h.r.w.

2/3 Gin (1 1/2 oz Farmer's)
1/3 Dry Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat)
3-4 Very Ripe Cherries

Muddle cherries. Add ice, shake, and double strain into a cocktail glass.

One of the recipes I had been saving to make was the H.R.W. in Frank Meier's 1934 The Artistry Of Mixing Drinks. The holdup was waiting for cherry season to arrive so I could get ripe fruit to muddle into this drink with a Martini base. Unlike recipes like the R.A.C. where Meier told you that it is an abbreviation for the Royal Automobile Club cocktail, he unfortunately provided no hints for the H.R.W.
With the muddled cherries, the drink acquired an attractive coral color. On the nose, the H.R.W. presented a Martini-like aroma of gin and vermouth. The sip was a dry apple-like flavor that was chased by a cherry and gin swallow. Overall, the cherry flavor was much more subtle than kirsch or cherry liqueurs, and the drink's Martini backbone played a very dominant role in the end balance.