the Mojito is now the most popular cocktail in Britain [19]
Gimlet
2 1/2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Lime juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
B: Build in Shaker, Fill with Ice. Shake, Strain, Coupe
G: Lime Wheel
History: The world’s most famous gimlet recipe debuted 60 years ago, late in 1953, with the British publication of Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye, a novel published in the U.S. the following March. The book’s protagonist is of course Philip Marlowe, the LA lone wolf who likes liquor and women and chess and a few other things. The recipe’s progenitor is one Terry Lennox, a stray dog to whom Marlowe takes a shine. Lennox, taking after his creator, is an American who’s had some formative experiences in England and who likes liquor rather too much. Chandler was, generally, a whiskey man; in completing the script for The Blue Dahlia, he taxed his body with an eight-day bourbon bender, which in turn tasked his soul with a monthlong hangover. But in 1952, with the first draft of The Long Goodbye already complete, the gimlet discovered the writer on an ocean liner and thus worked its way into literary history. No other drink has such a significant presence in such a great performance of American fiction.
The Long Goodbye gimlet is a totem of Marlowe’s bond with Lennox. In the third chapter, Marlowe narrates the early flourishing of something like friendship, and Lennox pines for a foreign tradition:
We sat in a corner of the bar at Victor’s and drank gimlets. “They don’t know how to make them here,” he said. “What they call a gimlet is just some lime or lemon juice and gin with a dash of sugar and bitters. A real gimlet is half gin and half Rose’s Lime Juice and nothing else. It beats martinis hollow.”
Mint Julep
1/4 oz Raw Sugar Syrup
8 Mint leaves
2 oz Bourbon
B: Build in Rocks Glass, add Mint and Syrup, lightly Muddle. Add Bourbon, quick Stir. Pack with Crushed Ice. Stir until the cup is frosted on the outside. Top with more crushed ice to fill.
G: Bitters (optional) and Mint
History: The origins of the mint julep are clouded and may never be definitively known. It originated in the southern United States, probably during the eighteenth century.
U.S. Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky introduced the drink to Washington, D.C., at the Round Robin Bar in the famous Willard Hotel during his residence in the city.[2] The term “julep” is generally defined as a sweet drink, particularly one used as a vehicle for medicine. The word itself is derived from the Persian word گلاب (Golâb), meaning rose water.
The mint julep was originally prescribed and appears in literature as early as 1784 “sickness at the stomach, with frequent retching, and, at times, a difficulty of swallowing. I then prescribed her an emetic, some opening powders, and a mint julep.”[3] An appearance of a mint julep in print came in a book by John Davis published in London in 1803, where it was described as “a dram of spirituous liquor that has mint steeped in it, taken by Virginians of a morning.”[4] However, Davis did not specify which spirit was used.
Americans enjoyed not only bourbon-based juleps during the nineteenth century, but also gin-based juleps made with genever, an aged gin.
British Captain Frederick Marryat’s 1840 book Second Series of A Diary in America describes on page 41 the “real mint julep” thusly:
There are many varieties [of Mint Julep], such as those composed of Claret, Madiera, &c.; but the ingredients of the real mint-julep are as follows. I learnt how to make them, and succeeded pretty well. Put into a tumbler about a dozen sprigs of the tender shoots of mint, upon them put a spoonful of white sugar, and equal proportions of peach and common brandy, so as to fill it up one-third, or perhaps a little less. Then take rasped or pounded ice, and fill up the tumbler. Epicures rub the lips of the tumbler with a piece of fresh pine-apple, and the tumbler itself is very often incrusted outside with stalactites of ice. As the ice melts, you drink.[5]
The 1862 edition of Bar-Tenders Guide: How to Mix Drinks or The Bon-Vivant’s Companion by Jerry Thomas includes five recipes for the mint julep (as well as an illustration of how it is to be served) allowing for either Cognac, brandy, gin, whiskey or sparkling Moselle.[6] Thomas states of the mint julep, “…a peculiarly American beverage…It was introduced [later] into England by Captain Maryatt.” Thomas goes on to quote Marryat’s above-mentioned 1840 book as saying of juleps, “They are, in fact, like the American ladies, irresistible.”
In 1916, the traditional Virginia recipe as served at the “Old White” is described
…the famous old barroom, which was approached by a spiral staircase. Here in this dark, cool room, scented with great masses of fragrant mint that lay upon mountains of crushed ice, in the olden days were created the White Sulphur mint julep and the Virginia toddy, for which this place was famous the world over. The mint juleps were not the composite compounds of the present day. They were made of the purest French brandy, limestone water, old-fashioned cut loaf sugar, crushed ice, and young mint the foliage of which touched your ears…Here, in this old room, was uttered that famous remark of the Governor of North Carolina to the Governor of South Carolina. “It is a long time between drinks.”[7]
Recently, however, bourbon-based juleps have decisively eclipsed gin-based juleps.[8]
Sazerac
Absinthe (or Herbsaint) 1 Sugar Cube (Demerara or white) 3 Dashes Peychaud’s Bitters 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters 2 oz Rye Whiskey Slice of lemon peel
B: Rinse chilled Rocks Glass with Absinthe, discarding any excess, and set aside. In a mixing glass, muddle the sugar cube and both bitters. Add the rye, fill with ice and stir. Strain into the prepared glass. Twist a slice of lemon peel over the surface to extract the oils and then discard.
G: None.
History: Around 1850, Sewell T. Taylor sold his New Orleans bar, The Merchants Exchange Coffee House, to become an importer of spirits, where he began to import a brand of cognac named Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils. Meanwhile, Aaron Bird assumed proprietorship of the Merchants Exchange, and changed its name to Sazerac Coffee House. Legend has it that Bird began serving the “Sazerac Cocktail”, made with Sazerac Cognac imported by Taylor, and allegedly with bitters being made by local apothecary, Antoine Amedie Peychaud. The Sazerac Coffee House subsequently changed hands several times, when around 1870, Thomas Handy became its proprietor. It is around this time that the primary ingredient changed from cognac to rye whiskey due to the phylloxera epidemic in Europe that devastated the vineyards of France.[8] At some point before his death in 1889, Handy recorded the recipe for the cocktail, which made its first printed appearance in William T. “Cocktail Bill” Boothby’s 1908 The World’s Drinks and How to Mix Them,[9] although this recipe calls for Selner Bitters, not Peychaud’s.[10] After absinthe was banned in the US in 1912, it was replaced by various anise-flavored liqueurs, most notably the locally produced Herbsaint, which first appeared in 1934.[7]
The Sazerac is a simple variation on a plain whiskey or Cognac cocktail (alcohol, sugar, water, and bitters), and could have been ordered in any latter 19th Century bar in the US as a whiskey cocktail with a dash of absinthe. It was this type of variation to the cocktail that caused patrons uninterested in the new complexities of cocktails to request their drinks be made the Old Fashioned way. By the early 20th Century, simple cocktails like the Sazerac had become a somewhat rare curiosity, which would eventually rekindle their popularity.[11]
The creation of the Sazerac has also been credited to Antoine Amédée Peychaud, the Creole apothecary who emigrated to New Orleans from the West Indies, and set up shop in the French Quarter in the early 19th Century. He was known to dispense a proprietary mix of aromatic bitters from an old family recipe. According to popular myth, he served his drink in the large end of an egg cup that was called a coquetier in French, and that the Americanized mispronunciation resulted in the word “cocktail”.[12] This belief was debunked when it was discovered that the term “cocktail” as a type of drink first appeared in print at least as far back as 1803, and was defined in print in 1806 as “a mixture of spirits of any kind, water, sugar and bitters, vulgarly called a bittered sling.”.[13]
Official cocktail of New Orleans[edit]
In March 2008, Louisiana state senator Edwin R. Murray (D-New Orleans) filed Senate Bill 6 designating the Sazerac as Louisiana’s official state cocktail. The bill was defeated on April 8, 2008. After further debate, on June 23, 2008, the Louisiana Legislature agreed to proclaim the Sazerac as New Orleans’ official cocktail.[14]
Negroni
1 oz Gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
B: Add all the ingredients to an Old Fashioned glass and fill with ice. Stir until cold. (or Stir, Strain, Coupe)
G: Orange half-wheel
History: While the drink’s origins are unknown, the most widely reported account is that it was invented in Florence, Italy in 1919, at Caffè Casoni, ex Caffè Giacosa, now called Caffè Cavalli. Count Camillo Negroni invented it by asking the bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to strengthen his favorite cocktail, the Americano, by adding gin rather than the normal soda water. The bartender also added an orange garnish rather than the typical lemon garnish of the Americano to signify that it was a different drink.[2][3][4][5] After the success of the cocktail, the Negroni Family founded Negroni Distillerie in Treviso, Italy, and produced a ready-made version of the drink, sold as Antico Negroni 1919. One of the earliest reports of the drink came from Orson Welles in correspondence with the Coshocton Tribune while working in Rome on Cagliostro in 1947, where he described a new drink called the Negroni, “The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.”[6][7]
There is an alternative theory regarding the origin of the Negroni Cocktail. This theory attributes the invention to General Pascal Olivier de Negroni, Count de Negroni. This theory appears in two published sources. The first source is "A Corse Matin" Sunday Edition article dated 2 February 1980.[8] The second source Absinthe (or Herbsaint) 1 Sugar Cube (Demerara or white) 3 Dashes Peychaud’s Bitters 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters 2 oz Rye Whiskey Slice of lemon peel
B: Rinse chilled Rocks Glass with Absinthe, discarding any excess, and set aside. In a mixing glass, muddle the sugar cube and both bitters. Add the rye, fill with ice and stir. Strain into the prepared glass. Twist a slice of lemon peel over the surface to extract the oils and then discard.
G: None.
History: Around 1850, Sewell T. Taylor sold his New Orleans bar, The Merchants Exchange Coffee House, to become an importer of spirits, where he began to import a brand of cognac named Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils. Meanwhile, Aaron Bird assumed proprietorship of the Merchants Exchange, and changed its name to Sazerac Coffee House. Legend has it that Bird began serving the “Sazerac Cocktail”, made with Sazerac Cognac imported by Taylor, and allegedly with bitters being made by local apothecary, Antoine Amedie Peychaud. The Sazerac Coffee House subsequently changed hands several times, when around 1870, Thomas Handy became its proprietor. It is around this time that the primary ingredient changed from cognac to rye whiskey due to the phylloxera epidemic in Europe that devastated the vineyards of France.[8] At some point before his death in 1889, Handy recorded the recipe for the cocktail, which made its first printed appearance in William T. “Cocktail Bill” Boothby’s 1908 The World’s Drinks and How to Mix Them,[9] although this recipe calls for Selner Bitters, not Peychaud’s.[10] After absinthe was banned in the US in 1912, it was replaced by various anise-flavored liqueurs, most notably the locally produced Herbsaint, which first appeared in 1934.[7]
The Sazerac is a simple variation on a plain whiskey or Cognac cocktail (alcohol, sugar, water, and bitters), and could have been ordered in any latter 19th Century bar in the US as a whiskey cocktail with a dash of absinthe. It was this type of variation to the cocktail that caused patrons uninterested in the new complexities of cocktails to request their drinks be made the Old Fashioned way. By the early 20th Century, simple cocktails like the Sazerac had become a somewhat rare curiosity, which would eventually rekindle their popularity.[11]
The creation of the Sazerac has also been credited to Antoine Amédée Peychaud, the Creole apothecary who emigrated to New Orleans from the West Indies, and set up shop in the French Quarter in the early 19th Century. He was known to dispense a proprietary mix of aromatic bitters from an old family recipe. According to popular myth, he served his drink in the large end of an egg cup that was called a coquetier in French, and that the Americanized mispronunciation resulted in the word “cocktail”.[12] This belief was debunked when it was discovered that the term “cocktail” as a type of drink first appeared in print at least as far back as 1803, and was defined in print in 1806 as “a mixture of spirits of any kind, water, sugar and bitters, vulgarly called a bittered sling.”.[13]
Official cocktail of New Orleans[edit]
In March 2008, Louisiana state senator Edwin R. Murray (D-New Orleans) filed Senate Bill 6 designating the Sazerac as Louisiana’s official state cocktail. The bill was defeated on April 8, 2008. After further debate, on June 23, 2008, the Louisiana Legislature agreed to proclaim the Sazerac as New Orleans’ official cocktail.[14]is an article published in the New Hampshire Union leader on 19 June 2014. A translation of the Corse Matin article states:
