Stanley Cocktail
1/6 Lemon Juice. (1/2 of 3/4 oz Lemon Juice)
1/6 Grenadine. (1/2 of 3/4 oz Small Hand Foods Grenadine)
1/3 Rum. (3/4 oz Rene Alambic Rum)
1/3 Gin. (3/4 oz Ransom Old Tom Gin)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
Oh, fun! This recipe specifies neither the type of Rum nor Type of Gin! Carte Blanche!
I found this odd Alambic Rum at a small liquor store in the city of Napa, California. I have no idea about the nature of the beast, other than that the bottle notes it is, “Distilled by Solomon Tournour Co. Capella, CA 95418.” It is, for an 80 Proof Rum, rather flavorful and delicious. It appears to have some color, so must have seen at least some small amount of time in the barrel. I keep going back and forth on whether I think it is Molasses or Sugar based. My guess is Molasses, but it is very well distilled and tasty. It does almost taste like a Rhum Agricole.
Anyway, funky Napa R(h)um, and what Gin to mix with?
Ha! Obviously it needs a funky Gin! And as funky Gins go, I can’t think of one more appropriate than Ransom Old Tom, from Portland!
What does this combination of unusual ingredients result in?
Well, it sure as hell isn’t a Bacardi Cocktail!
Kind of Tasty, though, if I don’t say so myself! Mr. Stanley may have been on to something!
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.
Thanks for the suggestion, I mixed my first Stanley this evening, and enjoyed it very much. Actually, I mixed four of them, to work out the blend. (Mixed, not drank—I’m way to old for that!) The Savoy proportions are too sweet for my taste, so the final version went a little shorter on the grenadine, but otherwise played by the Savoy Rules. That worked out pretty well. (That rum-plus-gin mix was an act of faith; who knew that could work out so well?) I agree, kind of tasty.
I visited the Solomon Tournour distillery in June. Small batch operation made by an obsessive local. Absolutely delicious stuff. It’s molasses based as you indicated, he reduces with rainwater, and runs an alembic still from Portugal. He also makes a pear eau de vie from the pears that are apparently really good around there (I’ve never tried one), nor have I tried his product. I wish I could get more of his rum where I am now…
Cool! I shall have to investigate further. I do really enjoy the Rum, easily the most enjoyable Molasses based rum I’ve tasted in quite a while.
A friend of mine came across this drink several years ago in a 1930’s era book for barkeeps. We tried it and loved it. However there seems to be some confusion on the actual way it is to be mixed. According to the book it is:
1/3 gin
1/3 white rum
1/6 lemmon juice (freshly squeezed)
1/6 grenadine
shaken over ice, strained, and served in a cocktail glass.
We traveled to several upscale bars and would always try ordering these and would get quizical looks from the bartenders. We were at the Clift Hotel in San Fran. CA. and ordered these. A very old bartender walked out from the back bar to see who had ordered stanleys, He was amazed to see a couple of guys in thier 30’s. He said he hadn’t had a request for a stanley in 40+ years, but he still knew how to mix them! PRICELESS……