B & I are actually mid cocktail right now (a Blackthorn to be specific). We’ve begun discussing our ten greatest cocktails of all times. There are a lot of tipplings, that when confronted with, you wouldn’t object to drinking. What we are talking about are those drinks so epic and so distinctive as to distinguish themselves. The only problem we are having is that we are no where near ten.
After a few minutes of semi-cogent discussion, we have (in no particular order, yet):
- The Oriental (probably our joint number 1)
- The Sidecar
- The Daiquiri (the real one… no blender, no strawberries)
- The Hemmingway daiquiri (we can’t really decide yet where to draw the line between a distinct drink and a variant).
- The Mojito (this one is riding the fence at this point)
This has already lead to some disagreement. I would put the Manhattan at the top of my list. B can take it or leave it. We are probably going to have two lists before it’s all over. Also, the question arises of what to do with drinks and cocktails of a more focused appeal. B really likes a Stinger as a nightcap or an after dinner drink. We both frequently enjoy the whiskey and soda (seltzer, not club soda), but I wouldn’t call it a classic, great cocktail.
In this pursuit, we were going to revisit some of the previous posted drinks, explore some new ones, and even solicit recommendations from any soul so lost that they find themselves here. Be forewarned though, if we don’t think it’s a great cocktail, we probably won’t use it. Sorry, just the way it is. Oh and if anyone suggests a Cosmo, chocolatini or anything from Sex in the City, I will mock you savagely. Again, sorry, just the way it is.
Anyway, well have to see where this leads. It did seem odd that after 30 posts, we couldn’t come up with a top ten.
Pip-pip.



This is one B and I have been making since we found it in our copy of the original edition of Ted Haigh’s Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. On a Christmas aside, we just got a copy of the
This cocktail has a lot of things I like. It’s old. It has Rye, absinthe and screwball ingredients (Peychaud’s bitters). Oh, and it’s a good cocktail. According to David Wondrich in Esquire Drinks, the cocktail takes it’s name from the from the Sazerac de forge et Fils congnac with which it was originally made before the Civil War. On this note, Ti Adelaide Martin and Lally Brennan, in their book In the Land of Cocktails: Recipes and Adventures from the Cocktail Chicks, claim that the switch to rye came when phylloxera wiped out the grapes in France, making cognac hard to get in this country. They also make the bold, though perhaps slightly un-Southern, assertion the would rather use cognac than bourbon if rye isn’t available. I agree.
I’ve been thinking about his one for a while. It started out as something to do with a recently acquired bottle of creme de violette, which in turn was the result of my endless quest for arcane booze. In many ways this cocktail is the embodiment of this quest, having not only creme de violette but also Maraschino liqueur. The recipe I used is from David Wondrich’s 


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