fedora

1 pony glass Brandy (1 oz Foret)
1 pony glass Curaçao (1/2 oz Cointreau)
1/2 pony glass Jamaica Rum (1/2 oz Smith & Cross)
1/2 pony glass Bourbon (1/2 oz Weller 107)
1 tablespoon Sugar dissolved in a little water (1/2 oz Simple)
1 slice lemon (1 oz Lemon Juice)

Shake with ice and strain into a tumbler filled with fresh ice. Garnish with berries or small pieces of orange, and serve with a straw. (Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass).

For the second time in the last year, a server at the restaurant has asked if I can do a Fedora Cocktail. I have a vague recollection of the components from reading through Harry Johnson's 1882 New and Improved Bartender's Manual, so I reply that I can and then look up the specifics on the web. Therefore, I decided to make one at home in less of a rush and think through the drink. On the left above is from Johnson, and the right above is a modernization with help from Stan Jones' Complete Barguide (which is what appears on CocktailDB that I have used at work). I have been serving the drink up at work instead of on crushed ice, so I went that route. The curaçao was tuned down by 1895 in George Kappeler’s Modern American Drinks to about what I used. In the end, it is akin to a 3-spirits Sidecar with some of the orange liqueur substituted for simple syrup. Moreover, instead of all brandy in a Sidecar, there is the funkiness of Jamaican rum and the maltiness of whiskey. The drink itself was named after the hat as well as the play written around the time of Johnson's book.
The Fedora offered a lemon and orange aroma that continued on into a sweet lemon and orange sip. The Jamaican rum and brandy came through the strongest on the swallow that ended with an orange peel note. Sadly, the Bourbon was a bit lost here, so perhaps a more robust whiskey would have done better; I do regret not reaching for the Fighting Cock 103...