Thursday, April 11, 2013

m. and st. l.

1 jigger Old Bourbon (1 oz Fighting Cock)
1 jigger Applejack (1 oz Laird's)
Juice 1/2 Lemon (1/2 oz)
1 barspoon Cointreau (1/2 oz)
(1/4 oz Simple Syrup)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with an orange twist.

Two Saturdays ago, we began the cocktail hour with a drink, the M. and St. L., from Ted Saucier's Bottoms Up. The recipe was attributed to Lucian C. Sprague who was the chairman of the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway. I had probably skipped over the drink before because the recipe comes off as rather tart; however, I have gotten used to tweaking recipes from my forays into Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933. Therefore, I upped the Cointreau from an eighth of an ounce to a half an ounce. Even with equal parts of lemon juice and orange liqueur, it was still rather tart; perhaps, the aggressive Fighting Cock Bourbon played a roll here. To each drink, I added a quarter ounce of simple syrup which seemed to get the balance in the right ball park.
ted saucier bottoms up
The M. and St. L.'s orange twist's aroma joined that of the Bourbon. A fruity sip from the apple, lemon, and orange elements was followed by the whiskey with a slightly tart finish. Perhaps, a less aggressive Bourbon and a more assertive apple brandy would have made for a more interesting drink, but it was still an enjoyable Daisy.

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