louis' saratoga cocktail

20 mL Scotch (1 oz Buchanan's 12 Year)
20 mL Curlier Cognac (1 oz Moyet)
20 mL Vermouth (1 oz Dolin Sweet)
2 dash Curaçao (1/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry)
2 dash Noyaux (1/4 oz Tempus Fugit)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon slice (lemon twist).

Tuesday last week I wanted to utilize my new purchase of Tempus Fugit's Crème de Noyaux; therefore, I reached for my reprint of Louis Fouquet's 1896 Bariana -- the book that started my noyaux quest back in 2010. One drink that called out to me was a Saratoga Cocktail. There are two competing Saratoga Cocktail camps in the literature supporting that this health spa resort and horse racing town was quite the tippling Mecca back in the day. The lesser known Saratoga is a brandy Old Fashioned of sorts sweetened by pineapple syrup and Maraschino liqueur; while the better known Saratoga is a Jerry Thomas-published split spirits Manhattan that is more frequently had as a gussied up version with Benedictine and Peychaud's Bitters -- namely, the Vieux Carré. The Bariana Saratoga varies from Thomas' by adding smoke to the whiskey element as well as orange and nutty liqueurs; since many of the drinks in the book are named "Louis' (cocktail)," I decided to tack that on to differentiate it from the better known version.
Louis' Saratoga offered a lemon, almondy, and grape bouquet. The grape continued on into the sweet sip, and the swallow shared brandy and smoky whisky flavors with an orange and almond finish.