Tag Archives: Apricot

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Sunset Cocktail

Sunset Cocktail
(6 People)
Place in a large glass the thinly-cut rind of an orange, or of a tangerine if an orange cannot be obtained. Add a teaspoonful of peach preserve, a large apricot and its crushed kernel. Pour upon the whole a full glass of Brandy and a small spoonful of Kirsch. Let this soak for two hours. Then transfer the mixture into the shaker and add half a glass of White Wine, a glass and half of Gin, and a glass of French Vermouth. Add plenty of ice. Shake and Serve.

The next thing you know about is Sunrise.

Oh for cripes sake, talk about an annoying recipe!

Let’s fix it:

Sunset Cocktail.

Sunset Cocktail
1 apricot, Quartered
1 apricot pit, crushed
2 oz Germain-Robin Fine Alambic Brandy
1 tsp. Clear Creek Kirsch
2 tsp. We Love Jam Blenheim Apricot Jam
Whole Zest of 1 Orange
2 oz Noilly Prat Dry
3 oz Right Gin*
Sparkling Wine (Blanquette de Limoux, Cuvee Berlene 2005)

Method: Combine Apricot, Apricot Pit, Brandy, Kirsch, Jam, and Orange Peel. Let stand for a couple hours. Transfer to a large mixing tin, add the dry vermouth and gin. Ice and shake gently. Double strain into medium size glasses and top up with Sparkling Wine.

Sunset Cocktail.

Well, at least the recipe, if not the technique, is slightly less annoying.

I increased the jam quotient since I decided to include the sparkling wine. It has a tendency to dry out cocktails more than regular wine would. Suggest shaking gently or even rolling to prevent pulverizing the apricot. You will want to double strain to catch those apricot and fruit pieces. You may need a spoon to encourage the liquid’s passage through the strainer.

With all that work, you would hope that it was at least tasty, and indeed, it is pretty darn tasty.

In fact, the warning, “The next thing you know about is Sunrise,” seemed a bit apt, far more easy drinking than it’s alcohol content would suggest. I would not suggest drinking all “6” Sunset Cocktails yourself, even if your wife is out of town and you aren’t driving anywhere. You will probably regret it.

*Right Gin was sent to me by a firm promoting the brand.

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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Apricot Cocktail (Sweet)

Apricot Cocktail (Sweet)
(6 People)

Dilute a teaspoonful of apricot jam (1/2 teaspoon Bonne Maman Apricot Jam) in a glass of Abricotine (1 oz Vedrenne Liqueur de Abricot). Add a teaspoonful of Peach Bitters (1/2 teaspoon Fee’s Peach Bitters), slightly less than two glasses of Gin (2 oz Beefeater’s Gin) and 2 1/2 glasses of French Vermouth (2 1/2 oz French Vermouth). Place this mixture in a shaker and put it on the ice to cool (in the freezer). When quite cold pour in two or three glasses of crushed ice and shake well. Strain into cocktail glass.

The amounts in the parenthesis are for 2 relatively modern size drinks instead of 6 tiny 1930s era drinks.

More odd instructions, to be sure.  And everyone thinks pre-prohibition cocktails are easy! A pleasant enough result, however. The Sweet version of the Apricot cocktail is definitely an after dinner drink, but it nicely highlights the nutty flavor of the apricot liqueur.

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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Apricot Cocktail (Dry)

Apricot Cocktail (Dry)
(6 People)
Cut 2 Apricots (1 Apricot) in half, break the stones* and let the whole soak for 2 hours in a glass and a half of Cognac (2 oz Korbel VSOP Brandy). Add two teaspoonfuls of Peach Bitters (1 tsp. Fee’s Peach Bitters), 2 glasses of Gin (2 oz Beefeater’s Gin) and 2 glasses of French Vermouth (2 oz Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth). Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Garnish each glass by dropping in a thin, ripe peach wedge.)

The amounts in the parenthesis are for 2 relatively modern size drinks instead of 6 tiny 1930s era drinks.

This is a pretty odd bird of a cocktail. An apricot scented Martini? I can’t think of many other fruit flavored cocktails that aren’t at least somewhat sweet. Still, all in all quite pleasant. If it’s apricot season, and you like Martinis, give it a try.

*I will note that the kernels of all members of the rose family, including apricots, contain cyanogenic glycosides which on ingestion release hydrogen cyanide. The amounts of these chemicals vary from plant to plant and species to species. Bitter almonds generally contain the most, and eating 50-70 bitter almonds in one sitting is enough to be fatal for an adult human. I would not recommend sitting down and drinking 50 Apricot cocktails at once. Fortunately, in most people, small amounts of these chemicals are rapidly broken down by their livers, and do not build up over time, so small doses are generally regarded as safe.

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.