According to Gary Regan in his book The Joy of Mixology, “This cocktail was created by Harry Craddock, for the Leap Year celebrations at the Savoy Hotel, London, on February 29th, 1928. It is said to have been responsible for more proposals than any other cocktail that has ever been mixed,” reports The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930). Apparently the absurd quaint tradition of yore was that it was only proper for women to propose marriage to men in leap years, because … I don’t know. A bunch of men said so?

This recipe is adapted from Craddock’s original, but can certainly be enjoyed at any time of the year.” Or certainly today, 76 years to the day after Harry created it for us.

Leap Year Cocktail

2 ounces gin.
1/2 ounce Grand Marnier.
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth.
1/4 ounce fresh lemon juice.
1 lemon twist, for garnish.

Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add the garnish.

And happy birthday to all you Leap Year babies!

This one came in from our friend Daniel Reichert — he found it while playing around with CocktailDB (something I highly recommend doing). None of us had heard of it, although he pointed out that it does appear in the wonderful Jones’ Complete Bar Guide (then again, that book is so big and full of thousands of tiny recipes that it’s easy to overlook something). Perhaps its name comes from its Kentucky-born “thoroughbred” spirit, but in any case it’s a very tasty twist on a Manhattan.

Riding Lesson Cocktail

1-3/4 ounces Bourbon whiskey.
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth.
1/4 ounce Bénédictine D.O.M. liqueur.
1 dash Angostura bitters.
Cherry garnish.

Stir (or shake) and strain; garnish with stemless cherry.

Although we have yet to try it this way, Dan suggests doubling the amount of Bénédictine for an even more distinctive taste.

This one came up first in Gary Regan’s Bartender’s Bible under the category of aperitifs. It was lovely, particularly when we’ve been using Carpano Antica Formula vermouth instead of garden-variety red vermouth in our cocktails. Man, that stuff is good.

Enjoy this one before dinner, or while reading “Henry V”.

Agincourt

1 ounce sweet vermouth.
1 ounce dry vermouth.
1/2 ounce amaretto.
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice.

Stir well for no less than 30 seconds, and
strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

This one’s also good for people who don’t want a terribly strong drink, as the alcohol content is a good bit lighter than a spirit-based cocktail.

Gary Regan’s fortnightly column “The Cocktailian” is particularly apt in this edition, as the Professor mixes us a cocktail based on Irish whiskey and named after one of Ireland’s greatest writers. Wes and I have been enjoying this one for a while now, having gotten the recipe from an account of one of Gary’s Cocktails in the Country seminars. Gary calls for Black Bush, and I’m fond of Jameson 12 or John Power’s.

I’ll have this one on Thursday to toast my forthcoming trip to Ireland (and to help drown out the little voices that’ll be saying, “So, how the hell do ya t’ink you’re going to pay for this, ya mad feckin’ eejit?”)

The James Joyce Cocktail
1-1/2 ounces Irish whiskey.
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth.
3/4 ounce Cointreau.
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice.

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
We like a stemless cherry garnish as well.

Apparently this drink was created by mistake, when making an Oriental someone reached for Irish whiskey instead of rye. “Mistakes are the portals of discovery,” wrote James Joyce. Little did he know how well this can apply to cocktails, as the most popular drink at the wonderful little tiki bar in Silver Lake is called Tiki Ti is called “Ray’s Mistake”…

Gary and Mardee Regan have done it again; I learn so many wonderful things from these guys. They’ve dug up a book called The Speakeasies of 1932, in the course of Gary’s researches for The Joy of Mixology. Among many other fascinating details about what it was like to drink in a speakeasy during Prohibition, they dug up this little gem of a drink.

I have to say I was initially skeptical about a cocktail consisting almost entirely of vermouth, and we were prepared to make one to try it (so that we could toss it if we didn’t like it and not fret about wasting two drinks worth of liquor). Turns out we made another one immediately. It’s terrific, light and one of those great examples of cocktail alchemy. I highly recommend this to anyone who wishes to exercise a sophisticated palate but doesn’t want to get hammered too fast.

Vermouth Cocktail
(adapted from a Prohibition-era speakeasy cocktail)

1 ounce sweet vermouth.
1 ounce dry vermouth.
2 dashes of Angostura bitters.
2 dashes orange bitters.
2 dashes grenadine.
1 lemon twist, for garnish.

Shake all the ingredients over ice, and strain into a chilled martini glass. Add the garnish.

Spicy, complex and easy on the noggin. We likes it!