kiki

3/4 jigger Gin (1 1/2 oz Bluecoat)
1 dash Cointreau (1/2 oz)
1 dash Noyaux (1/2 oz Tempus Fugit)
2 spoon Sweet Sour (3/4 oz Lemon Juice)
2 drop Bitters (1 dash Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Sunday two weekends ago, I began the cocktail hour by flipping through Boothby's 1934 World Drinks and How to Mix Them. In the pages was the curiously named Kiki which seemed like a good use of my new bottle of crème de noyaux in what appeared to be a gin Mai Tai of sorts. Perhaps it was named after Kiki de Montparnasse who was served by many an expatriate bartender during Prohibition including Jimmy Charters as described in his This Must Be the Place biography. Moreover, the name also triggered the Scissor Sister's song "Let's Have a Kiki" that got referenced here and there at Camp Runamok this past September.
So when we had a Kiki, it proffered a lemon and almondy bouquet. The lemon continued on into the sip where it was complemented by the Cointreau's orange, and the swallow donated gin, clove, apricot, and almond flavors. Instead of the anticipated gin Mai Tai similar to the Blande Dubois, it felt a bit closer to an Amaretto Sour.