comet

1/2 Orange Gin (1 1/2 oz Beefeater + 1 bsp Cointreau + 2 dash Angostura Orange Bitters)
1/2 Lillet (1 1/2 oz Cocchi Americano)
2 dash Maraschino (1 bsp Luxardo)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass; I added an orange twist.

Two Tuesdays ago, I decided to make the Comet from the 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book that was distinct from the 1952 Comet that David Wondrich uncovered. While the more recent Comet was named after a jetliner, it was not made clear what the elder recipe referred to; the book only proffered that it was created by bartender Dorothy Perosino. One possibility was the Comet Skjellerup–Maristany that was visible for 32 days in 1927 and was noteworthy enough to be mentioned in J. R. R. Tolkien's book Letters From Father Christmas. I had skipped over this recipe previously since I lacked orange gin -- a style once rather common given the number of recipes that it appeared in and now can be found produced by Malfy (although I have only seen and tried their lemon gin). Luckily, Jeff Masson and Greg Boehm provided adaptation advice in The Big Bartender's Book.The Comet soared to the nose with orange and pineapple-like aromas. Next, apricot notes on the sip led to orange, juniper, and nutty cherry flavors on the swallow.