kangaroo

2/3 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Beefeater)
2 dash Yellow Chartreuse (1/2 oz)
1 dash Maraschino Liqueur (1/4 oz Luxardo)
1 dash Dry Vermouth (3/4 oz Dolin)
1 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Wednesdays ago, I was flipping through Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933 when I re-spotted the Kangaroo. I had originally skipped the recipe for there is a better known Kangaroo, the Vodka Martini, and I felt like I should avoid confusion. However, this did not stop me when it came to the gin Cosmopolitan that pre-dated the 1980's born phenomena. Similarly, this Kangaroo pre-dates the Vodka Martini being called that name, so I decided that I should make it as well. The parallels between the two Cosmopolitans and the two Kangaroos are similar with the older one being gin and the newer one vodka. While the newer Kangaroo is more similar to akin to a Martini, this gin one is like a gussied up Puritan Cocktail. In interpreting the recipe, I made it a bit more dry vermouth heavy than the proportions suggest in order to balance the larger-than-a-dash-or-two amounts of the other ingredients.
The Kangaroo began with a honey herbal aroma with a hint of Maraschino's nutty cherry notes. A honeyed white wine sip led into a gin swallow with herbal notes from the Yellow Chartreuse being rounded over by the Maraschino's fruity finish.