whiz-bang

2/6 gill Scotch (2 oz Famous Grouse)
1/6 gill French Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat Dry)
2 dash Grenadine (1/4 oz)
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)
2 dash Absinthe (20 drop St. George)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Saturdays ago, I reached for Robert Vermeire's 1922 Cocktails: How to Mix Them and spotted the Whiz-Bang created by Tommy Burton at the Sports' Club in London in 1920. The drink was named after high velocity light shells fired by the Germans during World War I; the shells were traveling faster than the speed of sound, so soldiers heard the "whiz" noise of the traveling shell before the "bang" of the shell being launched from the gun reached them. The swapping of the order gave Allied soldiers almost no warning of incoming artillery fire. Besides the name, I was lured in by the recipe for it reminded me of a Scotch version of the gin-based Hasty Cocktail (or Piccadilly Cocktail) and the rum-based Milo. Once prepared, the Whiz-Bang launched off with a lemon, Scotch, and anise bouquet. Next, an off-dry malt and berry sip landed on a Scotch, pomegranate, and anise swallow.