Sorry, I know I haven’t done this in a while. Out of town, busy with all kindsa stuff and posting New Orleans food porn (and yeah, I know, it’s been three weeks and I’m only just gettin’ started). Let’s have a drink.

This one hails from Saratoga Springs, New York in the 1880s. According to David Wondrich’s Imbibe!, there were two cocktails by this name, one being basically “a Fancy Brandy Cocktail with a squirt of Champagne,” the other being this, similar to a Manhattan in which half the rye has been switched out. It’s mighty tasty.

Oh, and when we made it the rye was Rittenhouse Bonded, the brandy was Hennessy VSOP, the vermouth was Carpano Antica.

The Saratoga Cocktail

1 ounce rye whiskey.
1 ounce brandy.
1 ounce sweet vermouth.
2 dashes Angostura Bitters.

Combine with ice in a mixing glass and stir for no less than 30 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass or, as the book suggests, “a thin stemmed glass with a curved lip.” Garnish with a quarter slice of lemon, either perched on the rim or floated in the drink.

“Replace the vermouth with absinthe,” Dave says, “and you have what the Hoffman House called a ‘Morning Cocktail.’ If that’s what you need to get going in the A.M., God help you.”

An old classic, dating back to Boston in 1898, created at the Locke-Ober restaurant. As with so many drinks of its era, there are various stories about its creation, the most popular being that it was created in honor of a powerful local politician running for statewide office, and named for the political ward that delivered the lion’s share of his votes.

Simple and delicious. If you like Whiskey Sours, try this — it’s similar, but less sweet and with the addition of a couple more flavor elements. We hadn’t had this one in a while, and it served as a reminder that we should have it more often.

Ward Eight

2 ounces Bourbon or rye whiskey.
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice.
1/2 ounce fresh orange juice.
1 teaspoon real pomegranate grenadine.

Combine with ice in a cocktail shaker and shake for 10-12 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

It’s usually made with Bourbon, but we sometimes make it with rye — it gives the drink an extra spicy layer that I really like.

“Hey, do we have any cherry brandy?”

Thus came the request from Wes as he was digging for last night’s libation, and the answer was indeed yes, we’re usually never without the Cherry Heering (or kirsch, if that’s what he mean, which it wasn’t). We still haven’t replaced our most recently drained 1.75l bottle of Maker’s Mark, so our new bottle of Bulleit Bourbon stepped in. Properly equipped, then he was off.

This one came out of Gary Regan’s The Joy of Mixology, and is an adaptation of one that initially came from the Bard of Cocktails, the great Charles H. Baker Jr. and his classic The Gentleman’s Companion, or Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Flask. Both Wes and I are trying to recall whether Gary specified Bourbon or listed it as “Bourbon or rye” (will double-check later), but we think it’s the former. Having looked up Baker’s original rendernig of the recipe we see he specifies it as a rye cocktail and are eager to try that version. That said, when Gary makes adaptive changes it’s usually for a very good reason — balance and flavor being two big ones. Wes thinks that Bourbon might actually be his preference here, but we’ll see.

I like everything about this drink but its name, which refers to the “Gulf of Tonkin incident” of the Spanish-American War in 1898, in which our country capitalized on an explosion of unknown origin aboard the USS Maine and blamed it on Spain as a pretext for starting a war. (All this shit sounds sadly familiar, doesn’t it? Sigh.)

A little Googling revealed that the drink is also called “McKinley’s Delight,” which I prefer actually, and we speculated that it might have become a Bourbon drink when rye fell out of favor during Prohibition. Take two coming soon, but in the meantime here’s the version we thoroughly enjoyed last night.

McKinley’s Delight
(a.k.a. “Remember the Maine”)

2 ounces Bourbon.
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth.
1/4 ounce cherry brandy (like Cherry Heering).
2 dashes absinthe or pastis (or slightly less, to taste).
1 dash Angostura bitters.

Combine with ice in a mixing glass and stir for no less than 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. No garnish is specified in the recipe, but given the flavor profile of this drink a Luxardo cherry or brandied cherry would not be inappropriate.

Here’s Charles Baker’s version, from The Gentleman’s Companion:

REMEMBER the MAINE, a Hazy Memory of a Night in Havana during the Unpleasantnesses of 1933, when Each Swallow Was Punctuated witih Bombs Going Off on the Prado, or the Sound of 3″ Shells Being Fired at the Hotel NACIONAL, then Haven for Certain Anti-Revolutionary Officers.

Treat this one with the respect it deserves, gentlemen. Take a tall bar glass and toss in 3 lumps of ice. Onto this foundation donate the following in order given: 1 jigger good rye whiskey, 1/2 jigger Italian vermouth, 1 to 2 tsp of cherry brandy, 1/2 tsp absinthe or Pernod Veritas. Stir briskly in clock-wise fashion — this makes it sea-going, presumably! — turn into a big chilled saucer champagne glass, twisting a curl of green lime or lemon peel over the top.

Mighty, mighty good.

Thing about this drink is that it’s really starting to catch on, and nobody calls it McKinley’s Delight. So I guess Remember the Maine it is.

And even better is this version! This is the one we’ve settled on — it’s closer to Baker’s version, and make it this way at home all the time.

Remember the Maine

2 ounces Rittenhouse 100 proof bonded rye whiskey.
3/4 ounce Carpano Antica sweet vermouth.
2 teaspoons Cherry Heering.
1/2 teaspoon absinthe.

Stir with ice for 30 seconds and strain. Garnish with a Luxardo cherry.

Bourbon shmourbon. This one needs the rye, most definitely. Rittenhouse, preferably.

As of December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Consitution of the United States was ratified, to wit:

Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States [prohibiting the sale, possession or consumption of alcohoic beverages] is hereby repealed.

Section 2. The transportation or importation into any state, territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the states by the Congress.

Wouldn’t mind being at Vessel in Seattle tonight, as Jamie has huge plans to celebrate the day.

To show that after all these years there are no hard feelings (I guess), I’ll take another cue from Jamie and offer as today’s cocktail his slightly rejiggered version of a drink named after the infamous sponsor in the U.S. Senate of the Act that bears his name, which ushered in 14 bummer years of Prohibition. It has a special ingredient, so pay close attention:

The Volstead Cocktail

1-1/2 ounces rye whiskey.
1/2 ounce Swedish punsch.
3/4 ounce fresh orange juice.
1/2 ounce grenadine.
Dash of absinthe (or Herbsaint).

Combine with ice in a cocktail shaker, shake for 10-12 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Toast the repeal of Prohibition!

Unfortunately, bottled Swedish punsch (the best brands being Gronstedt and Carlshamn’s) is no longer available in the U.S., but Fortunately, Swedish punsch is once again availabe in the United States, thanks to Eric Seed of Haus Alpenz and his wonderful new product, Kronan Swedish Punsch, available in the U.S. as of 2012.

Swedish punsch (or punch) is an ingredient in several classic cocktails, but you can always drink it on its own; it’s quite delightful. (Dr. Cocktail also points out its alchemical properties — you can add a splash of Swedish punsch to a cheap, bottom-shelf rum and it’ll make it taste like an expensive, 20-year aged rum, as if by magic.) Here’s a recipe that’s enough for 2 cocktails, or other uses.

There’s a lovely new book I’m in the middle of at the moment, called How’s Your Drink? Cocktails, Culture and the Art of Drinking Well, by Eric Felten, author of the “How’s Your Drink?” column in the Wall Street Journal. I came across this one in a passage on Dubonnet, and thought of our lonely bottle of Dubonnet in the back of the fridge, and how I’d better remember it and use it before it goes off. Eric thoughtfully provided a recipe that I hadn’t tried before, and it was fantastic.

I would normally stir a cocktail like this, which contains only spirits, liqueur and wine, but the action of the shaking releases oils from the lemon and orange peels. If you’re a stickler about stirring clear cocktails, muddle the peels briefly before adding the ingredients and ice.

The Dandy Cocktail

1-1/2 ounces rye whiskey (we used Sazerac 6).
1-1/2 ounces Dubonnet rouge.
1/2 ounce Cointreau.
1 dash Angostura bitters.
Long strip of lemon peel.
Long strip of orange peel.

Combine with cracked ice in a shaker, and shake vigorously for 10-12 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with an orange twist.

This cocktail is delightfully wintry, with the spices of the Dubonnet and the bitters playing nicely together. I might even flame an orange peel over this one.