The folks at bibulo.us are hosting this month's Mixology Monday, the world's foremost online cocktail party. The theme for this month's party is 19th Century Cocktails.
For this my second time to participate in MxMo, I have chosen the East India Cocktail, prepared as presented in Ted "Dr. Cocktail" Haigh's book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails:
East India Cocktail
3 oz. Brandy
1/2 o z. raspberry syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 teaspoon orange Curacao
1 teaspoon maraschino liqueur
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.
Waterford (or similar) glass compliments of my friend Tara, who would rather have her mother back than all these f*ing glasses.
3+ oz of booze--that's a stout drink! Those 19th C. drinkers had some serious business to take care of.
Haigh explains that the original version of this drink first appeared in Harry Johnson's Bartender's Manual (1882) and specified pineapple syrup. Haigh insists that this (raspberry) version is not only venerable, but also preferable.
For a variation of this cocktail, I was inspired to make the East Andes Cocktail, substituting Pisco for the brandy. I like it. It is spicier and more maraschino-ey, not as balanced because I didn't futz around with it long enough, but nonetheless it has a lot of potential.
The East Andes Cocktail, substituting Pisco for Brandy
I poked around some of my cocktail books to see what other recipes I could find...
The 1949 Esquire's Handbook for Hosts has a version that includes not just the pinapple syrup, but also "1 tsp. pineapple," and the odd instructions to "Ice and shake; strain onto a cherry." This recipe also specifies Curacao, "preferably the red," a tonic with which I am not familiar. Is 'red curacao' an early way to say orange?
Charles H. Baker's Gentleman's Companion (1946) has a recipe for the East India Cocktail as well as the East India House Cocktail. The latter is the cocktail we have described above, made with Cognac and pineapple syrup. The former is a combination of French vermouth, dry Sherry, and orange bitters.
An East India Cocktail appears in Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) and consists of brandy, pineapple juice, orange curacao, and bitters--no Maraschino. This same recipe is repeated almost identically in Patrick Gavin Duffy's Official Mixer's Manual (1956) Craddock and subsequently Duffy also have a recipe for the East Indian Cocktail, equal parts french vermouth and sherry, with dash of orange bitters. The Craddock recipe appears earlier in Barflies and Cocktails (1927).
The 1946 Old Mr. Boston has two versions of the East India Cocktail. The first is the brandy/pineapple juice/curacao/bitters cocktail, but with rum instead of maraschino. The second is the french vermouth/sherry orange bitters cocktail, that was called the East IndiaN Cocktail in the Savoy book.
Comments (1)
Curacao is a bit like colored sugar for cookies. You could just use the original clear kind, but what's the fun? Have you ever met Senior Curacao de Curacao?
http://www.curacaoliqueur.com/ [it's delicious]
Nice glasses.
Posted by justin | November 28, 2008 2:05 AM
Posted on November 28, 2008 02:05