Tuxedo Cocktail (No. 2)
1 Dash Maraschino. (2.5ml or 1/2 tsp Luxardo Maraschino)
1 Dash Absinthe. (2.5ml or 1/2 tsp Greenway Distiller’s Absinthe)
2 Dashes Orange Bitters. (1 Dash Angostura Orange Bitters)
1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz Ransom Old Tom Gin)
1/2 French Vermouth. (1 oz Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth or Sutton Cellars Vermouth)
Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass. Add a cherry. Squeeze lemon peel on top.

Interestingly, in “Barflies and Cocktails”, Harry McElhone calls for “Sir R. Burnett’s Old Tom Gin” in this cocktail.

Well, that give me an excuse to use a more interesting Gin! Yay, Ransom!

Aside from using the Ransom, this is a much more interesting cocktail, even if it is just a Martinez with French Vermouth. The Maraschino and the Orange Bitters really pump up the volume of the somewhat plain “Tuxedo No. 1”.

The Sutton vs. Noilly test was not so obvious with the Tuxedo Cocktail No. 2. I tasted the two cocktails, then put them into the fridge for Michele to taste when she got home. When we tasted them, I could tell they were different, but had a hard time deciding which was which, or which I preferred. I believe Michele even said she preferred the Sutton Cellars version this time. Basically, I think the more intense gin, bitters, liqueurs, and Absinthe just plowed the vermouth under.

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.