cooperstown

1 3/4 oz Plymouth Gin
1/2 oz Cinzano Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
6-8 leaf Mint

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Tuesdays ago, I headed over to Straight Law after work. For a drink idea, bartender Sean Sullivan suggested a Cooperstown. While I have had other wine-forward mint libations such as the Greenbriar Cocktail, I never have had this one despite spotting it several cocktail books. The recipe dates back to the mid-1910s with appearances in books by Hugo Ensslin and Tom Bullock (albeit with the dry vermouth left out in the latter). Robert Vermeire in 1922 strangely provides some history of "This drink is very popular amongst the cowboys in America." I know that the Straight Law drink concepts and bar name stem from The Savoy Cocktail Book where this drink also appears.
The Cooperstown offered a juniper-driven nose that led into a light grape sip. On the swallow, the gin's botanicals pleasantly melded with the mint herbal notes. Indeed, the mint elevated the drink beyond a Perfect Martini to new ground just like it did to the Negroni in Count Camillo's Derby.