Tag Archives: Creme de Cassis

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Vermouth and Cassis Cocktail

Vermouth and Cassis Cocktail
1 Glass French Vermouth. (2 oz Noilly Prat Dry)
1 Liqueur Glass Crème de Cassis. (1 1/2 oz Brizard Creme de Cassis)
Use medium size glass and fill with soda water (Err, Cava Hill Cava). (Garnish with long lemon peel.)

Right, a poor man’s Kir Royale!

Well, I couldn’t resist juicing up this rather unremarkable sparkling vermouth cocktail from Harry McElhone’s 1928 “ABC of Cocktails” with a little champagne.

So sue me!

I’ve written about my Fish Provencal-ish before, but this was a particularly tasty version with local rock cod.  We had a bounty of fantastic fresh Dry Farmed Tomatoes from the Farmers’ Market, so I blanched them to remove the skin and made the whole deal from scratch.  so tasty.  Served it with a Quinoa Pilaf and Spicy Braised Greens.  Yum.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

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Sunshine Cocktail (No. 2)

Sunshine Cocktail (No. 2)
The Juice of 1/4 Lemon. (Juice 1/4 Lemon (about .25 ounce))
2 Dashes Crème de Cassis (5ml/Teaspoon Brizard Creme de Cassis)
1/2 French Vermouth. (1 oz Noilly Prat Dry)
1/2 Bacardi Rum. (1 oz Havana Club Anejo Blanco)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

What Sunshine Numbers 1 and 2 have to do with one another, is anyone’s guess. Clearly there is no familial resemblance based on ingredients.

What we do have is a rather light and gussied up version of the Bacardi Cocktail (Rum, Grenadine, and Lime or Lemon Juice). The addition of Dry Vermouth softens the impact of the rum and the Cassis stands rather head and shoulders above the average Grenadine. Well, either that, or it is an El Presidente with a bit of Lemon.

Either way, quite a pleasant cocktail.

Heck, this would be even nicer doubled and served over ice with some soda, especially on a hot day!

Again struggling with the light meter on this one, so apologies for the murky appearance of the photo.

If you see Lauren Bacall coming, be sure to hand her a glass of Sunshine BEFORE you whistle.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

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Pat’s Special Cocktail

Pat's Special Cocktail

Pat’s Special Cocktail.
(6 People)
Put 2 Glasses of Gin (1 oz Sarticious Gin) , 2 of Sherry (1 oz Don Nuno Dry Oloroso Sherry) and 2 of Quinquina (1 oz Dubonnet Rouge) in the shaker; add 2 dashes of Crème de Cassis (dash Brizard Creme de Cassis) and 2 of Abricotine (dash Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot). Shake well and serve with a (Luxardo) cherry and a piece of orange peel.

I’m still unsure about “Quinquina” used generically as an ingredient. Dubonnet Rouge is definitely a Quinquina. Just not sure if it is what is called for in cocktails that use the actual word.

I’ve been playing, off and on, with the Sarticious Gin, and enjoy it. I can’t find much information about the company that makes it. I guess it is in Santa Cruz and the owner also runs the Alexander Cellars Winery. Beyond that, their use of non-traditional botanicals like Cilantro has gained them some attention.

Anyway, for some reason, I thought of it for this cocktail.

Kind of a kitchen sink recipe, as far as ingredients go, but fairly enjoyable. The Cassis and Apricot liqueur end up being more hinted at than actually present in the flavor profile of the cocktail. Mostly I get slightly exotic tasting Sherry and Gin. Enjoyable enough to make again.

Gotta say thanks to the Shabbanigans for sending out this lovely cocktail shaker. I promise to use it in good faith and hope to see you soon!

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

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Parisian Cocktail

Parisian Cocktail

Parisian Cocktail.

1/2 French Vermouth. (1 oz Noilly Original Dry)
1/3 Crème de Cassis. (3/4 oz Brizard Creme de Cassis)
1/3 Gin. (3/4 oz Beefeater Gin)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Nothing particularly earth shattering here in another Cocktail likely sourced from the 1929 edition of Harry’s McElhone’s “Harry’s ABC of Cocktails”. How enjoyable this cocktail is to you will likely wholly depend on how interesting you find your bottling of Creme de Cassis.

However, the Parisian is definitely a cocktail with “good bones”. For an up cocktail, you might just adjust the proportions slightly and come up with something outstanding.

I do sometimes wonder if some of the cocktails, like the Parisian, lost their soda in translation. Or if they were adaptions of French drinks for American Bars.

Building something like Cassis, gin, and vermouth in a glass and then topping it up with soda just seems so very French.

Not to mention, build it over crushed ice and you’re a dash of lemon juice away from something like Dick Bradsell’s famous Bramble.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.