moonshine cocktail

1/2 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Beefeater Summer)
1/3 Dry Vermouth (1 oz Dolin)
1/6 Maraschino (1/2 oz Maraska)
1 dash Pernod (1 bsp Butterfly Absinthe)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
Two Mondays ago for the cocktail hour, I turned to our 1940 edition of The How and When by Hyman Gale and Gerald F. Marco. There, I spotted the Moonshine Cocktail that I believe first appears in the literature in the Savoy Cocktail Book. The Moonshine recipe came across on paper like an Improved Martini given the extra Maraschino and absinthe notes in the mix (although the Fancy and Improved drinks pre-date the Martini itself by a few years). Once stirred and strained, it offered an anise-scented nose. A light cherry-flavored sip gave way to a more complex swallow that began with gin botanical notes that flowed into the nutty Maraschino and ended with an absinthe finish. Overall, the Moonshine reminded me of the Savoy Cocktail Book's Lawhill with gin instead of whiskey.