east india

3/4 jigger Sherry (2 oz Lustau Amontillado)
1/4 jigger Swedish Punsch (3/4 oz Kronan)
1 dash Curaçao (1/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I added a lemon twist.

Two Sundays ago, I pondered a drink called the East India that I spotted in Pioneers of Mixing in Elite Bars: 1903-1933. It was curious for there is a better known East India Cocktail first published in Harry Johnson's 1882 Bartenders' Manual that is brandy, pineapple syrup, maraschino, curaçao, and bitters. Here, the only overlap was curaçao, but the combination of sherry and Swedish Punsch seemed rather intriguing despite the name overlap. Charles H. Baker wrote about the more famous East India Cocktail in Jigger, Beaker and Glass and mentioned that there was a second recipe under that name with dry vermouth, sherry, and orange bitters; swapping the punsch for the vermouth and curaçao for orange bitters here would yield something in that ball park.
This East India began with a lemon oil and grape aroma with hints of orange peel. Next, a slightly sweet grape sip led into dry nutty sherry, tea tannins, and orange flavors on the swallow.