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BAR BOOK VOLUME III

The Merchant Hotel Bar Book

A 10% service charge will be added to all bills.

Volume III

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With the imminent release of Casino Royale, Belfast now

has its own James Bond set in the form of a glamorous new

bar which boasts the most expensive cocktail in the world

and is set amid the opulence of the five-star Merchant Hotel.

Local man Sean Muldoon, who has a reputation for doing

for bars what Gordon Ramsay can do for a restaurant, has

taken the helm with the aim of securing global recognition

for the bar. Muldoon used to run a consultancy business

and has won awards in Ireland for best bar, best bartender,

best drinks selection and best restaurant. UK awards under

his belt include best drinks selection and best restaurant so

it is safe to say he knows his trade. But it is the bar at the

Merchant Hotel that is Muldoon’s big hope.

“This is the one that I think is going to clean up when it

comes to proper bar awards,” he says. “For the people who

live here it’s a place to be proud of - somewhere very special

and different to have a drink. For the international visitor,

I think they will find something they will identify with and

really respect.”

So self-assured is Muldoon that one can’t help thinking

his vision for the bar might just become a reality.

“I am very happy at the Merchant and I feel fully

challenged,” he says. “I honestly feel that we are going to

create a world class bar that will be talked about across the

globe. It will take time - reputations aren’t built overnight -

but we will get there. And I know I’ve got a team behind me

who believe fully in the vision I have got.”

Shaking up the Belfast Bar Scene

By Luke Ryan

Excerpt taken from The Irish News

31/10/06

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Contents:

** Denotes an original drink created at The Merchant Hotel

At a Glance (Our top 12 selling drinks)

Drinks of the Elegant and Refined Style

Drinks of the Rich And Fruity Style

DRINKS OF THE LONG AND REFRESHING STYLE

Drinks of the Sharp and Sour Style

Drinks of the Tropical and Exotic Style

Drinks of the Short and Potent Style

Drinks of the Soft and Creamy Style

Hot DrinksAlcohol-Free Drinks

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10

16

24

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68

76

90

98

102

Dedicated to Joe Gilmore

5th Head Bartender of the American Bar

at the Savoy Hotel and Native of Belfast

“The Merchant Hotel Bar Book Volume III”

By Sean Muldoon & Jack McGarry © 2009

Photography by kharapringlephotographic.com

Designed by paperjamdesign.com

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Fog Cutter: Hennessy VS Cognac, Havana Club Anejo Rum, Plymouth Gin, Fino Sherry, orange & lemon juice and house-made orgeat syrup £ 8.45 See Page 71

Champagne Cocktail: Brut Champagne NV, cane syrup and aromatic bitters £ 13.95 See Page 13

Mr Harrison: Ketel One Vodka, curacao, fresh lime juice, fresh kumquats, fresh basil, house-made orgeat syrup and chilled seltzer water £ 8.95 See Page 31

The Southside: Plymouth Gin, fresh lime juice, fresh spearmint, cane syrup, aromatic bitters and chilled seltzer water £ 8.95 See Page 33

Sloe Gin Ginger Sling: Plymouth Gin, Sloe Gin, apricot liqueur, cherry liqueur, aromatic bitters, fresh lime juice, fresh ginger extract, cane syrup and chilled seltzer water £ 8.95 See Page 29

Pimm’s Cup: Pimm’s No 1, fresh lemon juice, fresh ginger extract, cane syrup and chilled seltzer water £ 8.45 See Page 23

Finn McCool: Finlandia Vodka, Amer Picon, house-made passion fruit cordial, fresh lemon juice and chilled tonic water £ 8.95 See Page 27

Gin-Gin Mule: Plymouth Gin, fresh lime juice, fresh spearmint, cane syrup, aromatic bitters, fresh ginger extract and chilled seltzer water £ 8.95 See Page 33

The Phoenix: Plum-infused Poitin, poire eau de vie, fresh lemon, local flower honey and pure County Armagh apple juice. £ 9.95 See Page 51

Bramble: Bombay Sapphire Gin, blackberry liqueur, fresh lime juice, fresh blackberries and cane syrup £ 8.45 See Page 53

Blushing Lady: 42 Below Vodka, fresh pomegranate juice, fresh white grapefruit & lemon juices, house-made orgeat syrup and a dribble of rosewater £ 7.95 See Page 59

Jack Rose: Bonded-proof Applejack, fresh lime juice and house-made grenadine £ 7.95 See Page 65

�t a GlanceOur top 12 Selling Drinks:

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- Champagne Cocktail- Alfonso (NEW)- Jimmy Roosevelt (NEW)

Champagne Cocktail

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- Classic White Peach Bellini- French 71 (NEW)**- Champagne Negroni (NEW)**

Bellini

Style:

ELEGANT

REFINED

Drinks of the

and

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The first Cocktail to incorporate Champagne as an ingredient was accurately, if unimaginatively, named the “Champagne Cocktail”. The first reference to this beverage appeared in 1850 when Frank Marraytt, who was travelling around San Francisco, stated, “More French wines are drunk in California, twice over, than by the same population of the United States”.

The Champagne Cocktail was seen during this period as a pick-me-up style drink. It became the drink of the sporting crowd and remained so until well into the 20th Century. The young ladies of America also loved this drink

and it went on to acquire the nickname “Chorus Girl’s Milk.”

A recipe appears in Jerry Thomas’s “How to Mix Drinks or The Bon-Vivant’s Companion” (1862). Jerry served his

Champagne Cocktail over ice and poured the ingredients back and fourth to achieve a “foamy head”. We wanted to replicate this method so we make this drink over ice, although we don’t pour it back and forth, as that loses its bubbling sensation.

Many people also associate Cognac with this drink; however this was only added in 1898 by Delaware mixologist Joseph Haywood who simply advised: "Add one-half glass brandy.” Different bartenders’ guides use different recipes; however for this volume of the bar book we wanted to get closer to the first Champagne Cocktail, the drink that was known as a Morning Bracer. We feel this drink is a beautifully refreshing Champagne tonic.

- Champagne Cocktail: Into an ice-filled Fizz Glass add 7.5mls cane syrup, 125mls Brut Champagne and 3 dashes aromatic bitters. Churn briefly with bar-spoon and ornament with lemon zest & fruits in season. Serve with a straw.

- Alfonso: Brut Champagne, Dubonnet, Peychaud’s Bitters and cane syrup (NEW)

- Jimmy Roosevelt: Brut Champagne, Hennessy VS Cognac, Green Chartreuse, aromatic bitters and cane syrup (NEW)

Champagne Cocktail

The

Variants and Mixology:

All £13.95

Elegant and Refined

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The Bellini was invented sometime in the late 1930s by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry’s Bar in Venice. He named the drink the Bellini because of its unique pink colour, which reminded Cipriani of the colour of the toga of a saint in a painting by 15th-century Venetian artist Giovanni Bellini. The drink started as a seasonal speciality at Harry’s, a favourite haunt of Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis and Orson Welles, situated right on the Saint Mark’s Bay waterfront area.

Later, the drink also became popular at the bar’s New York counterpart and, after an entrepreneurial Frenchman set up a business to ship fresh white peach pureé to both locations, it became a year-round favourite.

The Bellini consists of puréed white peaches and Prosecco, which is an Italian sparkling wine. The original recipe was made with a bit of raspberry or cherry juice to give the drink its unique pink glow. Due, in part, to the limited availability of both white peaches and Prosecco, several variations exist today.

Other sparkling wines are commonly used in place of Prosecco, though it has to be said that richly-flavoured French Champagne does not pair well at all with the light, fruity flavour of the Bellini. The recipe for the Bellini served at Harry’s Bar today calls for one third fresh frozen puree and two thirds Prosecco.

At the bar we prefer not to use frozen purees of any nature, so we make our own peach mix by first draining off canned peaches and then steeping them overnight in a combination of light Itailian white wine, limoncello, fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. We then take out the lemon zest and puree this all the next day, using a hand blender and strain the mixture through a colander to obtain the desired consistency.

The

- Classic White Peach Bellini: Stir over ice 60mls house-made peach puree, 5mls cane syrup, 2 dashes peach bitters and 75mls Prosecco. Strain into a pre-chilled Champagne Flute. Top up with fresh Prosecco from bottle.

- French 71:** Plymouth Gin, Olorosso Sherry, fresh lemon juice, cane syrup and Brut Champagne (NEW)

- Champagne Negroni:** Plymouth Gin, Martini Rosso, Campari, fresh lemon & ruby grapefruit juices, cane syrup and Brut Champagne (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £13.95

Bellini

Elegant and Refined

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- Pineapple Pisco Punch Bowl- Seafarers Punch**

The Bowl of Punch

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- Sherry Cobbler- Chianti Cobbler- Rhine Wine Cobbler

The Sherry Cobbler

The Pimm’s Cup

- Pimm’s Cup- Cider Cup- Claret Cup

DRINKS OF THERICH & FRUITYSTYLE :

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Punch came to the English colonies in America from the English colonies in India. The word is from the Hindustani panch, meaning “five”; referring to the five ingredients that are used in the drink, namely tea, arrack, sugar, lemons and water.

The English took very quickly to the new drink and soon the word appeared in English ballads, showing that Punch was well known. Every social gathering of the well-to-do soon had a Punch Bowl. Every dinner was prefaced by a Bowl of Punch passed from hand to hand, while the liquor was drunk from the bowl.

Punch became popular in New England just as it did in old England, in fact, wherever English-speaking sea rovers could spread word of the new drink. In 1682 John Winthrop wrote of the sale of a Punch Bowl in Boston, and in 1686 John Dunton told of more than one noble Bowl of Punch in New England. Punch was popular in Virginia, it was popular in New York, it was popular in Pennsylvania. William Black recorded in his diary

in 1744 that in Philadelphia he was given cider and Punch for lunch; rum and brandy before dinner; Punch, Madeira, Port, and Sherry at dinner; Punch and liqueurs with the ladies; and wine, spirit, and Punch till bedtime; all in Punch Bowls big enough for a goose to swim in.

The importation to England and America of lemons, oranges, and limes for use as Punch “sowrings,” as they were called, was an important part of the West Indian and Portuguese trade. The juices of lemons, oranges, limes, and pineapples were all used in Punches, and were imported in demijohns and bottles.

The Bowl of Punch

- Pineapple Pisco Punch (Serves 10): Pour directly into a Punch Bowl over 1 large block of ice, 1 Bottle Alto Del Carmen Pisco Brandy, 350mls fresh lemon juice, 175mls house-made pineapple syrup, 12 dashes aromatic bitters and 50mls cane syrup. Stir well with ladle and garnish with macerated pineapple chunks.

- Seafarers Punch (Serves 10):** Plymouth Gin, Noilly Prat Rouge, housemade blackberry and raspberry cordials, fresh lime, cane syrup and Jerry Thomas's Own Decanter Bitters.

Variants and Mixology:

All £89.95

Rich and Fruity

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The Sherry Cobbler was the drink of its era. The first time this beverage appeared in print was in The Gentleman’s Magazine by William Burton and Edgar Poe during the year of 1837. They said: “...the “cobler", a light vinous Punch, exceedingly well iced, and grateful to the delicate aesophagus.”

A Cobbler is as stated above, a light Punch; although the main point of difference between the Cobbler and the Punch is that the Cobbler is not spiced. However I will leave it to Richard Bonnycastle, who wrote Canada and Canadians in 1846, to describe what a Cobbler is: “...but he does. I am ashamed to say, admire a Sherry Cobbler.

Particularly if he does get a second-hand piece of vermicelli to suck it through. Reader, do you know what a Sherry Cobbler is? I will enlighten you. Let the sun shine at about 80 Fahrenheit. Then take a lump of ice; fix it at the edge of a board; rasp it with a tool made like a drawing knife or carpenter’s plance, set face upwards. Collect the rasping, the fine rasping, mind, in a capacious tumbler; pour

thereon two glasses of good Sherry, and a good spoonful of powdered white sugar, with a few small bits, not slices, but bits of lemon, about as big as a gooseberry. Stir with a wooden macerator. Drink through a tube of macaroni or vermicelli.”

The Sherry Cobbler gained worldwide recognition due to the new device called a “straw”. This drink is believed to be the first that incorporated a straw and, as Dave Wondrich writes in his book Imbibe: “Sherry Cobbler was the killer app that brought it (the straw) into common use.”

By the late 19th century this drink had achieved universal popularity and was drunk all over the world. Harry Johnson - the self-proclaimed “Don of Bartending” - spoke of the Sherry Cobbler in his New and Improved Bartenders’ Manual in 1888: “The Sherry Cobbler is without doubt the most popular beverage in the country, with ladies as well as with gentlemen.”

The Sherry Cobbler

- Sherry Cobbler: Swizzle over cracked ice in a mixing glass 50mls Olorosso Sherry, 10mls fresh lemon juice, 10mls fresh orange juice and 10mls cane syrup. Pour everything into a pre-chilled Punch Goblet and garnish with fruits in season. Serve with a straw.

- Chianti Cobbler: Chianti DOCG, house-made raspberry cordial, fresh berries and chilled seltzer water.

- Rhine Wine Cobbler: Rhine Wine, kirsch, house-made raspberry cordial, fresh lime juice, fresh berries and chilled seltzer water.

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.45

Rich and Fruity

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Pimm’s No. 1 Cup, which is the main ingredient in the Pimm’s Cocktail, is a brown-burgundy-coloured, gin-based, semisweet, fruity liqueur. The liqueur is so strongly associated with the Pimm’s Cocktail that the drink is often called the Pimm’s Cup.

The Pimm’s history begins in London in 1823, when James Pimm opened Pimm’s Oyster Bar in London’s financial district. He served oysters alongside the “house cup”; a Gin Sling with a proprietary mix of liqueurs and fruit extracts. The drink was initially served as a digestive tonic in a tankard and was such a big hit that he expanded the

business to sell it by the bottle to other taverns. In 1859, he began selling Pimm’s No. 1 commercially and the drink became a must-have concoction among the fashionable socialites of England.

After the Second World War he followed with Pimm’s No. 2 Cup, made with a Scotch base and Pimm’s No. 3 Cup, with a brandy base. Eventually six Pimm’s Cup versions were released, with base spirits rum, rye and vodka completing the line. It is hard to find these Pimm’s today, as only No. 1 and No. 6 are produced any longer.

In England, the beverage is almost as much a tradition as the cup of tea and the English down it by the gallon during the summer months. It has also become the drink of Wimbledon, enjoying a relationship similar to that of Mint Julep and the Kentucky Derby. Traditionally the drink is served long with lemonade or ginger ale and uses plenty of seasonal fruit.

At the bar, we have opted for a more concentrated version using instead fresh ginger extract and fresh lemon juice topped up with chilled seltzer water.

The Pimm’s Cup

- Pimm’s Cup: Shake hard over ice 50mls Pimms No.1 Cup, 25mls fresh lemon juice, 10mls fresh ginger extract and 15mls cane syrup. Strain into a glass cup filled with cracked ice and top up with chilled seltzer water. Ornament with fresh cucumber, apple slices, mint and fruits in season. Serve with a straw.

- Cider Cup: Hennessy VS Cognac, Calvados, curacao, fresh lemon, cane syrup, apple cider and chilled seltzer water.

- Claret Cup: Bordeaux Claret, maraschino liqueur, fresh lemon, cane syrup and chilled seltzer water.

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.45

Rich and Fruity

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- Ultimate Gin & Tonic- Gincognito (NEW)**- Finn McCool (NEW)**

Gin & Tonic26

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- Sloe Gin Ginger Sling**- Rangoon Sling (NEW)**- Gin Sling (NEW)- Solomon Sling (NEW)

- The Sicilian** - Eton's Blazer (NEW)- Mr. Harrison (NEW)** - The Cincinnati Kid (NEW)**

The Gin Sling

The Collins

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- The Southside- The Fernet Side (NEW)**- Gin-Gin Mule

The Southside

- Moscow Mule- El Diablo (NEW)

The Moscow Mule

- Martinique Rhum Swizzle - Green Swizzle (NEW)- Queens Park Swizzle

The RHum Swizzle

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- Dark and Stormy- Melancholy Punch (NEW)**

Dark and Stormy

- Kentucky Mint Julep- Real Georgia Mint Julep

The Mint Julep

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A Gin & Tonic is a Highball style drink made with gin and tonic water and is usually garnished with a slice of lime, lemon or cucumber. This drink was introduced by the army and the British East India Company in India during the 19thcentury. They had been searching for ways to get their men to ingest quinine, which is used to treat malaria and has at times been thought to repel mosquitoes.

Because the tonic water consumed to prevent malaria in the 18th century was extremely bitter, gin was added to make it more palatable. The bitter flavour of quinine complemented the green notes of the gin really well and soon the drink’s popularity was established.

Although today’s tonic water has no real medical role (the amount of quinine in modern tonic water is a fraction of what is needed for the treatment of malaria), the Gin & Tonic still remains a very popular drink. Tonic water available today contains less quinine and

is consequently less bitter. Because of its connection to warmer climates and its refreshing nature, this drink is more popular during the warmer months.

We believe that this drink’s success really is dependent of the quality of the products that are used in its preparation. We use Oxley Gin and we mix this together with Fever Tree Natural Tonic Water because of its fresh, clean citrus flavour. We believe that these two products mixed together, served long over ice then garnished with a thin sliver of fresh cucumber, is the perfect way to enjoy this drink.

The Gin & Tonic

- Ultimate Gin & Tonic: Build into an ice-filled highball glass 35mls Oxley Gin and top up with Fever Tree Natural Tonic Water. Garnish with a sliver of fresh cucumber and serve with a stirrer.

- Gincognito:** Plymouth Gin, fresh lime juice, fresh coriander, cane syrup, Peychaud’s Bitters and chilled tonic water (NEW)

- Finn McCool:** Finlandia Vodka, Amer Picon, house-made passion fruit cordial, fresh lemon juice and chilled tonic water (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.95

LONG and Refreshing

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Originally Slings were made with any spirit such as rum, Cognac, or Oude Genever mixed with water, sugar, ice and perhaps some fresh nutmeg grated on top.

Slings have now become a bit misunderstood. Due to the creation of the Singapore Sling, people nowadays mainly associate the Sling with tropical juices and grenadine, which is a travesty. The Singapore Sling was created during the early 1900s, in Singapore’s fabulous Raffles

Hotel.

The Singapore Sling is often touted as a "pre-tiki" tiki-style drink, due to its use of fresh lime juice, pineapple juice and other ingredients and was created by Hainanese-Chinese Bartender, Mr. Ngiam

Tong Boon. Cocktail historian Ted Haigh believes that the Singapore Sling concocted at Raffles these days bears no resemblance to the original recipe. The earliest reference anyone has found to a pineapple-based Singapore Sling is from 1977 and this is from the nephew of Ngiam Tong.

Before the 1970s there were numerous variations cited in newspapers and Cocktail books all over the world, which led to claims that no-one knows the exact recipe for the Singapore Sling.

The recipe we use is based on one listed in Stanley C. Arthur’s book, “Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix Em” (1937). That recipe contains Dry Gin, apricot brandy, cherry brandy, lime juice and chilled seltzer. We tweaked this recipe and added Sloe Gin, fresh ginger extract, cane syrup and aromatic bitters - to make it a truly refreshing variation.

The Gin Sling

- Sloe Gin Ginger Sling:** Build in an ice-filled highball glass 20mls Plymouth Gin, 20mls Sloe Gin, 7.5mls apricot brandy, 7.5mls cherry liqueur, 5mls fresh ginger extract, 5mls cane syrup, 25mls fresh lime juice, 2 dashes aromatic bitters. Stir briefly and top up with chilled seltzer water. Garnish with 2 speared raspberries and a mint sprig tip. Serve with a straw.

- Rangoon Sling:** Plymouth Gin, curacao, house-made lime cordial, fresh lime juice, aromatic bitters, orange bitters and chilled seltzer water (NEW)

- Gin Sling: Plymouth Gin, Martini Rosso, fresh lemon juice, cane syrup and chilled seltzer water (NEW)

- Solomon Sling (Chad Solomon): Plymouth Gin, kirsch eau de vie, cherry liqueur, fresh lemon juice, cane syrup, aromatic bitters and chilled seltzer water (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.95

LONG and Refreshing

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The Tom Collins is named after a great hoax that occurred in 1874 and was kick-started by people living in New York, Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the United States. Mr. Collins was an imaginary villain who was meant to be running around the cities bad-mouthing people. The people he was supposedly bad-mouthing were understandably upset and keen to know who this villain was. Newspapers encouraged the hoax by printing sightings and urging citizens to find the slanderer. More often than not, the attempt resulted in the ‘victims’ making

complete fools of themselves.

The recipe for the Tom Collins drink first appeared in the 1876 edition of Jerry Thomas’s Bartender’s Guide. Since New York based Thomas would have been well aware of the hoax, this is the most plausible source of

the name for the drink.

By 1878, the Tom Collins was being served in the barrooms of New York City and elsewhere. It was identified as ‘a favourite drink in demand everywhere’ in the 1878 edition of The Modern Bartender’s Guide by O. H. Byron. In that book, the Tom Collins served with gin, whiskey and brandy were considered to be the fashionable drinks of the moment.

A Collins is essentially a built drink that is served in a Collins Glass (or large tumbler) over ice. It requires a base-spirit of any kind, fresh lemon juice, cane syrup and is topped with chilled seltzer water. Other components may be added but these are the basic requirements which constitute a Collins.

- The Sicilian:** Build over ice in a 16oz Collins Glass 20mls Plymouth Gin, 20mls Campari, 10mls Cointreau, 15mls cane syrup, 25mls fresh lemon juice, 75mls fresh ruby grapefruit juice, 2 dashes orange bitters and top up with chilled seltzer water. Garnish with an upturned wedge of fresh ruby grapefruit and serve with a long straw.

- Eton's Blazer Plymouth Gin, fresh lemon juice, house-made groseille syrup, kirsch and chilled seltzer water (NEW)

- Mr. Harrison:** Ketel One Vodka, curacao, fresh lemon juice, fresh kumquats, fresh basil, house-made orgeat syrup and chilled seltzer water (NEW)

- The Cincinnati Kid:** Hennessy VS Cognac, elderberry eau de vie, fresh lemon, housemade cinnamon syrup, allspice tincture and chilled seltzer water.

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.95

The Collins

LONG and Refreshing

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Some people reckon that this drink was created out of Prohibition-era Chicago, as gangs battled for the control of superior alcoholic spirits. The Northside gang that was led by Dion O’Banion had secured the good spirits pipeline, leaving only hooch and swill for the Southside gang. Southside gang leader Frankie McErlane and his cohort, former bartender and wealthy bootlegger Joseph Saltis, mixed it with lots of sugar and citrus - and thus,

apparently, the drink was born. However there is no evidence that the Southside was ever served in Prohibition Chicago and it is well documented that Saltis and McErlane focused only on forcing saloons into selling their beer and beer alone.

Others reckon the drink originated at the Southside Sportsmen’s Club in the Hamptons, Long Island. This could well be the case as the men who fished and hunted at this club did their golfing, riding, and racquet sports at places such as the Rockaway Hunting Club, the Maidstone Club and Piping Rock, which might explain how the drink spread to become the definitive summer drink of the country-club set.

The 21 Club in midtown Manhattan and a variety of other post-Prohibition era clubs also make a claim to the Southside’s birthright. However, once again there’s been no direct chain of documentation produced to verify or deny these claims. It is argued that Americans fleeing Prohibition to go to Cuba brought the Southside recipe with them, which resulted in the development of the Mojito. There are accounts of a Punch-style Mojito being in existence since before this time, but the long, refreshing Mojito that we know today never actually showed itself on a Cuban Cocktail menu until 1928. Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Havana first featured it on their menu at that time and it was made with either Gordon’s Gin or Bacardi.

The Southside

- The Southside: Muddle together in a highball glass 35mls Plymouth Gin (or light white rum), 8 spearmint leaves, 25mls fresh lime juice, 7.5mls cane syrup and 2 dashes aromatic bitters. Fill glass with cracked ice and add 50mls chilled seltzer water. Churn ingredients and garnish with a fresh lime wedge and a spring of fresh spearmint. Serve with a straw.

- The Fernet Side:** Plymouth Gin, Fernet Branca, fresh lime juice, fresh spearmint, green cardamon tincture, cane syrup, Old Fashioned Bitters and chilled seltzer water (NEW)

- Gin-Gin Mule (Audrey Saunders): Plymouth Gin, fresh lime juice, fresh spearmint, fresh ginger extract, aromatic bitters, cane syrup and chilled seltzer water.

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.95

LONG and Refreshing

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John Martin would long claim that he invented the Moscow Mule along with his friend Jack Morgan, who owned an Olde English-style pub on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, called the Cock ‘n’ Bull, which had a house brand of ginger beer bottled in stoneware crocks. Martin and Morgan said that a fit of “inventive genius” led them to combine their respective products...

In 1939, Martin was president of Heublein Inc., the most important wine and spirit importer in the United States.

Only six years after Prohibition he made the biggest gamble of this career. He bought the rights to an unknown product called Smirnoff Vodka from a Russian émigré who had set up a company not too

far from where Heublein was located. Martin was a man of vision and he was determined to get Americans to try his new vodka and so hit the road with it in tow.

Following a few abortive years, his big break came when he met up with his old friend Jack Morgan who suggested they try the vodka as a Cocktail base. Morgan had been trying to market his homemade ginger beer for some time and so they tried mixing it together with the vodka, chipped ice, a lime sliver and a twist of cucumber peel. Agreeing it was good, the men christened their libation the Moscow Mule and served it in a distinctive copper mug that wore the Moscow Mule brand and had a kicking mule inscribed on the side.

Martin’s marketing ploy of the Moscow Mule was ingenious; using a Polaroid camera, Martin asked barmen to pose with a bottle of Smirnoff and a copper mug-filled mixture. Leaving one copy in the bar, Martin visited the next bar showing the competitors the sensational ‘secret Cocktail’. The secret spread fast, the Moscow Mule soon became the drink to call from New York to Los Angeles, kicking its way into Cocktail history.

- Old Mule Skinner: Build in a Moscow Mule mug 50mls Smirnoff Vodka, 25mls fresh lime juice, juice, 15mls cane syrup, 15mls fresh pineapple juice, 10mls fresh ginger extract and 2 dashes aromatic bitters. Fill mug with cracked ice and add 50mls chilled seltzer water. Churn ingredients and garnish with a fresh lime wedge, slice of cucumber and a sprig of fresh spearmint. Serve with a straw.

- El Diablo: Cazadores Reposado Tequila, Crème de Cassis, fresh lime juice, juice, cane syrup, fresh ginger extract, aromatic bitters and chilled seltzer water (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.95

The Moscow Mule

LONG and Refreshing

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Icy drink mixtures with rum, first identified as Swizzles and later as Rhum Swizzles, have been mentioned in literature in a variety of locations since the mid 18th century. In these earliest versions, the drink typically consisted of one part of rum diluted with five or six parts water (sometimes with additional aromatic ingredients), which was mixed by rotating between the palms a special forked stick made from a root.

In his 1909 book, Beverages, Past and Present: An Historical Sketch of Their Production, Brotherhood Winery owner Edward R. Emerson asserted that Rhum Swizzles originated on the Caribbean island

of Saint Kitts. American naturalist and writer Frederick Albion Ober noted in 1920 that the great drink of the Barbados Ice Houses was The Swizzle; a combination of liquors, sugar, and ice whisked to a froth by a rapidly revolved “Swizzle-Stick” made from the stem of a native plant, or an allspice bush.

Rhum Swizzles were the drink of choice at what was purportedly the world’s first Cocktail party held in London in 1924 by novelist Alec Waugh. The Rhum Swizzle is also mentioned in Sinclair Lewis’s 1925 novel Arrowsmith, which is set in the fictional Caribbean Island of St. Hubert. In 1930, the drink was referenced in a book written by Joseph Hergesheimer, which refers to the drink containing Bacardi Rum and bitters, as well as a Swizzle-Stick made of sassafras.

- Martinique Rhum Swizzle: “Swizzle” over cracked ice in a mixing jug 50mls Clement VSOP Rhum Agricole, 7.5mls falernum, 25mls fresh lime juice, 10mls cane syrup and 2 dashes aromatic bitters. Pour contents directly into a Highball Glass and top up with fresh cracked ice. Garnish with a spent lime wedge and mint sprig tip. Serve with a straw.

- Green Swizzle: Rhum Agricole, fresh lime juice, house-made orgeat syrup, falernum, Absinthe and chilled seltzer water (NEW)

- Queens Park Swizzle: Morgan’s Dark Rum, falernum, fresh spearmint, fresh lime juice, cane syrup, aromatic bitters and chilled seltzer water.

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.95

The RHum Swizzle

LONG and Refreshing

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A Dark and Stormy (or Dark ’n’ Stormy) is an alcoholic Highball style drink that is popular in many British Commonwealth countries, such as Australia and Bermuda. It consists of dark rum, ginger beer and fresh lime served over ice. The local rum is usually used, for example, “Bundaberg” in Australia or “Goslings” in Bermuda.

In Bermuda, Dark ’n’ Stormy is a registered trademark of Gosling’s Brothers Limited. It is described as “Bermuda’s National Drink”, a description that is often applied to the Rhum Swizzle as well.

The Dark ’n' Stormy has its origins in the ginger beer factory that was run as a subsidiary of the Royal Naval Officer’s Club.

The sailors soon discovered that a splash of the local Gosling’s Black Seal Rum was a great enhancement to ginger beer.

The name is said to have originated when an old sailor, looking through the liquid as he held his glass aloft, observed that the drink was “the colour of a cloud only a fool or dead man would sail under”.

Gosling’s holds the trademark on the Dark ’n' Stormy, so making the drink with any other brand of rum is actually “unlawful”!

- Dark 'n' Stormy: Into a ice-filled Highball Glass, pour 50mls Goslings Black Seal Rum, 10mls falernum, 25mls fresh lime, 10mls fresh ginger extract, 15mls cane syrup and top up with chilled seltzer water. Stir briefly and garnish with a spent lime wedge. Serve with a straw.

- Melancholy Punch:** El Dorado 5yr Rum, El Dorado 3yr Rum, falernum, fresh lime, fresh ginger extract, fresh pineapple juice, black cardamom tincture, aromatic bitters and chilled seltzer water (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.95

Dark and Stormy

LONG and Refreshing

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Mint Juleps were probably first served in the early to mid 1700s in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. “Mint Julep” first appeared in print in a book by John Davis that was published in London in 1803. In it he described the Julep as a “dram of spirituous liquor that has mint in it, taken by Virginians in the morning”.

The French word “julep” is derived from the Arabic word “julab”, which was a drink that was made with water and rose-petals. The beverage had a delicate and refreshing scent that people thought would instantly enhance the

quality of their lives. When the julab was introduced to the Mediterranean region, the native population replaced the rose-petals with mint, a plant indigenous to the area. The Mint Julep, as it was now called, grew in popularity throughout Europe.

The first Mint Juleps were made with rum, rye whiskey and other available spirits. Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey wasn’t widely distributed until later in the 19th century. The drinks popularity came to rest in the agricultural regions of the east and southeast, where farmers awakened at dawn. The Julep was originally served as a morning drink - the spirited equivalent of coffee in today’s society.

The tradition of sipping Mint Juleps migrated westward to Kentucky, and soon became associated with horse racing. In 1816, the Kentucky Gazette mentioned Mint Julep Cups being awarded as prizes at horse races in the Commonwealth.

Mint Juleps became Churchill Down’s signature drink in 1938 when they started to serve the drink in souvenir glasses for 75 cents a drink. Today Kentucky Derby serves more than 80,000 Juleps over the two-day event.

The Mint Julep

- Kentucky Mint Julep: Muddle hard in a pre-chilled stainless steel Julep Cup 50mls Woodford Reserve Bourbon, 12 mint leaves, 15mls cane syrup, 10mls still water and 1½ scoops cracked ice. Churn ingredients thoroughly using spoon-end of bar-spoon. Top up with more cracked ice and garnish with a bouquet of fresh mint. Serve with a long straw.

- Real Georgia Mint Julep: Hennessy VS Cognac, apricot eau-de-vie, fresh mint leaves, cane syrup and still water.

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.95

The Mint Julep

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Drinks of the

Style:

- Caipirinha- Whiskey Smash- The Elixer (NEW)**- El Draque (NEW)

- Brandy Crusta- Sidecar - The Supernatural (NEW)- The Pheonix (NEW)**- Champs Elysees

THE Caipirinha

The Brandy Crusta

- Bramble (Dick Bradsell) - Mabel Berra (NEW) - French Canadian (NEW)** - Holland’s Gin Fix (NEW)

- Clover Club- Maidens Prayer- Celery Sour (NEW)- Aviation- The Last Word

The Bramble

The Clover Club

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48

50

54

- Ramos Gin Fiz(z)- Sloe Gin Fiz(z)- Fiz(z) de Violette

- Pisco Sour- Whiskey Sour- Dizzy Sour (NEW)

- Jack Rose- Aviator (NEW)- Eureka (NEW)

- Penicillin- Presbyterian- Sour de Campo (NEW)

The Ramos Gin Fiz(z)

The Pisco Sour

The Jack Rose

The Penicillin

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- Margarita- Armilitta Chico- Pinky Gonzalez (NEW)

- White Lady - Blushing Lady (NEW)**- Corpse Reviver #2- Twentieth Century Cocktail (NEW)

The Margarita

The White Lady

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58

62

64

66

- Pegu Club Cocktail- Gimlet- Satan’s Whiskers- Cosmopolitan Daisy

The Pegu Club Cocktail

- Daiquiri Naturale- Hemingway Daiquiri- Companero (NEW)**- Vava Voom (NEW)**- Mulatta Daisy (NEW)

The Daiquiri

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46

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The Pegu Club Cocktail received its first mention in Harry MacElhone’s Barflies and Cocktails (1927). It was a drink that was served at The Pegu Club in Yangon, Myanmar (formerly Rangoon, Burma). As the British Empire expanded throughout the 1800s, The Pegu Club was set up as a “Gentleman’s Club” to offer the British people who had settled there a relaxing environment that was far from home. The club may have been established as early as 1866, as has been suggested in Daniel Mason’s book “The Piano Tuner”. It was well regarded by its patrons, which included people like Rudyard Kipling, who even

wrote about it in his book From Sea to Sea (1899):

“The river of the lost footsteps and the golden mystery upon its banks. The iniquity of Jordan shows how a man may go to the Shway Dagon Pagoda and see it not, and to the Pegu Club

and hear too much. A dissertation on mixed drinks.”

It’s up for debate whether or not the original recipe used Rose’s Lime Juice, or fresh lime juice, since the original recipe did not specify. Printed recipes after the drink’s1927 debut in Harry MacElhone’s book specifically mention fresh lime juice, though. But it should also be stated that gin and Rose’s Lime Juice were the perennial colonial favourites.

Harry Craddock observed in his Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) that “the Pegu Club Cocktail has travelled, and is asked for, around the world.”

Today, the original Pegu Club acts as a barracks for the Burmese Army.

The Pegu Club Cocktail

- Pegu Club Cocktail: Shake together over ice 35mls Plymouth Gin, 15mls curacao, 25mls fresh lime juice, 5mls cane syrup, 2 dashes orange bitters and two dashes aromatic bitters. Strain into a pre-chilled 5oz coupette and garnish with a lime wedge.

- Gimlet: Plymouth Gin, house-made lime cordial, fresh lime juice and aromatic bitters.

- Satan’s Whiskers: Plymouth Gin, Martini Dry & Rosso Vermouths, Cointreau, fresh orange & lemon juices and orange bitters.

- Cosmopolitan Daisy: Plymouth Gin, curacao, fresh lemon juice, house-made raspberry cordial and chilled seltzer water.

Variants and Mixology:

All £7.95

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The Daiquiri was supposedly invented around 1898 in the mining town of El Cobre, about 12km north-west of Santiago de Cuba on Cuba’s eastern side. It was created by an American mining engineer called Jennings Cox and a Cuban engineer called Pagliuchi.

Legend states that the men mixed white Bacardi rum with lemons and sugar to help quench their thirst after a hard day’s work. The drink was shaken over ice in a Cocktail

Shaker and served straight up. It was named “Daiquiri” after the beach - Playa Daiquiri - where American troops disembarked during the Spanish-American War at around about the same time.

The drink became very fashionable at the Venus Hotel in Santiago de Cuba, where both American and Cuban engineers would turn up each evening especially to order it. Consumption of the drink remained localized until 1909, when Admiral Lucius W. Johnson, a US Navy medical officer, tried the drink and subsequently introduced it to the Army and Navy Club in Washington DC.

The drink soon made an appearance at the Plaza Hotel in Havana before making its way into the hands of Constante Ribalaigua Vert, a bartender at the Floridita Bar on the Calle Obispo. He added maraschino and cracked ice to the original recipe and blended everything together in an electric blender, thus creating the more commonly known frozen version of the drink in 1912.

- Daiquiri Naturale: Shake hard over ice 50mls Bacardi Superior Rum, 15mls fresh lime juice and 7.5mls cane syrup. Double-strain into a 3oz coupette and garnish with a fresh lime wedge.

- Hemingway Daiquiri: Bacardi Superior Rum, fresh lime juice, fresh grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur.

- Companero:** Havana Club Anejo Rum, white Crème de Cacao, fresh basil leaves, fresh lime juice and cane syrup (NEW)

- Vava Voom:** Brugal Anejo Rum, apricot liqueur, dark Crème de Cacao, fresh lime juice, cane syrup and aromatic bitters (NEW)

- Mulatta Daisy (Agostino Perrone): Bacardi Superior, dark Crème de Cacao, fresh lime juice, ground fennel seeds and cane syrup (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £7.95

The Daiquiri

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The Caipirinha is the national Cocktail of Brazil, and is enjoyed in restaurants, bars, and many households throughout the country. Once almost unknown outside Brazil, the drink has become more popular and more widely available in recent years, in large part due to the rising availability of first-rate brands of cachaça (the base spirit used in its preparation) outside of Brazil.

Cachaça is Brazil’s most common distilled alcoholic beverage. Like rum, it is made from sugarcane; or rather, it’s made from sugarcane alcohol, obtained from the fermentation of sugarcane juice which is afterwards distilled. It has a much stronger flavour and aroma than rum because its distillation process retains more impurities.

The word “caipirinha” is the diminutive version of the word “caipira”, which refers to someone from the countryside, the equivalent of the American English hillbilly. Its exact translation is ‘little countryside drink’ in Portuguese, however, a native Brazilian hardly ever thinks of a “country person” when ordering one, for in the mind of a Brazilian, the word “Caipirinha” is mostly associated with the drink itself.

It seems likely that the Caipirinha evolved as workers on Brazil’s sugarcane plantations looked for a palatable way to drink the cachaça they were helping to produce. An alternative story has it that Portuguese slave traders returning to Europe would use limes to prevent scurvy, which they added to the cachaça they’d picked up in Brazil and combined with sugar for sweetness.

- Caipirinha: Shake over cracked ice in a steel flask 60mls Leblon Cachaca, 1 whole lime cut into small chunks, 1 teaspoon golden sugar and 5mls cane syrup. Empty contents directly into a pre-chilled whiskey tumbler, then top with fresh cracked ice and garnish with a lime wedge. Serve with a short straw.

- Whiskey Smash: Woodford Reserve Bourbon, fresh lemon wedges, fresh mint and cane syrup

- The Elixer:** Sazerac 6yr Rye Whiskey, Green Chartreuse, fresh lemon juice, fresh pineapple juice, fresh mint and cane syrup (NEW)

- El Draque (Drakes Mojito): Cane Aguardiente, fresh lime juice, fresh mint leaves and cane syrup (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.45

The Caipirinha

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Like the Sazerac, the Brandy Crusta is a product of New Orleans in the mid-nineteenth century - and more precisely the product of Joseph Santini who took over the City Exchange Bar in New Orleans ( right in the heart of the French Quarter) around 1850. The Crusta builds on the traditional “Cocktail” of spirit, sugar, bitters and water by adding citrus juice to the mix and also introduces a rather elaborate garnish, which no doubt helped with its popularity in those days.

The aforementioned “garnish” is a sugar-rim on the outside of a glass with the skin of a lemon around it acting as a second lip to the glass. This was purely a local drink until Jerry Thomas, who must have met Santini and/ or had his drinks when he was in the Crescent City during the 1850s. Thomas first documented it in his 1862 book as a drink containing brandy, curaçao, fresh lemon juice and

simple syrup.

Seventy years later Harry Craddock included a version in his 1931 Savoy Cocktail Book which gained maraschino liqueur and omitted the sugar syrup completely; resulting in a much sourer version of the original drink. This appears to be the recipe most modern interpretations of the Crusta come from.

The Crusta is widely considered to be the drink that planted a seed of change in the Cocktail world; a seed that would lay dormant until the 1890s, when suddenly everyone started putting lemon juice and lime juice and even orange juice into their Cocktails.

- Brandy Crusta: Shake over ice 35mls Hennessy VS Cognac, 15mls curacao, 5mls maraschino liqueur and 20mls fresh lemon juice. Strain into a small sugar-rimmed wine glass. Garnish with a long spiral of lemon zest perched upon the rim of the glass.

- Sidecar: Hennessy VS Cognac, Cointreau, Grand Marnier and fresh lemon juice.

- The Supernatural: Calvados, Strega, fresh lemon juice and dashes of orange bitters (NEW)

- The Phoenix:** Plum-infused Poitin, poire eau de vie, fresh lemon, local flower honey and pure County Armagh apple juice (£9.95)

- Champs Elysees: Hennessy VS Cognac, Green Chartreuse, fresh lemon juice, cane syrup and aromatic bitters.

Variants and Mixology:

All £7.95

The Brandy Crusta

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The Bramble is one of the most popular drinks created since the start of the current Cocktail renaissance. Seen on most Cocktail lists all over the UK and known across the world, this drink epitomises a modern classic. It’s simple, fresh, fruity and utterly delicious and was created by Dick Bradsell whilst working in Fred’s Bar in Soho during the mid 1980s.

Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) lists a drink called a Mississippi Mule, which is a simple drink composed of 2/3 Dry Gin, 1/6 fresh lemon juice and 1/6 Crème de Cassis; another comparison is called the Blackberry Beauty which consists of 1 part lime juice, 2 parts blackberry liqueur and 5 parts gin which pops

up in David Embury’s Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (1948). The Bramble relates very closely to one particular family of Cocktail, the Fix. The Fix was a Sour-style drink that used a fancy syrup or cordial and many bartenders employed the use of raspberry of blackberry cordials. Jerry Thomas opted for raspberry in his Holland’s Gin Fix in 1862.

Dick Bradsell is the Godfather of the modern Cocktail era. He’s the reason there is now a string of professional bartenders all over the UK creating elegant and sophisticated drinks. He pioneered simplicity with all his drinks and believed fantastic drinks should not be overly complicated, as drinks which are hard to make don’t have longevity. He created a whole string of modern classics but The Bramble is by far the most famous of these.

- Bramble (Dick Bradsell): Shake over ice 35mls Bombay Sapphire Gin, 25mls fresh lime juice, 15mls Crème de Mure, 10mls cane syrup, 2 fresh blackberries. Strain into a pre-chilled rocks glass over cracked ice and garnish with a speared lime wheel and whole blackberry. Serve with a short straw.

- Mabel Berra Plymouth Gin, Sloe Gin, Swedish Punsch, fresh lemon juice and cane syrup (NEW)

- French Canadian:** Canadian Whisky, fresh lemon juice, cane syrup, Crème de Mure and dashes Absinthe (NEW)

- Holland’s Gin Fix: Bols Genever, fresh lemon juice and house-made raspberry syrup (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.45

The Bramble

Sharp and Sour

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The Clover Club was an organization that met at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel Bar in Philadelphia from the late 1800s until round about the start of the First World War. It was a club dedicated to fine eating, drinking and all round general revelry and its members were mainly lawyers, actors, writers and business types.

No-one knows for sure when the drink bearing the same name was created or who it was that created it, but it is thought to have originated quite late in the club’s history - some people suggesting around 1910.

Some recipes call for Vermouth in the drink and some don’t; some recipes call for the use of fresh raspberries and some call for raspberry syrup; some suggest using fresh lime juice instead of lemon juice - it’s all down to personal preference really. We use Sweet Vermouth in

our version because we feel it complements the raspberry syrup really well and lends this drink a lovely richness that it doesn’t otherwise have.

A Clover Club Cocktail that has been garnished with a mint leaf is called a Clover Leaf.

The Clover Club

- Clover Club: “Dry-shake” 30mls Plymouth Gin, 30mls Martini Rosso, 15mls house-made raspberry cordial, 20mls fresh lemon juice, 2 fresh raspberries and the white of half an egg. Shake again over ice and then strain into a 7oz coupette. Garnish with (or without) a mint leaf.

- Maidens Prayer: Plymouth Gin, Cointreau, fresh lemon & orange juices, cane syrup and egg-white.

- Celery Sour: Plymouth Gin, fresh lemon juice, house-made pineapple cordial, celery bitters and egg-white (NEW)

- Aviation: Plymouth Gin, Creme de Yvette, fresh lemon juice and cane syrup.

- The Last Word: Plymouth Gin, Green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, fresh lime juice and cane syrup.

Variants and Mixology:

All £7.95

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Salvador Negrete claims his son Danny created this drink. The family story goes that Danny got his own bar which was part of the Garci Crispo Hotel. During this time his brother was getting married and for his wedding present Danny created a special drink which he called Margarita - after the lady David was marrying. This all took place in Puebla Mexico in 1936. The salt rim explanation comes from Margarita supposedly liking salt with whatever she ate or drank and, therefore, she salt-rimmed the glass!

Another story comes from Sara Morales who is an expert in the field of Mexican folklore. She claimed the drink was created by Dona Bertha, who owned a place called Bertha’s Bar which was located in Taxco Mexico.

She apparently created this potion in 1930. She makes an appearance in Charles H.Baker’s 1946 edition of the Gentleman’s Companion and he says: “Tequila Special a la Bertita, garnered, among other things, in lovely Taxco, in February of 1937. This is a shocker from the place of Bertita, across the cathedral steps in Taxco… It is a cooler as well and Americans find it very unusual. Take 2 ponies of good Tequila, the juice of 1 lime, 1 tsp sugar, and 2 dashes of orange bitters. Stir in a Collins Glass with lots of small ice, then fill with club soda.”

The last story is about a wealthy Dallas socialite called Margarita Sames. She claimed she came up with the drink for her friends at her Acapulco summer home in 1948. The friends happened to be “famous hotel and restaurant people” who included the likes of Tommy Hilton. Her formula was 2 parts Tequila, 1 part Cointreau and 1 part lime juice and she apparently added the salt rim due to her guests liking their Tequila with a lick of salt.

Regardless of who first created this drink, the Margarita has since become one of the most popular Cocktails in the world today.

The Margarita

- Margarita: Shake over ice 40mls Cazadores Blanco Tequila, 20mls fresh lime juice and 20mls Agave Sec. Strain into a pre-chilled salt rimmed 5oz coupette and garnish with a lime wedge.

- Armilitta Chico: Cazadores Blanco Tequila, fresh lime juice, house-made grenadine, cane syrup, orange flower water and chilled seltzer water.

- Pinky Gonzalez (“Tequila” Mai-Tai): Cazadores Reposado Tequila, curacao, fresh lime juice and house-made orgeat syrup (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £7.95

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This fine drink is essentially a gin Sidecar. However, for being such a simple twist on a Sidecar, the White Lady has a very controversial history. Harry Craddock of the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London and Harry MacElhone of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris have both said they created this drink and both men have plausible theories behind its creation.

Harry MacElhone created his first version of the White Lady Cocktail in 1919 whilst working at Ciro’s Club in London. His version there was a horrid mixture of Cognac,

Dry Gin and Crème de Menthe. Harry then took over a bar in Paris in 1923 and renamed it Harry’s New York Bar. It was while here that Harry wrote a book called Barflies and Cocktails (1927), in which contained

the recipe for his 1919 White Lady. It took a further two years before he changed that recipe by substituting the brandy and Crème de Menthe for fresh lemon juice and Cointreau - and thus the White Lady we know today was born.

However, Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) also has a White Lady listed in it and it was MacElhone’s second White Lady recipe that was featured. Many people argue that it was Craddock himself who created the second version of the drink but to this day, no-one knows for sure. Although it should be said that the White Lady was extremely popular in the Savoy during those days and according to Belfast bartending legend Joe Gilmore - who was the head bartender in the Savoy from 1955 to 1976 - it was the favourite drink of Laurel and Hardy.

The White Lady

- White Lady: Dry shake 25mls Plymouth Gin, 25mls Cointreau, 25mls fresh lemon juice, a dash of Absinthe and the white of half an egg. Shake again over ice and strain into a pre-chilled 7oz coupette. Garnish with a star-anise.

- Blushing Lady:** 42 Below Vodka, fresh pomegranate juice, fresh white grapefruit & lemon juices, house-made orgeat syrup and a dribble of rosewater.(NEW)

- Corpse Reviver #2: Plymouth Gin, Cointreau, Lillet Blanc, fresh lemon juice and a dash of Absinthe.

- Twentieth Century Cocktail: Plymouth Gin, white Creme de Cacao, Lillet Blanc and fresh lemon juice (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £7.95

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The Ramos Gin Fiz(z) was a take on the more common Gin Fiz(z) variety and was not known until 1888 when Henry C. Ramos came to New Orleans and purchased The Imperial Cabinet Saloon from Emile Sunier. The Cabinet was located at the corner of Gravier and Carondelet Streets and above it, on the second storey, was a popular restaurant called The Old Hickory. It was there that Henry Ramos served the Gin Fiz(z) that departed so radically from the other frothy gin mixtures served in New Orleans saloons of that time. For it was only at the Ramos

establishment that one could one get what tasted like a real Gin Fiz(z). Visitors and locals alike flocked in their droves to the Ramos dispensary to down the frothy draft that Ramos alone knew how to make to perfection. One poetical sipper eulogized it thus: “It’s like drinking a flower!”

The Ramos Gin Fiz(z) had remained a secret until the enactment of Prohibition in the US. As Charles H. Baker stated in the Gentleman’s Companion (1939): “The Original Gin Fiz(z), which was long a secret of the Brothers Ramos, and which was given out by them, in a fit of generous aberration during our alleged & ridiculous drought of the Prohibition era. Thinking that the formula, like any history dealing with the dead arts, should be engraved on the tablets of history, it was given to the world after the now rejuvenated Ramos Bar closed for the “dry” era. The main secret of excellence was the platoon of 8 or 1 doz blacamoors who passed the shaker one shoulders to the next, after each had literally shaken his heart out chilling the drink...”

The Ramos Gin Fiz(z) was different from the regular Gin Fiz(z) in that it incorporated vanilla essence, orange flower water and cream – however, the signature of the drink was that it required a very vigorous shake in order to achieve the appropriate “ropy” texture.

The Ramos Gin Fiz(z)

- Ramos Gin Fiz(z): “Dry-Shake” 50mls Old Tom Gin, 15mls fresh lemon juice, 10mls fresh lime juice, 15mls single cream, 4 dashes orange flower water, 15mls cane syrup and the white of half an egg. Shake again over ice and strain neat into a pre-chilled Fiz(z) Glass. Top up with chilled seltzer water and garnish with a lime wedge. Serve with a straw.

- Sloe Gin Fiz(z): Plymouth Gin, Sloe Gin, fresh lemon juice, cane syrup, chilled seltzer water and the white of half an egg.

- Fiz(z) de Violette: Plymouth Gin, Creme de Yvette, fresh lemon juice, cane syrup, chilled seltzer water and the white of half an egg.

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.45

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Politics, religion, genocide, division of land, and prejudice are well known reasons for conflict over the last few centuries, but alas two countries have found something new to fight over: a Cocktail - and more specifically, the Pisco Sour! Pisco is the national spirit of both Peru and Chile and the Pisco Sour is the national drink of both nations. Both these countries have claimed the spirit and drink as their own invention and creation. Pisco generates

a lot of discussion in both countries and both take their heritage of this drink very seriously indeed. Peru holds a national Pisco Sour day on the first Saturday of every February and Chile holds its on 15th May. The two

countries have accounts of how they created the spirit but it’s the mixed drink that we shall focus on.

The Peruvian story is quite simple: an American called Victor Morris created the drink in his own bar called The Morris Bar in the capital city Lima. He created the drink in 1920 as a twist on the Whiskey Sour and his drink became very popular with the locals - so popular in fact the major hotels of the city began serving the drink to their guests from all corners of the world.

The Chilean version of events predates the Peruvian story by 50 years but has yet to be substantiated. A Peruvian paper called El Comericedo de Lquique proposed in 1872 that an English sailor called Elliot Stubb was granted leave to disembark his ship Sunshine to stay in the portside town of Lquique to settle and open his own bar. Once he got his place he started to experiment with his beloved whiskey.

He added Limon de Pica and a dribble of sugar and he obtained perfection. The drink spread to all social clubs and bars of the area and it was absolutely adored. It was said that he often swapped whiskey for the native Pisco in his beloved drink and therefore created the Pisco Sour. Lquique became a Chilean city in 1884.

The Pisco Sour

- Pisco Sour: Dry shake 50mls Pisco Brandy, 15mls fresh lime juice, 10mls fresh lemon juice, 10mls cane syrup and the white of half an egg. Shake again over ice and then strain neat into a small pre-chilled wine glass. Add a dash Amargo Bitters and garnish with a lemon twist and fresh cherry.

- Whiskey Sour: Woodford Reserve Bourbon, fresh lemon juice, cane syrup and egg-white.

- Dizzy Sour: Havana Club 3yr Rum, Sazerac 6yr Rye Whiskey, Benedictine, fresh lemon juice, cane syrup and egg white (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.45

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The Jack Rose was one of the biggest drinks around from its inception in 1905 right through until the start of Prohibition. It is made of Applejack, citrus and grenadine.

There are many contrary beliefs as to how this drink came about. Some say it’s due to the fact that Applejack is used and it is rose coloured. Another story is documented by Albert Stevens Crockett who authored the Waldorf Astoria’s Cocktail Book (1931). He stated in this book that “it is so-called because of its pink colour, the exact shade

of a Jacqueminot rose, when properly concocted”.

Then there is also the tale of Jacob “Bald Rose” Rosenzweig who was a famous

gambler and underworld figure during the early 1900s.

One of the most important books ever published regarding Cocktails again proved its worth with new evidence published on the Jack Rose. That book is Imbibe by Dave Wondrich and in it he unearths a paper from 1905 called the Police Gazette, which states: “Frank J. May, better known as Jack Rose, is the inventor of a very popular Cocktail by that name, which has made him famous as a mixologist.” Frank May was believed to have been employed at Gene Sullivan’s Café in Jersey City and it’s also believed that it was here he created the Jack Rose - which would make sense, as the home of Applejack is indeed New Jersey.

The Jack Rose is dependable in that it can be completely different depending on what recipe you follow. In Robert Vermeire’s Cocktails and How to Mix (1922), he says that a Jack Rose can be made with raspberry syrup or grenadine. In his book Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ’Em (1937), Stanley Arthur states that it should be only made with lemon juice and Peychauds bitters.

The recipe we follow however is quite similar to Jacob Straub’s version from his book Drinks (1914), and which, coincidentally, is one of the first Jack Rose recipes to be documented in a bartenders’ guide.

The Jack Rose

- Jack Rose: Shake over ice 35mls Applejack Bonded Proof, 25mls fresh lime juice, 15mls house-made grenadine, 5mls cane syrup. Strain into a pre-chilled 3oz coupette and garnish with a green apple slice.

- Aviator: Havana Club Blanco, Applejack Bonded Proof, fresh lime juice and house-made grenadine (NEW)

- Eureka: Calvados, Sloe Gin, fresh lime juice and cane syrup (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £7.95

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This drink is a contemporary classic that has already travelled the world. It was dreamt up by Samuel Ross of Milk & Honey in New York and is an excellent take on a Whiskey Sour. Talking about the drink, Sam says: “The year was 2004 and while FC Porto were winning the Champions League, the last Oldsmobile was rolling off the assembly line in Lansing, Michigan. We were playing around with a new shipment of Compass Box at Little Branch, in particular, Whiskey Sour variations. So I essentially did a riff on a Gold Rush (a Bourbon Sour

done with honey) which could also be called an Old Joe Sour or Honey Sour if referring to Saucier’s ‘Bottom’s Up?’ The Bourbon was replaced with the Asyla and the honey was cut in half and bumped up with our sweetened fresh ginger juice. It had a little

spice and tang but it was missing an element - smoke. A little drizzle of the Peat Monster on top of the massive ice block was the trick.

This drink plugged a gap in the marketplace. Bartenders were not experimenting with any good Scotches. I really wanted to utilize the smokiness of an Islay without overpowering the Cocktail. This Cocktail also appealed to both the sexes and is what I call, a "gateway" Whiskey Cocktail, as it is a good starting point for a Scotch novice, but also has a ton of complexity to satisfy any hardened whiskey drinker.”

It is called Penicillin due to the fact that it is made using substances which are all naturally produced.

The Penicillin

- Penicillin: Shake together over ice in a cocktail shaker 40mls Famous Grouse Whisky, 25mls fresh lemon juice, 15mls honey syrup, 10mls fresh ginger extract. Strain into a rocks glass over cubed ice and float 10mls Tobermory Islay Malt on top. Garnish with a slice of house-made crystallized ginger and serve with a short straw.

- Presbyterian: Famous Grouse Whisky, house-made ginger beer, fresh lemon juice, chilled ginger ale and Peychaud’s Bitters.

- Sour de Campo: Pisco Brandy, fresh lemon juice, fresh ginger extract and honey syrup (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.45

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Drinks of the- Fog Cutter- Mai Tai- General Batista**- Kon Tiki Ti Punch**

- Little Polynesian**- Spiced Rum** - Nui Nui (NEW)

The Fog Cutter

The Little Polynesian

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- Beachcomber Zombie- Tortuga (NEW)- Navy Grog (NEW)

The Beachcomber Zombie

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With its blend of rum, brandy, and gin, the Fog Cutter is the "Long Island Iced Tea" of exotic drinks. It doesn’t cut fog so much as put you in one, which even its inventor had to admit. “Fog Cutter, hell,” Trader Vic wrote of his creation, “After two of these, you won’t even see the stuff!”

Eventually Vic took pity on the befogged and replaced his 1940s original with the lighter Samoan Fog Cutter, diluting the original’s strength by blending it with crushed ice

instead of shaking.

After the Mai Tai and the Scorpion, the Fog Cutter became Vic’s third most famous concoction. As such it was offered in many other

restaurants, in many other permutations - not because Vic’s recipe was proprietary and rivals had to guess at it (as was the case with Donn Beach’s closely guarded secret potions), but because the version Vic published in his 1947 Bartender’s Guide provided a template that invited experimentation. A Scandinavian restaurant could make the Fog Cutter its own by floating Danish aquavit instead of Sherry, while bartenders who preferred lime to lemon could make the switch with impunity.

The Fog Cutter

- Fog Cutter: Shake over ice 15mls Havana Club Anejo Rum, 15mls Hennessy VS Cognac, 15mls Plymouth Gin, 15mls fresh orange juice, 30mls fresh lemon juice, 10mls house-made orgeat syrup, 5mls cane syrup and 10mls Fino Sherry. Strain inot an ice-filled Punch Goblet and garnish with an orange spiral, lemon wedge and a mint spring tip. Serve with a straw

- Mai Tai: Appleton VX Rum, Myers Dark Rum, curacao, house-made orgeat syrup and fresh lime juice.

- General Batista:** Havana Club Anejo Rum, fresh orange and lime juice, house-made grenadine, cane syrup, dashes aromatic bitters and a Dark Jamaican Rum float.

- Kon Tiki Ti Punch:** Appleton VX Rum, fresh lime juice, house-made grenadine, fresh pineapple chunks, house-made guava sherbet, cane syrup and chilled seltzer water.

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.45

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This divine drink is a simple twist on the most famed tropical drink, the Mai Tai. The Mai Tai was created by Victor Bergeron in 1944 whilst he was tending bar in Oakland, San Francisco. Trader Vic (he changed his name in the early 1930s) wrote many books covering his life, food and drinks and he has spoken many times about the creation of this magical mixture.

“In 1944, after success with several exotic rum drinks, I felt a new drink was needed. I thought about all the

really successful drinks; martinis, manhattans, daiquiris... all basically simple drinks. I was at the service bar in my Oakland restaurant. I took down a bottle of 17-year-old rum. It was J. Wray Nephew from Jamaica; surprisingly golden in colour, medium bodied, but with the rich pungent flavour particular to the Jamaican blends. The flavour

of this great rum wasn’t meant to be overpowered with heavy additions of fruit juices and flavourings. I took a fresh lime, added some orange curacao from Holland, a dash of rock candy syrup, and a dollop of French Orgeat, for its subtle almond flavour. A generous amount of shaved ice and vigorous shaking by hand produced the marriage I was after. Half the lime shell went in for colour... I stuck in a branch of fresh mint and gave two of them to Ham and Carrie Guild, friends from Tahiti, who were there that night. Carrie took one sip and said, ‘Mai Tai - Roa Ae’. In Tahitian this means ‘Out of This World - The Best.’ Well, that was that. I named the drink ‘Mai Tai’.

This went on to become one of the biggest selling drinks during the Tiki period which ran from 1934 right through to the 1970s, but since the re-emergence of Tiki drinks all over the world in recent years the Mai Tai has now become popular again.

The Little Polynesian

- Little Polynesian:** Muddle in a boston can 2 kumquats, 25mls fresh lime juice, 10mls cane syrup, then add 10mls curacao, 20mls Myers Dark Rum, 20mls Appleton VX Rum and a dash of orange bitters. Shake over ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with cracked ice. Garnish with 2 lime wheels and 2 kumquat wheels. Serve with a short straw.

- Spiced Rum:** Spiced Rum, dark Crème de Cacao, fresh orange and lime juice, cane syrup and sugarcane molasses.

- Nui Nui: Havana Club Anejo Rum, Piemento Dram, fresh lime and orange juice, house-made cinnamon syrup, vanilla extract and aromatic bitters (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.45

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The Zombie first appeared in the late 1930s and was invented by Donn Beach (formerly Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gannt) of Hollywood’s Don the Beachcomber Restaurant. It was popularized soon afterwards at the 1939 New York World’s Fair.

Beach concocted it one afternoon for a friend who had dropped by his restaurant before flying to San Francisco.

The friend left after having consumed three of them. He returned several days later to complain that he had been turned into a

zombie for his entire trip. Athough quite fruity, the Zombie is an extremely potent drink and for many years the Don the Beachcomber Restaurants limited their customers to two Zombies apiece.

Beach was very cautious with the recipes of his original Cocktails. His instructions for his bartenders contained coded references to ingredients such as “Donn’s Mix”, the contents of which were only known to him. As a result of Beach’s secrecy and the enormous popularity of these drinks during the Tiki craze of the 1940’s, countless variations of the Zombie emerged.

Beach’s original recipes for the Zombie and other Tiki drinks have been recently published in Sippin’ Safari by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. Berry researched the origins of many Tiki Cocktails, interviewing bartenders from Don the Beachcomber’s and other original Tiki places and digging up other original sources. Most notably, Sippin’ Safari details Beach’s development of the Zombie with three different recipes dating from 1934 to 1956.

The Beachcomber Zombie

- Beachcomber Zombie: Shake over ice 35mls Bacardi Gold Rum, 35mls Appleton VX Rum, 25mls Lemon Hart 151, 10mls falernum, 20mls fresh lime juice, 10mls fresh grapefruit juice, 2 dashes Absinthe, 5mls house-made grenadine, 5mls cane syrup and 3 dashes Angostura Bitters. Strain into an ice-filled Zombie Flute and garnish with fresh mint, lime and an orange zest spiral. Serve with a long straw.

- Tortuga: Bacardi 151, Lemon Hart Demerera 151, Martini Rosso, White Crème de Cacao, curacao, house-made grenadine, fresh orange, lemon & lime juices (NEW)

- Navy Grog: Bacardi Gold Rum, Myers Dark Jamaican Rum, fresh grapefruit and lime juices, honey syrup and chilled seltzer water (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £15.95

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Style:

Drinks of the

Short & Potent

- Dry Martini- Martinez- Fifty-Fifty (NEW)- Vesper Martini

- Negroni- Lucien Gaudin (NEW)- Boulevardier (NEW)

- Sazerac- Remember the Maine (NEW)- Le Vieux Carre (NEW)

- The Absinthe Drip

- Manhattan- Brooklyn- Affinity

- The Old-Fashioned- Corn and Oil- Rusty Nail

The Absinthe Drip

The Dry Martini

The Negroni

The Sazerac

The Manhattan

The Old-Fashioned

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Initially created in Switzerland at the dusk of the 18th Century, prototype Absinthe combined wormwood, melissa, angelica, hyssop and other herbs into a palatable alcoholic concoction. The “cure-all” ingredients had served as medicine for various ailments for ages, though the chief herb, artemisia absinthium, was particularly known for its digestive and parasite-dispelling properties. Absinthe soon made its way into the ranks of the French Army, where it served as a common health tonic until the soldiers grew fond of the unique, fragrant and very high-

proof beverage.

The army’s love of the emerald aperitif had spread by mid-century to the trendy crowds of Parisian cafes and high society snobs who craved this new and unusual treat. The Absinthe

market grew like wildfire to include both such founding distilleries as Pernod Fils and third-rate brands unafraid to use harsh and harmful solvents and dyes to get the desired green hue.

Traditionally, Absinthe is prepared by placing a sugar cube on top of a specially designed slotted spoon and then placing the spoon on the glass which has been filled with a shot of Absinthe. Ice-cold water is then poured or dripped over the sugar cube so that the water is slowly and evenly displaced into the Absinthe until the drink is diluted to a ratio between 3:1 and 5:1. During this process, the components that are not soluble in water (mainly those from anise, fennel, and star anise) come out of solution and cloud the drink. The resulting milky opalescence is called the "louche". The addition of water is important because it causes the herbs to “blossom” and brings out many of the flavours originally over-powered by the anise.

Originally a waiter would serve a dose of Absinthe, ice water in a carafe and sugar separately, and the drinker would prepare it to their preference. With increased popularity, the Absinthe Fountain, a large jar of ice water on a base with spigots, came into use. It allowed a number of drinks to be prepared at once, and with a hands-free drip, patrons were able to socialize while “louching” a glass.

The Absinthe Drip

- Absinthe Drip: Pour 50mls Absinthe into an Absinthe Glass then put a slotted Absinthe Spoon with 1 white sugar cube across top of glass. Let water drip slowly (drip by drip) from Absinthe Fountain over sugar cube into glass. Once sugar cube has dissolved, add water until a 4:1 ration has been achieved. Stir water and Absinthe mix and garnish with a star anise.

Mixology:

All £8.45

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The Sazerac is the quintessential New Orleans Cocktail and is actually one of the oldest known Cocktails. The original drink is based on a combination of Cognac and bitters created by Antoine Amédée Peychaud in the 1830s. Peychaud was a Creole apothecary who moved to New Orleans from the West Indies and set up shop in the French Quarter in the early part of the 19th Century. To relieve the ailments of his clients, he dispensed a

proprietary mix of aromatic bitters from an old family recipe handed down to him. Around the 1830s he became famous for a Toddy that he made for his friends.

The Toddy consisted of French brandy mixed with his secret blend of bitters, a splash of water and a bit of sugar. Before long, the demand for this drink led to its being served in bars throughout the city (euphemistically called “coffee houses” in those days). One of these, a large bar on Exchange Alley owned by a gentleman named Sewell Taylor, was called the Merchants Exchange Coffeehouse. Not long after, Mr. Taylor started a new business as a liquor importer, with one of his most popular products being a particular brand of Cognac called Sazerac-du-Forge et fils. Someone else then took over the bar, changed its name to the “Sazerac Coffee House” and history was made.

Around 1870, a gentleman by the name of Thomas Handy took over as proprietor of the Sazerac Coffee House and the primary ingredient in the Cocktail was changed from Cognac to rye whiskey due to popular American tastes as well as to the difficulty of obtaining Cognac at the time. Somewhere along the line a dash of Absinthe was added, usually used to coat the glass with the excess discarded. Eventually Absinthe was banned and was replaced by a locally-produced pastis called Herbsaint. Herbsaint is ideal in a Sazerac and is the product that you’ll find is used most often in New Orleans to make Sazeracs.

- Sazerac: Stir over ice in a mixing glass 30mls Woodford Reserve Bourbon, 30mls Hennessy VS Cognac, 7.5mls cane syrup, 3 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters and 3 dashes of Angostura Bitters. Strain neat into a pre-chilled Absinthe rinsed whiskey tumbler and spray with lemon oils.

- Remember the Maine: Sazerac 6yr Rye Whiskey, Martini Rosso, cherry liqueur and Absinthe (NEW)

- Le Vieux Carre: Hennessy VS Cognac, Sazerac 6yr Rye Whiskey, Martini Rosso, Benedictine, Peychaud’s Bitters and Angostura Bitters (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.45

The Sazerac

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A popular theory suggests that The Manhattan Cocktail originated at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the early 1870s, where it was invented for a banquet hosted by Jennie Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill, Winston’s mother) in honour 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.” However Cocktail historian Dave Wondrich argues that this theory is just not true. He states that: “Contemporary newspaper accounts of the two Manhattan Club banquets held for Tilden’s election make no mention of La Jerome, nor indeed

of any woman present - these were strictly men only affairs. And the main banquet was held on the same day Winston Churchill was christened, at Blenheim. The only connection between her and the Manhattan Club was that, some years later, the Club was ensconced in a house her father owned.”

There are prior references to various similar Cocktail recipes called “Manhattan” and served in the Manhattan area. By one account it was invented in the 1860s by a bartender named Black at a bar on Broadway.

The first time the drink appeared in print was in “THE DEMOCRAT”, on 5 September 1882. It read: “Talking about compounders of drinks reminds me of the fact that never before has the taste for “mixed drinks” been so great as at present and new ideas, and new combinations are constantly being brought forward. It is but a short time ago that a mixture of whiskey, Vermouth and bitters came into vogue. It went under various names-- Manhattan Cocktail, Turf Club Cocktail, and Jockey Club Cocktail. Bartenders at first were sorely puzzled what was wanted when it was demanded. But now they are fully cognizant of its various aliases and no difficulty is encountered.”

It first appeared as a recipe in Harry Johnsons Bartenders Manual (1884) in which he included two variants.

- Manhattan: Stir over ice in a mixing glass 40mls Martini Rosso, 20mls Sazerac 6yr Rye Whiskey, 5mls curacao and 3 dashes Bokers Bitters. Strain into a 3oz coupette and garnish with a coin of orange peel.

- Brooklyn: Sazerac 6yr Rye Whiskey, Lillet Blanc, Amer Picon and maraschino liqueur.

- Affinity: Chivas Regal Scotch Whisky, Lillet Blanc, Martini Rosso and aromatic bitters.

Variants and Mixology:

All £7.95

The Manhattan

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- The Old-Fashioned: Stir over ice in a whiskey tumbler 60mls Sazerac 6yr Rye, 7.5mls cane syrup, 2 dashes orange bitters, 2 dashes Angostura Bitters and orange oils. Garnish with an orange twist and two speared cherries.

- Corn and Oil: Doorly’s XO Rum, falernum, muddled lime peel, clove tincture and aromatic bitters.

- Rusty Nail: Johnnie Walker Black Scotch Whisky, Drambuie and orange bitters

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.45

The Old-Fashioned

This is possibly the first drink to be labelled a “Cocktail”! The first printed use of the word “Cocktail” was in 1803 from The Farmer’s Cabinet: “Drank a glass of Cocktail — excellent for the head... Call’d at the Doct’s. found Burnham — he looked very wise — drank another glass of Cocktail.” However it wasn’t until May 13th 1806 that a Cocktail was actually defined. The definition was published in an edition of The Balance and Columbian Repository. It stated a Cocktail was “a stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters.” The “Old-Fashioned” is pretty much what is stated above

- spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters - and the first time a Whiskey Cocktail appeared in print was in 1862, in Jerry Thomas’s Bon Vivant’s Companion.

However the Pendennis Club has laid claim to creating this drink in the 1880s. The Pendennis Club was a Gentleman’s Club located in Louisville, Kentucky and the story goes that the drink was created by the bartender there for James E.Pepper. It was Mr. Pepper who then popularized the potion, even bringing the recipe with him to the Waldorf Astoria. Albert Stevens Crockett backs this up in 1935: “This was brought to the Old Waldorf in the days of its ‘sit down’ bar and was introduced by, or in honor of, Col. James E. Pepper, of Kentucky, proprietor of a celebrated whiskey of the period. It was said to have been the invention of a bartender at the famous Pendennis Club.”

Considering the Pendennis Club didn’t even open its doors until 1881 it’s very unlikely that they created this drink. I believe the bartender in question in the club when Mr.Pepper arrived was simply referring to the Old-Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail.

The oldest recipe for an Old-Fashioned Cocktail is documented in George Kappeler’s Modern American Drinks (1895). In it he promotes the use of lemon peel in this drink whilst other recipes since then have called for orange, pineapple and cherry.

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Stories are manifold regarding the origins and birthplace of this iconic drink but one thing is for sure, it originated in America during the late 19th century. Vermouth arrived in America during the 1860’s and 70’s and its certain that the Martini started life as the Martinez Cocktail. The first documentation of the Martinez was recorded in O.H Bryon’s Modern Bartenders Guide (published 1884) in which he described the Martinez as a gin substitution of a

Manhattan.

The first documentation of the word Martini came a year later in Harry Johnson’s book although the recipe was a Martinez. O.H Bryon doesn’t document a Martini in his 1884 book but

he does list a drink called a Marguerite which consisted of Plymouth Gin and French Vermouth with a dash of orange bitters which is very similar to a Martini.

William Grimes, author of Straight up or on the Rocks states that: “the combination of gin, Vermouth and olive is the holy trinity. And like any theological principle, it has given rise to doctrinal dispute.” This is very true and some of the world’s biggest politicians, movie icons and authors hold extremely strong view on what a Perfect Martini is. Ernest Hemingway for instance liked his Martinis 15 parts gin to one part Vermouth.

However the argument that propelled this drink into stardom started between two friends and fellow authors - W. Somerset Maugham and Ian Fleming. Maugham stated that: “Martinis should always be stirred, not shaken, so that the molecules lie sensuously one on top of the other.” Ian Fleming on the other hand believed that this was utter nonsense and he retaliated through his work. Fleming, author of James Bond novels, penned the now iconic catchphrase “Shaken not stirred” in the novel Diamond are Forever (1956), although Bond doesn’t actually say the line until Dr.No (1958).

- Dry Martini: Stir over ice in a mixing glass 40mls Plymouth Gin, 20mls Noilly Prat. Strained into a pre-chilled 3oz coupette and garnish with olives.

- Martinez: Martini Rosso, Old Tom Gin, maraschino liqueur, Bokers Bitters, orange oils.

- Fifty-Fifty: Equal parts Plymouth Gin and Noilly Prat, orange bitters and lemon oils (NEW)

- Vesper Martini: Gordon's Gin, Russky Standart Vodka, Kina Lillet and lemon oils.

Variants and Mixology:

All £7.95

The Dry Martini

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The Negroni is one of the best known aperitifs in the world; it’s a fantastic palate cleanser and a great introduction to any meal. This potent potion was first served before 1920 and the story goes that a customer called Count Camillo Negroni popped into a bar called Bar Casoni in Florence, Italy one day and asked for his beloved Americano Cocktail to be served with a spike of gin. Bartender Fasco Scardelli is credited with having served it

to him and soon afterwards, all patrons who came into the bar were asking for the Americano “the Negroni way”. Within time this new drink was simply referred to as the Negroni.

The first time the Negroni recipe appeared in bartending literature was in 1929 in a book called Cocktails de Paris and the drink was called a Camparinete. The first time the Negroni appeared in a Cocktail Book was in a 1939 version of the Floridita Bar Book. Both these documentations illustrate how quickly this drink spread as within 10 years or so it was documented in both a French and Cuban book.

The classic Negroni recipe is very simple: it is equal amounts of Sweet Vermouth, Campari and dry gin. However we wanted gin to become the dominant note so we reworked the classic formula a little.

A Negroni can be served two ways - with or without ice. We decided that serving the drink over ice was the best way and to finish this delectable potion off we also decided to add a grapefruit spiral as a garnish, as we feel that a hint of grapefruit adds a beautiful dimension to this truly great drink.

- Negroni: Stir over ice in a mixing glass 35mls Tanqueray Gin, 17.5mls Campari, 12.5mls Martini Rosso, 5mls cane syrup and 1 dash of orange bitters. Pour contents directly into a large pre-chilled whiskey tumbler and garnish with a spiral of grapefruit peel.

- Lucien Gaudin: Plymouth Gin, Cointreau, Campari, Noilly Prat and orange oils (NEW)

- Boulevardier: Hennessy VS Cognac, Dubonnet, Campari and Kina Lillet (NEW)

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.45

The Negroni

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- Pina Colada (NEW)- Pineapple Milk

- Baltimore Eggnog- Tom & Jerry- Sherry Flip (NEW)- Coffee Cocktail

- Grasshopper (NEW)- Brandy Alexander- White Russian

The Pina Colada

Eggnog

The Grasshopper

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The Piña Colada which translates as “strained pineapple” in Spanish, has been the official beverage of Puerto Rico since 1978. The earliest reference to a drink called a Piña Colada containing rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice, occurred in the April 16, 1950, edition of the New York Times: "Drinks in the West Indies range from Martinique’s famous Rum Punch to Cuba’s Pina Colada (rum, pineapple chunks and coconut milk). Key West has a variety of Lime Swizzles and Punches and Granadians use nutmeg in their rum drinks." The earliest known reference to a drink specifically called a Piña Colada is from TRAVEL

magazine, December 1922:

"But best of all is a Piña Colada, the juice of a perfectly ripe pineapple—a delicious drink in itself—rapidly shaken up with ice, sugar, lime

and Bacardi rum in delicate proportions. What could be more luscious, more mellow and more fragrant?"

The above quote describes a drink without coconut, as the Piña Colada was originally just the juice of a fresh pineapple served either strained (colada) or unstrained (sin colar). This evolved into a rum drink, and finally it changed into the drink we know today. But its creation was actually much earlier than that! In the 1820s, Puerto Rican pirate Roberto Cofresí (a.k.a. “El Pirata Cofresí”), to inspire his crew and to keep morale high, gave them a beverage or Cocktail that contained coconut, pineapple and white rum. This was what would be later known as the famous Piña Colada. With his death in 1825, the recipe for the Piña Colada was lost, until the barman of the Hilton Hotel Caribe in Puerto Rico discovered the recipe.

The Caribe Hilton Hotel in Puerto Rico claims that their bartender, Ramon “Monchito” Marrero created the Piña Colada on August 15, 1954 after spending 3 months perfecting the recipe.

- Pina Colada: Dry shake 30mls Bacardi Gold, 20mls Myers Dark Rum, 40mls house-made pineapple & coconut mix, 25mls fresh cream, 30mls fresh pineapple juice and 1 dash aromatic bitters. Shake again over ice and strain into an ice-filled Nog-Glass. Garnish with a fresh pineapple chunk and toasted coconut flakes and serve with a straw (NEW)

- Pineapple Milk: Spanish Brandy, cane syrup, vanilla extract, fresh milk, fresh pineapple juice, aromatic bitters and the white of half an egg.

Variants and Mixology:

All £8.95

The Pina Colada

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Many believe that Eggnog is a tradition that was brought to America from Europe. This is partially true. Eggnog is related to various milk and wine Punches that had been concocted long ago in Europe. However in America a new twist was put on the theme; rum was used instead of wine. In Colonial America, rum was commonly called

“grog”, so the name Eggnog is likely derived from the very descriptive term for this drink, “egg-and-grog”, which corrupted to egg’n’grog and soon to eggnog.

Other experts would have it that the “nog” of Eggnog comes from the word “noggin”. A noggin

was a small, wooden, carved mug. It was used to serve drinks at tables in taverns (while drinks beside the fire were served in tankards). It is thought that Eggnog started out as a mixture of Spanish Sherry and milk. The English called this concoction “Dry-Sack Posset”. It is very easy to see how an egg drink in a noggin could become Eggnog.

With its European roots and the availability of the ingredients, Eggnog soon became a popular wintertime drink throughout Colonial America. In the 1820s Pierce Egan, a period author, wrote a book called “Life of London: or Days and Nights of Jerry Hawthorne and His Elegant Friend Corinthina Tom”. To publicize his work Mr. Egan made up a variation of Eggnog that he called “Tom and Jerry”.

Eggnog, in the 1800s was nearly always made in large quantities and nearly always used as a social drink. It was commonly served at holiday parties and in Baltimore it was a tradition for young men to call upon all of their friends on New Years Day. At each of many homes the strapping fellows were offered a cup of Eggnog and so as they went on their way they became more inebriated.

- Baltimore Eggnog: Dry shake 15mls Hennessy VS Cognac, 20mls rich Madeira Wine, 15mls Appleton VX Rum, 20mls cane syrup, 15mls fresh cream, 50mls full fat milk and a whole egg. Then shake again over ice and strain neat into a large goblet. Garnish with mixed spices and serve with a straw.

- Tom & Jerry: Hennessy VS Cognac, Appleton VX Rum, cane syrup, vanilla extract, fresh cream, aromatic bitters and a whole egg topped up with piping hot milk.

- Sherry Flip: Cream Sherry, cane syrup, fresh cream and the yolk of one egg (NEW)

- Coffee Cocktail: Hennessy VS Cognac, Port Wine, cane syrup and a whole egg.

Variants and Mixology:

All £7.95

Eggnog

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During Prohibition in America all distilleries were ordered to stop manufacturing alcohol and this forced alcohol production underground which resulted in a very poor product. All gins, whiskies and rums produced during this period became very potent and very harsh.This made the bartender’s job harder as he had to disguise the harshness of the base ingredient and thus drinks became sweeter and creamier and so drinks such as the Alexander and the Grasshopper came to fruition.

The first reference to the Brandy Alexander I can find is in Harry MacElhone's Barflies and Cocktails (1927). It’s listed as the Alexander and this drink also pops up in The Savoy Cocktail

Book three years later, however this time it contained gin. It became a very popular drink and as we have learned all drinks that are popular become interpreted and new variations appear; thus the Grasshopper was born.

Due to the great research done by Eric Felten who authored How’s Your Drink, it was discovered that the Grasshopper was the result of a marketing strategy during the 1940s. It was probably influenced by.the enormous success of the marketing plan behind the Moscow Mule by Smirnoff. “The Leroux Liqueurs Company of Philadelphia only made cordials, so what better drink for them to promote than one anchored by a pair of liqueurs. Soon after liqueur companies got into the act, and the Grasshopper was made. Sweet, creamy, and pretty, the Grasshopper quickly became an iconic girly-drink.”

It supposedly originated in Tujagues Bar in New Orleans. David Embury absolutely detested it and called it “Strictly Vile” in his book The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (1949). However Embury believed that anything labelled a Cocktail should whet the appetite and act therefore as an aperitif - but the Grasshopper is not that kind of drink. It’s a fantastic "digestif" that possesses a beautiful minty chocolate flavour with a lovely texture.

- Grasshopper: Shake over ice 25mls white Crème de Cacao, 25mls Crème de Menthe and 25mls double-cream. Strain over cracked ice into a rocks glass and garnish with dark chocolate shavings (NEW)

- Brandy Alexander: Hennessy VS Cognac, dark Crème de Cacao and fresh double-cream.

- White Russian: Russky Standart Vodka, coffee liqueur and fresh double cream.

Variants and Mixology:

All £7.95

The Grasshopper

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- Irish Coffee- Malt Whiskey Skin- Apple Toddy- Port Wine Negus

The Irish Coffee100

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The original Irish coffee was invented in 1942 by a chef called Joseph Sheridan who worked in a restaurant and coffee shop at Foynes Port in County Limerick. Foynes Port was the precursor to Shannon International Airport in the West of Ireland; the coffee was conceived after a group of American passengers disembarked from a Pan Am flying boat on a miserable winter’s evening. In order to warm the passengers up Sheridan had added whiskey to regular coffee and topped it off with whipped cream. After the passengers asked if they were being served Brazilian Coffee, Sheridan told them it was “Irish Coffee”.

Sometime later, a travel writer for the San Francisco Chronicle called Stanton Delaplane tasted the coffee as he was travelling through Shannon Airport. He loved it and brought the idea back to The Buena Vista Restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf, his favourite San Francisco watering hole.

Jack Koeppler, then-owner of the Buena Vista, challenged Stan to help him re-create the wonderful drink that he’d been served in Shannon. Intrigued, Stan Accepted Jack’s invitation, and on the night of November the 10th, 1952, the pair began to experiment. They encountered major problems from the offset trying to get the cream to float and getting the overall balance of the drink just right. But they persevered with religious fervour and success was soon theirs. The fame of the Buena Vista’s Irish Coffees spread throughout the world and today the restaurant claims to make 2000 Irish Coffees a day.

The recipe we use at the bar is one that I’d seen leading US cocktail mixologist Dale DeGroff use during an exhibition in London. I had never liked Irish Coffees before I tasted his version and I fully believe that this is one of the best recipes there is.

- Irish Coffee: Into a pre-warmed 6oz goblet add 50mls Jameson Irish Whiskey, 20mls molasses syrup and 100mls fresh strong coffee. Stir briefly and then float a thick layer of freshly hand-whipped cream on top. Garnish with some fresh grated nutmeg (and shamrock, when in season).

- Malt Whiskey Skin: Redbreast 12yr Irish Whiskey, coarse loaf sugar, hot water and lemon zest.

- Apple Toddy: Havana Club Blanco Rum, Hennessy VS Cognac, spiced syrup and hot apple juice.

- Port Wine Negus: Tawny Port, Crème de Cassis, fresh orange & lemon juices, cane syrup, hot water and clove tincture.

Variants and Mixology:

All £7.95

The Irish Coffee

Hot Drinks

101

Alcohol-Free Drinks:

Alcohol-Fr e e D rinks:sf

Alcodfov

oyh- Stone Bottle Ginger Beer - Traditional Eggnog - Fruit Cup - Black Tea Punch

Stone Bottle Ginger Beer104

103

Ginger Beer is said to have been invented during the mid 1700s in England. The product that was used back then is an entirely different being to Ginger Beer as we know it today. Dave Wondrich talking about how Punch has changed from its inception in the 17th century to what most people know today says: “That bears the same relation to the anaemic concoctions that pass under its name today that gladiatorial combat does to a sorority

pillow fight.”

This is similar to the misconception many people have these days about Ginger Beer; people believe that Ginger Beer is akin to ginger lemonade just a tad stronger than ginger ale and many of today’s Ginger Beer products reflect this perception. When this

was created back in the 1700s it was known for its strong gingery note and for it being refreshingly delicious. Many different versions have been documented over the years and indeed Charles Baker lists two in Jigger, Beaker and Flask (1939): “This is one of the oldest temperance beverage receipts we own, and dates to well back into Georgian days in rural England, Circa 1766.

To our way of thinking a rich Ginger Beer is to average ginger ale as Napoleon brandy is to Nawth Ca’lina white mule. Stone bottles may be ordered in for us by the country grocer, on a few days’ notice and in big towns we may find ‘empties’ in any good delicatessen or provision store. Of course this Ginger Beer may be bottled in glass, but that too is like modernizing any mellowed and ancient custom, or like a charming girl in sport slacks who wears high heels; for them certain of the charm flies out the window, through needless inconsistency.”

Stone Bottle Ginger Beer

- Stone Bottle Ginger Beer: Pour over ice in a Highball Glass 100mls house-made Ginger Beer and 50mls chilled seltzer water. Garnish with house-made crystallized ginger and serve additional seltzer and stone bottle ginger on the side.

- Traditional Eggnog: Milk, cream, cane syrup, vanilla extract, seasonal spices and a full egg.

- Fruit Cup: Fresh orange juice, fresh lemon juice, house-made pineapple cordial and chilled seltzer water.

- Black Tea Punch: Chilled black tea, fresh lime juice, fresh orange juice, house-made raspberry cordial, cane syrup, fresh pineapple juice and chilled seltzer water.

Variants and Mixology:

All £5.95

Alcohol-Free

105

3oz coupette 7oz coupette

absinthe glass eggnog glass

whiskey tumbler

cupcollins glass

julep cup moscow mule cup sour glass

small whiskey tumblerrocks glass

punch goblet

fizz glass

paris goblet pina colada punch cup

tumblerlarge tumblerchampagne flute

flip glass irish coffee glass

5oz coupette

Glassware Chart

107

Index

A

Absinthe Drip P79

Affinity P83

Alfonso P13

Apple Toddy P101

Armilitta Chico P57

Aviation P55

Aviator P65

B

Baltimore Eggnog P95

Beachcomber Zombie P75

Black Tea Punch P105

Blushing Lady P59

Boulevardier P89

Bramble P53

Brandy Alexander P97

Brandy Crusta P51

Brooklyn P83

C

Caipirinha P49

Celery Sour P55

Champagne Cocktail P13

Champagne Negroni P15

Champs Elysees P51

Chianti Cobbler P21

Cider Cup P23

Claret Cup P23

Classic White Peach Bellini P15

Clover Club P55

Coffee Cocktail P95

Companero P47

Corn and Oil P85

Corpse Reviver #2 P59

Cosmopolitan P43

D

Daiquiri Naturale P47

Dark and Stormy P39

Dizzy Sour P63

Dry Martini P87

E

El Diablo P35

El Draque P49

Eton’s Blazer P31

Eureka P65

F

Fifty-Fifty P87

Finn McCool P27

Fiz(z) de Violette P61

Fog Cutter P71

French Canadian P53

French 71 P15

Fruit Cup P105

G

General Batista P71

Gimlet P43

Gincognito P27

Gin-Gin Mule P33

Gin Sling P29

Grasshopper P97

Green Swizzle P37

H

Hemingway Daiquiri P47

Holland’s Gin Fix P53

I

Irish Coffee P101

J

Jack Rose P65

Jimmy Roosevelt P13

K

Kentucky Mint Julep P41

Kon Tiki Ti Punch P71

L

Le Vieux Carre P81

Little Polynesian P73

Lucien Gaudin P89

M

Mabel Berra P53

Maidens Prayer P55

Mai Tai P71

Malt Whiskey Skin P101

Manhattan P83

Margarita P57

Martinez P87

Martinique Rum Swizzle P37

Melancholy Punch P39

Mr. Harrison P31

Mulatta Daisy P47

N

Navy Grog P75

Negroni P89

Nui Nui P73

O

Old-Fashioned P85

Old Mule Skinner P35

P

Pegu Club Cocktail P43

Penicillin P67

Pimm’s Cup P23

Pina Colada P93

Pineapple Milk P93

Pineapple Pisco Punch Bowl P19

Pinky Gonzalez P57

Pisco Sour P63

Port Wine Negus P101

Presbyterian P67

Q

Queens Park Swizzle P37

R

Ramos Gin Fiz(z) P61

Rangoon Sling P29

Real Georgia Mint Julep P41

Remember the Maine P81

Rhine Wine Cobbler P21

Rusty Nail P85

S

Satan’s Whiskers P43

Sazerac P81

Seafarers Punch P19

Sherry Cobbler P21

Sherry Flip P95

Sidecar P51

Sloe Gin Fiz(z) P61

Sloe Gin Ginger Sling P29

Solomon Sling P29

Sour de Campo P67

Spiced Rum P73

Stone Bottle Ginger Beer P105

T

The Cincinnati Kid P31

The Elixer P49

The Fernet Side P33

The Last Word P55

The Phoenix P51

The Sicilian P31

The Southside P33

The Supernatural P51

Tom & Jerry P95

Tortuga P75

Traditional Eggnog P105

Twentieth Century Cocktail P59

U

Ultimate Gin & Tonic P27

V

Vava Voom P47

Vesper P87

W

Whiskey Smash P49

Whiskey Sour P63

White Lady P59

White Russian P97109

111

The Merchant Hotel is a sumptuous five star hotel situated

in the historical Cathedral Quarter of Belfast’s city centre

This magnificent Grade A listed property has been

sensitively restored to its original splendour and continues to

go from strength to strength! The architectural grandeur of the

exterior and the opulence of the interior, demand an excellence

of service and warmth of welcome that immediately sets

guests at their ease, with an ambience that embodies luxury

and comfort around the clock.

The building, which was purpose built as the Head Quarters

of The Ulster Bank, was completed in 1860. Its stunning,

classically styled interiors reflect a remarkable heritage. At

the heart of The Merchant Hotel is our multi award winning

cocktail bar – officially the world’s best hotel bar* and home to

the world’s most expensive cocktail.

*The Bar at The Merchant Hotel was awarded this prestigious

accolade and two others (World’s Best Cocktail Menu’ and ‘World’s

Best Drinks Selection’) at the world famous, internationally

acclaimed Spirit Awards, as part of the ‘Tales of the Cocktail

Festival’ in New Orleans 2009.

Unparalleled Elegance. Unforgettable Indulgence.

A copy of this book is available to purchase from the bar.

The Bar at the Merchant HotelAccolades 2007-2009:

• ThemeMagazineBestNewUKBar2007• ClassMagazineBestUKHotelBar2007• ThemeMagazineBestUKBarTeam&DrinkSelection2008• ClassMagazineBestUKHotelBar2008• ClassMagazineBestUKCocktailExperience2008• ImbibeMagazineBestUKBoutiqueHotelBar2009• TalesoftheCocktailSpiritAwardsWorldsBestHotelBar2009• TalesoftheCocktailSpiritAwardsWorldsBestDrinkSelection2009• TalesoftheCocktailSpiritAwardsWorldsBestCocktailList2009