leo special

1/2 Gin (2 oz Cascade Mountain)
1/4 Cointreau (1/2 oz)
1/4 Lime Juice (1/2 oz)
2 dash Pernod (1 scant barspoon Henri Bardouin Pastis)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

A few Saturday nights ago, I opened up my 1975 edition of Patrick Duffy's The Official Mixer's Manual and spotted the Leo Special. The drink was tempting for it reminded me of a Pegu Club crossed with a Corpse Reviver #2, and I was quite curious to follow the directions to stir instead of shake the mixture. I decided to adapt the recipe to the Drink 2:1/2:1/2 standard ratio and treated the absinthe like a Corpse Reviver #2. My specs ended up falling somewhere between the one Duffy proposed and the one Stan Jones did in the 1977 Complete Barguide. I did check Leo Engel's American and Other Drinks as a possible identity of the Leo, but this did not seem to be one of his specialties.
The lime juice aromas worked rather well with the pastis' anise on the nose. Lime and orange flavors combined on the sip; it was not as identifiable as either, but with the absinthe instead of Angostura Bitters, it was certainly not the grapefruit note generated in a Pegu Club. Finally, the swallow displayed more of the citrus flavors along with the gin, and it ended with a pastis finish.