chatham hotel special

1 1/2 oz Brandy (Courvoisier VS)
1/2 oz Ruby Port (Ramos Pinto)
1/2 oz Cream
1 dash Dark Creme de Cacao

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.


On Saturday, we stopped into the Boston Shaker's store in Somerville and spotted the newest edition of Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. We were going to wait until Tales to buy it from Ted and get it autographed on the spot, but the book was just too tempting to pass on it. The new edition appears to be double the size with more recipes, photos, and text than the first. That night, I was searching for a recipe that was new to this edition, but I was captivated by the concept of the Chatham Hotel Special as an after dinner drink. The Hotel Chatham was a 300 room hotel in midtown Manhattan, and bar there was most famous for being the birthplace of the Moscow Mule recipe before the drink made its way to the West Coast and became popular in Los Angeles. The Chatham Hotel Special had a rich grapey sweetness from the port and brandy, and the hint of cacao worked well with the port flavors. The smoothness of the drink was kept in check by the booziness of the brandy.