Drinks 101: 14 Cocktail and Mixed Drink Recipes

This section could be called “Drinking on an Empty Stomach,” as all but one of the drinks in

it are intended for serving on Sunday or holiday mornings before brunch. Brunches, of

course, usually begin between eleven in the morning and one in the afternoon, so that about

half the time your guests will arrive before the sun has crossed the yardarm. If you are

superstitious about that sort of thing, it is easy enough to invite your guests to appear

precisely at high noon.

What you will do about daylight saving time you will have to decide for yourself. I ignore it,

but then I feel what is good for you at twelve-thirty is equally good for you at nine-thirty.

Here you will find nothing about martinis, manhattans, side cars, old-fashioneds, whisky

sours, or daiquiris. There are many numbers of books and guides which will teach you, if you

need to learn, how to make cocktails. There is here, though, one cocktail, heretofore

unheralded and unsung, but highly worthy.

Any drink served before brunch should have certain characteristics. It should appeal to the

eye as well as to the palate; it should be strong enough to encourage conversation, but not so

strong as to render your guests insensible before they sample your delicious food. It should be

smooth and soothing, that it may ameliorate hang-overs from the previous evening’s

debauchery, and, finally, it should not be too filling, lest it impair appetites for what is to

follow. An alexander, for example, would be a worse disaster before brunch—heaven knows

it is a catastrophe at any time—than dropping the main dish in the guest of honor’s lap.

Few drinks, notably Black Velvets and Chambles, possess all these desiderata, but all of the

following have some of them, and all are helpful in relieving a hang-over, if only by making

you forget you have one.

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BAMBOO COCKTAIL SERVES 1

The Bamboo Cocktail is a highly refreshing drink with a low alcohol and calorie count, not

that either is necessarily desirable per se. The only apparent connection between the drink

and the grass is that both thrive in hot climates, and a Bamboo Cocktail is a very pleasant

drink indeed on a hot Sunday morning. Despite the murmurs of “heresy,” now clearly audible

from certain quarters, it makes a not unworthy substitute for a dry martini in tropical climes

where there are certain times of day, before luncheon or dinner for example, when a cocktail

is both appropriate and essential. If you do not believe there are tropical climes in the United

States north of the Potomac River, try Washington, New York, Chicago, or even Boston, in

August.

2 OUNCES DRY SHERRY

2 OUNCES DRY VERMOUTH

2 DASHES ORANGE BITTERS

1 TWIST ORANGE PEEL

2 CUBES ICE

Photo owned by Dennis Mojado

Place the ice cubes in an old-fashioned glass. Hit them gently with two dashes of orange

bitters. Place the twist of peel in the glass, and pour the sherry and the vermouth over the ice.

Stir and serve.

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SHERRY FLIPS SERVES 4

For one who has not yet fallen into the pleasant habit of pre-brunch drinking, a Sherry Flip

provides an ideal starter. Smooth as a Rolls-Royce, soft as an angel’s wing, and ingratiating

as a three-month-old puppy, this drink is salubrious and kind. It is also rich and a little, but

not too, sweet. Two will make their presence felt in a mild way, and three can be fairly

insistent and discouraging to appetite:. It is best to limit the supply, if the fare to follow is to

be appreciated to the full. The belief that Sherry Flips have led many a young girl to her

undoing is not true, and shows that the believer cannot tell a Sherry Flip from a martini.

2 TABLESPOONS SUGAR

1 PINT MEDIUM DRY SHERRY

1 CUP CRACKED ICE

2 EGGS

3 TABLESPOONS CREAM

NUTMEG

Put the sugar in the bottom of a large cocktail shaker. Add sherry, and stir well until the sugar

is dissolved. Add the ice. Beat the eggs well and pour in through a coarse wire sieve. Add the

cream and shake the mixture hard. Strain into six-ounce glasses, sprinkle a little freshly

grated nutmeg over the top, and serve.

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ICED SHERRY SERVES 1

Peterkin Pepit, that grand old wizard of the bottle, served Iced Sherry one warm Sunday

morning in his living room to a young marine. He was immediately taken to task by an

erudite, gastronomic, culinary, and right thinking friend on the ground that the youth would

grow up to believe it was sometimes right to put ice in sherry. The friend, of course, was

right. Peter pointed out that the youth was a marine, and ventured that, despite his age, his

drinking habits had no doubt been formed sometime since. It was an explanation, not a

justification. One just does not pour sherry over ice and then drink it. It is, nevertheless, a

splendid morning potation. It has a clean, crisp taste; it is light; and it picks one up, always

assuming one needs picking up. A fine cocktail sherry should not, of course, be used for this

purpose.

4 OUNCES PALE DRY SHERRY

1 TWIST LEMON PEEL

¼ CUP CRACKED ICE

Use a large old-fashioned glass or a six-ounce tumbler. Half fill the glass with ice, put in the

lemon peel, and pour the sherry over it. Serve in one minute.

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BALTIMORE MILK PUNCH SERVES 4

Beneficent, benevolent, and benign best sum up the effects of a milk punch. In Baltimore,

where this recipe comes from, milk punches appear regularly on Sunday and holiday

mornings, before open fires in the fall and winter, and on shady porches and lawns in the

spring and summer. Not so festive as some, not so good an appetizer as others, it yields to

few as a soother of troubled minds and a calmer of jittery nerves. The milk makes it very

smooth, but the drink has a delayed reaction which can be described only by the word

“insidious.”

Photo owned by Dinner Series

6 TEASPOONS SUGAR

l½ PINTS MILK

8 OUNCES RYE WHISKY

2 OUNCES DARK RUM

l½ CUPS CRACKED ICE

FRESH NUTMEG

Put the sugar in the bottom of a large cocktail shaker. Add half a pint of milk, and stir until

the sugar is dissolved. Pour in the whisky and rum; add ice and shake vigorously. Divide the

contents of the shaker, including the ice, among twelve-ounce highball glasses. Fill them with

the remainder of the milk, and top with a generous sprinkling of fresh grated nutmeg.

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BLACK VELVETS SERVES 4

A number of years ago, Evelyn Waugh described a group of typical Waugh characters

gossiping over a pitcher of Black Velvets. Typical Waugh characters are highly sophisticated

people; they can tell a hawk from a hemeshaw, or a beam from a mote. If, a man thought, if

typical Waugh characters like Black Velvets, the drink must have something. It has:

champagne and stout. It is ideal for that lazy period before brunch when you are reading the

Sunday paper, or doing a crossword puzzle, or playing parlor games, or just sitting, or best of

all, entertaining friends before feeding them. Nothing will start a brunch more auspiciously,

nothing will do more to whet appetites, and nothing else, except sleep, will so well knit up the

ravelled sleeve of care. Many people do not care for stout; some few do not like champagne;

all agree that a Black Velvet is some kind of epitome. On the theory that there is no such

thing as a big drink, the recipe below will allow one very respectable serving for each of four

people.

1 FIFTH CHAMPAGNE, COLD

2 BOTTLES (l2 OUNCES EACH) STOUT, COLD

Chill a large pitcher. Pour the champagne into it. Add the stout slowly, pouring down the side

of the pitcher to prevent foaming. Serve in chilled glasses. Hollow-stem beer glasses make a

fine appearance.

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BLACK WIDOW SERVES 1

The Black Widow is a bonus recipe and an added starter. As its name implies it is a lethal

drink, but smooth. It will entangle you in its web very subtly, but it will entangle you. It is a

before-brunch drink for the wary only, and belongs probably in that group of long afternoon

or late after-dinner drinks which include: mint juleps, highballs, and French seventy-fives. If

handled with care and solicitously nursed, however, it can be a potent party starter-offer. But

please, and this is no drill, not more than two to a customer. A Black Widow is actually a

spiked Black Velvet.

2 OUNCES COGNAC

3 OUNCES CHAMPAGNE

3 OUNCES STOUT

Everything should be well chilled, including the glasses. Mix the cold stout and the cold

champagne in a cold pitcher. Pour the cold cognac into a cold eight-ounce glass. Add the

champagne and stout, and serve at once.

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CHAMBLES SERVES 4

The recipe for Chambles, according to its inventor, G. Hutcheson, Esq., gourmet and chef,

"came to me suddenly out of the night." If so, it was a brilliant conception, brilliantly

executed. Perhaps the highest compliment which can be paid to it is to quote the remark made

by Peterkin Pepit, that notoriously jealous wizard of the bottle, when he first tasted

Chambles. Peter exclaimed, "It is the least!" Unlike most punches, Chambles is dry. It is also

smooth and not without authority. Few drinks are better at: starting a brunch off in the way it

should go, whetting the appetite, or overcoming the evil effects of prior alcoholic

indiscretion. This recipe makes enough for four thirsty people.

½ PINT LARGE FRESH STRAWBERRIES

5 POUND PIECE ICE

1 FIFTH CHABLIS, COLD

4 OUNCES APPLEJACK

1 FIFTH CHAMPAGNE, COLD

Clean the strawberries. Place the chunk of ice in a large punch bowl. Pour in the chablis, add

the applejack, and then champagne. Put in the whole strawberries, and decorate the bowl by

floating one pink camellia or red rose in the liquid. Serve in chilled Rhine wine glasses,

placing two strawberries in each and ladling the wine over them.

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AUGER SERVES 1

According to the dictionary, an auger is a big gimlet; so is this drink. A gimlet is a cocktail

invented by the British in the hot climes of the Far East and is supposed to have cooling

rather than heating properties, which it has. When made right, which it frequently is not, 2:

gimlet is a more than satisfactory substitute for a martini or an old-fashioned on a steaming

day. It is, however, a little overpowering for antemeridian drinking. The Auger, on the other

hand, is longer, cooler, and less violent. It makes a good morning potion, especially in sultry

weather, and is still potent enough to create a gay and festive atmosphere. Under proper

meteoric conditions it could even be said that an Auger augurs a good party. The lime juice

must be unsweetened, and the gin should, if possible, be chilled before use.

2 ICE CUBES

2 OUNCES GIN

¾ TEASPOON ROSE'S UNSWEETENED LIME JUICE

1 SLICE LIME, VERY THIN

Crack the ice cubes and place them in an eight-ounce glass. Pour the gin over the ice, and add

the lime juice. Fill the glass with plain, tap, or branch water—never seltzer—and stir well.

Garnish with the lime slice and serve.

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BLOODY MARY SERVES 1

For reasons not altogether clear to at least one not inexperienced drinker and hang-over

nurser, the Bloody Mary is classed among the best of "morning-after" concoctions.

Detectable perhaps is the fine American hand of Madison Avenue. Faith in its efficiency,

however it arose, is so widespread that it must be included in any list of drinks intended for

Sunday morning. Some highly competent imbibers swear by it, and they should know, if

anyone should, of its curative and restorative powers. Bloody Marys should be made with

very cold ingredients or allowed to chill and mellow in a freezer until they reach an Arctic

temperature.

2 OUNCES VODKA

4 OUNCES TOMATO JUICE

1 QUARTER LEMON

1 TEASPOON WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

2 DASHES TABASCO

¼ TEASPOON SALT

¼ TEASPOON PEPPER

Photo owned by William Clifford

Use a six- or seven-ounce tumbler or a large old-fashioned glass. Pour in the vodka; add the

tomato juice. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the mixture, and discard the lemon.

Season with the Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces and the salt and pepper. Stir well and

serve very cold.

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TROIKA SERVES 4

Steppe by steppe through many versts the Troika will lead you on, somewhat sweetly, to

brunch. It is light and refreshing but still has enough authority to live up to its name. This

drink is at its best in the early spring or late fall when there is a little nip in the air. It is a mite

too warming for summer. The seltzer water should be well chilled but not icy lest it lose

effervescence.

½ PINT VODKA, COLD

1 PINT DUBONNET, COLD

1 PINT SELTZER WATER, CHILLED

Pour the cold vodka into a large, well-chilled pitcher. Add the Dubonnet, and then the seltzer

water. Serve in pre-chilled ten-ounce glasses.

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FROZEN RYE SERVES 1

In some parts of the country, notably in Maryland and its environs, a Frozen Rye is a much-

served summer drink. It frequently competes successfully with a Tom Collins or a gin and

tonic during the afternoon before people settle down to the serious business of cocktails. It is

in reality a long whisky sour, and makes a perfect long drink for those whose alcoholic

addiction runs to that well-known cocktail. Because it is not so strong, and because it is cool,

refreshing, and unusual enough to start tongues wagging even before it is tasted, a Frozen

Rye makes one of the better ways of getting a Sunday or holiday morning party off to a good

beginning. It is best made with bonded rye whisky, but is not unpalatable if made with

Canadian.

2 OUNCES RYE WHISKY

1 ORANGE

1 LEMON

CRUSHED ICE

Put the whisky in a ten- or twelve-ounce highball glass. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and

the orange and pour the juice into the whisky. Fill the glass with crushed ice and stir

vigorously until frost forms on the outside. Serve at once.

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TIGER'S MILK SERVES 4

In North Carolina, at least in Asheville, this name designates what is usually known

elsewhere as a Black Velvet. How this confusion arose is not clear, unless it is somehow

connected with the celebrated gubernatorial remark about the length of time between drinks.

If the time were long enough—an unlikely event in the Carolinas—confusion in names might

follow. However the names were mixed, this drink in no way resembles a Black Velvet, and

is not outstandingly ferocious. Its table of contents reads as though it were devised by a man

with a highly disorganized mind, but do not be put off by that. It is quietly good and quite

soothing. If you substitute hard cider for sweet it becomes lethal, of course, and the name

should probably be changed from "Tiger's Milk" to "The Smile on the Face of the Tiger."

8 OUNCES APPLEJACK

1 TEASPOON SUGAR

1/8 TEASPOON VANILLA EXTRACT

1/8 TEASPOON ORANGE EXTRACT

1 GENEROUS PINCH POWDERED CINNAMON

1 GENEROUS PINCH POWDERED CLOVES

10 OUNCES COLD MILK

10 OUNCES COLD SWEET CIDER

Place the applejack, sugar, vanilla and orange extracts, and the spices in a cocktail shaker.

Add a cup of cracked ice, and shake well. Strain into a chilled, quart pitcher, and fill with the

cold milk and cider. Stir well, and serve in eight-ounce tumblers. Sprinkle a little powdered

cinnamon over each glass before serving.

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HOT BUTTERED RUM SERVES 1

It is with some trepidation that this drink is suggested to precede a Sunday brunch. Most of

the drinks in this section are basically intended for warm days, some are suitable for any

weather, one drink for very cold mornings may be useful. Hot Buttered Rum should be drank

only when the temperature drops close to the freezing point or below it. It is a perfect thing

for those who have returned from a very cold afternoon or evening of winter sport, either as

spectators or participants. It is lovely to look at, it is soothing to the tongue, the stomach, and

the soul; but it is filling, and it has some of the qualities of a delayed-action bomb. Only after

the second are the effects of the first dimly felt; three lead to coma. Despite these

disadvantages for morning drinking, Hot Buttered Rum has its place before brunch when the

assembled company is being entertained before a roaring fire.

Photo owned by Urban Houstonian

The drinks should be served in large mugs or twelve-ounce glasses. If glasses are used, a

silver spoon should be placed in each when the boiling water is added.

1 HEAPING TEASPOON SUGAR

6 WHOLE CLOVES

1 STICK CINNAMON, THREE INCHES LONG

¼ LEMON

1 CUP BOILING WATER

3 OUNCES RUM

1 TABLESPOON BUTTER

1 PINCH NUTMEG

Place the sugar, cloves, and cinnamon in the bottom of the mug or glass. Squeeze the juice

from the lemon over them, and drop in the lemon itself. Add a little hot water, and stir until

the sugar is dissolved. Add the rum and the butter. Pour in the boiling water, and stir until the

butter melts. Sprinkle with nutmeg, and serve piping hot.

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RASPUTTNI SERVES 4

This, the fourteenth and extra-bonus drink, is not, repeat, not for Sunday morning or any

other morning. Insidious as Dr. Fu Manchu, smooth and cunning as its namesake and as

deadly, the Rasputini is a fine cocktail for the forewarned. It is included here because it is

mentioned elsewhere in this book, and the recipe has never before been published. Its

birthday was June 11, 1944, its mother was necessity, and its father Peterkin Pepit, caught on

a Sunday afternoon with his gin supplies down and guests who clamoured for martinis. Peter

had a bottle of vodka. On the spot, in both senses of the phrase, he invented the Rasputini.

The results were startling, almost instantaneous, and, for a time, appeared perpetual.

6 OUNCES VODKA

6 OUNCES GIN

4 OUNCES DRY VERMOUTH

4 GENEROUS PIECES LEMON PEEL

In a martini mixer place a large quantity of ice. Pour in the vermouth and stir well. Add the

gin and the vodka and stir, stir again. Rub a piece of lemon peel around the rim of each of the

chilled cocktail glasses. Drop a piece of peel in each glass. Stir the drink, and serve in the

chilled glasses.

This reproduction is brought to you by Susan Alexander Truffles.